Originally Posted by
scented
Well...
My Noi experience is rather limited so far with only two stays, but I never saw anyone at the Cliff pool, team or guest, so it was unattended indeed. That said, enjoyed the pool greatly and stunning location for a private dinner for example.
Aman has fewer SOPs compared to, let’s say, FS — and you’d be surprised that many outlets are not always staffed the way one would think, but Aman service is incredibly intuitive so if they notice you are going to use the Cliff pool you mostly receive stellar service, as they adapt and even intuitively anticipate your needs. I would mention it to Joy when she is doing her rounds.
I felt Amanoi was amongst the best Aman̶r̶̶e̶̶s̶̶o̶̶r̶̶t̶̶s̶ when I last stayed, with incredible service and care, although they certainly had challenges with some team members (I myself had a major incident I did not tell management), but I would never say they are not trained well or do not care.
Aman usually does not nickel and dime, but a 40 USD fish main course is in line with luxury resort pricing in remote locations, they are now considered one of the world top resorts (see 2017 Gallivanter’s Guide Awards for Excellence) and see fit to make that revenue for their owners.
I don’t want to question your experience as I think it is perfectly adequate to make these comments, but I feel we’re missing part of the story. I would really love to know if Joy, Nicolas, Richard were on property and what they reaction was. Reading your assessment gives the impression you were disappointed, sure they must have noticed as I don’t know of any team being closer to their guests. What did Nicolas say when you felt his response was lacking/fake?
My past post responds to some of this. On the pool staff that is fine if they don't want to staff it, but they should know when someone is there - They have cameras, ect. I shouldn't have to go search for staff. I agree with you that they should adapt to your needs and that level of detail and attention is what makes an Aman special, the issue I had during this stay is that we experienced none of this and that is what lead me to give the comment that the staff isn't trained correctly.
The overall feeling I received throughout the stay from Nicolas made me feel as if I was not one of his "high value" guests (which I admittedly am not) and I am not worth his time or attention. I did not feel welcomed or that he made any effort to make my stay more enjoyable. That is just the feeling I got and have never felt that way at any other Aman property. Joy gets great feedback on here, but outside of arrival I did not have any interaction with her, it is possible she was gone for a few days.
I posted my review based on my experience, I am not "hiding" anything and only posted this to provide feedback to this community. Like I said I have never left an Aman saying I will not return here (usually I am trying to figure out how I am get back), so trust me when I say this was not a great stay. We were not made to feel that it was our "Aman Family" as I truly have felt at other properties.
I made a comment on an Amankila thread that I didn't have a great stay there last month. Ernst was gone and staff just weren't sharp like I am used to in Indonesia. That being said even an "off week" for Kila made Noi look terrible and made me realized just how much the staff in Indonesia are pros.