South-East Asian Delights Part III, Amanusa
Aug 2, 2012, 1:31 pm
#1
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Join Date: Jul 2012
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South-East Asian Delights Part III, Amanusa
Last part of the Indonesian Aman trip. Enjoy 
If I recall well we left Amankila around 5pm and I think we arrived in Amanusa about 2 hours later. Arrival was unparalleled. Several Indonesian staff members were greeting us and we were so warmly welcomed by lovely Hisayo-san, charming Japanese assistant-GM, with drinks in the open air bar near the lobby. We had an instant connection and over the days to come many great encounters. After that we quickly settled in our suite. Unlike Kila and Jiwo there is a television and Bose sound system in the room. Not that we missed this in the other hotels but still we enjoyed a DVD in bed before falling asleep once. Outdoor shower, indoor bath, private bale, scenic candles...There was also a pool of perfect size with amazingly warm water… great for a nightly swim
Lobby at night
the bed
After a shower and a change of clothes we headed off to the Terrace which serves Indonesian and Thai cuisine. We had the tasting menu and we enjoyed an amazing diner of great quality. Utterly friendly and casual service made this the perfect evening. When dining at the Terrace, one notices indeed the construction going on a bit further on the beach. Honestly, that did not bother us at all. When eating in the Italian restaurant or laying near the pool or in your villa… we never saw or heard any construction going on. Later during our stay we also dined at the Italian restaurant, which is considered the up-scale fine dining place. We had a lovely Italian meal and were glad we choose to go there but as we live close to Italy back home we have in fact many chances to enjoy great Italian cuisine. We had our breakfasts in our suite every morning, yummie eggs Benedict, a new smoothie any other day, lots of fresh-cut fruits with yogurt and honey, French croissants, Belgian waffles… in fact anything you asked for was available. Feast for your tummies.
Room service breakfast
Indonesian-Thai restaurant
We divided our time over lounging near the impressive main pool (very quiet the entire time we were there) and were served fruit skewers and the usual pool amenities, our pool in the suite (we once mentioned that it would have been fun to float in the pool on an air mattress and the next thing we find near the pool was this funny crocodile. Loved it though and of course… the beach club. By far our nicest beach experience ever. When you indicate to anyone you fancy a dip in the ocean they direct you in one of the two VW cabriolets for a 5min drive to the beach. We just loved it. Once on the Aman private beach strip you are shown your bale which you could use if you prefer shadow and loungers in case you love a tan. I could easily spend weeks there without getting bored. We played chess in our bale, badminton on the sand, dived in the water and I recall one day we ate amazing pizza`s from the beach bistro.
The crocodile ;-)
View from the lobby
God I miss this
The Volkswagen
Beachclub
We sometimes get bored of staying in the same place and go out and about, but I have to confess that we didn't actually leave Amanusa for the duration of our stay there. This is testament to how fabulous the place is. Oh about the spa, we did not visit the Spa Villa as we enjoyed the intimacy of our suite. We had massages twice, once on our suite terrace around sunset and another time in one of the beach bales. Again, nothing to fault… Great soft relaxing massages which made us feel so light and zen afterwards that in fact we never wanted to leave this place anymore.
Beautiful hotel grounds
One of the things we clearly noticed in all three Amans we visited during this trip is that they look after their staff, who all seemed very proud and happy to work there, a lot in fact since the resorts opened… about 20years ago. Kudos for Hisayo-san and Sean, also a very pleasant and down-to-earth man by the way to talk with to achieve this level of ultimate customer service.
After 4 days, it was time for us to leave as we had a commitment in KL the next morning. We have been looking (with the help of Hisayo-San and Sean) to fly back after our meeting to spend the last weekend of our trip in Amanusa, but all flights between both cities were sold out. What a sad moment that was
Would we go back to this hotel? Without a shadow of a doubt. I absolutely loved it and would thoroughly recommend it. It is definitely worth its price setting.
