Go Back  FlyerTalk Forums > Travel&Dining > Luxury Hotels and Travel
Reload this Page >

Trip Report - Amantaka (Laos) and Amansara (Cambodia)

Trip Report - Amantaka (Laos) and Amansara (Cambodia)

Old Oct 18, 2013, 12:13 pm
  #1  
Original Poster
Aman Contributor Badge
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: OSL
Posts: 2,145
Trip Report - Amantaka (Laos) and Amansara (Cambodia)

AMANTAKA

We stayed 6 nights in the beginning of October in a Kahn Pool Suite.

Pre arrival and arrival
The team at Amantaka was really great before our arrival, assisting us with everything we needed in order to plan our stay. Always quick, helpful and friendly answers – and upon arrival we found that everything was done exactly according to our wishes.

We flew British Airways business class via London to Bangkok (slept really well upstairs), and after one night in the airport hotel (convenient but nothing special at all), we took the 10 o’clock flight to Luang Prabang with Bangkok Airways which took around 2 hours.

We were met at the airport by a representative from Amantaka collected our suitcases while we took care of the visa application. The new airport is open and everything went smoothly. The car was waiting outside and the drive to Amantaka took just a bit more than 10 minutes. Cold towels and water available, just like we are used to. Upon arrival at Amantaka we were met by Gary the GM and other members of the team. We were served a very nice welcome drink while Gary sat with us to tell us about the resort and Luang Prabang. We were then showed to our suite where the quick paperwork was done. A nice bottle of champagne was waiting us in the suite – the perfect way to start a holiday. They also had a wonderful little booklet with our program for outings, spa treatments and special dinners in it. Everything perfect.

Accommodation
We loved our Khan pool suite, very spacious, plenty of places to put all our things, a really comfortable bed (with mattress topper!) for us in the main bedroom and an extra bed for our son in the living room. Very large bathroom and wardrobe area, a nice freestanding bath tub and a separate shower room. Shower had good but not great pressure. Lovely shampoo and other toiletries, just a bit hard to get the product out of the bottles (Heinz ketchup, you know, either nothing or a lot!). Outside we had a lovely private, walled garden with lots of sun where we found comfortable loungers, a table for three and our own private pool. The first two days it was not extremely hot, actually a bit chilly at night, so we asked for the pool heating to be put on. This turned out to be extremely efficient, so we asked for it to be turned off again later during the stay, as it was almost too hot in there. Good to know for visits when the climate is colder.

Service
Service was very good, warm, personal and friendly. The GM Gary was always around to greet us and have a little chat when we went out for or arrived back from activities. Other senior management also came by regularly to take very well care of us. All requests answered and taken care of quickly, no problems with language, nothing to complain about at all – and that is the way it should be. We really felt at home at Amantaka.

Food
All meals are served in the main restaurant, poolside or in your own suite. There are fixed menus with plenty of choices for breakfast and lunch, and a new dinner menu every night where one can choose between Lao or international food. We preferred the Lao food, though after a couple of days we sort of felt like something else since there is not as much variation in the Lao kitchen as in for example the Thai or Chinese kitchen.
We had two private dinners during our stay, one Lao menu and one international, both really delicious. The private dinners were set up in our suite’s garden, complete with lots of candles, a private waiter and one day even our own musician.
Room service is extremely efficient, of course partly because there is no long walk or drive between kitchen and suites like in other Amans. I had my morning coffee in less than 3 minutes no matter when I called for it and also drinks, lunch and snacks came in almost no time after we ordered it – no mistakes either.

Spa
My son and myself had two massages each. They were his first ever massages, and because of this and because he is so young, we had the massages in one double spa suite. We both truly enjoyed it, but I must admit that having a massage completely on my own is more relaxing so I do not think that I will make it a habit to bring him along every time. ;-)

Gym/pool
The gym has all the equipment one would need and good air condition/cold drinks and towels etc. While the main pool looked inviting, we actually never tried it as we so much enjoyed our private pool.

Activities
The highlights of our trip, were all the activities.

