Luxury Hotels - South-East Asian Delights Part III, Amanusa

Last part of the Indonesian Aman trip. Enjoy :)

If I recall well we left Amankila around 5pm and I think we arrived in Amanusa about 2 hours later. Arrival was unparalleled. Several Indonesian staff members were greeting us and we were so warmly welcomed by lovely Hisayo-san, charming Japanese assistant-GM, with drinks in the open air bar near the lobby. We had an instant connection and over the days to come many great encounters. After that we quickly settled in our suite. Unlike Kila and Jiwo there is a television and Bose sound system in the room. Not that we missed this in the other hotels but still we enjoyed a DVD in bed before falling asleep once. Outdoor shower, indoor bath, private bale, scenic candles...There was also a pool of perfect size with amazingly warm water… great for a nightly swim

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Lobby at night

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the bed

After a shower and a change of clothes we headed off to the Terrace which serves Indonesian and Thai cuisine. We had the tasting menu and we enjoyed an amazing diner of great quality. Utterly friendly and casual service made this the perfect evening. When dining at the Terrace, one notices indeed the construction going on a bit further on the beach. Honestly, that did not bother us at all. When eating in the Italian restaurant or laying near the pool or in your villa… we never saw or heard any construction going on. Later during our stay we also dined at the Italian restaurant, which is considered the up-scale fine dining place. We had a lovely Italian meal and were glad we choose to go there but as we live close to Italy back home we have in fact many chances to enjoy great Italian cuisine. We had our breakfasts in our suite every morning, yummie eggs Benedict, a new smoothie any other day, lots of fresh-cut fruits with yogurt and honey, French croissants, Belgian waffles… in fact anything you asked for was available. Feast for your tummies.

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Room service breakfast

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Indonesian-Thai restaurant

We divided our time over lounging near the impressive main pool (very quiet the entire time we were there) and were served fruit skewers and the usual pool amenities, our pool in the suite (we once mentioned that it would have been fun to float in the pool on an air mattress and the next thing we find near the pool was this funny crocodile. Loved it though :) and of course… the beach club. By far our nicest beach experience ever. When you indicate to anyone you fancy a dip in the ocean they direct you in one of the two VW cabriolets for a 5min drive to the beach. We just loved it. Once on the Aman private beach strip you are shown your bale which you could use if you prefer shadow and loungers in case you love a tan. I could easily spend weeks there without getting bored. We played chess in our bale, badminton on the sand, dived in the water and I recall one day we ate amazing pizza`s from the beach bistro.

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The crocodile ;-)

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View from the lobby

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God I miss this

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The Volkswagen

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Beachclub

We sometimes get bored of staying in the same place and go out and about, but I have to confess that we didn't actually leave Amanusa for the duration of our stay there. This is testament to how fabulous the place is. Oh about the spa, we did not visit the Spa Villa as we enjoyed the intimacy of our suite. We had massages twice, once on our suite terrace around sunset and another time in one of the beach bales. Again, nothing to fault… Great soft relaxing massages which made us feel so light and zen afterwards that in fact we never wanted to leave this place anymore.

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Beautiful hotel grounds

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One of the things we clearly noticed in all three Amans we visited during this trip is that they look after their staff, who all seemed very proud and happy to work there, a lot in fact since the resorts opened… about 20years ago. Kudos for Hisayo-san and Sean, also a very pleasant and down-to-earth man by the way to talk with to achieve this level of ultimate customer service.
After 4 days, it was time for us to leave as we had a commitment in KL the next morning. We have been looking (with the help of Hisayo-San and Sean) to fly back after our meeting to spend the last weekend of our trip in Amanusa, but all flights between both cities were sold out. What a sad moment that was :)

Would we go back to this hotel? Without a shadow of a doubt. I absolutely loved it and would thoroughly recommend it. It is definitely worth its price setting.

Few last shots;

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Thank you so much. Great to have such a review of amanusa since it is the bali-aman one hears the least of. Definitely on our list for our next trip!

