Trip report Vietnam: 4 nights Park Hyatt Saigon, 9 nights Amanoi
Apr 16, 2014, 10:00 am
#46
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Enroute to ? & likely flying in ' A ':)
Programs: TPPS, UA, EK ...; Marriott BONVOY , HH, GP, GC..
Posts: 4,217
Also they will do something nice , always have tried
.However , these Aman rates are annoying though & if you have tracked Puri since opening - jaw dropping annual changes .. Read between the lines .
Hope Groombridge ' s stay improves markedly over Easter . That we ' ll get better reports soon .
If it is a capacity situation now , N'oi will need to buck up , definitely by May or request reinforcements from seasoned Amans . Heard though that some are due to local ' constraints ' .
Apr 16, 2014, 10:36 am
#47
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: OSL
Posts: 2,145
Trip report Vietnam: 4 nights Park Hyatt Saigon, 9 nights Amanoi
Like Londonjetsetter we did not have these problems but maybe it is a capacity issue.
Max 50% occupation when we were there. I think that FlyerAC was also there during high season where most villa were occupied. Not that it's an excuse, but at least an explanation....
Max 50% occupation when we were there. I think that FlyerAC was also there during high season where most villa were occupied. Not that it's an excuse, but at least an explanation....
Apr 16, 2014, 11:19 am
#48
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 246
We just had a 4 night short stay last week and everything seems to be spot on (apart from one or two minor housekeeping and F&B hiccups...)! From what I learnt the resort occupancy is creeping up to 100% during this week and around Easter holiday so this could perhaps explain the service lapse but again still unacceptable 
Regarding the phone issue, we didn't have any problems but were given a cellphone with direct line to Susan (GM) or Bagi (Resident manager)... didn't have to touch it once but not sure if this is related.
Hardware wise this is one of the best Amans in Asia I think, and the arid Mediterranean landscape somewhat reminds me of Amanzo'e even though I still haven't been. This resort is one of the biggest we have been and buggies are essential to get around (guess we are not terribly fit). Buggy service is pretty quick but would love to have our own buggies in the future!
Main Pavilion (restaurant etc) from the buggy
Just a short review with pics -
Rooms:
We were upgraded to #18 which is an ocean pavilion with pool. Amazing spot where our bathtub directly overlooks the bay and beautiful sunrise every morning! The room is spacious and layout is great. Love our private sundeck/back garden with a good size pool. Coffee machine is fantastic for us caffeine addicts, milk in the fridge without any prompting is another sweet touch. Miss our cookies but the dried banana chips were very tasty!
Private sundeck and pool
Bathtub
Beautiful sunrise from our room
F&B:
We stuck with Vietnamese food mainly and found the pho and spring rolls very good. Choices for main dish (Vietnamese) during dinner is pretty limited and fairly bland, apparently something to do with the region we were in... Western menu is surprisingly extensive but we didn't really try. Btw, their bread, pastries and desserts are to die for.... I can still remember the crust crackling when I bite into their baquette.. Oh and did I mention vietnamese coffee?...enough said :P
Agree with Musken with their limited choice of dinner location. We ended up having dinner in our room one night and arranged a private seafood BBQ by cliff pool another night. Cliff pool under moonlight is absolutely magical. All the seafood is locally sourced and we had the freshest lobster ever!!
Afternoon tea spread - not to be missed!
Cliff pool dinner (One of the hiccups as you noticed the candles were not lit when we arrived...)
Beach:
Not the best beach compared to other Amans in Asia. Pulo, Puri, Wella, Nusa and Kila have finer sand, Wana has better snorkelling off beach. Service is extremely quick and attentive though. I was walking from the beach up to the beach club barefoot during the midday sun on scorching hot sand. One of the beach boys ran over immediately and offered me their reef shoes, very nice touch.
