The Good Earth

The new crown jewel in the Desa Potato Head creative village is the ne plus ultra of sustainability and design in a single travel experience.

- Terry Lim

IF WE’VE LEARNT anything from these past three years, it’s the importance of genuine experiences being an antidote to the hyperconnected pace of modern lifestyles. This need to hit reset, to reflect and to immerse ourselves in achieving oneness with the world has become all the more important in an era of continuous news loops and clutter. The good news is that what we seek – a Zen state of mind, body and soul – can be found not too far from home. On the Island of the Gods, one arrives at Desa Potato Head, located in fashionable Seminyak. The soul of this creative village is the 58-suite artisan property called Potato Head Suites, which allowed me to refresh, recharge and, dare I say, experience a rebirth during my sojourn here.

Desa Potato Head is the result of the combined energies of Potato Head owner and CEO Ronald Akili, architect Andra Matin (who designed the original Katamama) and Rem Koolhaas’s OMA design studio (the firm behind the Guggenheim, Taipei’s Performing Arts Centre and Prada’s spring/summer 2022 show). Here, a co-working space called Studio Eksotika is also where you’ll find a library, an exhibition space and a plaza hosting cultural events. Guests are also provided an entire programme dedicated to Potato Head’s ethos of Good Times, Do Good. From energy activations and sunrise meditations to sustainability workshops, the overarching sense is of rebalancing and regeneration.