We started the first day with a walk/tuk tuk drive around the Luang Prabang town to see a number of the beautiful temples. Our very knowledgeable guide also showed us the morning market and the former royal palace. A good way to get to know the town before further exploration on our own.

In the evening we visited the night market where we had the chance to buy a number of lovely and very cheap souvenirs. Quite touristy compared to the morning market, but still a nice visit. It is close enough to walk there or Amantaka will send their tuk tuk to take you there and/or to pick you up.

On day 2 we went to cruise the Mekong river with the beautiful Aman boat. We truly enjoyed the boat, the picnic lunch Aman style with cold white wine, the scenery and also the cave with all the Buddha statues. However, I found that there was not so much of the local life to see. I had read about children swimming, fishermen etc. but found it to be really quiet this afternoon.

In the evening we had a private baci ceremony. A lovely and beautiful ritual.

Next day it was time for the visit to the bear sanctuary and the nearby waterfall. Our son (especially) really enjoyed hiding food for the bears and watching them find it, and the nice woman working there showed us around and gave us a lot of information. The waterfall was beautiful but relatively full of tourists.

We had our first of two private dinners this evening after seeing a traditional dance performance by the Amantaka pool. Lovely set up of the dinner outside our suite with lots of candles, our own musician and tasty Lao food.

Day 4 started with an early morning market together with a chef from Amantaka who was able to explain everything about the different ingreients. It is a very friendly and clean market compared to similar markets in other Asian cities, and we very much enjoyed it. We ended this by a visit to a local coffee shop to try the Lao coffee and local “donuts”. We went to a traditional coffee place where we would never have sat down alone and liked it a lot. After breakfast in the hotel, we went for a short private visit to a temple currently under restoration where we were shown and told about the work in progress. From there we went on to Amantakas wonderful organic farm where we enjoyed a cooking class in a beautiful open traditional house with views to the sticky rice fields. Following the instructions from one of the Amantakas chefs, we were able to make a very tasty meal of four or five traditional dishes which we enjoyed later on in a beautiful private bale.

On our last full day, we started with a very early morning wake up call to give alms to the monks passing by just before sunrise. As this day was Amantakas 4th birthday, the hotel management had invited the monks to enter the walls surrounding Amantaka and to pass by just in front of the main entrance where we and other guests plus a number of employees were waiting with sticky rice, cookies, fruits and other alms to the monks passing by. A very memorable experience.

After breakfast we went by car with a driver and a guide to visit three remote villages in the mountains 45 hours drive from Luang Prabang. The primitive houses and the lives and every day routines of the people living there was shown and explained to us and we were able to take loads of pictures of everything.

Another great private meal in the evening, another night in the comfortable beds and we were packing our suitcases and on our way to Amansara on the 2 o’clock afternoon flight.

Others
Beginning of October was a beautiful time of year to visit Amantaka. The rain had more or less stopped (some rain at night two or three times), and we had beautiful sunshine most days, maybe a bit cloudy in the morning, but clear later on.

Conclusion
A lovely resort with lots of varied and interesting things to see close by. Wonderful rooms, service and food. Highly recommended. Thanks a lot to the great GM (hi Gary! ;-) and his great team!
Musken is offline  
Old Oct 18, 2013, 12:14 pm
  #2  
Original Poster
Aman Contributor Badge
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: OSL
Posts: 2,145
AMANSARA

We stayed 6 nights in the beginning of October in a Pool Suite. Many people had warned me in advance that this might be too long, but I did not at all think so. We could easily have stayed longer as it was a great resort with so many things to explore nearby.

Pre arrival and arrival
Also at Amansara the team was wonderful in helping us planning our stay through several email before our arrival. Given that we really wanted holidays and relaxation as well as sightseeing and because we travel with our son, we thought it was very important to find the right balance between seeing the main sights and having plenty of time on our own to enjoy the resort and to explore on our own. Because of this, we limited ourselves to one outing per day, mostly in the morning focusing on seeing the main temples relatively quickly, sometimes combining two outings into one. This worked really well for us, see below when I talk about activities in more detail.