Being close to a fishing village means occasional rubbish being swept up shore but the team clears it up studiously and almost non-stop ^
Beach club pool
The beach
Cliff pool:
We loved the cliff pool and interestingly we seem to be the only people using it during the few days we were there. Very quiet and fantastic view out to the sea, perfect for relaxing. We had a light lunch there one day and surprised they sent a waiter from main restaurant with full service, which was very nice.
Cliff pool and lunch
Spa:
We are not huge spa fans but have to say this is one of the nicest spa complex we have been to. We would just go there, sit at the yoga pavilion by the lake, listen to the bird chimes and relax. Tried their "hydrotherapy suite", the steam room is pretty good but unfortunately jacuzzi isn't working. Joined one of their yoga class which is a pretty rare thing for my partner but he really enjoyed it, so it must be good
Lake at dusk
Activities:
The resort is so nice and so remote we didn't really want to leave. Took a tour to the fishing village nearby which is quite nice and idyllic. Local villagers are very friendly. Somewhat reminds me of the village walk in Amanbagh, but a more modern one by the sea. Our guide is very good and helped us translating with the villagers.
Fisherman at work
Service:
Senior management team is very visible and they seem to always manage to track us down despite the resort being so big. Resident manager Bagi from Bali is a great guy and has whipped up an amazing team with Susan. Some communication problem with junior staff due to language issue but not really a big deal. Staff are very eager to please and some have already acquired the magic Aman touch. Not once we have been asked our room number and all our small habits are so well catered for.... fell in love with them immediately!
Housekeeping seems to be pretty on the spot whilst we were there, room almost always cleaned up after we left. Perhaps missing only one or two times in the afternoon when we were off to the beach club but nothing major.
Conclusion:
Love the remote location and perfect place to unplug and relax. Wish they had a better beach but I guess most other things make up for it. Best time to go according to Bagi is around Feb - late April, as Nov - Jan is really windy and cold for swimming. We loved the weather whilst we were there, sunny everyday with a cool seabreeze. Pool was warm and perfect.
Regarding the phone issue, we didn't have any problems but were given a cellphone with direct line to Susan (GM) or Bagi (Resident manager)... didn't have to touch it once but not sure if this is related.
Hardware wise this is one of the best Amans in Asia I think, and the arid Mediterranean landscape somewhat reminds me of Amanzo'e even though I still haven't been. This resort is one of the biggest we have been and buggies are essential to get around (guess we are not terribly fit
). Buggy service is pretty quick but would love to have our own buggies in the future!Main Pavilion (restaurant etc) from the buggy
Just a short review with pics -
Rooms:
We were upgraded to #18 which is an ocean pavilion with pool. Amazing spot where our bathtub directly overlooks the bay and beautiful sunrise every morning! The room is spacious and layout is great. Love our private sundeck/back garden with a good size pool. Coffee machine is fantastic for us caffeine addicts, milk in the fridge without any prompting is another sweet touch. Miss our cookies but the dried banana chips were very tasty!
Private sundeck and pool
Bathtub
Beautiful sunrise from our room
F&B:
We stuck with Vietnamese food mainly and found the pho and spring rolls very good. Choices for main dish (Vietnamese) during dinner is pretty limited and fairly bland, apparently something to do with the region we were in... Western menu is surprisingly extensive but we didn't really try. Btw, their bread, pastries and desserts are to die for.... I can still remember the crust crackling when I bite into their baquette.. Oh and did I mention vietnamese coffee?...enough said :P
Agree with Musken with their limited choice of dinner location. We ended up having dinner in our room one night and arranged a private seafood BBQ by cliff pool another night. Cliff pool under moonlight is absolutely magical. All the seafood is locally sourced and we had the freshest lobster ever!!
Afternoon tea spread - not to be missed!
Cliff pool dinner (One of the hiccups as you noticed the candles were not lit when we arrived...)
