A luxurious Bali yoga and meditation retreat has come under fire after more than a hundred people gathered for a "celebration of community and bliss" flouting local coronavirus restrictions.

Guests were invited to House of Om's luxurious "Sky Shala" in Ubud last Thursday in an invitation shared on social media. The invite said: "Our intention is to gather more than 100 Bhakti and Kirtan lovers in order to co-create an amazing celebration together." Kirtan is a ritual involving chanting.

The organiser of the event has now issued an apology for their "irresponsible actions" after photos showed the attendees gathered tightly together chanting with no masks on.

In Bali, more than 1000 people have been diagnosed with coronavirus and nine people have died. The Balinese government has banned foreign arrivals and urged locals to practice social distancing to stop the spread of coronavirus.

Photos of the gathering were shared online by author Jenny Jusuf, who told triple j Hack many foreigners had remained in Bali through the coronavirus pandemic on emergency visas.

"Most of these foreigners are living in Bali on emergency stay permits from the Indonesian Government, yet they act like they own the island," Ms Jusuf said.

The owner of the yoga retreat initially denied the gathering had occurred, and edited his Instagram posts to change the location. He told triple j Hack the event had occurred in December on 2019.

However, more footage of the event surfaced including a YouTube video and an Instagram story, shared by attendees.

The school's founder, Wissam Barakeh, posted on Instagram on Monday, saying the event was a "big and unreasonable mistake that happened in this difficult time".

He said in the statement the event was held to "raise funds so we can help as much as possible for people who need help".

"I'm so sorry for causing a serious risk for our actions".

Originally published as Bali tourists slammed for 'irresponsible' pic