Originally Posted by
namaguide
Hi there and apologies for not being clear; other fellow users may have now given you the answers. I have been a great fan of Amankila and visited it few times over the years. The last time I was not very impressed and I tried to detach myself from it as I am so biased. Everything was fantastic and the service was exquisite and had therefore won the trust of all of us and sat on this trust. Nowadays I do not feel the make the same effort as before, and it may also be due to the fact that is the busiest resorts of the three in Bali.
The reality is that it is an OK property. If you are a beach lover, bear in mind the beach there is not great! The service is OK, the menu has pretty much been the same for 3 years now.
It all depends what you are looking for. If it is the beaches then head for Amanwana (it's exquisite). Amankila is in a remote location in the East with nothing nearby. As I said I used to go a lot as I was always finding friends there, the service was good (and I never used the beaches although I love the beaches). Last time I had been was to attend a friend's birthday party. So my conclusion is that I do not have any reason to go to Amankila anymore. I suggest you go if you want to tick off your list but other than that nothing personally to be wowed about.
However, new amanjunkies, or other travellers who have not visited any other Aman properties they will of course love it.
Bear in mind that i have been travelling to Amans for 20 years now and you can appreciate, as I am sure vuittonsofstyle will agree, the expectations are a lot higher.
Was there in August, I would agree about the service, but I actually thought the food was exceptionally good (caveat: ate almost entirely Indonesian food). I thought the villas were the nicest of any of the Aman resorts I've been to... nice combination of privacy and view. I spent a lot of time at a world class beach when I was younger so didn't have high expectations, but was pleasantly surprised by the beach at Kila. The thing I liked best though was being off the beaten path and being able to walk around in nearby villages that had not yet been inundated by tourists. Good diving too if you like that. I'ved probably stayed at 15 or 20 places (including Nusa and Dari) in Bali, and bottom line... Kila is in my opinion the nicest.
I'm not a big fan of Phuket, but I go there a few times a year for Puri. I wouldn't go to Bali for Kila, but I would go to Bali for its own sake, and Dari is a great place to stay if you're going.
BTW - Thanks for the advice on Amanwana. Looking at the pictures the beaches didn't look great so it's good to know they have a great beach.