Beach:
Not the best beach compared to other Amans in Asia. Pulo, Puri, Wella, Nusa and Kila have finer sand, Wana has better snorkelling off beach. Service is extremely quick and attentive though. I was walking from the beach up to the beach club barefoot during the midday sun on scorching hot sand. One of the beach boys ran over immediately and offered me their reef shoes, very nice touch.
Being close to a fishing village means occasional rubbish being swept up shore but the team clears it up studiously and almost non-stop ^
Beach club pool
The beach
Cliff pool:
We loved the cliff pool and interestingly we seem to be the only people using it during the few days we were there. Very quiet and fantastic view out to the sea, perfect for relaxing. We had a light lunch there one day and surprised they sent a waiter from main restaurant with full service, which was very nice.
Cliff pool and lunch
Spa:
We are not huge spa fans but have to say this is one of the nicest spa complex we have been to. We would just go there, sit at the yoga pavilion by the lake, listen to the bird chimes and relax. Tried their "hydrotherapy suite", the steam room is pretty good but unfortunately jacuzzi isn't working. Joined one of their yoga class which is a pretty rare thing for my partner but he really enjoyed it, so it must be good
Lake at dusk
Activities:
The resort is so nice and so remote we didn't really want to leave. Took a tour to the fishing village nearby which is quite nice and idyllic. Local villagers are very friendly. Somewhat reminds me of the village walk in Amanbagh, but a more modern one by the sea. Our guide is very good and helped us translating with the villagers.
Fisherman at work
Service:
Senior management team is very visible and they seem to always manage to track us down despite the resort being so big. Resident manager Bagi from Bali is a great guy and has whipped up an amazing team with Susan. Some communication problem with junior staff due to language issue but not really a big deal. Staff are very eager to please and some have already acquired the magic Aman touch. Not once we have been asked our room number and all our small habits are so well catered for.... fell in love with them immediately!
Housekeeping seems to be pretty on the spot whilst we were there, room almost always cleaned up after we left. Perhaps missing only one or two times in the afternoon when we were off to the beach club but nothing major.
Conclusion:
Love the remote location and perfect place to unplug and relax. Wish they had a better beach but I guess most other things make up for it. Best time to go according to Bagi is around Feb - late April, as Nov - Jan is really windy and cold for swimming. We loved the weather whilst we were there, sunny everyday with a cool seabreeze. Pool was warm and perfect.
Apr 16, 2014, 1:25 pm
#50
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: OSL
Posts: 2,145
Yes, fantastic view. We had requested 28 (lake view with pool) since it has one of the larger pools. Probably missed opportunity for upgrade by being so specific. What a pity! And that from someone who does not normally call herself a view-person. In particular I love the view from the bath tub. Ours had no view, just bushes outside of the bath tub window... But we did have nice sunsets over lake, I will see if I can manage to upload some pics.
Apr 16, 2014, 1:37 pm
#51
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: OSL
Posts: 2,145
Lake view from terrace at sunset:
Panorama shot of our terrace:
Normal pic of terrace other direction:
No view from bath tub:
View of some villas from the sea - unfortunately the one day with no sun:
It worked again with pictures as you can see. I have loads so if you have a special request, please say so and I will post.
Panorama shot of our terrace:
Normal pic of terrace other direction:
No view from bath tub:
View of some villas from the sea - unfortunately the one day with no sun:
It worked again with pictures as you can see. I have loads so if you have a special request, please say so and I will post.
Apr 16, 2014, 2:31 pm
#52
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Here, there … you know how it goes.
Posts: 1,518
That's terrible, groombridge! You must be so frustrated.
Have you raised any of this with Susan/Bagy? If so, what has their response been?
If you have not, I highly recommend you do so. It seems a potential villa change may be necessary to rectify the phone/AC issues, as well as a bottle on ice to help you "relax".
We, too, were in#18, and that view from the tub - and, indeed, from the bed once the ludicrous TV was turned - is spectacular.
