The Kayon Jungle Resort stands in Bresela, a traditional Balinese village in Payangan, on a slope above the Oos River valley, about 25 minutes by car from the centre of Ubud. It has 38 suites and private pool villas that step down the hillside in the manner of the island’s rice terraces, and a ceremony place built for the smallest weddings: a bamboo chapel raised above the valley. The record lists a maximum of 30 guests, which is the number the largest package is written for.
A hillside that follows the terraces
The resort’s three-tier swimming pool follows the same curves as the buildings, and the design takes its cue from the Tegallalang rice terraces nearby. Where its sister resort sits beside a waterfall, this one looks across a valley, and the mood is quiet and romantic with an eco-conscious approach. The Wanna Jungle Pool and Bar is spread across three levels, so there is more than one place to sit with a drink while a wedding party gathers.
The resort is set up for couples. Children under fifteen are not admitted, and the rules also list senior citizens, guests with mobility issues, drones, durian and pets. That position is part of the resort’s concept of honeymoon, romance, healing and relaxation, and it is the first thing to weigh before a date is held. We come back to it below.
The Puspaka Sky Wedding Chapel
Weddings are held at the Puspaka Sky Wedding Chapel, a bamboo pavilion perched above the valley. Its name comes from the Ramayana, where Puspaka is the celestial chariot that carried Prince Rama and Shinta to safety. The ceremony is led by an English-speaking celebrant and comes with a commemorative certificate that is not legally binding, so a couple who want to be legally married in Indonesia need to arrange that separately and should ask the resort which route past couples have used.
Every package is written around exclusive use of the chapel for the couple, two white Tiffany chairs in the smaller packages, and a six-course candlelight dinner at the chapel with a bottle of wine. The chapel also has a standard sound system with a wireless microphone and a personal wedding assistant. Dinner does not have to stay there: it can move to a hut at the Sky Lounge, or to the Canyon Jetty Restaurant, where four tables sit in huts above the river.
The three packages, in rupiah
There are three wedding packages, priced in Indonesian rupiah with a double plus after each figure, which usually means tax and service are added. The record’s starting price is the Intimate Wedding Package at Rp 45,000,000++. A different starting figure, Rp 40,000,000++, appears for a wedding package on the resort’s home page, so ask for one written quote that names the package and says what the plus signs add.
All three packages include the celebrant, the commemorative certificate, exclusive use of the chapel for two people, the bridal bouquet and groom’s boutonniere, a tiered wedding cake, the six-course candlelight dinner with a bottle of wine, and a two-night stay in a Kayon Jungle Pool Villa. For the couple there is a two-hour Kayon Indriya spa treatment for the bride and a two-hour Balinese massage for the groom, with a choice of facial or scrub, and a honeymoon bed decoration with petals in the bath in the evening.
The Intimate Wedding Package, at Rp 45,000,000++, is the base: four standing flower arrangements by the altar, a table centrepiece, two white Balinese umbrellas, a flower-shower basket, white aisle petals, a decorated welcome sign and two white Tiffany chairs, with a one-tier cake and two glasses of wine for the toast.
The Enchanting Wedding Blessing Package, at Rp 55,000,000++, adds a flower arch, two Balinese umbul-umbul, two Balinese flower girls in Balinese attire with preparation at the Serayu Salon, live acoustic music during dinner, decoration of the villa gate, and an in-villa movie under the stars with a food and beverage selection. The cake stays at one tier.
The Elegance Wedding Package, at Rp 95,500,000++, is the one written for a party. It seats up to thirty on white Tiffany chairs, with thirty glasses of sparkling wine, a three-tier cake and reception decoration of a table centrepiece, a guest book, tea lights and either luxury fairy lights or hanging paper lanterns. It adds a DJ for the entertainment, the flower arch and umbul-umbul, the flower girls, the villa gate decoration and the movie under the stars. The stay is for the couple only, so guests are booked separately.
Photography and videography are not listed in any of the three packages, and the dates the packages can be booked for are not given. Both are questions for the first message to the resort.
Where guests stay
The resort has five kinds of room, from suites to villas. The Kayon Jungle Suite is 63 square metres with a living area, a bathtub and a balcony over the jungle and valley. The Jungle Pool Villas and the Valley Pool Villas are each 100 square metres with a living area and a private pool, one facing the jungle and the other the valley. The Kayon Premier Pool Villas are 150 square metres with a private jacuzzi, and the Kayon Royal Pool Villas are 200 square metres with one bedroom, a private kitchen set and a large patio over the jungle.
The record counts 38 suites and villas in all, which gives a party of thirty room to spread out, though the number of each type is not given. Ask whether the whole resort can be taken for the wedding, how the rooms are allocated between couples and friends, and what the rates are for the nights either side of the date. The two-night villa stay in the package is for the couple only.
Eating, drinking and the evenings
Kepitu Restaurant has a bamboo roof and a bar and lounge beside it. The Wanna Jungle Pool and Bar serves from three levels, and the Canyon Jetty Restaurant puts four tables in huts above the river. The Sky Lounge is a hut set for a romantic dinner, there is room service, and Wanna Luwih completes the list of places to eat and drink. Catering is in-house, and private dinners with Balinese dancers have been photographed here.
Outside the wedding itself the resort has more to fill the days. Serayu Wellness is the spa, with a couple’s treatment room that includes a bath, and morning yoga is held at the rooftop pavilion. There is a fully air-conditioned fitness centre and a 12-seat theatre, a cooking class with the resort’s chef, and an in-villa movie under the stars on a private deck. Helicopter transfers from the airport take about 30 minutes, which is worth knowing for guests who do not want the drive.
The rules that shape a guest list
Children under fifteen, senior citizens, guests with mobility issues, drones, durian and pets are not permitted. For a wedding this matters in three ways. A couple with their own children, nieces or nephews cannot bring them. A couple with older relatives, or with guests who find steps and slopes difficult, should ask what the rule means in practice on a hillside site. And a photographer who normally flies a drone needs to know before signing a contract.
It is a firm position, and for some couples it is exactly right: a small wedding of adults in a place that has decided to be quiet. For others it rules the resort out, and it is better to find that out before the date is held.
Season, weather and what is not said
A bamboo pavilion above a valley is an open place, and Bali has a wet season that runs roughly from November to March. No rain plan is set out, so ask what happens to a ceremony and a dinner at the chapel in the rain, whether the Sky Lounge or the Canyon Jetty huts act as cover, and how the timing flexes. Ask too about the music finish time, outside suppliers such as florists and photographers, and the access to the chapel for them.
Who it suits
The Kayon Jungle Resort suits a couple who want a wedding of up to thirty adults above a valley, with a ceremony that is entirely theirs and a stay long enough to enjoy the resort. It suits an elopement or a very small celebration particularly well. It is a harder fit for a large family wedding, for a guest list with children or elderly relatives, or for a couple who need photography, a published capacity and a rain plan before they begin.
Ask for one written quote naming the package, the date and the guest numbers, and whether the plus signs add tax and service. Ask about the legal paperwork, the rain plan, photography and the rules in practice. Then ask for the quote in rupiah and the conversion on the day of booking, because the exchange rate will move between the first email and the final payment.
See more
The The Kayon Jungle Resort listing carries the full record, and the magazine issue shows the resort across eight pages. Its sister resorts have their own pieces: The Kayon Ubud Resort and The Kayon Valley Resort Ubud. For the wider picture of marrying on the island, read Marrying in Bali.
