paterwdb

You have a much more extensive travelogue than I with Aman, so I am probably less critical, but I had a terrific stay at Amangani last week. That said, a couple of things to note:
- the week was primarily personal retreat time for me, so I wasn't going on excursions and didn't have many particular demands/requests. I was going to ski one day but it was warm and no fresh snow, so I decided against that.
- I did send an email in advance asking for a room away from others, which they very generously granted a corner suite (I was on the lowest Undiscovered rate, so this was particularly generous). They were only at 33% occupancy. My other minor requests were also taken care of (specific requests for the mini bar and bedding).
- For the most part, the entire staff knew me by name within the first day, and I think I was only asked my room number once at the bar/restaurant.
- Housekeeping was always excellent twice a day, always on my schedule (I never saw them).
- One morning I had only lukewarm water in the shower. They said they had no other reported issues, but sent an engineer to my room while I was out to verify hot water was working. I dismissed it as a fluke, and it didn't happen again. They did offer to move me immediately and apologized profusely.
- The atmosphere and view made it an incredibly relaxing and restful time. I don't know any place where you have that kind of view at every place in the suite, including the shower and toilet!
- The gym is tiny with really only cardio and one strength machine and dumbbells only up to 25lbs. The spa locker rooms, however, are incredibly posh.
- When I went into town each day (to go to a real gym), the valet was excellent and responsive. They would literally see me walking toward the door and run to the garage to get my car before I even made it outside. Speaking of that, when I asked about a gym in town, they recommended one and then once I was on my way, called ahead and paid the entrance fee for me - a charge that did not appear on my bill later.
- I found the food to be quite good, but I was not eating "foodie" as I was by myself, so I stuck to simpler meals at breakfast and then a lighter dinner as well, but the meals were excellent. Twice I ordered "off menu" and the chef was very gracious and the prices were very reasonable.
- People have complained that the physical plant is "worn". I noticed the carpet (because I was looking for it) was worn and a bit dated. Other than that, I didn't notice anything at all. The place has a rugged chic feel to me. With all of that exposed wood, it felt very natural but very clean, and I didn't notice many problems.
- The biggest issue, by far, is the HVAC. You notice this in many reviews online. The floors are heated (which is amazing) but the HVAC is very tricky. I figured out I had to keep the thermostat set on 62 (the lowest setting allowed) and the fan on HIGH in order to keep the temperature of the room cool to sleep at night. If I tried to turn it up a bit in the morning to warm it up, it was very hard to cool it back down. The first night I actually slept with the balcony door open. I imagine there must be some issues in the summer months because I saw a Dyson bladeless fan in the closet, so at least they are attempting to do something to help.
- Hidden light switches! It was kind of a fun game to find them.
- GM greeted me at check in and then once mid-stay and was a very nice guy. I was pretty clear I was happy to just be left alone, and they really honored that while always being very gracious and hospitable whenever they saw me.
- Gift was a stainless steel water bottle (which I kept) and a backpack filled with hard warmers (which I left because I had no use for it).
- Did I mention the view?