We flew Vietnam Airways from Luang Prabang to Siem Reap. The flight left at around 2 o’clock in the afternoon, arriving two hours later. Upon arriving in Siem Reap, I must admit that were were pretty schocked seeing Siem Reap and the countryside around from the air. Huuuuge areas were flooded and we actually though that all the water that we saw was a natural disater that they had forgotten to tell us about on the news in Europe. It turned out that this was just normal during rainy season, but still this is really the most amazing sight I have ever seen from an airplane.

We were met at the airport by a representative from Amansara as soon as we entered the airport building and were helped with visa application etc. Outside the old Mercedes was waiting for us and after a 20 minutes drive, passing the main entrance to Angkor Wat, we arrived at Amansara. A number of senior management were there to welcome us and we were taken to our suite where one of the front staff employees gave us information about the resort, our programme (as for Amansara, there was a nice booklet prepared) and everything else. Drinks and freshly made spring rolls were brought to us, and again a bottle of champagne on ice was waiting for us. A good beginning.

Accommodation
I must admit that we – at first – were a bit disappointed about our suite. It is quite a lot smaller than other Aman suites, and the open solution, extra bed and all our luggage made us wish that there had been an option for a larger category accommodation. However, the walled garden with private pool outside was larger than we had though by seein pictures, and we soon found out that we would have a very comfortable stay in spite of the first little disappointment.

Bed was again very comfortable (mattress topper!), our son’s bed was next to ours, the shower had fantastic pressure, the bath tub (always filled after we returned to the room in the afternoon), the most wonderful smelling incense, candles, fresh fruit every day etc. We loved it.

Service
As at Amantaka service was very good, warm, personal and friendly. The GM Sally was away during our first days, but someone else from senior management would always make sure to see us during dinnertime to make sure that everything was according to our wishes. The front desk team was really very efficient, always aware of our programme, making sure we got our wake up call when needed, bringing the early morning breakfast before outings, making changes when needed with no problem etc. When Sally came back, she made sure to give us a special greeting (see below) and were always around to think about and suggest things to make our stay even better.

Housekeeping was brilliant. They were in our room (at least) three times a day: During our morning outing or breakfast, some time in the afternoon and during dinner: Lighting candles, bringing flowers, making up the beds, running baths, leaving wonderful presents at our beds every night etc. Especially nice with regards to the presents at bed was that they made sure to give also our son some lovely little gifts at night. Earlier I have used to run in and move our present (if appropriate) to his bed to give him the surprise, but at Amansara they took very good care of him as well.

Food
All meals are served in the main restaurant, outside or in our suite. We preferred to eat breakfast and dinner in the restaurant inside as there were some mosquitos around especially at night as it was rainy season. The wonderful roof terrace was unfortunately closed, again because of the season.

Same as in Amantaka, there are fixed menus with plenty of choices for breakfast and lunch, and a new dinner menu every night where one can choose between Khmer or international food. The Khmer food was very good, especially the curries and we also joined Molly's gourmet international menus, but since it was getting towards the end of our holidays, we were a bit tired of full restaurant meals and ended up having hamburgers and pizzas some evenings.

The cakes and cookies at tea time were to die for and new ones every day. I am sure I gained a kilo just from the cakes…

We had one special dinner which was the food highlight of our trip. It was a Khmer BBQ, prepared in the kitchen, served in the main restaurant (no private area for this). Our table was decorated very nicely and the food was just exceptionally good.

Roomservice was very quick and good. Nothing to complain about.

Spa
I had one massage in the lovely spa and actually regret now that I did not try more treatments as this massage was one of the best ever.

Gym/pool
No gym at Amansara. There was a yoga mat in my suite for some exercise on my own, but I must admit that I did not spend much time doing sports during this holiday. Temple walks were enough!

The main pool was really lovely and we spent some time there as a variation from our own private pool.

Activities
Again th highlights of our trip, were all the activities, and – if possible – they were even more memorable than activities at Amantaka.

As mentioned, we had limited ourselves to one outing per day which worked really well. We were assigned one guide for the complete stay, which was great as we got to know each other well meaning that the outings could be even better tailor made to our needs. Our guide was very knowledgeable, spoke really well English and – most importantly for us – was very flexible in terms of tailor making the trips to us and especially our son. Our son quickly decided that the guide was his friend, always wanting to drive the remok alone with him while me and my husband were in another remok.

