Yes , you should go to the Atlas mountains , at least the foothills , blueline !
& see post 33

potentially a reunion ! FTers AMANjunkies / SS Oct ‘ 13

Any others ?

We also did lunch at the berber village home. Wonderful!

I am very familiar with Amanjena — would you please give us some details as to better understand your experience and consequently frustration?

Thank you!

Sure! There was nothing catastrophic per se but what there was an undeniable absence of the soft product that *I* would expect from an Aman. It was a number of small annoying things, the sum of which made for a disappointing stay. I wouldn’t call it frustrating - other than perhaps the lack of chocolate ice cream which is an offence to a man who is usually on a nutrition plan.

A few items that I remember are below - hopefully they don’t make me sound petty.

Overall I would say that I found the vast majority of staff throughout the hotel approached us with a look that I could only describe as something between scared, puzzled and vacant. And I guess that set the tone of the service. There were also quite a bit of communication issues as there was a somewhat linguistic barrier (bad English for them, horrendous French for me - a marriage set for doom). I don’t think there was a time that our room number wasn’t asked (not an issue for me per se but definitely not Aman). Also on numerous occasions one member of staff would take a coffee or drinks order and ten minutes later (whilst the order hadn’t arrived) someone else would approach asking us if we want anything. Or they would take the order and come back five minutes later to confirm the order (it’s a cappuccino!!!).

There were a number of special/“buffet” style lunches (due to Easter) whilst we were there. We tried the first one on Friday as our room wasn’t ready. You selected the seafood you wanted (a la Milos or your typical Greek fish tavern) and they brought it to your table. The problem is (a) they brought us the wrong order 3-4 times and (b) it was the worst grilled seafood I’ve had so far in my life (to give an example the calamari wasn’t cleaned and it was way undercooked (obviously unintentionally).

And whilst we were waiting for the room to get ready (obviously not an issue), no one actually asked us whether we wanted to be shown the property...at all. Even when I called to ask where the gym is.

In the same garden localle during breakfast the next day, four members of staff opted to play with an (admittedly) very cute baby and ignored the fact that we had sat down for a good 15 minutes.

We opted out of the Easter Sunday lunch and tried to order room service. I tried going reasonably off menu (pizza which they serve at the restaurant), which must have given the person on the other side of the, barely working and most temperamental phone I’ve ever come across, a panic attack (they ultimately couldn’t accommodate my request). I stuck to ordering a burger (subpar) which arrived with almost cold fries.

House keeping arrived after lunch time twice (non of the ninja style Aman house keeping that I love). I never thought I’d comment on house keeping but I found it all ok-Ish.

Anecdotally, the story of me leaving all 1000 pages of a book I had just finished (the Kindly Ones if I remember correctly) at an Aman (which I can’t remember) and the hotel calling the driver and asking him whether we are too far now to return back to the hotel or whether they need to send someone to the airport to give it to me, has always been a favourite of mine in showcasing why an Aman is...well...an Aman. In Amanjena I left a number of items behind (ie toiletries, a book etc) as I couldn’t take them (or simply wasn’t worth taking them) through the airport and no one called. It’s a silly point really but for whatever reason that stuck with me.

Food at dinner was always exceptional imo. The problem is that they always screwed up the order. Forgetting to bring items altogether or bringing things twice or bringing things that we didn’t order in the first instance. First dinner at Nama was an absolute comedy of errors (the food in itself was the best food I’ve had in any of the Namas that I’ve been to so far). Second dinner at Nama we decided to play it safe and used our Hakasan trick of ordering 1-2 items and then ordering some more etc. Unbelievably they screwed that up also. My first choice for dessert the first evening (profiteroles) wasn’t available. My first choice for dessert the second time at Nama (ice cream) also wasn’t available (just my luck I guess). As a result of the constant wrong ordering, I am not sure whether the bill we got at the end re dining was actually accurate (this was the first time after years of Aman stays that I would say that I’d actually like to sign for the bill). Oh and ended up serving ourselves the wine a few times.

A couple of years ago Kasbah Tamadot set the gold standard for us as a gay couple where every item was his and his. Would it absolutely kill you to pay some attention to detail and remove the obviously ladies’ hat from the lounger etc? Other luxury hotels are far more aware of this nowadays (think bathrobes etc).

As I said, none of the above resulted in a castrophic stay - just not one that I am used to from an Aman. The grounds, the ambience, the musicians etc are of course second to none. But not sure that I’d rush back anytime soon.

Oh I’m sorry for your experience. So different from my 2 stays at Amanjena
Asking for your room number is all the more not acceptable when you are a gay couple. Remembering who you are shall be pretty easy for the staff.

Regarding your comment above, hotels are generally very bad at accommodating gay couples. The hat is a good example, so is the size of slippers, bathrobe, etc. The worst I can remember was Valentine’s Day menu for him and for her at Ritz Paris something like 15 years ago. Fortunately enough they made some progress