AmanZoe (Greece)

Old Jun 4, 2017, 7:42 am
  #346  
 
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Originally Posted by MacMyDay
Only fair to follow up and say that I completely stand corrected on this. The follow-up (received today, the day after departure and two days after the complaint) has been quite something, so to say they've not taken it seriously would be grossly unfair. If anything, the response and follow-up has been beyond anything I've ever seen. The Aman bigwigs still clearly care and didn't sell their souls to the devil. I felt something could have been said whilst I was on site to clarify how serious they felt my feedback was, but perhaps I'll try not to be so impatient next time. The scars of my North Island and Laucala complaints being ignored like whispers into the wind clearly still live with me.
Nice! I basically got told 's*** happens' when I complained last year so I hadn't been holding out much hope for you.

The key question, of course, is will you go back soon?
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Old Jun 4, 2017, 9:04 am
  #347  
 
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Just a quick update here after I had a discussion with Sven:
  • As with MacMyDay, he was very concerned and took notes throughout our conversation. I did get the impression that he was very disappointed.
  • To be fair, they made a very strong effort that evening to apologize and make things up to us, more than what was necessary given that most of our feedback was minor albeit all adding up. Clearly both Sven and the other management staff were disheartened by receiving multiple pieces of negative feedback in a single week and seemed genuinely interested in understanding where they could improve. As others have mentioned, they are very likeable and hospitable people and I felt bad giving such a nice person negative feedback. Also to be fair, management were much more present here compared to all of the other Aman's I've stayed at.
  • I also feel that they acted on MacMyDay's feedback since after he chatted with Sven earlier in the week, service tended to be more proactive at both the beach and pool.
  • I was still charged for the drinks I never received, and the shower didn't have hot water on our last morning, but I didn't want to raise a stink given that they already made such an effort.

I have to assume that things will improve under Sven in the coming months given how concerned they were, but I won't be returning myself anytime soon.
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Old Jun 4, 2017, 9:08 am
  #348  
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MacMyDay, recovery from corporate, or sven?
where did great pastry chef move to? name?
was there construction by beach club?

is owner starting to cut costs as they are going to sell zoe before 2020?
i wonder what the chance is of being sold to an absolutely great owner
would be nice if forum/amanjunkies/residence owners could buy..

good staff will not have a problem with reasonable discussion like this

seems to me sally left because she wasnt supported by aman corporate

re giri >
Originally Posted by Kagehitokiri
Jacob Anaya became amangiri exec chef [summer 2015]
trojanman reported good private dinner with him at FS
end of this post - http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxur...l#post25402971
bhrubin reported good private dinner with chef Aaron
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxur...l#post24729085
i posted original zoe financial plan, a number here read it
"Amanzoe hotel Net Operating Income" >
2016 ~€2.4M+ 62% occupancy
2015 "€1.2M" 57% occupancy
2014 ~€600K
2013 / 2012

Ed Tuttle custom designs and approve changes to villas

zoe originally planned 16 4BR+ villas, seems sold 14
they planned 15 2BR villas, launching sales this year
odd may (planned to?) limit 2BR owner occupancy
but that means lots of hotel availability (& revenue)

they added plans for another 16 villas, no details

2-bedroom Amanzoe Villas, which appear to be in high demand in the rental market

Last edited by Kagehitokiri; Jun 30, 2017 at 10:11 am
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Old Jun 5, 2017, 3:05 am
  #349  
 
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Originally Posted by Nizar
Well said and I agree wholly. Many a hotel/resort have received lavish praise here but feedback of course can go both ways.
Totally agree - as MacMyDay has said hotels have profited financially from his reviews on here so it really should follow that everyone has the right to post the negatives as well as the positives!

Jctrav mentions his great meal at the Poseidonion on Spetses - we have stayed (as has Musken) and it is a lovely place to stay especially to absorb some true Greek life. There are other restaurants with great food on the island as well. Talking about it makes me want to book another trip there! There are only a few suites and only one with a private pool I think. We just stay in a sea view room - the rates are very reasonable for these.
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Old Jun 5, 2017, 9:51 am
  #350  
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Originally Posted by quitecontrary
Totally agree - as MacMyDay has said hotels have profited financially from his reviews on here so it really should follow that everyone has the right to post the negatives as well as the positives!

