kurl

After reading many threads here looking for the perfect luxury beach destination, my wife and I decided on Amanpuri, Trisara, and Amanpulo for our 2 1/2-week honeymoon in early April. We spent 4 nights in Amanpuri, 5 at Trisara, and 6 at Amanpulo. We’re in our 20s, from New York, and this was our first time in southeast Asia.

While we did not intentionally plan it this way, we ended up in Phuket during the week of Easter, so both Amanpuri and Trisara were operating at full capacity, and there were a number of families there. (Amanpulo was definitely at a somewhat lower occupancy, with a mix of couples of families.) For whatever reason, it seemed like there were fewer kids running around at Amanpuri.

Since these are probably the most-discussed SE Asia beach destinations on this forum, this report will compare and attempt to rank the three of them in various categories, with the goal of helping others decide which of these properties they’ll like most. That said, while we had our preferences, all three properties were truly excellent, and it wouldn’t be any sort of mistake to spend an entire vacation in any one of them.

Setting/Beach
Both Amanpuri and Trisara are located on the west coast of Phuket, north of Patong, the main touristy area of Phuket. Both Amanpuri and Trisara are built up the side of cliffs overlooking their respective beaches on the Andaman Sea. The views from both of these properties are beautiful.

Amanpuri’s beach is excellent – one of the best we’d been to (at least until later in the trip ). It is wide, with soft, white sand, not rocky at all, and very clean. The water is shallow, pleasantly warm, and very clean. An Amanpuri staff member continually waters down pathways in the hot sand so that you can walk along the beach barefoot – a nice touch. The beach is semi-private, shared with the hotel next door (The Surin), though it definitely wasn’t crowded.

Trisara’s beach (while private), is, by comparison, disappointing. It is significantly narrower, and quite rocky. The seafloor near the beach is particularly rocky and difficult to walk on. The hotel erects a long floating jetty so that you can walk out to the swimmable area. However, they pulled that mid-trip, as it cannot stay out as the weather gets rougher. (Without the jetty, you can navigate the rocks and wade into the ocean in the morning low tide, though it’s too difficult in high tide.) After Amanpuri, we didn’t feel tempted to spend a lot of time on the beach at Trisara.

Amanpulo must be one of the most beautiful natural places in the world. The island is surrounded with a stunning, soft white coral beach, and the water is the sort of blue that you only see in pictures. The island really feels private and deserted (in the best possible way) – frequently, we would spend hours on the beach outside our casita without seeing another guest. There are a few islands in the distance, one of which has a small village, and the rest are uninhabited; the feeling unspoiledness is amazing.

1. Amanpulo
2. Amanpuri
   (large gap)
3. Trisara

Resort/Common Areas
Walking into Amanpuri is breathtaking – the dark-wood terraces and salas surrounding the pool are truly beautiful, and make Amanpuri feel like a special place. The whole resort felt very “Thai,” due to the use of traditional architecture and dark wood throughout. The hotel does a great job of giving a sense of genuine drama: from walking down the many steps to the amazing beach, to watching the sunset as traditional music s over the unique stone pool.

We really enjoyed the common area at Amanpuri, the restaurants, bar, and pool area are comfortable, with lots of little private spaces where you can enjoy a drink or a snack in privacy (even in a completely full resort). On the downside, there are a lot of stairs; the (always prompt) buggies are happy to take you around, but they can’t take you directly to your room – this got a little tiresome, especially in the heat. Despite being quite old, the maintenance was impeccable, and the resort areas showed no noticeable wear and tear. Furniture and fixtures were of high quality throughout and achieved the right harmony of luxury and tradition.

Trisara’s resort area consists of a multiple-level deck, overlooking the beach and abutting the pool area. While very comfortable and luxurious, it didn’t feel quite as distinctively Thai---instead, it felt like a generic resort. The restaurant and bar area was smart, comfortable, open, and airy, exuding luxury with high-quality furniture in great repair. The layout was more “communal” feeling than Amanpuri (as, particularly at lunch and dinner, you were among all of the other guests) --- while some may prefer that, it wasn’t really to our tastes.

One thing that was great about Trisara is that each room has direct access to the resort’s inner roads. The buggies and cars can pick you up and drop you off right at your villa, which is convenient.