On our first day, we went to see Bayon and one of the less visited temples in the jungle. Beautiful lush and green temples, water in front meaning beautiful mirror pictures and a route avoiding the hordes of tourists. After seeing the two temples, we chose a longer drive back home, through the country side, passing floated fields, cows, children fishing, local markets, little village houses, the less touristy part of the town – seeing everything from the open remok was just great. As being in the middle of everything able to see, smell and hear, but still in our own private area.

In the afternoon we went to the old market on our own. An Amansara remok with driver would take us there and wait for us while we did our shopping/looking around and then take us back later.

On the 2nd day we had the extremely early morning call to go and see Angkor Wat before and during sunrise. Using the back entrance our guide was able to get us inside the temple while everyone else were still waiting outside. A very special experience. Not as spectacular as being inside Borobodour at sunrise, but close.

After seeing Angkor wat, we went to the temple in the jungle (definitely the highlight for us) and then on to Amansaras Khmer house to have a traditional noodle breakfast. Lovely!

Back at the hotel, we were relaxing by our private pool when we suddenly got a call that we had to come to the reception in 30 minutes for a surprise. It turned out that Sally was back at Amansara and after greeting us personnaly, she had arranged that a monk came to Amansara to give us a special yasmin flower blessing. Very special.

Next day we had the morning off and left Amansara around noon to go to Tonle Sap for the cruise at Amansaras fantastic boat. See http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxur...iful-boat.html We loved this cruise even more than the cruise at Mekong river from Amantaka as there were much more to see and the boat was even better. A must do!

After the boat trip we had planned to visit the temples east of Angkor, but we agreed to leave this out as we really had such a great day already.

On day 4 we drove 45 minutes to come to the temple of women. Again beautiful and different from the others, so well worth the visit. On the way back we decided to stop at the small informative Landmine museum which we found very interesting and good for telling our son about some of the terrible history of the country.

On our last full day, our son had a private cooking class at the Khmer house. We all went to the morning market to shop ingredients together with an Amansara chef, and while me and my husband went shopping in the city and thereafter relaxed in the sun at Amansara, our son went with Amansara personnel to prepare a full lunch for all of us. My husband and I went to the Khmer house at lunchtime and truly enjoyed the tasty food prepared by our own small chef. Having had the lunch, we went on to Spitler school to which we had donated money before leaving on holidays. ( http://spitlerschool.org ) The school was built as a cooperation between a local tour guide and an American family. We were met by the tour guide and a volunteer telling us the story and answering questions before we were able to hand out school material to pupils that had been bought using some of our donation. A very memorable way to end our holidays – giving something back to such a wonderful people.

Our flight back to Hamburg, via Bangkok and London, left Siem Reap in the evening next day. We were able to keep our suite the whole day to enjoy the last sunshine before the long cold winter ahead of us and to pack everything in a relaxed was before leaving our new friends. Sad to say goodbye, but after such a long and successful trip, it is actually good to get home again as well. Daily routines, sports and healthy food here I come!


Others
Beginning of October is actually the worst possible time to go to Siem Reap weather wise. For some reason we were, however, extremely lucky. We had some rain upon arrival and during a small trip to the town one afternoon, plus heaving showers at night, but during the day it was really lovely with blue sky and sunshine.

Conclusion
A very wonderful stay in a beautiful resort with the most memorable excursions ever. Thanks a lot to Sally and her team.

Last edited by Musken; Oct 19, 2013 at 1:51 pm
Musken is offline  
Old Oct 18, 2013, 6:12 pm
  #3  
 
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Seattle
Posts: 559
Thank you for the report! We will be visiting both resorts next month so this is very timely for us. Looking forward to reading your report on Amansara.
free101girl is offline  
Old Oct 18, 2013, 6:47 pm
  #4  
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 246
Thanks for the report Musken and glad your son enjoyed the bear sanctuary
Gary is a great guy and Amantaka is one of our top 5 Amans, can't wait to return.. Looking forward to your Amansara sequal!

