Fivelements Retreat Bali

Fivelements Retreat Bali has established itself as one of the world's most acclaimed wellness destinations since opening its doors in 2010, earning more than 90 international awards across wellness, spa, culinary excellence, and sustainability. Nestled along the sacred Ayung River in Mambal, just twenty minutes from Ubud's cultural heart, the retreat is the realization of a love story between co-founders Chicco and Lahra Tatriele. The couple met during a tropical storm in 2006, Lahra, an American seeking healing in Bali, literally lost her shoe while running through the rain and was rescued by Chicco, an Italian who had already placed a deposit on riverside land without quite knowing why. That intuition became Fivelements, a sanctuary built on the Balinese philosophy of Tri Hita Karana, harmony between spirit, humanity, and nature.

The retreat comprises twenty eco-luxury suites constructed almost entirely from sustainable bamboo, thatch, and reclaimed wood, designed by Balinese architect Ketut Arthana in consultation with local priests and paranormals to honor the land's spiritual energy. The property sits in the village of Baturning, where the founders spent years building relationships with the community, conducting flora and fauna studies, and performing Balinese ceremonies to transition the land from farming to international collaboration. Everything here is intentional: bamboo structures that blend into the jungle canopy, treatment rooms open to the sound of the river rather than music, LED lighting that reduced electricity consumption by ninety-five percent, and an irrigation system that relies on the traditional subak method drawing from the Ayung River.

At the heart of the experience is Sakti Dining Room, the retreat's award-winning restaurant set in a riverside bamboo pavilion. The predominantly plant-based cuisine, complemented by organic eggs and locally sourced fish, draws from the Garden of Peace, a 3,700-square-meter permaculture garden established in 2022. Chef Dii leads a culinary team that creates what guests describe as "vegan fine dining that charms even adamant meat-eaters," blending raw living foods with nourishing cooked dishes designed to support detoxification and cellular renewal. Many ingredients come from the on-site garden or the nearby Mambal market, and all spa products are handcrafted in a small laboratory behind reception using local herbs and flowers.

The Healing & Wellness Village is the retreat's spiritual center, housing riverside treatment rooms where traditional Balinese healers, including two resident priests and six healers trained in generational family lineage, practice Sekala-Niskala, the philosophy that we live equally in the seen and unseen worlds. Treatments range from the signature Balinese Boreh (a two-hour ritual with boreh spice scrub and river-view bath) to aqua healing in the hydrotherapy pool, where trained therapists guide guests through Watsu-inspired floating massage. The retreat offers five structured wellness programs lasting from three to fourteen nights: Tri Kaya Parisudha (holistic purification), Pancha Mahabhuta (five elements balance), and Sattva Yatra (mental stillness), among others. Each is personalized rather than rigidly scheduled, allowing guests to move at their own pace while receiving guidance from healers.

General Manager John Nielsen, a Dane who joined the retreat after meeting the team at World Travel Market in London, serves as Ambassador for World Wellness Weekend and sits on the board of the Wellness Tourism Association. Under the leadership of founders Chicco and Lahra, who serve as Managing Director and Vision Director respectively, Fivelements has expanded beyond its flagship property while maintaining its core philosophy. In 2019, Evolution Wellness acquired the retreat as part of their portfolio, enabling strategic growth while preserving the founders' vision. The property earned inclusion in Condé Nast Traveller UK's Top 10 Spa Destinations globally in 2025, joining accolades from the Luxe Global Awards (Best Luxury Wellness Retreat Globally), Organic Spa Media, and dozens of others spanning hospitality, culinary, and sustainable design categories.

What guests encounter is not a hotel with spa amenities but a fully immersive healing environment where every element, from the no-alcohol, no-smoking policy to the request that phones stay in guest rooms, serves the intention of presence and transformation. The retreat welcomes solo travelers, couples, and small groups but discourages children under twelve to preserve the contemplative atmosphere. Days typically unfold with morning yoga in open-air shalas, healing sessions with practitioners who may use prayer, massage, or energy work, plant-based meals that double as medicine, and evenings shaped by ritual fire ceremonies or meditation rather than entertainment. The property's Sacred Space, discovered almost by accident, is a riverside spot where rocks warm even on cloudy days and guests report unexplainable sensations during meditation, a phenomenon the team honored by preserving it as a meditation area rather than building reception there as planned.

The retreat is intentionally removed from Ubud's bustle, offering shuttle service three times daily (the last at 6:40 PM) for those who want to explore temples, markets, or the town center. But most guests arrive for structured retreats and rarely leave the property, content to move between their riverside suites, the healing village, and the dining pavilion, letting the constant sound of the Ayung River and the jungle's birdsong recalibrate their nervous systems. This is Fivelements: not an escape from life but a return to it, grounded in Balinese wisdom that understands wellness not as a weekend pursuit but as the art of living in harmony with all that is.