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Amandari trip report
This trip was taken back in May 2012. My partner and I usually go to Bali around May/June period to celebrate his birthday and weather during that time is lovely. Not too hot and just tailing off the rainy season with blue skies and occasional showers. Amandari is our 3rd Aman stay in Indonesia (We did Kila and Jiwo the year before). GM Sally has just left and Siddarth has stepped in from Amansara. Though Siddarth was away for most of the time during our stay, he delegated his assistant Samuel (a very young and pleasant Swiss guy) to take care of us, and he did a very good job.
Arrival/Transfer/Depart Usual Aman efficiency with VIP on arrival visa service to help us beat the queues and a comfortable 1.5 hours drive with snacks and drink if you’re feeling peckish. Aman has stationed a staff there to help with our luggages and check-in at the international terminal when we left, which is a nice touch. Room and grounds We stayed in a single storey pool suite (#14) after reviewing our options here on flyertalk :) It has a nice layout with a living area/bedroom and an oversized bathroom with outdoor tub. The bamboo thatched roof blends in with the surroundings superbly and made us feel like we’re staying in a luxurious Balinese village house. The outdoor bathtub is similar to that of Amanjiwo, which we find even Aman housekeeping staff was unable to keep it spotlessly clean at all times as it is surrounded by trees and vegetations. Fallen leaves and small insects can be a bit of nuisance after a tropical rainshower. The overhead rainforest shower has perfect water pressure though. Amandari is a resort which I think a private pool is essential as the main pool (the only pool) is fairly small and public, overlooked by the restaurant perched above it. I believe different pool suites have slightly different layouts with varying pool sizes and views. According to our guest assistant Wayan, #14 is the most private as it looks out to the river gorge whilst #30 sports the biggest pool but is close to surrounding villages so noise and privacy can be an issue. We didn't have much noise problem as reported previously probably because we're facing away from the village. Amandari has a fairly small footprint compared to Amankila and Amanusa. But again the overall ambiance is that of a traditional Balinese village with shrines, statues and lotus ponds dotted around the resort. For a resort built more than 20 years old, it has certainly aged gracefully and the moss-lined path creates a very verdant and authentic feel. And the guardian lion (?) around the reception area is very cute! Facilities As said before, the main pool is more of a decorative purpose and probably will feel a bit crowded during the high season. The gym pavilion however is very nice, situating right in the middle of a lotus pond with views of green wherever you look. You get your usual cardio machines and some weight-lifting machines (not much free weights I’m afraid). We didn’t get to check out the spa area apart from the locker as my partner doesn’t like massages. I did have a glimpse into one of their treatment rooms which looks fairly standard. Food We stayed in Amandari for nearly all our meals and the quality is excellent. Ingredients are fresh and both Western dishes and Indonesian ones taste great. The only gripe is that the dinner menu feels a bit limited - only two to three western/indonesian main courses to choose from, though I’m sure they will be happy to prepare out-of-menu dishes. We did manage to get out of the resort and went to one of the restaurants down at Ubud. The transfer to Ubud is complimentary and Amandari helped us reserve a table at Ibu Rai. I must stay that meal was a step down from what we had at Amandari and the Indonesian dishes were slightly too westernised and service a tad slow. We did a private dinner at one of their on-site bales one night which was wonderful. We requested Babi Guling and they were happy to serve a smaller portion. The whole experience was topped by a troup of girls performing a Balinese dance before dinner and we were drowned in petals afterwards :) Activities We stayed for 4 nights and booked the Amandari classic package which includes three of the following activities: - a scenic Ayung River trek with a personal guide and picnic breakfast - a Balinese home-cooking class in a traditional Balinese kitchen - a one-hour Amandari massage - a visit to a well-known local healer - a tour of Bali's craft villages (silverwork, wood and stone carving) or John Hardy's silver atelier We were enjoying ourselves by the private pool too much and only did the cooking class and a hike to Jatiluwah (which they made complimentary!). I would highly recommend the cooking class if you enjoy Balinese food. It starts with a morning market tour and we were whisked to the home of one of Amandari’s staff to do the cooking with real wood stove. Of course the whole experience was carried out Aman style, we were offered cold water and towel whilst doing the chopping up and crushing of spices using huge pestle and mortar. Three people were there ready to take over once they feel you get the hang of the technique. The highlight is that we get to taste our own cooking at a lovely Bale surrounded by tropical trees, few steps away from their home. The hike to Jatiluwah is also pleasant but amounts to a ¾ day to full day trip. We were driven up north for about an hour and started our guided bike ride through paddy fields and local villages to Jatiluwah. Our guide was very knowledgable about local fauna and flora and showed us some huge spiders (scream!) and wild vanilla pods along the way. The paddy field at Jatiluwah earns itself an UNESCO hertiage status and is absolutely stunning. We had lunch at a