Big_Foot

Well, not only the style It looked like the area had nothing
interesting going on, kind of very flat, boring landscape with some rocky
"beach"... I guess the weather wasn't great neither, that didn't help
to sell it. It just seemed to me that traveling that far would give me
a much better reward....
I might be wrong of course.

Amanjunkie

Please check the Amanpulo website to see if it was actually Amanpulo you were looking at!

Amanpulo does not have a "rocky beach" and the landscape isn't "flat", either!

Can't comment on the program you saw as I haven't seen it, but can comment on Amanpulo as I was just there and it's stunning! ^

vuittonsofstyle

This is NOT Amanpulo. Sounds to me like Amanyara? Don't worry, lots of people mix up their Amans, but hopefully not film crews....

doxbox

Hi,
I'm new, but I have been to Amanpulo and can confirm Amanjunkie's observations. I was there 10 years ago and it was stunning and perfect. It seems like it has only gotten better!

Kagehitokiri

welcome to the forum doxbox.

if youre an amanjunkie, youll find lots of company here.

Ozchinois

I'm thinking of a few days at Amanpulo and have done all the research including which Manila hotel (Shang Makati and Pen) and my spouse asked me to check our gov's travel advisory warning. Lots of warnings about terrorists' attacks where foreigners are and kidnappings. Should I go ahead or do I go back to the drawing board? Thanks.

Kagehitokiri

security concerns in the phillipines are fairly confined, like southern thailand etc. i dont even recall recent news from phillipines, whereas its pretty regular out of thailand. i think id probably only be concerned about CMB and sri lanka, considering the overall situation.

Amanjunkie

Perhaps the resort he was confusing Amanpulo with is the Puri Lumbung Cottages in Bali, which was featured in the same episode of "Ecoluxe", and which can be interpreted as having a "rocky beach" (though it is on the edge of a lake near rice paddies) and having a "very flat, boring landscape" (though actually on a slow incline).

Here is a photo of the resort from its website: http://www.purilumbung.com/photo_vie...400&height=300

Here is the "Ecoluxe" website: http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Show...vgnextfmt=show

Here is the Puri Lumbung Cottages website: http://www.purilumbung.com

doxbox

I felt very safe in Manila and Amanpulo. I also stayed at El Nido in another secluded area and similarly had a relaxing stay.

ngfan

They have updated Amanpulo's resort map now showing the new southeast villas no. 1-7 near hillside casita no. 40:

http://www.amanresorts.com/uploadedF...manpuloMap.pdf

http://www.amanresorts.com/amanpulo_villas.aspx

Kagehitokiri

Amanjunkie

Well we've arrived back home from our trip to Beijing for the Olympics and all together, it was a fantastic trip! And not surprisingly, one of the highlights was the special tour of the Aman at Summer Palace, Beijing, that was given to us by the delightful Jean Zhao, who is the Sales Manager of the property.

Our night actually started at Da Dong Restaurant, which was booked for our party of ten by Jean, as we had requested a Peking Duck dinner, and this was Jean's recommendation. It did not disappoint. Besides being a beautiful restaurant, the roasted duck served was among the best we've ever had. Succulent, juicy, but not overly greasy, it was served with a variety of condiments including hoi-sin sauce, green onions, cucumbers, some type of pickle, and sugar, along with thin crepes and a type of open "pita-like" bread. Very, very good.

After a fulfilling dinner with the duck and a multitude of other delicious Beijing-style dishes, we headed over to the Aman, which was about a 40 minute drive from the restaurant. We were running a little late, arriving about 20 minutes later than what I told Jean, so I was surprised that Jean along with a number of Aman staff as well as the General Manager was standing waiting for us at the hotel entrance when we pulled up.

After some warm greetings, our party was lead into the hotel lobby with the GM giving us a brief introduction of the property. I was pretty astonished when I walked in. As I mentioned before, having looked at the brochure photos, I thought the interiors of the hotel were very nicely put together, true to the Ming-style, but because of that, lacking a bit of the "wow" factor one is accustomed to in other Amans.

But having walked into the lobby, the exact opposite was true. I was stunned by the grandness of the space. The ceilings were high, very high. I'm not good at guessing these things, but my estimate was that the ceiling was at least 30 feet tall. The openness of the space combined with the tasteful Ming interiors was truly awe-inspiring.

After the initial introductions, the GM left us with Jean, but would join us later for cocktails. From the hotel lobby, we were taken to various facilities of the property, as well as some of the rooms.

Some of the facilities included a very modern gym, with Technogym Kinesis-type equipment, which was a nice surprise, even though personally I don't think I ever visited the gym at any Aman that I've stayed at! There was also a very large pool, which was however, indoors. Being in Beijing, I can understand why they opted for an indoor pool, though it made it somewhat less appealing to me, as the summers in Beijing definitely warrant an outdoor pool, if only for a few months!