Few last shots;
If I recall well we left Amankila around 5pm and I think we arrived in Amanusa about 2 hours later. Arrival was unparalleled. Several Indonesian staff members were greeting us and we were so warmly welcomed by lovely Hisayo-san, charming Japanese assistant-GM, with drinks in the open air bar near the lobby. We had an instant connection and over the days to come many great encounters. After that we quickly settled in our suite. Unlike Kila and Jiwo there is a television and Bose sound system in the room. Not that we missed this in the other hotels but still we enjoyed a DVD in bed before falling asleep once. Outdoor shower, indoor bath, private bale, scenic candles...There was also a pool of perfect size with amazingly warm water… great for a nightly swim
Lobby at night
the bed
After a shower and a change of clothes we headed off to the Terrace which serves Indonesian and Thai cuisine. We had the tasting menu and we enjoyed an amazing diner of great quality. Utterly friendly and casual service made this the perfect evening. When dining at the Terrace, one notices indeed the construction going on a bit further on the beach. Honestly, that did not bother us at all. When eating in the Italian restaurant or laying near the pool or in your villa… we never saw or heard any construction going on. Later during our stay we also dined at the Italian restaurant, which is considered the up-scale fine dining place. We had a lovely Italian meal and were glad we choose to go there but as we live close to Italy back home we have in fact many chances to enjoy great Italian cuisine. We had our breakfasts in our suite every morning, yummie eggs Benedict, a new smoothie any other day, lots of fresh-cut fruits with yogurt and honey, French croissants, Belgian waffles… in fact anything you asked for was available. Feast for your tummies.
Room service breakfast
Indonesian-Thai restaurant
We divided our time over lounging near the impressive main pool (very quiet the entire time we were there) and were served fruit skewers and the usual pool amenities, our pool in the suite (we once mentioned that it would have been fun to float in the pool on an air mattress and the next thing we find near the pool was this funny crocodile. Loved it though
and of course… the beach club. By far our nicest beach experience ever. When you indicate to anyone you fancy a dip in the ocean they direct you in one of the two VW cabriolets for a 5min drive to the beach. We just loved it. Once on the Aman private beach strip you are shown your bale which you could use if you prefer shadow and loungers in case you love a tan. I could easily spend weeks there without getting bored. We played chess in our bale, badminton on the sand, dived in the water and I recall one day we ate amazing pizza`s from the beach bistro.The crocodile ;-)
View from the lobby
God I miss this
The Volkswagen
Beachclub
We sometimes get bored of staying in the same place and go out and about, but I have to confess that we didn't actually leave Amanusa for the duration of our stay there. This is testament to how fabulous the place is. Oh about the spa, we did not visit the Spa Villa as we enjoyed the intimacy of our suite. We had massages twice, once on our suite terrace around sunset and another time in one of the beach bales. Again, nothing to fault… Great soft relaxing massages which made us feel so light and zen afterwards that in fact we never wanted to leave this place anymore.
Beautiful hotel grounds
One of the things we clearly noticed in all three Amans we visited during this trip is that they look after their staff, who all seemed very proud and happy to work there, a lot in fact since the resorts opened… about 20years ago. Kudos for Hisayo-san and Sean, also a very pleasant and down-to-earth man by the way to talk with to achieve this level of ultimate customer service.
After 4 days, it was time for us to leave as we had a commitment in KL the next morning. We have been looking (with the help of Hisayo-San and Sean) to fly back after our meeting to spend the last weekend of our trip in Amanusa, but all flights between both cities were sold out. What a sad moment that was
Would we go back to this hotel? Without a shadow of a doubt. I absolutely loved it and would thoroughly recommend it. It is definitely worth its price setting.
Few last shots;
Last edited by SwissBelgiantravelers; Aug 2, 2012 at 1:42 pm
Aug 2, 2012, 5:47 pm
#6
Join Date: Dec 2006
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These are wonderful reports , thanks ..
You should visit Amanwana next time you return to see the live turtle(s) you had as your float
Missed seeing them couple weeks back as we were enjoying too much & re scheduled visit traffic was horrendous ( plus important meetings were happening then with AZ & not to be disrupted for the sake of Amanjunkies & future of Amans )
The golf course is being re turfed & only ready next year though
Aug 3, 2012, 1:16 am
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Geneva
Programs: Miles&More Senator
Posts: 41
You are so right, never noticed it actually was a turtle.. I had a crocodile when I still was a kid so guess it brought back memories
We were offered a visit but were so short on time we`ll have to return for that ;-) No noise pollution whatsoever. To my understanding they are not being build on or near the current resort premises but a 15min drive away
We were offered a visit but were so short on time we`ll have to return for that ;-) No noise pollution whatsoever. To my understanding they are not being build on or near the current resort premises but a 15min drive away
Aug 3, 2012, 5:37 am
#9
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 37
I loved Amanusa so much that I visited twice in 7 months... In my last stay there, however, I had this horrific, at least 1.5 feet long (no exaggeration), pudgy black gecko with yellow eyes on the ceiling of my villa. They changed our room, of course, but I think I'm scarred for life as far as traditional thatched ceilings are concerned.