Amanpulo has a very different feel from Amanpuri and Trisara – a tropical island vibe, rather than over-the-top luxury. That said, it definitely feels luxurious when it needs to, particularly in the dining venues. We really enjoyed driving around in our personal buggy through the resort’s dirt roads (which were watered each day so that they weren’t too dusty), exploring the island (with the provided map, which was clipped to the steering wheel).

While the resort’s size and layout means that it doesn’t really have one central area where guests congregate, the pool club (which is also the restaurant with the largest menu) is the closest thing. We really enjoyed cocktails in one of the club’s comfortable, isolated salas when we got tired of the beach and our casita.

1. Amanpuri
   (decent-sized gap)
2. Amanpulo
3. Trisara

Room
We were pleasantly surprised by our garden pavilion at Amanpuri, given the mixed reviews the pavilions get. The interior and private outdoor sala were really unique and beautiful, featuring the same distinctive dark wood as the rest of the resort, and stunning flower arrangement in the room. The room was quite large, with a huge bathroom (also in beautiful wood) that had a lot of storage space. As far as dislikes go, the bed wasn’t great (though helped by a requested mattress topper), and there wasn’t really sufficient indoor sitting area.

That said, if we were to go back, we would likely book into a higher room category. While the location was quiet and private, we found the garden pavilion to be quite jungly, and there were a lot of mosquitos around, which meant that we didn’t get a lot of use out of our sala.

The ocean view villa at Trisara was fantastic. While the décor and architecture was not as authentically Thai as at Amanpuri, the room was extremely comfortable and perfectly appointed. The villa had the most comfortable bed of the trip, a lot of storage space, and comfortable sitting areas. All the furniture felt high-quality and new.

What really distinguished the room at Trisara was the outdoor space, which features loungers with an umbrella, a table and chairs, and a huge infinity pool with a beautiful view of the ocean. The trees/vegetation did a good job of providing privacy from the neighboring villas, though we could definitely hear when there was loud conversation outside.

We were happy to spend most of our time at our villa (especially given Trisara’s uninspiring beach), and I would wholeheartedly recommend this room category; Trisara also offers a higher-priced room closer to the ocean, but I can’t really imagine being disappointed with the view from the “ocean view” rooms.

The beach casita at Amanpulo was quite good. While it wasn’t as large as the Trisara villa, it was still quite large, and the layout and furnishings were smart and comfortable---definitely in keeping with the “island chic” theme of the rest of the resort. The casita had a great view of the ocean and the beach, though it still felt quite private (partially because there’s not very much at all foot traffic on the beach). The bathroom is large and comfortable.

Outdoors, there’s a decent-sized outdoor deck, which we didn’t really use, because we were about 10 steps from the beautiful beach. Each beach casita has its own loungers and umbrella.

1. Trisara ocean view villa
   (good-sized gap)
2. Amanpulo beach casita
3. Amanpuri garden pavillion

Service
The service at all three properties was very strong – we really had no major issues, though there were factors that distinguished them from one another. One thing we really enjoyed about all three properties is that they are all very privacy focused, approaching you only when you wanted, and giving ample notice before approaching the rooms.

The service at Amanpuri was extremely polished. The airport transfer was very smooth, and we were greeted upon arrival by name, with cold towels and congratulations on our honeymoon.

Throughout the stay, it seemed like the staff always knew exactly where we were going, and everywhere we turned, we were always met with cold towels and drinks. Every request was met quickly and without need for follow-up, and we were only asked our pavilion number a couple of times, despite full occupancy.

Housekeeping was the best of the trip: all of our things were always arranged considerately (for example, each day, our toiletries exactly where we left them, but lined up more neatly and placed on a clean towel). Every evening there was new (tasty) fresh fruit and cookies. Our only complaints were that, on a few occasions, we came back the room as it was being cleaned in the morning; particularly irksome was that the doors and screens were left open – letting in some of the omnipresent mosquitos.

Trisara’s service was a bit friendlier and warmer than Amanpuri’s, though not quite as flawless. While each member of the staff was extremely nice and helpful, and we got to know a few in a way that we didn’t anyone at Trisara, we felt that the service was less anticipatory --- it didn’t feel like everyone always knew who we were and where we were going. We definitely had to specify our villa number more than a few times, and several times requests (a drink order, a buggy, laundry) took longer than expected and required follow-up.