We are also taken to various other rooms of the hotel, including the library, a cigar and wine room, restaurant, and the bar, each being connected by beautifully lit outdoor walkways. Even though the property itself lies just outside the Summer Palace, near the East Gate, there was still a sense that you were in an imperial palace of some sort. Just breathtaking and surreal.

Along the different pathways, Jean would point out to us various landmarks of the Summer Palace that you could see from the Aman, and we were shown the door that actually lead to the Summer Palace from the Aman, the same entrance that was previously used government officials summoned by the Empress. The history behind the property where the Aman is today was that it was where officials and other visitors waited and stayed when summoned to visit the Emperor or Empress.

Jean also told us that as a guest of the Aman, we would have exclusive use of the Summer Palace after 4pm, which is when the Summer Palace is closed to normal visitors. I thought this was an amazing "amenity", far exceeding for example, the early entrance to the Borobodur for guests of Amanjiwo. Jean mentioned that she would be able to arrange private candlelit dinners on Kunming Lake, similar to what the Empress enjoyed in her time, as well as many other exclusive activities in the Summer Palace, which I thought was incredible. It's really like as if the Summer Palace itself was part of the hotel grounds and facilities, and guests having exclusive use after 4pm. Fantastic!

Jean also showed some of the rooms of the hotel. The first room she showed us was the Imperial Suite, which is of course, the largest room, and as she described, fit for large parties or families. We were actually taken into just the courtyard of the suite as the interiors were not ready, but you can tell just from the outside what a tremendous room it will be. Not so much a room or a suite, but closer to a traditional Chinese house really. This is definitely the room I'd want to book when I return with my family next year.

We were also shown a Courtyard Suite, which is similar to the basic accommodations in any other Aman property. However, this Aman also has "guestrooms" (which we didn't see), which I believe are smaller and are the entry-level rooms in this property.

In any case, the suite was beautiful. With high ceilings, all the decorations were in a Ming-style, and there was a very efficient use of space. Instead of the normal dual-bedroom/bathroom layout of Aman rooms, this utilized more of a tri-living room/bedroom/bathroom layout, with the living room in the center and the bathroom and bedroom on the sides.

Jean also told us that the building which housed the suite is more than 200 years old. This included the vaulted ceiling, I believe, which has been restored, of course, but there really was a feeling of history in the room. Despite this, there was also a "new" feeling as well, with the furnishings, so an interesting contradiction.

After viewing the rooms, Jean led us back to the bar area where they graciously served us Dom Perignon and where they had two costumed musicians playing traditional Chinese string instruments in a different courtyard which was separated from us by water, really adding to the mood and surreal-ness of the night. It was at this moment that I realized everything we've seen that night from all the Aman staff, to the musicians, to the bartenders, to gym attendants, to the waiters, etc., was specifically for our party. As the hotel is not open until October 1, and we were literally the only "guests" there that night, it felt like quite an honor that they had gone through so much trouble just to give our party this little tour of the property.

At the bar, they sat us down and the GM joined us as well, and it was a nice little wind-down to relax and talk about travels and different Amans. The GM (who's name I carelessly forgot after he introduced himself) is from Vancouver and has worked at other Amans including Amankora. It was nice hearing him talk and telling us about the upcoming Aman in New Delhi, or interesting tidbits such as if you fly from New Delhi to Paro via Kathmandu, you will be taking the only commercial flight that allows perfect views of the peak of Mount Everest.

Jean was also keen on telling us that their head chef is from France, and as if to demonstrate his prowess in the kitchen, they served us scrumptious petite fours, including the most delicious raspberry macaroons I've ever tasted. The chocolates and coconut desserts were not too shabby either; just from this taste, I'm definitely looking forward to trying the four restaurants in the hotel.

So after dessert, the night ended as we did not want to impose too much on our hosts. The GM also informed us that it was Jean's birthday as well, which was a little too much, as I truly felt bad that she had given up her birthday to accommodate us, even though she seemed like she was enjoying herself.

Altogether, we loved the property. We cannot wait for our stay there, which we are planning for next summer, as we already have Amankila and Amanwana booked for the New Year, and we are expecting our second child in March/April, so late summer would be the best bet. Even my father is excited for this trip, and he's usually not that impressed with hotels in general, so to me, it really says something. A family stay in the Imperial Suite would be perfect, and we can't wait for all those exclusive activities inside the Summer Palace.

To conclude, I had high expectations for the Aman at Summer Palace before my visit, but I have to say those expectations were completely blown away by the reality. The property is that good, and if you're interested Chinese culture and history, I don't think there is a better place to stay in the world.

vuittonsofstyle

Thank you for the fabulous report on Aman Summer Palace! The GM, by the way, is Blaise Montandon.

Kagehitokiri

terrific report. ^

Pauldublin

Thanks AJ, that is so informative.