The Kayon Valley Resort Ubud stands in the village of Petulu, a ten-minute drive from the centre of Ubud, on a hillside above the Petanu River. It is a resort of 22 private pool villas, from 100 to 200 square metres, among tropical forest and rice terraces, and it has a floating chapel for weddings. It also has the lowest entry price of the three Kayon resorts, at Rp 23,000,000++ for the In Villa Wedding Package, which is the figure the record carries as its starting price.
A resort built around the Ramayana
The design follows the Ramayana epic. A relief of the story runs along a stone wall, and a statue of Kumbhakarna presides over the central restaurant. The resort has an infinity pool lined with Batu Chandi stone, called the Wanna Valley Pool, with a view down the valley, and the villas look over the forest. The effect is of a private village set on a hillside, with the wedding as one of several things the place does well.
The resort is planned for honeymoons and healing, and children under fifteen are not admitted. Its rules also list senior citizens, people with mobility issues, drones, durian and pets. That is the first thing to weigh before a date is held, and we come back to it below.
The Puspaka Sky Wedding Chapel
Weddings take place in the Puspaka Sky Wedding Chapel, a floating deck among rice fields, jungle and the sound of the river. It is built around an antique Balinese royal carriage dressed with local flowers, and it takes its name from the royal carriage in the Ramayana. The ceremony is led by an English-speaking celebrant, and the certificate is commemorative rather than legal, 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.
Dinner can follow at the chapel, at Kepitu Restaurant or on the Flying Leaf, a deck with a 180-degree view over the rainforest. The chapel is photographed with white chairs, flower arrangements, a floral altar table under a bamboo roof with paper lanterns, and a long dinner table set for a party.
Four packages, in rupiah
There are four wedding packages, priced in Indonesian rupiah with a double plus after each figure, which usually means tax and service are added. Ask for one written quote that names the package and says what the plus signs add.
The In Villa Wedding Package, at Rp 23,000,000++, is the entry point and the only one held away from the chapel. It includes the celebrant and a commemorative certificate, a flower gate on the altar, four peacock flower bounces, a table centrepiece, a flower-shower basket and white aisle petals, with a white tropical bridal bouquet and groom’s boutonniere. The couple have a toast of two glasses of wine, a small one-tier cake, a six-course candlelit dinner at the villa with two glasses of wine, a honeymoon bed and bath decoration, one night at a Kayon Premier Pool Villa with Spa Bath, a sound system and a personal wedding assistant.
The Intimate Wedding Package, at Rp 32,500,000++, moves the ceremony to the chapel with exclusive use of the deck, four standing flowers by the altar, a table centrepiece, two white Balinese umbrellas, a flower-shower basket, long white flowers, two welcome signs and white Tiffany chairs. The dinner is six courses at the chapel with a bottle of wine, using the existing decoration. It adds a one-hour Balinese massage for two at Serayu Spa and two nights in a Kayon Valley Pool Villa.
The Enchanting Wedding Package, at Rp 38,500,000++, adds live music at dinner, from an acoustic band, a violin, a saxophone or a singer with a single electone, with a flower gate, four white umbrellas, two Balinese umbul-umbul, two white Tiffany chairs and a two-tier cake. Two Balinese flower girls in Balinese attire are included, and the stay is two nights in a Valley Pool Villa.
The Elegance Wedding Package, at Rp 80,000,000++, is the one written for a party. It seats up to thirty on white Tiffany chairs, with thirty glasses of sparkling wine after the ceremony and a canapé pass-around, reception decoration of a centrepiece, a welcome book table, tea lights and fairy lights or hanging paper lanterns, and a DJ or full band during dinner. It is the only package with photography and video, for five hours from preparation through the dinner reception, and it adds a two-tier cake, the flower girls and a two-night stay in a Valley Pool Villa. A six-course dinner and a massage are not listed in this package.
Booking periods, wedding dates and terms are not given, and neither is a guest limit, so the number of thirty chairs is the clearest guide to the largest party the chapel is set up for.
Where guests stay
The resort has six kinds of villa, described as 22 private pool villas in all. The Kayon Valley Pool Villas are 100 square metres and the Kayon Jungle View Pool Villas 120. The Kayon Premier Garden Villa and the Kayon Premier Pool Villas are 150 square metres, and the Premier Pool Villa with Spa Bath and the Kayon Two Storey Pool Villa are 200. Butler and buggy service move guests around the slope.
With 22 villas in all, a party of thirty is likely to need most of the resort, so ask whether it can be taken in full for the wedding and how the villas are allocated between couples and friends. The two-night villa stay in the packages is for the couple only, so guests are booked separately, and the rates for the nights either side of the date are a question for the resort.
Eating, drinking and the evenings
Kepitu Restaurant and Bar is the signature restaurant, with a 180-degree view over the pool and the jungle, and the Flying Leaf offers intimate dining over the rainforest. On four evenings a week, from 7.30pm to 10.30pm, Kepitu holds its Culinary Chronicle Nights: Balinese Heritage on Monday, Megibung Tradition on Wednesday, Kumbakarna Night on Thursday and Serene Night on Saturday. Those evenings are worth knowing about when arrival dates are set, because a wedding party that arrives on one of them gets a Balinese table before the wedding dinner itself. Catering is in-house.
The spa, the pool and the yoga pavilion
Serayu Spa is on site, with treatment rooms and a room for couples, and it is the natural place for a morning-of treatment. Morning yoga is held on the rooftop of the yoga pavilion, there is a fully air-conditioned gym with free weights and cardio equipment for in-house guests, and a boutique sits next to the lobby. The resort also offers packages for honeymoons, healing and sightseeing, so couples who want to stay on after the wedding have choices.
The rules that shape a guest list
Children under fifteen, senior citizens and people with mobility issues are not permitted, along with drones, durian and pets. 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, because the villas and the chapel follow a hillside. 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 wedding of adults in a place that has chosen 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 floating deck among rice fields is open to the weather, 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 or dinner at the chapel in the rain, whether the Flying Leaf or Kepitu can take the party, and how the timing flexes. Ask too about the music finish time and the access for outside suppliers.
Who it suits
The Kayon Valley Resort suits a couple who want a small wedding with a clear price ladder, from a villa dinner at Rp 23,000,000++ to a party of thirty in the chapel, in a resort of private villas where everything happens on one hillside. The In Villa package is a rare, low-cost way to marry in a resort of this kind. It is a harder fit for a large family wedding, a guest list with children or elderly relatives, or a couple who need photography at the entry price, since photography is only in the Elegance package.
Ask for one written quote naming the package, the date and the guest numbers, and what the plus signs add. Ask about the legal paperwork, the rain plan 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 Valley Resort Ubud 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 Jungle Resort. For the wider picture of marrying on the island, read Marrying in Bali.