At Amanpulo, the service managed to be both warm and polished. We were met upon arrival by the GMs and our guest assistant, who checked in with us throughout the stay. All of our preferences were handled perfectly, and it seemed as if the entire staff always knew us.

The little touches at Amanpulo were amazing. Some examples:

• Every time we parked our buggy, we would return to see it reparked (facing “outward”) and with fresh bottles of cold water in the cupholders. This was true even when we were using the buggy at unpredictable times (e.g., taking the buggy out in the afternoon to explore the island, etc.)
• One day we were walking around the island along the beach, and a staff member, seeing this, darted out to meet us with (much appreciated) ice-cold bottled water.
• As part of the “romance” package, we had a wedding ceremony with a really tasty chocolate wedding cake, which we couldn’t finish. For the few nights after the ceremony, the cake would find its way to whatever restaurant we went to for dinner.
• We were always greeted by name and never ever asked for our room number. This was true even when we went to get lunch about 10 minutes after arrival – very impressive.
• There was a pad to leave notes to housekeeping, which was nice – we didn’t need to call in all of our little requests and preferences. Everything we noted was handled extremely quickly and each request were remembered throughout our stay.
• Each day, in addition to fruit, the turndown service featured little gifts or traditional snacks (with a paper explaining what they were); while these weren’t all to our taste, they very nice.

(As this was our honeymoon, each property did something special for us – including gifts of champagne at all three properties, and a ‘special’ turndown with flowers and rose petals on the bed and in the drawn bath --- these were great touches and really made the trip feel special.)

1. Amanpulo
2. Amanpuri
3. Trisara

Food
At Amanpuri, there are three distinct restaurants – Thai/Continental, Italian, and French/Japanese. There’s also a bar with snacks, and a separate menu for lunch on the beach. Breakfast here was the best of the trip (especially the Thai food – though our Virtuoso rate only included Continental breakfast). Really, the Thai food at all meals was extraordinary (probably the best cuisine at any of the three resorts); we really enjoyed how nearly every Thai option was served with its own tasty, complex sauces and seasonings. However, we found the non-Thai food we tried to be disappointing, and our meal at the Japanese restaurant was skippable. Also, it is worth noting that none of the venues were air-conditioned.

We also partook of the weekly beach barbecue, which was tasty, with a large buffet of appetizers, and fresh seafood and meats cooked to order.

At Trisara, there is really only one dining venue. Despite the fact that it has a very large menu, some variety of setting would have been nice. The Thai food at Trisara was also very good (especially the curries), though maybe not quite as great as at Amanpuri. We had breakfast served at our villa every morning (all breakfast items are included in Virtuoso at Trisara), and it was very tasty (especially the Japanese breakfast and the avocado/Balsamic toast).

We tried the Sunday champagne brunch at Trisara (not great – we preferred the normal breakfasts) and a private in-villa barbecue (tasty and a good experience, though it’s very dark on the deck at night, even with candles).

Amanpulo has several restaurants – the Pool Club serves Asian and Western food, the Beach Club serves Spanish food, the Lagoon Club has Vietnamese for dinner only, and the Picnic Grove pizzas at lunch.

Having seen some negative reviews of the food, we had tempered expectations, but we found the food to be really excellent throughout. We tried all of the venues multiple times, and found everything to be very tasty – especially impressive given presumably limited ingredient availability. We especially liked the pizzas at the Picnic Grove (especially after the wan pizza at Amanpuri and Trisara), paella and tapas at the Beach Club, and pretty much everything at the Pool Club. We also really enjoyed the cocktails at Amanpulo, after finding them to be weak at the two Phuket resorts.

As part of the Romance package, we had a private beach barbecue, which was awesome – a table was set for us with comfortable seating and candles, a ton of lanterns were arranged on the beach, and a bonfire was lit. There were several menus available (more options than at Trisara), and the food was very good.

While perhaps nothing at Amanpulo was as great as the Thai food at Amanpuri, the variety and consistent excellence made it the best of our trip.

1. Amanpulo
2. Trisara
2. Amanpuri (tied)

Spa
We each had several treatments at all three spas, and found both Amanpuri and Trisara to be very good. Amanpuri maybe had a touch better service, though Trisara’s treatments were truly above and beyond in our experience---my wife and I have different tastes and preferences for spa treatments, and both of us had some of the best treatments we’ve ever had at Trisara. Still, both of these are great choices.

