GetSetJetSet

There are seriously people who can't sleep because of mild noise from a party further on up the coast?

AnnaBeth

Well, yes.

behuman

And rightly so when paying a stiff EUR 1268 net (USD 1622 ) for a deluxe seaview terrace cottage like the OP staid in.

Such a place has to be perfectly quiet or double glazed soundproofed rooms .

valextraofstyle

An update and thank you for the sympathetic responses and for the welcomes to FT.

We talked to Kevin yesterday (we would not have disturbed him late at night over this) and it seems that the severity of the noise and length of the disturbance genuinely took them by surprise even though it happened once last summer, but he readily admitted that the sound was carrying especially badly across the water to our cottage located high up so that there were no buildings in between, and that they ought to have reacted more effectively to the situation. There were indeed things they could have done, not least communicating with guests better, but he said all the right things in terms of recognising their shortcomings. I will say that, once we raised the issue with Kevin, his response was spot on. The noise from a third party continued into the evening yesterday, so he sought us out at the lovely tea service, introduced us to the night duty manager and gave us the choice to move to another room of the same category on the sheltered east side of the island either then or later if we would prefer to see how the situation developed. To his credit, he showed us to and around the room personally and arranged for tea to be brought to our new (quiet) terrace, personally taking our requests. He made no offer of compensation, but what we were looking for was an understanding of the problem and a solution and this was forthcoming, so we were pleased with Kevin's handling of our complaint. We were told that other guests were also unhappy, but do not know what happened in their situations.

The rain has now brought an end to the beach parties. I'll gladly post more once we return to London about what was said about the possibility of more disruptive parties later in the summer, similar concerns at Amanruya and more details on the two rooms we have stayed in and the island.

Londonjetsetter

I don't think so. In Budva there are loud outdoor bars and clubs most night in the summer but we couldn't hear them at Sveti Stefan. The festival must have been nearer.

vuittonsofstyle

Oh please, let's not get hysterical about Aman's ability to operate in this region. Compared to anyone else, they are miraculous.

Aman Sveti Stefan has to coexist with others along that coastline and they cannot control or predict what those 'others' do. I never experienced anything like this at Sveti Stefan, so it is not a constant threat during the summer months - it is a one-off - rather like your neighbours having a birthday party one night and keeping you up until 2am. It happens.

As for Amanruya, there is NO WAY this is a threat as Amanruya is totally isolated. It is nowhere near the town or, indeed, anything else.

I am also getting tired of people saying that Aman cannot offer high levels of service outside of Asia. What about Amangiri in Utah? For me, I had some of the best service anywhere, ever. I even think that it was, in some parts, better than the Amans in Bali. I also felt that Amanruya offered incredible service levels, and not just for Turkey.

Please try them out before you judge.

Larkin

Thank you for the heads up. We are visiting both Aman Sveti Stefan and Amanruya in July, and noise would definately put a damper on things as we are very light sleepers! Anxious to hear about the rooms, rest of your trip, and details on when this will be a problem and how to resolve in both places! Glad GM was on it!

Musken

Was there two weeks in July last year. Never heard any noice. Cannot imagine you heard noice from Budva which is far away, must be closer and a special celebration or festival of some kind.

Kagehitokiri

why didnt you move earlier?
dont know when GM went off duty, but hes not the only one capable

i guess we know to ask now, but any details would still be useful and appreciated

xracer

I hope you are correct as I will be there in less than a week and will be very irate if the surrounding area turns out to be 'party central'.

instyleprincess

Cannot agree with you more ^^

valextraofstyle

I am sorry to those of you who are planning to visit soon, but our final experiences at Aman Sveti Stefan only got worse. I cannot fault the housekeeping, grounds or waitstaff, but guest services is appalling and the responsibility ultimately falls upon hotel management. I am sorry to those of you with close ties to the chain who wish to defend it, but our first Aman experience will be our last. I cannot speak as to whether the service issue is a geographical one for Aman (thankfully we haven't wasted any more money on stays in their hotels), but I can say with certainty that there are far superior hotels in Europe and for that matter in the US. Our departure was a shambles and no amount of smiles and handshaking or extra bread can change that. Personally, we suspect that this is not a Europe-based issue, but a management-structure issue that ultimately fits with a (post)colonialist worldview.

We will be taking this up directly with Aman Head Office and feel it would not give Aman a fair-hearing to post the full extent of our problems unless we can also indicate their response. But I can warn those of you due to travel in the near future to insist on transparency with all practical arrangements and billing, and, in particular, not to wire money in advance to them. Also, do not rely on the hotel to recommend a suitable departure time for airport transfers; look into this yourself and stand your ground on the time you would like to leave: for Dubrovnik, you'll need to allow 3 hours (as their own website advises!).

aa213bb

I, for one, would appreciate more detail -- as it stands you've posted a negative - though non-detailed - review already, and it's easy enough to post further updates to this thread as needed.

At least by informing us of what, particularly, went wrong, you allow us to judge for ourselves the degree of hesitation we should consider before booking -- especially those who have loads of Aman experiences.

valextraofstyle

Even if Aman management does not have a sense of decency, I do. I think readers will pick up on the inference of my post, but appreciate that some discretion is required given the severity of the issue. It goes to the heart of being a reputable organisation, and for that reason I shall not be drawn to make further comments until someone competent and senior at Aman has had a chance to investigate the matter. At this point, I think it wise to urge caution. The review going over the noise complaint is amply detailed and I have already indicated that I will post more specifics on room numbers, location of parties and discussion about future issues. I shall reiterate that the disturbance was severe over a large part of the island and it is far from clear that parties closer to the resort will remain isolated incidents, although "constant" would seem unlikely.

Kagehitokiri

this might clarify a "question" in my first reply

more overgeneralizations

uninformative without examples, which would also provide frame of reference