Aug 3, 2012, 8:54 pm
#10
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Aug 4, 2012, 5:52 pm
#11
Join Date: Dec 2000
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Posts: 2,353
Was there still noise from the constructions nearby?
When we were there last year, we spent the entire time at the private beach - so secluded and peaceful.
We never ended up using the pool in the suite, as the beach and the main pool was so much better.
Thanks for the report.
When we were there last year, we spent the entire time at the private beach - so secluded and peaceful.
We never ended up using the pool in the suite, as the beach and the main pool was so much better.
Thanks for the report.
Aug 4, 2012, 5:53 pm
#12
Join Date: Dec 2000
Programs: AA Platinum 1MM, AC SE*100k, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Gold, SPG Gold
Posts: 2,353
I loved Amanusa so much that I visited twice in 7 months... In my last stay there, however, I had this horrific, at least 1.5 feet long (no exaggeration), pudgy black gecko with yellow eyes on the ceiling of my villa. They changed our room, of course, but I think I'm scarred for life as far as traditional thatched ceilings are concerned.
Aug 4, 2012, 6:14 pm
#13
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Enroute to ? & likely flying in ' A ':)
Programs: TPPS, UA, EK ...; Marriott BONVOY , HH, GP, GC..
Posts: 4,217
^
These are wonderful reports , thanks ..
You should visit Amanwana next time you return to see the live turtle(s) you had as your float
They are on track but no construction noise. Some almost ' ready '.
Missed seeing them couple weeks back as we were enjoying too much & re scheduled visit traffic was horrendous ( plus important meetings were happening then with AZ & not to be disrupted for the sake of Amanjunkies & future of Amans )
The golf course is being re turfed & only ready next year though
These are wonderful reports , thanks ..
You should visit Amanwana next time you return to see the live turtle(s) you had as your float
They are on track but no construction noise. Some almost ' ready '.
Missed seeing them couple weeks back as we were enjoying too much & re scheduled visit traffic was horrendous ( plus important meetings were happening then with AZ & not to be disrupted for the sake of Amanjunkies & future of Amans )
The golf course is being re turfed & only ready next year though
Was there still noise from the constructions nearby?
When we were there last year, we spent the entire time at the private beach - so secluded and peaceful.
We never ended up using the pool in the suite, as the beach and the main pool was so much better.
Thanks for the report.
When we were there last year, we spent the entire time at the private beach - so secluded and peaceful.
We never ended up using the pool in the suite, as the beach and the main pool was so much better.
Thanks for the report.
Also let them now if you prefer your villa to be ' gecko ' free as they will keep you awake
. All Indonesian Amans .. Asian ones will provide Aman insect repellant which are very effective & easy to apply
Aug 5, 2012, 2:47 am
#14
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: London
Posts: 3,439
The geckos eat the insects
Great report again SBt. You do take great photos.
I thought Amanusa was on Nusa Dua beach but having read your report I looked at it on Google maps and it is a long way back. I'm afraid I always have to have an ocean view when staying in a 'beach' property so even if I could afford to stay in an Aman I don't think I'd choose this one. Nusa Dua is for me unfortunately an overdeveloped enclave of big resorts. All the beaches are supposed to be public by law but the Balinese are restricted from entering Nusa Dua.
Great report again SBt. You do take great photos.
I thought Amanusa was on Nusa Dua beach but having read your report I looked at it on Google maps and it is a long way back. I'm afraid I always have to have an ocean view when staying in a 'beach' property so even if I could afford to stay in an Aman I don't think I'd choose this one. Nusa Dua is for me unfortunately an overdeveloped enclave of big resorts. All the beaches are supposed to be public by law but the Balinese are restricted from entering Nusa Dua.