Great choice. Definitely the most under-rated one ! :) I envy you

Fact check: That's a sea turtle, not a crocodile. :cool:

yet another great report
and always lots of unique pics
^

hear/see anything re amanusa residential villas ?

Great choice. Definitely the most under-rated one ! :) I envy you

^
These are wonderful reports , thanks ..
You should visit Amanwana next time you return to see the live turtle(s) you had as your float ;)

Fact check: That's a sea turtle, not a crocodile. :cool:

yet another great report
and always lots of unique pics
^

hear/see anything re amanusa residential villas ?

They are on track but no construction noise. Some almost ' ready '.
Missed seeing them couple weeks back as we were enjoying too much & re scheduled visit traffic was horrendous ( plus important meetings were happening then with AZ & not to be disrupted for the sake of Amanjunkies & future of Amans )
The golf course is being re turfed & only ready next year though

Fact check: That's a sea turtle, not a crocodile. :cool:

You are so right, never noticed it actually was a turtle.. I had a crocodile when I still was a kid so guess it brought back memories :)

hear/see anything re amanusa residential villas ?

We were offered a visit but were so short on time we`ll have to return for that ;-) No noise pollution whatsoever. To my understanding they are not being build on or near the current resort premises but a 15min drive away

Great photos. Thanks for sharing.

I loved Amanusa so much that I visited twice in 7 months... In my last stay there, however, I had this horrific, at least 1.5 feet long (no exaggeration), pudgy black gecko with yellow eyes on the ceiling of my villa. They changed our room, of course, but I think I'm scarred for life as far as traditional thatched ceilings are concerned.

I had a crocodile when I still was a kid
:eek: :cool:

15min drive away
interesting thanks
just posted update in aman thread, looks like october opening

Was there still noise from the constructions nearby?

When we were there last year, we spent the entire time at the private beach - so secluded and peaceful.

We never ended up using the pool in the suite, as the beach and the main pool was so much better.

Thanks for the report.

I loved Amanusa so much that I visited twice in 7 months... In my last stay there, however, I had this horrific, at least 1.5 feet long (no exaggeration), pudgy black gecko with yellow eyes on the ceiling of my villa. They changed our room, of course, but I think I'm scarred for life as far as traditional thatched ceilings are concerned.

Thatched roof in general are full of insects.

^
These are wonderful reports , thanks ..
You should visit Amanwana next time you return to see the live turtle(s) you had as your float ;)

They are on track but no construction noise. Some almost ' ready '.
Missed seeing them couple weeks back as we were enjoying too much & re scheduled visit traffic was horrendous ( plus important meetings were happening then with AZ & not to be disrupted for the sake of Amanjunkies & future of Amans )
The golf course is being re turfed & only ready next year though

Was there still noise from the constructions nearby?

When we were there last year, we spent the entire time at the private beach - so secluded and peaceful.

We never ended up using the pool in the suite, as the beach and the main pool was so much better.

Thanks for the report.

As in earlier post, no noise when we were there twice this year ( also stayed last year & it was fine ). There is a lot of construction even before turning into the Amanusa long driveway so son't be alarmed if you are visiting the rest of this year.

Also let them now if you prefer your villa to be ' gecko ' free as they will keep you awake ;). All Indonesian Amans .. Asian ones will provide Aman insect repellant which are very effective & easy to apply :)

The geckos eat the insects;):D

Great report again SBt. You do take great photos.

I thought Amanusa was on Nusa Dua beach but having read your report I looked at it on Google maps and it is a long way back. I'm afraid I always have to have an ocean view when staying in a 'beach' property so even if I could afford to stay in an Aman I don't think I'd choose this one. Nusa Dua is for me unfortunately an overdeveloped enclave of big resorts. All the beaches are supposed to be public by law but the Balinese are restricted from entering Nusa Dua.

The geckos eat the insects;):D

.

Exactly. That's why they are my friends. I do not at all mind them inside villas.

The geckos eat the insects;):D

Great report again SBt. You do take great photos.

