Stone House was a passion project by Walker Zabriskie and his free-spirited life partner, Wendy Kassel. Zabriskie, a traveler and an avid explorer of Southeast Asia’s nooks and crannies, along with Kassel a resident of Asia for over two decades and constantly on the quest for interesting experiences. Together, they created a unique hideaway just minutes from bustling downtown Ubud, Bali.
Stone House encompasses Walker’s life long experiences in architecture, interior design, furniture making, visits to country inns and farming to create his vision of the ultimate fantasy escape for someone lost in the jungles of Bali. Longhouse is a vision of an explorer determined to live with style and comfort in a traditional longhouse deep in jungles of Borneo. Sky View has crisp, white, undulating walls, handmade windows, with magnificent views of the property.
Java Suite, built specifically to house three panels from a royal palace, elicits 19th century with elegance and flare. Treehouse is a bamboo dream resting amongst the palms, while Farmhouse exudes rustic luxury. Living a dream as expressed through Stone House has always been Walker’s life’s ambition.
The hotel is an integrated experience of staff that is like family, organic food grown on the property, and an environment of nature and buildings created from raw, authentic materials such as stone, salvaged timber, mountain grass and bamboo. It is a holistic natural experience designed to blend with the spirits of the Balinese gods.
Ironwood timbers, hundreds of years old, salvaged from docks and bridges form the structures of the buildings. Some columns weighing tons were hand-winched in on beds of banana leaves and mud, similar to how they built hundreds of years ago. No cranes were used at Stone House.Teams of skilled Indonesian craftsmen hewed the wood, stacked the seven-meter stone walls, wove grass thatch and carved the intricate details. All furniture, lighting, and accessories were designed and made by Walker to elicit the essence of originality and authenticity.
The Stone House staff, with their natural Balinese flair for ceremony and celebration, excel at arranging elaborate and astonishing dinners and events where memories are made to be cherished. Our famous long table celebration, with a forty-foot table, banana leaves as a table cover, lighting by torches, and flowers to no end, evoke the days of the Raj and time past.
Shopping, preparing and cooking along side our chefs, learning the intricate steps in traditional Balinese food preparation, the history of the culture, and the uniqueness of the cuisine leaves a lasting impression with any guest who participates.
The unique architectural experience of Stone House, from handcrafted wood buildings, to an eight meter tall bamboo tree house villa, to an authentic Javanese farmhouse surrounded by farm and gardens engulfs the senses. The small details of carved lights, stone walls with water falls, antique accessories and curated room accoutrement is an endless feast for the eyes. Guests never to want to leave the property.
Kassel meticulously weaves her career in hospitality and tourism, with the gracious style of their Balinese hosts to create beautiful experiences for all of the guests. The amount of adventures available at the footsteps of Stone House is staggering. They can arrange cooking, jewelry, batik, ceramic classes. Outdoor activities can include biking down from the volcano, rafting through a narrow canyon, rice paddy walks, and tours of ancient temples.
Special Balinese healing ceremonies of the most extraordinary variety and tours of the most sustainable and coolest bamboo school on earth await the adventurous. There’s also the romantic dining in town, some of the finest vegan and vegetarian food available anywhere, the countless yoga options and every new age experience possible from the Pyramids of Chi to the salt caves. Ubud, and Bali in general, is full of fascinating and blissful experiences. And that is if you can pull yourself out of the Stone House cocoon. Joy, peace and harmony are the signature attributes of staying here and experiencing the island.
Here, plastic is a bad word, so you won’t find any at Stone House. In an effort to do their part in a greener world, there are ample glass water bottles in all rooms. A few eco friendly items provided are woven, rattan bags for shopping in the market, glass refillable bottles for use on any adventure, as well as glass and bamboo straws. They have an organic farm that produces fruit and veggies for their kitchen.
Stone House has 6 rooms: Farmhouse, Java Suite, Longhouse, Sky View Upstairs and Downstairs, Treehouse all with air conditioning and en suite bathrooms. Now remember this, whichever room you choose to stay at, you’re guaranteed to be immersed in the magic of Ubud’s natural harmony. Stone House is home in the arms of mother nature, and yes, she’s chic and very stylish.