local restaurant nearby with panoramic view of the paddy fields but the food is nothing to write home about. Pictures: "Guardian lion" near lobby http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8300/7...441f0520_b.jpg A Balinese welcome http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8425/7...a792ec3a_b.jpg Resort passageway http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8448/7...b4ab8d24_b.jpg Lovely lotus pond http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8508/8...15604e9a_b.jpg Early morning pool http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8447/7...a24f300e_b.jpg Gamelan players by the pool at night http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8437/7...c5c6c1d1_b.jpg Pool Suite #14 http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8435/7...83482aa5_b.jpg Sunset by our private pool http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7...378629b5_b.jpg Suite interior http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8523/8...8199c9f0_b.jpg Our favourite breakfast spot :) http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8282/7...0a60df4d_b.jpg Hiking at Jatiluwah paddy fields http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8430/7...faf1d837_b.jpg Cooking class in action http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7117/7...e9cb1c05_b.jpg http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8302/7...615da6cb_b.jpg Lunch Bale after class http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8250/8...860504ec_b.jpg Private dining Bale (Sorry for the slightly dark picture) http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7280/7...f12ef6cb_b.jpg Overall it is another great stay at a solid Asian Aman property and we’ll be visiting Nusa, Wana and Jiwo later this year to complete our Indonesian Aman jigsaw :) Happy to answer any questions and big thanks to DavidO for help us with the booking! |
Thanks a lot. We had more or less the same trip (same villa, same activities) a few years ago, so your report and pictures bring back nice memories.
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Beautiful pictures that evoked such a sense of a unique place I wanted to jump on a plane and go stay there.
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As I have said previously, this is a magical place and glad to see someone staying a full four nights and independent trip here. Wonderful pictures, many thanks!
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definitely some new pics and maybe some new room info ^
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There's just nothing like an Indonesian Aman! :cool:
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Fantastic TR and makes me miss Amandari even more than I already do on a regular basis :D
Thanks for taking the time to share your write-up and photos ^ |
The cooking class... Exactly as you describe! We loved the early morning trip to the market to shop, then to the local home to slice / cut / grind / cook. And the bale overlooking the Ayung - we loved it!
We really liked the main pool, and used it nearly as much as our plunge pool. The infinity edge off over the canyon was wonderful. We would swim in the evening too, as the gamelan players were playing on the platform. We did not feel self conscious at all, but others might. We did the Ayung river rafting too, and it was fun to end right below Amandari and walk up the steps, across the rice paddies, and back to the resort. |
Nice pics and nice report. I was at Dari in December. Just as you describe. One quick addition. They have a very nice tennis court there for anyone who enjoys tennis.
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Thank you guys for your comments :)
Going through the pictures in Dari certainly brings back a lot of fond memories! We had a really difficult time deciding to go back to Dari or Jiwo after Wana this year, but I guess the Borobudur and prayer calls are luring us back to Java. (plus we weren't able to climb up to the top level of Borobudur last time because of volcanic eruption fews months earlier) Sean was away last time when we're at Jiwo, we met a chatty Portuguese assistant manager instead (which manages to blurp out all the birthday surprises I planned for my partner to him... a minor gripe) Any experiences with the new GM Mark S? Heard him is a real gentleman :) |
duplicated
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Originally Posted by halibahs
(Post 20213949)
Thank you guys for your comments :)
Going through the pictures in Dari certainly brings back a lot of fond memories! We had a really difficult time deciding to go back to Dari or Jiwo after Wana this year, but I guess the Borobudur and prayer calls are luring us back to Java. (plus we weren't able to climb up to the top level of Borobudur last time because of volcanic eruption fews months earlier) Sean was away last time when we're at Jiwo, we met a chatty Portuguese assistant manager instead (which manages to blurp out all the birthday surprises I planned for my partner to him... a minor gripe) Any experiences with the new GM Mark S? Heard him is a real gentleman :) On Ericka's recommendation, we also booked the steam train one day - What a wonderful experience. We ended up inviting a few Jiwo employees and their families to join us, and we all had a great day. The damage from Merapi was frightening (we were there 4 months after the eruption). The landslides / flooding / washing away of entire small towns was catastrophic. Sean and Lindsay were wonderful to us, our next Aman trip we are going to make sure we are staying at one of the Aman's he is in charge of! |
Originally Posted by LarkSFO
(Post 20215244)
Did you do the dinner at Pak Bilal's last visit? (sp?) That was a highlight one evening at Jiwo.
