Luxury Hotels - Amanpuri vs. Trisara Revisited

I have made a couple of trips to Amanpuri in the last few months and was at Trisara last week so I thought I would send some updated perceptions.

Service - Trisara in my opinion continues to decline. Lots of little misses. Mistakes on food orders, not cleaning the room when you go out. Not remembering who you are or your room number. Empty bottles and room service not removed for long periods of time. Management was invisible. With a few exceptions, the service at Trisara is very well done but it is not particularly friendly or personalized. Amanpuri beats Trisara by a long shot.

Food - Has gotten a lot worse at Trisara. Especially the Thai food. Really disappointed by Trisara on this last trip. Amanpuri IMHO has incredibly good Thai food and the rest of the food is really superb.

Spa - I think this is a toss up. Both are really nice. Good staff. Beautiful setting.

Gym - Amanpuri wins this one.

Upkeep - A lot of of people think Amanpuri is getting old. IMHO, the style is timeless and they do a good job of maintenance including the annual shut down in June. Trisara was looking really tired ..... broken roof tiles, need of paint, gardening upkeep very poor compared to the past.

Beach - No comparison. Amanpuri is so much better.

Villas - Love the villas at Trisara. I think they are really beautiful and well designed. The villa pools overlooking the ocean are great and I was happy to spend most of my days in the pool working, reading, looking at sunsets.

Overall design - My personal opinion but I really love Amanpuri. It is just so serene and aesthetically pleasing.

Conclusions - IMHO Trisara doesn't compete as well as it used to with Amanpuri particularly on food and service. If I had to pick one, Amanpuri is an easy choice. That said, the villas and their pools at Trisara are so nice that they alone make it still worth an occasional trip there.

I visited Trisara in July of this year. My experience was very different than yours.

I was greeted upon arrival by Antoine, the resort manager. He came up to me and greeted me by name again on my second day while I was dining.

I found the food to be very good, though not over the top. I ate from a variety of menus and wasn't disappointed with anything.

As were you, I was very pleased with the room (I was in a 1bed villa).

I wouldn't hesitate to return as a couple or single traveller, though probably wouldn't go with the children. I will post a photo trip report within the next few weeks.

I've not been to Amanpuri, so I can't opine as to the differences between the two properties.

I visited Trisara in July of this year. My experience was very different than yours.

I was greeted upon arrival by Antoine, the resort manager. He came up to me and greeted me by name again on my second day while I was dining.

I found the food to be very good, though not over the top. I ate from a variety of menus and wasn't disappointed with anything.

As were you, I was very pleased with the room (I was in a 1bed villa).

I wouldn't hesitate to return as a couple or single traveller, though probably wouldn't go with the children. I will post a photo trip report within the next few weeks.

I've not been to Amanpuri, so I can't opine as to the differences between the two properties.

Really meant as a comparison with Amanpuri and my past visits to Trisara. By any other standard, Trisara is an outstanding resort. (E.g. I spent a week at FS Golden Triangle earlier this year and Trisara is much better in every respect.) I will almost certainly return to Trisara, but will probably do a couple more trips to Amanpuri first.

These were really helpful postings -- thank you. I have been on the verge of booking my first trip to Trisara, for this coming February.

But the original poster does give me pause, especially as the person clearly has no axe to grind with Trisara and has been a repeat and very happy guest. So it is dismaying to read about the decline in quality of service experienced, and the need for painting/upkeep of the grounds/exteriors.

One question to 5khours: have you ever visited Trisara before in the off-season? I wonder if they're under-staffed and off their game during the off-season, and if they'll be re-painting, re-gardening, and improving staff quality before they head into the peak season to come (Dec-Mar, presumably). I can't imagine they could continue to get away with the housekeeping and other failures you experienced.

By the way, I completely agree with you about the upkeep of Amanpuri -- I was there (my first time) last November, and I thought it was in great shape, very fresh and superbly maintained.

I also appreciated NYBanker's report from the July stay -- and will eagerly await the photos and trip report to come.

While I have stayed at both & at different times of the year i.e. high, low & any ' season ', Amanpuri service always comes up tops . Even if compared through the years , Amanpuri may have ' slipped ' since opening or measured with the Indonesian Amans , service is still better than at Trisara .
Room wise, the styles are different and a matter of taste.
While I do like the openess / views of Trisara ' s layout & the private pools - and this has been a reason for staying at both on some trips , the inconsistent food, service , etc has resulted in fewer stays recently.
One can't be assured that the stay will be ' fine ' especially if one schedules it after Amanpuri. So better Trisara first & with a sigh of relief, Amanpuri to ' recover ' from a potentially disappointing experience ..
Also Amanpuri now has pool pavilions with views too :) .
It's a real pity about Trisara.
So I always go ' home ' to Amanpuri when in Phuket to see the ' older family ' & check on new members.
So am looking forward to going to Phuket home again next month ( last stayed in Jan/ Feb this yesr ) to see so how the maintenance is coming along, I know some pavilions, etc are still closed because of this.
The above refers to stays at both since the start of their openings.

One question to 5khours: have you ever visited Trisara before in the off-season? I wonder if they're under-staffed and off their game during the off-season, and if they'll be re-painting, re-gardening, and improving staff quality before they head into the peak season to come (Dec-Mar, presumably). I can't imagine they could continue to get away with the housekeeping and other failures you experienced.

I was wondering the same thing and kind of suspect that maybe with low occupancy (because of both the economy and seasonal reasons) that they have cut back quite a bit on the staffing.

A couple of other things to keep in mind.

1. At this time of year the ocean is very rough so both resorts can be kind of dicey on swimming. In high seasons the Andaman Sea is very calm so you really appreciate the great beach at Amanpuri at that time of year.

2. Trisara is now quite a bit cheaper than Amanpuri.

3. If your party is bigger than 2, you might consider renting one of the private residences at Trisara. Some are really, really nice and they are individually staffed so you get great service. Also, they seem to put more effort into maintaining the landscaping and appearance around the private residences than they do in the rest of the resort.

4. I'm not a big fan of the garden pavilions at Amanpuri. They seem a little tightly packed. I usually stay 103 or 105 even though they are a bit more expensive.

Have stayed several times at both Trisara and Amanpuri. Last time at Trisara was last January. Amanpuri was January one year earlier. Although we love the ambiance of Amanpuri - there is something magical about it at night, unless staying in a villa, we much prefer the ocean view villas at Trisara. Now, we have not stayed in the newer smaller pool villas at puri, but would like to try. I would give the service an edge at Puri, but had a great experience with the food on last trip to Trisara. Thought both the Thai and Western food were terrific. The beach is not nearly as nice as Amanpuri, but the private pools are wonderful. Maybe season does make a difference! In the end we are so lucky to have these two great choices! I am tempted to try Soneva Kiri, but worried it may be quite a disappointment! I am not crazy about their outdoor "loo" concept!

Anthony Lark has not been around too much at Trisara lately - health issues, I hear, which are now resolved. This will have impacted on the experience, without doubt. Don't write Trisara off - if only for its extraordinary pool villas, which, for me, are almost ergonomically perfect.

Don't write Trisara off - if only for its extraordinary pool villas, which, for me, are almost ergonomically perfect.

I agree. The pool villas are fantastic. Functionally and aesthetically almost perfect.