Have you raised any of this with Susan/Bagy? If so, what has their response been?
If you have not, I highly recommend you do so. It seems a potential villa change may be necessary to rectify the phone/AC issues, as well as a bottle on ice to help you "relax".
We, too, were in#18, and that view from the tub - and, indeed, from the bed once the ludicrous TV was turned - is spectacular.
Last edited by aa213bb; Apr 16, 2014 at 2:36 pm
Apr 16, 2014, 3:23 pm
#53
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Europe
Posts: 2,602
This adult-pool issue is odd. Very un-Aman. Why not label it "quiet pool"? What exactly is the rule? Could be a potential source of frustration for everyone involved. I've seen adults behaving unruly in pools before, not always a kids-thing.
Apr 16, 2014, 5:25 pm
#55
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: IAD/DCA
Posts: 31,797
ocean pool view comparison >
#11 >
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/21999448-post176.html / http://statigr.am/p/596190096143118043_204903546
http://statigr.am/p/596856526235927223_10242719 / http://statigr.am/p/596178993525981249_10242719 travel4vitality ?
http://statigr.am/p/695256398799059430_1233523853
http://statigr.am/p/600396953049776840_538689239
? - http://statigr.am/p/665623323594752727_173616311 - vegetation trimmed down?
? - http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/21384896-post4.html
? >
http://statigr.am/p/569783437217857199_19174446
http://statigr.am/p/569782140179676814_19174446
? >
http://www.amanresorts.com/uploadedI...ace_04_alb.jpg
http://statigr.am/p/649663530805200167_296407784
http://statigr.am/p/553138477778483396_432396421
#12 and #14 for above ?
#22 ? - http://statigr.am/p/634606850922869902_389324700
#17 with different pool - http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/21411694-post105.html
#6 with different pool - http://statigr.am/p/669216404410446018_143939075
not sure what category - http://statigr.am/p/664245135430922425_3532315
http://statigr.am/tag/amanoi
#18 [pool etc] doesnt face ocean same way as others ? maybe to have view from bed >
9 Ocean Pool Pavilion and 10 Ocean Pavilion
did you hear how pool sizes/lengths compare?
#11 >
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/21999448-post176.html / http://statigr.am/p/596190096143118043_204903546
http://statigr.am/p/596856526235927223_10242719 / http://statigr.am/p/596178993525981249_10242719 travel4vitality ?
http://statigr.am/p/695256398799059430_1233523853
http://statigr.am/p/600396953049776840_538689239
? - http://statigr.am/p/665623323594752727_173616311 - vegetation trimmed down?
? - http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/21384896-post4.html
? >
http://statigr.am/p/569783437217857199_19174446
http://statigr.am/p/569782140179676814_19174446
? >
http://www.amanresorts.com/uploadedI...ace_04_alb.jpg
http://statigr.am/p/649663530805200167_296407784
http://statigr.am/p/553138477778483396_432396421
#12 and #14 for above ?
#22 ? - http://statigr.am/p/634606850922869902_389324700
#17 with different pool - http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/21411694-post105.html
#6 with different pool - http://statigr.am/p/669216404410446018_143939075
not sure what category - http://statigr.am/p/664245135430922425_3532315
http://statigr.am/tag/amanoi
#18 [pool etc] doesnt face ocean same way as others ? maybe to have view from bed >
did you hear how pool sizes/lengths compare?
Last edited by Kagehitokiri; Apr 17, 2014 at 8:05 pm
Apr 16, 2014, 6:38 pm
#56
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Enroute to ? & likely flying in ' A ':)
Programs: TPPS, UA, EK ...; Marriott BONVOY , HH, GP, GC..
Posts: 4,217
Thanks halibahs for photos & TR . Musken too .
Our pool was more squarish , all pools & facing depends on lie of land .
When we were there it was windy but not gusty , that was before our arrival .
Having meals at the beach club though was still a bit of a challenge with blowing sand at times .
