Shalimar is loosely translated as ‘home of love’ and is synonymous with some famous royal gardens in Kashmiri India lined with waterways and hedges. In this respect it is quite an appropriate name.

Comprising three villas – two similar sisters: Kalima (six bedrooms) and Makanda (four bedrooms) and the smaller Cantik (two bedrooms), Shalimar is fronted by one huge communal lawned garden set back 100m from Seseh’s almost deserted public beach. Privacy is maintained by surrounding natural hedges. Each villa has its own pale-blue-granite-tiled swimming pool and is screened from the next by walls of dense foliage making the whole complex ideal for a very large sharing group, or each villa suitable for a family or two in its own right. Backing the villas are paddies and banana trees giving a wonderfully rural Balinese feel, helped by an abundance of wildlife – especially birds. The palms and frangipani are stuffed with nests and the air filled with darting swallows whilst sparrows preen the lawns. Makanda sits between Kalima and Cantik in the centre of the gardens.

The huge open-fronted lounge, kitchen, TV and dining room will form the focal point of any holiday at Villa Makanda. Have the chef serve diner (food on guest account) at the four-inch-thick wood table or try out the novel table in the pool with its sunken seating. Relax with a drink on the large (no, make that giant) lazy sofas, or enjoy a massage (costs extra) on one of the triple sun loungers or in the air conditioned privacy of one of the four bedrooms – all ensuite of course.

In the evening, lie on a sculpted stone lounger semi-submerged in the pool and see Orion’s Belt shining overhead with a fantastic constellation in attendance. Lower your gaze and the gardens are alive with candles lit by the staff. Spotlights emphasise the palms and hedgerows and out to sea the fishing boat lights blink on the horizon. The effect – especially when accompanied by the soft rolling sound of the waves breaking on the beach nearby – is truly magical and so relaxing. It will not be difficult to fall in love with Villa Makanda or one of her sisters – many people do.

• Main Dining (12 persons)
• Ceiling Fans
• Generator
• High Chairs
• IDD
• Internet (WiFi)
• iPod Dock/Speakers
• Iron/Board
• Equipped Kitchen
• Laundry Service (Sent out)
• Air-con (Bedrooms)
• Baby Cot
• BBQ
• Bed Linen
• Car Parking
• Massage Beds
• Food Menu
• Microwave
• Oven/Hotplates
• Safe
• CD Player/Stereo System
• Swimming Pool (Private)
• Toiletries
• Towels
• TV (Satellite/Cable)
• Washing Machine
• Coffee Machine
• Chef/Cook (All meals)
• Security
• Service Staff
• Housekeeping (Full time)
• Manager

Period	Net Rates
from 15 April 2012 to 14 June 2012	$ 962.5
from 15 June 2012 to 14 July 2012	$ 1320
from 15 July 2012 to 15 August 2012	$ 1622.5
from 16 August 2012 to 15 September 2012	$ 1320
from 16 September 2012 to 14 December 2012	$ 962.5
from 15 December 2012 to 15 January 2013	$ 1622.5

At the heart of Villa Makanda lies the huge, open-fronted, split-level living area (measuring over 18 x 9m, with 3m-high ceilings). With its simple cream-painted walls and its wood and concrete floors, the lower level lounge area is dominated by two enormous L-shaped sofas – big enough for 20+ people to laze on – and spills onto teak decking which part surrounds the inviting 20 x 7m swimming pool. The remaining three walls are mainly of glass giving the room a bright airy feel helped by the sea breezes. Bamboo screens can be dropped should the weather turn (heaven forbid). On the upper level of this huge space are an open-plan, equipped kitchen, a dining table for 12 (or try the table in pool) and a TV corner with 40-inch, plasma screen, satellite channel TV and DVD player (bring your own movies). Petrified wood furniture and off-white cushions give the whole room a pleasant, weathered, beachside holiday feel. Vases of orchids and Heliconia add spots of colour and a simple stereo provides the music.

Four bedrooms lead from the living area – two upstairs and two in stand-alone pavilions off to the wings. King-size plinth beds with spacious, ceiling-hung mosquito nets give the rooms a regal flavour whilst mood lighting adds a distinctly romantic touch. Fold-back glass doors and vaulted ceilings continue the same bright, airy feeling that flows through the rest of Villa Makanda, and this is carried through to the ground floor bedrooms’ semi-open bathrooms with twin rain showers and sunken, grey, brushed-concrete bathtubs. The two upstairs bedrooms command uninterrupted sea and paddy views, even from the maroon-tinted, concrete, two-person bathtubs – there are curtains for the bashful and a rain shower for the more environmentally concerned.

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