I thought Amanusa was on Nusa Dua beach but having read your report I looked at it on Google maps and it is a long way back. I'm afraid I always have to have an ocean view when staying in a 'beach' property so even if I could afford to stay in an Aman I don't think I'd choose this one. Nusa Dua is for me unfortunately an overdeveloped enclave of big resorts. All the beaches are supposed to be public by law but the Balinese are restricted from entering Nusa Dua.

;)

You do get distant ocean views as Amanusa is set on a hill - a wide expanse beyond the golf course & above rooftops of those faraway hotels some of which weren't even there 3 years ago

Exactly. That's why they are my friends. I do not at all mind them inside villas.

I live in India, so I'm very used to the relatively tame house lizard: http://www.google.co.in/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&rlz=1C1CHOE_en-ININ354IN354&biw=1280&bih=685&authuser=0&tbm=isch&tbnid=yuO-1R7vU0E4mM:&imgrefurl=http://www.thaiworldview.com/animal/animal7.htm&docid=7lWMlBL2jBj9LM&imgurl=http://www.thaiworldview.com/animal/jpg/img007.jpg&w=400&h=300&ei=smgfUIbDL4LUrQf89oGIBg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=356&sig=116522736243795533450&page=1&tbnh=149&tbnw=199&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:87&tx=79&ty=102

This one was a monster though, the kind that you expect roaming about in gardens and forests, not on the roof of your room. A cross between a house lizard and a Komodo. 1.5 feet guys! This was not your average visitor. Scarred for life. Wish I had a picture.

Nice photos. But why does this place looks so deserted?

Nice photos. But why does this place looks so deserted?

If OP is like me, he/she takes pictures in the morning when the light is good and before other guests come to use the pool/beach/restaurants. That's why my pictures look "deserted" at least. But of course, one often experience that Amanresorts feels very private with almost no other guests since they are very large and with few rooms, i.e. some days you might have the pool or something for yourself even if there are many other guests.

Or did you mean something else?

If OP is like me, he/she takes pictures in the morning when the light is good and before other guests come to use the pool/beach/restaurants. That's why my pictures look "deserted" at least. But of course, one often experience that Amanresorts feels very private with almost no other guests since they are very large and with few rooms, i.e. some days you might have the pool or something for yourself even if there are many other guests.

Or did you mean something else?

Deserted as it there seems to be no other guests around. Perhaps as you said, the OP avoided having anyone in the frame before taking the shot. My only Aman stay so far is Amankila and as I recalled, there are few guests but not so deserted.

Deserted as it there seems to be no other guests around. Perhaps as you said, the OP avoided having anyone in the frame before taking the shot. My only Aman stay so far is Amankila and as I recalled, there are few guests but not so deserted.
If OP is like me, he/she takes pictures in the morning when the light is good and before other guests come to use the pool/beach/restaurants.

You are both right. We do try to make pictures without too many people in the frame, but I must confess we cannot take too much credit for that as it is true what Musken says, you always feel like you are alone most of the time in these resorts. Surprisingly, of the resorts we visited in our last trip, Amanusa was actually the most `crowded`, relatively speaking of course

I live in India, so I'm very used to the relatively tame house lizard:

http://www.thaiworldview.com/animal/

This one was a monster though, the kind that you expect roaming about in gardens and forests, not on the roof of your room. A cross between a house lizard and a Komodo. 1.5 feet guys! This was not your average visitor. Scarred for life. Wish I had a picture.

Well, the one we had was thankfully outside & slightly smaller .
The noise it made kept us awake but we only saw it the next day - quite a shock then for us too .
Good thing not seen that first night - the fright would have put me off the Bali Amans for good.. So have not gone on the Aman Komodo trip yet.
As it is, we've returned numerous times to Amankila where our giant gecko introduction was.
Glad to have celebrated their 20 th & see veteran staff sharing in the occasion with special dress too.
Just have to remember that it's how it is in Indonesia & not get distressed from what is the ' normal ' occurrence for the region ( saw similar at the Datai too ). ;)

The recent visit was the busiest I have seen Kila at breakfast - not surprising - but still ' deserted ' otherwise. Also saw guests at Nusa but mainly around the pool.