Last edited by halibahs; Oct 18, 2013 at 6:55 pm
halibahs is offline  
Old Oct 18, 2013, 7:06 pm
  #5  
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: New York, NY
Programs: AA-2MM EXP
Posts: 86
We did Amansara / Amantaka Indochina Past and Present earlier this year, and it was definitely a great trip. We had a terrific guide for Angkor Wat arranged by Amansara (he took us in the back entrance to the temples early in the morning before the crowds were allowed in - definitely the way to go).
flyboyNYC is offline  
Old Oct 18, 2013, 8:46 pm
  #6  
Four Seasons Contributor BadgeAman 5+ Badge
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Baltimore MD
Posts: 3,457
Great report. I cannot wait for our Aman experience. I only hope I'm not building it up too much....

FDW
FlyingDoctorwu is offline  
Old Oct 19, 2013, 11:23 am
  #7  
Aman 5+ BadgeFour Seasons Contributor Badge
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Programs: UA1K, *G & Wife of UA1K MM
Posts: 3,430
Thank you Musken. This is a wonderful write-up, as always. LOL about your son's first massage!

Sounds like Amantaka has really integrated the local culture into the activities and food. Very Aman-like.

Last edited by Ericka; Oct 20, 2013 at 2:56 pm
Ericka is offline  
Old Oct 19, 2013, 1:39 pm
  #8  
Original Poster
Aman Contributor Badge
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: OSL
Posts: 2,145
I have added Amansara trip report now. Feel free to ask any questions.
Musken is offline  
Old Oct 20, 2013, 4:48 am
  #9  
Aman 5+ BadgeFour Seasons Contributor Badge
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Programs: UA1K, *G & Wife of UA1K MM
Posts: 3,430
Originally Posted by Ericka
Thank you Musken. This is a wonderful write-up, as always. LOL about your son's first massage!

Sounds like Amantaka has really integrated the local culture into the activities and food. Very Aman-like.
<3 your son's cooking class at Amansara.

Last edited by Ericka; Oct 20, 2013 at 2:56 pm
Ericka is offline  
Old Oct 20, 2013, 5:24 am
  #10  
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 246
What a wonderful trip report! We visited Amansara last October and really enjoyed the verdant landscape and beautiful temple reflections. Will definitely try the Tonle Sap cruise when we return
halibahs is offline  
Old Oct 20, 2013, 8:36 am
  #11  
Original Poster
Aman Contributor Badge
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: OSL
Posts: 2,145
I forgot to mention one thing: In both resorts, there is a compulsory board charge, including breakfast and lunch or dinner plus all non alcoholic beverages and house wines/spirits (plus the "house outings" that we chose every day). We found this to be very "relaxing", knowing clearly in advance what the total bill would be, being able to order whatever without thinking about costs at all during our stay, and I actually wish that more Amanresorts would do this.
Musken is offline  
Old Oct 20, 2013, 3:46 pm
  #12  
 
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Seattle
Posts: 559
Great report on Amansara as well. We have booked the resort boats at both destinations. Very excited about our trip and these reports have added to that. Thank you!
free101girl is offline  
Old Oct 20, 2013, 4:57 pm
  #13  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: IAD/DCA
Posts: 31,805
fantastic level of detail as always (activities and food very useful) and great pics in the linked amansara boat thread !

Last edited by Kagehitokiri; Oct 21, 2013 at 11:32 am
Kagehitokiri is offline  
Old Oct 27, 2013, 11:18 pm
  #14  
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: SFO
Programs: United global services, BA gold,
Posts: 837
Great trip report Musken! Makes me want to return! Thank you for sharing!
Larkin is offline  
Old Oct 28, 2013, 2:01 pm
  #15  
Four Seasons Contributor BadgeMandarin Oriental Contributor Badge
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Luxembourg
Programs: HH Dia, AClub Plat, Hyatt Dia, FB Gold, LH SEN, TK *G
Posts: 655
Very well written and love the details you mention. It's far more than just a factual report. Glad to see how your seems to enjoy the holidays at Aman properties.
SeamasterLux is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.