- Interior
- Outdoor & travel
A shared passion for travel and design resulted two years ago in the opening of Villa Massilia, a luxury villa estate where Benjamin and Alissa introduce their guests to the best Bali has to offer. Here you can completely relax in a unique and very stylish environment.
The three residences on this estate have been decorated with a great sense of design and interior styling, giving guests a very warm, relaxing and welcoming feeling that only helps to create the ideal holiday atmosphere. The founders are Alissa and Benjamin, an American-British couple who arrived in Bali a few years ago via Hong Kong and were lucky enough to fulfil their hospitality dream here. Consisting of three villas that a French family had built over a decade earlier, the two saw enormous potential in this domain. The current owner now describes Villa Massilia as a 'luxury villa estate' with three residences. These can be rented together, but are also perfectly suited to individual bookings as they all have their own private swimming pool and can be provided with sufficient privacy thanks to stylish five-metre wide teak gates. 
Their travels through Europe and Asia formed a great source of inspiration.
At Imagicasa, it was also love at first sight when we discovered Villa Massilia. The renovation, finishing and decoration of the three villas was done with a huge passion for interiors. Benjamin and Alissa created a detailed mood board for the material and colour palette and the furniture. The couple describes the design concept as 'laidback design-lead luxury' where their travels across Europe and Asia were a great form of inspiration, complemented by "spending some time on Pinterest and Instagram," laughs Benjamin. "The most unique elements are the traditional Japanese blood grass roof and the dramatic double-height spaces, combined with new elements such as the arch concept that recurs throughout the estate. Together, these combine to create a sense of openness and a relaxed environment," says Alissa. The colour and material palette is characterised by teak wood, terrazzo, warm polished concrete, limestone from the Bukit region in South Bali and rattan, complemented by stylish black Italian tapware. In the furniture, too, we see a warm mix of local, traditional, modern and custom-made elements. "We were looking for a mix of traditional Balinese design and a mid-century modern aesthetic. And I think we succeeded," says Benjamin. 
In addition to a living and dining area with fully equipped kitchen and a private garden with lounge area and outdoor pool, Villa 1 and Villa 2 have three and four bedrooms, respectively, each with its own bathroom. Recently Villa 3 was added, bringing the estate to a total of ten bedrooms. "Villa 3 has even more luxurious touches, such as an in-room cocktail bar, a sunken lounge with a Balinese red brick floor, a dramatic rain shower and a massive terrazzo bathtub for two, and the ability to retreat from the heat and enclose the entire villa with glass bifold doors," adds Alissa.
Now that the property is fully finished and able to receive guests, the couple is already dreaming of further expanding Villa Massilia. As well as launching a collection of decorative and homewares and organising lifestyle retreats, the two want to continue building the 'Massilia' brand and are thinking of new locations with different types of accommodation, each focusing on sustainability, wellness and offering guests a unique luxury experience. We wish Alissa and Benjamin all the best! 
If you want to learn more about Villa Massilia, be sure to read our full article in Imagicasa Summer 2021.
Header image: © Bali Interiors
Image 2: © Bali Interiors
Image 3: © KIE Architecture Photography
Image 4-5: © KIE Architecture Photography
Image 6: © Bali Interiors