On Ericka's recommendation, we also booked the steam train one day - What a wonderful experience. We ended up inviting a few Jiwo employees and their families to join us, and we all had a great day. The damage from Merapi was frightening (we were there 4 months after the eruption). The landslides / flooding / washing away of entire small towns was catastrophic. Sean and Lindsay were wonderful to us, our next Aman trip we are going to make sure we are staying at one of the Aman's he is in charge of! We actually asked one of the guides to drive us up to Merapi for a day trip and we saw remains of lava river wiping out an entire village. That was about 6 months after the eruption, the guide later brought us to have tea down at one of the local villages by Merapi and we chatted a local who lost nearly everything after the quake. Heartbreaking stuff...:( Who do you contact to book the steam train? I'm not sure if their website is still working. We'll hopefully be seeing Sean at Amanusa later this year, not too crazy about Nusa Dua area in Bali but having high hopes with Aman working its magic there ;) Some pictures I dug up from Jiwo: Dinner at Pak Bilal's http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8382/8...0c5a2566_c.jpg Gubug Sawah dinner looking out to the paddy fields with smoking Merapi http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8520/8...356f68d7_c.jpg Ruins around Merapi http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8085/8...86deaf8a_c.jpg |
Originally Posted by LarkSFO
(Post 20215244)
Did you do the dinner at Pak Bilal's last visit? (sp?) That was a highlight one evening at Jiwo.
On Ericka's recommendation, we also booked the steam train one day - What a wonderful experience. We ended up inviting a few Jiwo employees and their families to join us, and we all had a great day. The damage from Merapi was frightening (we were there 4 months after the eruption). The landslides / flooding / washing away of entire small towns was catastrophic. Sean and Lindsay were wonderful to us, our next Aman trip we are going to make sure we are staying at one of the Aman's he is in charge of! Sean is the Country Manager , Indonesia & also GM for Nusa. [/QUOTE] We'll hopefully be seeing Sean at Amanusa later this year, not too crazy about Nusa Dua area in Bali but having high hopes with Aman working its magic there ;) Check with Sean when your dates are confirmed .. No guarantees though as sudden trips do happen like over this CNY weekend. But will see him on Mon You'll be fine especially if you stay on site ;) |
Originally Posted by halibahs
(Post 20216090)
Yes, we has a really wonderful private dinner at Pak Bilal's hut last time and the Gubug Sawah dinner which was at one of their Bale looking over the paddy field. I guess we could try the Selamatan dinner this time at Dalem Jiwo suite but we're not too crazy about having a whole gamelan orchestra playing during our meal...
We actually asked one of the guides to drive us up to Merapi for a day trip and we saw remains of lava river wiping out an entire village. That was about 6 months after the eruption, the guide later brought us to have tea down at one of the local villages by Merapi and we chatted a local who lost nearly everything after the quake. Heartbreaking stuff...:( Who do you contact to book the steam train? I'm not sure if their website is still working. We'll hopefully be seeing Sean at Amanusa later this year, not too crazy about Nusa Dua area in Bali but having high hopes with Aman working its magic there ;) We booked the steam train through Aman. They payed the steam train operators, and it was put on to the bill for our stay. (If I am remembering correctly?) A dinner with an entire Gamelan orchestra could be trying, I agree. We also did the breakfast at Dagi Hill (?) overlooking Borobudur, which we enjoyed as well. |
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