Jctrav mentions his great meal at the Poseidonion on Spetses - we have stayed (as has Musken) and it is a lovely place to stay especially to absorb some true Greek life. There are other restaurants with great food on the island as well. Talking about it makes me want to book another trip there! There are only a few suites and only one with a private pool I think. We just stay in a sea view room - the rates are very reasonable for these.
Yes, we loved Poseidoneon as well and the food there and elswhere at Spetses was miles better and miles cheaper than Amanzoe. Rooms at Poseidoneon are charming and comfortable. We had a family room which was basically two normal rooms with some sort of a hall turned into a living space in between. Location was brilliant, service very good and we loved the Greek charm of the island without too many tourists. All in all I preferred the stay here to Amanzoe, but Zoe is obviously much better when it comes to rooms, so I would go for a combination to get Greek flair, great food and some local beaches before heading to Zoe for some luxury.
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Old Jun 9, 2017, 12:50 pm
  #351  
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@MacMyDay - Your pictures are stunning. Would you mind me asking which room number you stayed in? I am particularly fond of your view. Thanks.

Originally Posted by MacMyDay
Pleasure to meet you last night and hope you managed to get your beer!



I spent 30 minutes with Sven yesterday evening talking through my feedback and how I felt it was without a doubt my worst Amanzoe experience and possibly the worst service I've received all year, as even though it was minor, it was so frequent and consistent to the point of sheer frustration. Whilst all the staff are very friendly and very keen, there are some massive communication issues and lack of proactivity that I just cannot comprehend. I mentioned that as someone who works in software, if we ever release something that has bugs in it, our clients go bug hunting and start looking for things that aren't even bugs, as they have that mindset; similarly, as they had done so much wrong, I was there looking at everything and wondering if it was a fault. Never once at the beach or main pool did anyone ever approach us for a drink, yet weirdly after being by the main pool for 2 hours, someone came and offered us hand towels. So I start thinking that they've just forgotten to do it earlier, instead of thinking it's good service to offer it.

He wrote down all my thoughts and I could see how disappointed he was at my feedback. In terms of what happened, well, we went to dinner an hour later and the same old story of incorrect orders, no preferences remembered and chasing waiters for menus and drinks. We were told so many times by a staff member that they forgot, that we end up chasing on almost everything. Service is never prompt at an Aman, but it's fine as you know it's coming, but not here. I said that my points go in 2 directions: actual let down by the lack of Aman service, e.g. even after 5 days they still failed to remember preferences, and then complaints, such as every time we ordered something it was almost farcical as to what ended up happening; we ended up joking about what was going to turn up vs what we ordered.

After my Switzerland trip last week, where I complained at two different hotels and they immediately rectified it and offered above-and-beyond compensation without so much as blinking, I left feeling a very welcome customer. I even had follow-ups on the matter afterwards. Here, I'm not so sure. I very much like Sven, but I didn't feel it was taken as seriously as it should have been. It clearly was not just me, as jctrav mentioned above, and it clearly was not just us, as when we left the restaurant last night another repeat customer was there complaining about the baffling decision of the staff to bring his starter and not his wives at the same time - something we too had to experience.

I still had a great time and still would likely return, but only as I love that hard product so much. Yet with food prices having significantly increased and portion and quality down, it's not quite the value-for-money that it once was.

Some pics from my stay:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/132880...57682276014211
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Old Jun 10, 2017, 3:34 am
  #352  
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Originally Posted by igw
@MacMyDay - Your pictures are stunning. Would you mind me asking which room number you stayed in? I am particularly fond of your view. Thanks.
Wonder if that was our room or something very close to it. #21
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxur...amanzoe-1.html
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Old Jun 10, 2017, 4:05 am
  #353  
 
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Originally Posted by Ericka
Wonder if that was our room or something very close to it. #21
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxur...amanzoe-1.html
It was 26. I have had the same room every time I've stayed as I like how close it is to both the main restaurant and main pool. Amanzoe opened and had 4 room types: sea view, sea view deluxe (12ft long pool), valley view and valley view deluxe, so the only difference was the view and size of the pool. They then changed it just to pool or deluxe pool, and now they've changed it back again.

I think 27 has a larger pool and would therefore be a sea view deluxe. When I took my dad a few years ago, I put him into a sea view deluxe and we never ended up using the pool. They also didn't put us next to each other and it was a pain whenever I wanted to go see him.

Originally Posted by pauljeff
The key question, of course, is will you go back soon?
​​​​​
I said before their response that I would likely return, so yes, post their response, I'll give them another go, probably mid-September just after we come back from South Africa/Madagascar.