Amanpulo’s spa was definitely somewhat of a step down. While the rooms and natural setting were very nice, we found the quality of treatments to be a notch below the others.

1. Trisara
2. Amanpuri
   (significant gap)
3. Amanpulo

Activities
At Amanpuri, we chartered a private, half-day cruise out to Phang Nga Bay. This was really amazing; the captain took a great route, and pointed out many interesting things along the way, ensuring that we got the perfect angles for photos. Aman provided drinks and snacks. I would definitely recommend this to anyone visiting Phuket and, while pricy (USD$950 for 4 hours for the covered speedboat we choose), we felt that chartering a private boat was worthwhile.

We took a Thai cooking class at Trisara, and really enjoyed it. The team does a great job, allowing you to choose what items you’d like to cook (we chose curries, and made a special request for Nam Jim Jaew, one of the more addictive Thai dipping sauces), and giving you printed recipes and Trisara aprons. Ordinarily, the cooking classes are outside on the deck, but, because of rain, it was moved to the hotel kitchen---we actually enjoyed that more, as it gave us a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at how the resort runs.

We also hired the Trisara car for elephant rides, a tour of the city, and of the nearby temples. We found the elephant ride underwhelming (a short circle through a swampy park), though Phuket town and the temples were nice (though definitely not essential). Our driver frequently refreshed our cold water and towels was an excellent guide---we asked to go shopping a few specific items and he took us to great places that had them.

At Amanpulo, we had a few activities included in our package, including a wedding blessing ceremony and sunset cocktail cruise. We really enjoyed the ceremony (somewhat unexpectedly, given that we’d just gotten married two weeks earlier)! We expected it to be a bit cheesy, but it really was genuinely sweet---above and beyond our expectations. (Also, our guest assistant Joel took some amazing photos.) The staff decorated a buggy and the beach, and several staff members dressed up for the occasion, where they read us a poignant blessing. This was followed by a champagne toast and (tasty) wedding cake. We then went directly to our serenaded cruise, and, upon return, our beach barbecue was set up in front of our villa---it made for a very special and romantic night.

Since we stayed for a sixth night, we also had an additional package inclusion, which we chose to use on reserving the Kawayan Bar – a private floating raft --- for sunset cocktails and snacks. We really enjoyed this, and it was a very unique and special feeling to enjoy drinks alone out in the middle of the beautiful ocean (with the attentive Amanpulo bartender). We also took advantage of the complimentary morning snorkeling trip, which was great.

We also decided to explore the “stargazing” activity, which is offered free 4 nights a week. This was great---an Amanpulo employee, equipped with a fancy telescope and high-powered green laser pointed out constellations and planets to us. What was really amazing was the depth of his knowledge – we asked many questions, and he was able to explain to us in astonishing depth what we were seeing in the night sky (including the details of the chemical reactions that make stars twinkle). We would highly recommend this.

Random

• All three resorts provide insect repellant, and it was necessary at all three. At Amanpuri, the insect repellant seemed too weak, and we ended up relying on the more powerful one we’d packed. At Amanpulo, the repellant was quite effective (here it was more of a gel than a spray), though it was a bit corrosive – affecting nail polish and enamel jewelry, so be a bit careful.
• One afternoon we drove our buggy over to the Amanpulo airport to watch the flight land on the dirt runway – this was a very cool experience, and the staff was very accommodating.

Overall
As I mentioned at the beginning, each of these resorts was great in their own way, and, depending on your priorities, any one of these resorts may be best for you. That said, our personal rankings would be:

1. Amanpulo (the stunning natural environment, combined with the great service and food made it our favorite)
2. Amanpuri (such beautiful architecture, though we’d probably want a better room category)
3. Trisara (amazing room and spa, tasty food; the resort area didn’t appeal to us, and the beach is definitely a weak point)

kurl

Amanpuri

Resort area


Pavillion


Pavillion outdoor sala


Watering the beach


Boat ride

Trisara

Infinity pool and outdoor space


Villa


Villa


Villa bathroom


Beach in low tide


Cooking lesson in the hotel kitchen

Amanpulo

Beach casita


Beach casita with welcome champagne and canapes


Beach casita deck with view of our loungers


Beach - no one else in sight!


