Ubud Hanging Gardens  recently won the prestigious 2008 Asean Energy Award, in the Tropical category.

Jean-Christophe Moreaux  (Commercial  Director, Asia) and the property's architect, Popo Danes, accepted the award on behalf of the resort at the Royal Thai Navy Auditorium in Bangkok, during the 3 day Asean Energy Business Forum held in August.

Popo Danes' roots remain firmly planted in his native Balinese culture and community. He maintains these  by reinvesting in education and supporting young talent for the benefit of the island and its future generations, and  always strives to ensure that any development  blends into the surroundings, the community and the spiritual aspects of the space it occupies. As such, his design philosophy fully matched that of Orient-Express Hotels and was perfectly aligned to the group's responsible tourism strategy.

The resort was praised for:

• Its low site coverage ratios
  
• Its energy-efficient split of electricity and gas (the latter used for heating the individual cottages' private pools)Its use of natural vegetation as an umbrella for cooling
  
• Its design with respect to the local topography,  maximizing natural ventilation  to obviate air-conditioning in public areas
  
• Its energy-efficient and site-protecting use of an inclined lift, avoiding the need for roads and golf carts
  
• Its heat transfer reduction through organically thatched roofs with overhangs
  
• Its biotech sewage treatment plan
  
• Its protection and promotion of indigenous flora and fauna

Ubud Hanging Gardens is set in the heart of the tropical paradise of Bali.  The resort has 38 luxury private pool villas, each with a heated private infinity plunge pool set high in the rice terraces overlooking the Ayung river. Guests often choose to combine a stay here with several nights at Jimbaran Puri Bali, Ubud Hanging Gardens' sister hotel that offers individual luxury cottages and villas with private gardens  beside the soft white sands of Jimbaran Bay.