Originally Posted by kamel123
It gives me the impression Aman believes somehow that normal standards of hospitality don't apply to them. They are Aman, so it's fine if they make guests wait 30 minutes for the bread basekt at breakfast. If guests then complain, it means they are peasants who don't get what Aman is? I would have checked out after a couple of nights.
I unfortunately feel there is truth in this from other Aman resorts I've stayed at, but at least here they've taken it seriously. The fact that Amanzoe is almost 100% occupied during 4 months of the year and that there is no competition is very reminiscent of Amangiri, where they can charge high prices and not offer a service that would be expected at that price point.
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Old Jun 10, 2017, 8:49 am
  #354  
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Originally Posted by jctrav
Just a quick update here after I had a discussion with Sven:[*]I was still charged for the drinks I never received, and the shower didn't have hot water on our last morning, but I didn't want to raise a stink given that they already made such an effort.[/list]
I have to assume that things will improve under Sven in the coming months given how concerned they were, but I won't be returning myself anytime soon.
Sven should have fixed the hot water at least or moved you to a room to shower with hot water. It's not raising a stink but getting a basic necessity at a luxury hotel and resort. It shouldn't be an imposition for them and if it is, then, it says a lot about how Aman has fallen...yikes.

Last edited by Aventine; Jun 10, 2017 at 8:58 am
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Old Jun 12, 2017, 8:26 am
  #355  
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Originally Posted by Kagehitokiri
seems to me sally left because she wasnt supported by aman corporate
Is anyone sure she's actually left and not just taking a break (which she has done in the past)?
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Old Aug 17, 2017, 6:51 am
  #356  
 
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Does anyone have current pricing info for car transfer and heli transfer? Thanks!
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Old Aug 17, 2017, 7:18 am
  #357  
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Originally Posted by floridagal23
Does anyone have current pricing info for car transfer and heli transfer? Thanks!
This is what I was quoted in 2016. I'm sure it's only gone up

Ground transfer (2 hours), either with a luxury sedan car at the cost of 390 plus 24% tax or with a luxury SUV at the cost of 440 plus 24% tax per way.
Helicopter transfer (20 min and max 5 passengers) at the cost of 2.550 per way. Please contact directly the helicopter company Ifly, to proceed with a booking.
Mr. Spyros Vaxevanos (e: [email protected] & m: +30 6970185183) who is the companys charter manager and will be more than happy to assist you.
Boat transfer, either with a public or with a private boat. Amanzoe offers a private yacht the Aquazoe, which is a Pershing 62. The transfer with Aquazoe (1 hour 45min and max 8 passengers) is at the cost of 5.500 per way.
For seasonal public hydrofoil transfers (3 hours) between Athens Piraeus Port and Porto Heli / Ermioni towns, full information can be found on http://www.hellenicseaways.gr. Please refer to website for rates and bookings.
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Old Aug 17, 2017, 8:13 am
  #358  
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Originally Posted by floridagal23
Does anyone have current pricing info for car transfer and heli transfer? Thanks!
Here's the current pricing as I was just working to book a client there:

Transfer rates are as follows:
Ground transfers (2 hours) from Athens
o Luxury sedan (2 adults or 2 adults and one child) at the cost of 400 plus 24% tax per way
o Luxury S.U.V. (3 adults or 2 adults and 2 children) at the cost of 450 plus 24% tax per way
o Minivan (up to 6 adults) at the cost of 520 plus 24% tax per way
Helicopter transfer with an approximate duration of 25 min from Athens airport or close to Piraeus port
Rates start as of 1985 per way, but kindly note that flights are only operational between sunrise and sunset.
Please contact directly our preferred partner IFly, to proceed with a reservation and/ or any additional information required.
Mr. Spyros Vaxevanos (e: [email protected] & m: +30 6970185183) who is the companys charter manager will be more than happy to assist you. (www.Ifly.gr)
The mentioned rate is normally for two guest + luggage. The rate for the next category (4 guest) is EUR2,550.
Boat transfer, either with a public ferry or with a private boat.
o Amanzoe offers a private yacht Aquazoe, which is a Pershing 62 model. The transfer with Aquazoe (around 1 hour 45min and max 8 passengers) is at the cost of 5.500 per way. At this rate you can combine your arrival to the resort with a day cruise & excursion to the islands close by such as Spetses or Hydra. Have a stop in one of your preferred islands and explore the surroundings, local towns or even have lunch prior to arriving at your final destination.
o For seasonal public hydrofoil transfers (3 hours) between Athens Piraeus Port and Porto Heli / Ermioni towns, full information can be found on http://www.hellenicseaways.gr. Please refer to website for up to date rates and bookings.
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Old Aug 17, 2017, 8:38 am
  #359  
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FTers arriving / departing at same time could split helicopter / yacht ?
anyone (incl agents) done such split with aman / other luxury hotel ?
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Old Aug 17, 2017, 8:44 am
  #360  
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Haven't tried it but don't see why not. i.e. 2 FTer couples splitting Heli at EU 1,275 each
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