Serenaded sunset cruise with view of our barbecue


Kawayan Bar at sunset

SeamasterLux

You definitely had an outstanding honeymoon and opted for quite nice places apparently.

Why did you choose not to go to some other places such as Samui?

It's not that far and feel a bit different. But I admit that the FS or the Six Senses Samui can't compare with the Amanpuri or the Trisara probably.

kurl

Thanks - for this trip, we really just wanted to try the most luxurious beach resorts in the area, and were a bit less focused on the interestingness of hte surrounding area... That said, if there was an Aman Ko Samui, we probably would have ended up there!

SeamasterLux

In any case, thanks for this trip report, it was quite interesting to see. I'll be in that area during Christmas but unfortunately not at those places.

Londonjetsetter

Thanks for a wonderful report. Makes me want to get on a plane to Asia immediately! Congrats on your marriage.

Kagehitokiri

incredible pics and reports ^ (10th post )
its amazing when there is always new information - part of what makes aman

wow >

good >

bad if you had left them closed >

tradeoff - road vs setting/privacy/noise >

other >

great pic of trisara beach, so low tide at easter

kurl

Good point - I had seen complaints from others that the "pavillion" (lowest category rooms) have road noise, and we definitely did not have that -- our room was very quiet. I didn't explore the other pavillion areas (or the villas), so not sure if there's a happy medium between not-too-many-steps and quiet.

Thanks for asking - your memory impresses as always

We liked SL Makati in Manila a good bit, though we were only there for about 18 hours. Very comfortable room (Horizon Club Deluxe) and the best arrival/check-in experience I've had at a huge (700-room) city hotel (met at the door, taken straight to the room, checkin completed in-room). Sheng Palace is a great dining option for haute Chinese, and the club had good breakfasts and service.

seaduck79

This may be the best trip report I have ever read. You make me want to go there!

Kagehitokiri

that sells me if pen/raffles wont match

pulo and maybe a few other aman could use aman bed & breakfast near airport/city

not memory this time, saw when confirming post number

search for threads started by Musken (incl Amanpulo) and Groombridge
(current regulars with pics IIRC)

5khours

Best trip report ever! I completely agree with agree with nearly all of your ratings for exactly the reasons you cite. Please be sure to send more reports when you take other trips so I'll know where to go.

Just a couple of comments.

I'm such a big fan of Thai food, I would probably give the nod to Puri on the food.

Pulo has a great scuba program and anyone who goes there should take advantage of it. It's an incredible experience.

Sailing at Pulo is really nice also. They will take you out anytime you want.

I think the villas at Trisara are outstanding. I always stay at an ocean view pool villa. Best thing about the resort. Beach at Trisara is the one shortcoming.

Not a big fan of the garden villas at Puri. As you say, stay at an ocean view or partial ocean view villa if you can.

Agree about the spas. Pulo has an amazing view from the spa, but the treatments are not as good as Puri or Trisara. I think it's a Thai thing.

The gym at Puri is really superb.

I'm at FS Golden Triangle now. Flying to Puri in a couple of hours.

You said it your report, but while the natural beauty at Pulo is the best, IMHO Puri is the most aesthetically beautiful resort I've been to.

Thanks again for such a great report.

P.S. Which Casita were you in at Pulo. The view looks great.

P.P.S. Great photos also!

kurl

Thanks - this was casita 21, which we requested after reading the "which casita" thread.

Really looked like all of the casitas were great, though maybe the beach near the 21-29 end was a bit wider. I would stay at 21 or 29 (more private because it's on the end) if/when we return. (Though 29 may not be as appealing once the new villas are in - we'll see.)

Enjoy Amanpuri!

Groombridge

Wow. As others have said, this is an INCREDIBLY helpful trip report (particularly since I'm planning on both Trisara and Amanpulo in 2013; was at Amanpuri earlier this season and agree with your review of it).

Could you provide a few more details about the spa treatments at Trisara -- what treatments you had -- therapists' names if you recall -- etc?

Crossing my fingers that you and your spouse will have a spectacular one-year anniversary at another string of resorts so that we can all be the beneficiaries of your really great writing.

blueline7

Many, many thanks. I could have kept reading another 500 pages or so.

Musken

Great report. Thank you so much.