Perhaps that ' s why the beach had hardly any flotsam , managed a quick swim in the chilly water . The beach team was kept busy nonetheless . No umbrellas on the beach then - too windy .
Had great meals . Our afternoon tea spread was a real spread on a larger table compared to halibahs . On the day we arrived , we were too tired for tea so they had the full complement delivered to our room
Thanks to the French pastry chef , we always had amazing sweets , pastries , breads - baguette , etc . The F & B team is a gem in this far flung spot .
Our pool was more squarish , all pools & facing depends on lie of land .
When we were there it was windy but not gusty , that was before our arrival .
Having meals at the beach club though was still a bit of a challenge with blowing sand at times .
Perhaps that ' s why the beach had hardly any flotsam , managed a quick swim in the chilly water . The beach team was kept busy nonetheless . No umbrellas on the beach then - too windy .
Had great meals . Our afternoon tea spread was a real spread on a larger table compared to halibahs . On the day we arrived , we were too tired for tea so they had the full complement delivered to our room
Thanks to the French pastry chef , we always had amazing sweets , pastries , breads - baguette , etc . The F & B team is a gem in this far flung spot .
Last edited by FlyerEC; Apr 16, 2014 at 6:58 pm Reason: Typo , add info
Apr 16, 2014, 7:11 pm
#57
Join Date: Sep 2009
Programs: UA GS>1K>Nothing; DL DM 2MM; AS 75K>Nothing>MVP
Posts: 9,341
Not a lot of places left in the world where garbage doesn't wash up on the beach.
Apr 16, 2014, 7:26 pm
#58
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Enroute to ? & likely flying in ' A ':)
Programs: TPPS, UA, EK ...; Marriott BONVOY , HH, GP, GC..
Posts: 4,217
This was not a problem when we were there & from recent TRs / PM s , etc is not an issue .
[/QUOTE] Buggy service is pretty quick but would love to have our own buggies in the future! [/QUOTE]
I asked them about it but it seems some of the tracks are too narrow , steep , etc to risk having our own unlike Pulo . N'oi is actually widespread with parts yet to be opened up - more beaches , etc . They do not want us zooming around , up & down
Apr 16, 2014, 8:57 pm
#59
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 246
lovely shots Musken! actually we really love the quiet and relaxing atmosphere around the lake so might request a room there next time
Kage - our bed is aligned to face the bathtub (sort of blocked by the TV located midway) and hence that brilliant sunrise view. The morning sun would hit our sleepy faces directly if we forgot to close the bathroom door. For some reason they couldn't remove the TV...
Our pavilion is particularly private as there was a short path with steps leading up
to it. I notice some of the pavilions, esp those facing the ocean on cliff side, are less private as they are quite close to the buggy path. The pavilion has floor to ceiling glass panes on most sides so it is easy to look inside sometimes...
FlyerEC - completely understand about the buggy issue, I can imagine myself reversing into a tree, lamp or worse the cliff!
Kage - our bed is aligned to face the bathtub (sort of blocked by the TV located midway) and hence that brilliant sunrise view. The morning sun would hit our sleepy faces directly if we forgot to close the bathroom door. For some reason they couldn't remove the TV...
Our pavilion is particularly private as there was a short path with steps leading up
to it. I notice some of the pavilions, esp those facing the ocean on cliff side, are less private as they are quite close to the buggy path. The pavilion has floor to ceiling glass panes on most sides so it is easy to look inside sometimes...
FlyerEC - completely understand about the buggy issue, I can imagine myself reversing into a tree, lamp or worse the cliff!
Apr 16, 2014, 9:35 pm
#60
Join Date: Sep 2009
Programs: UA GS>1K>Nothing; DL DM 2MM; AS 75K>Nothing>MVP
Posts: 9,341
Buggy service is pretty quick but would love to have our own buggies in the future!
I told Susan they should get Segways.