Originally Posted by
TOMFORD
Just wrapped up a stay at Amankila on a couples' trip. Honestly it was not all that. Property is showing clear signs of age in the suites. Public areas are still well maintained. Pool and beach club hard product is amazing. The beach is really nice if you are traveling with kids - the waves are gentle and the staff are eager to help you with any water sports. View would be amazing if it wasn't for all the ships parked in the strait.
Afternoon tea is of little value. Beverage options are coffee and caffeinated tea. My wife's pregnant and is staying away from caffeine, so we asked for a non-caffeinated tea, and the server told us it would have to be a separate charge. We had to bring this up with the front desk to get it resolved. It just seems petty to charge us for a tea bag. In room snacks (chips and choc chip cookies) were stale. Our room had off-brand Nespresso pods.
On the other hand, wine menu is good and reasonably priced, food portion is generous, breakfast is great (although coming from the Waldorf Bangkok, Kila breakfast did not seem special). Special events at the property (e.g. traditional dance) were a nice touch. Service is great, but not better than the WA BKK, or the Fullerton Bay Singapore, where we stayed at before BKK.
All of this coupled with the Aman signature 21% tax/fees mark up, I don't think we will return to Amans since everyone seems to think Indonesian Amans are the best. Everyone in the group from hotel nerds like me to regular folks think both the WA BKK and Fullerton Bay were better (and cheaper). However, we do make an exception for Amanzoe
Very sad to hear of your experience, especially on the comparison with WA BKK; despite that, I hope you otherwise had a relatively pleasant stay in Bali
Kila has actually been receiving some soft renovations, mainly with the installation of the automatic TOTO toilets and new Bang and Olufsen speakers in each suite, along with an iPad (although I did prefer the old Bose/iPod setup). As I understand, they won't be doing a major renovation/redesign (and personally, I personally hope a redesign does not occur), instead, the maintenance team
very diligently touches up any part of the suite that has been subject to wear and tear. Alas, some minor hiccups do happen from time to time concerning the hardware of the suite (as I observed during my last stay).
The provision of those local pods, as another user has mentioned, is traced to Aman's inclination to stay local as much as possible, of which Nespresso pods, by design, are not.
Finally, the 21% tax and service charge is a standard fee in most if not all Indonesian hotels, of which the 11% is a government-sanctioned tax.
I agree with FlyerEC that the Nusa Dua Villas are in excellent shape in no small part due to Michel B. During my last stay, Kila was still managed by Ernst L, who was an outstanding GM, although I am concerned to hear about the current situation.