Trip Report Upper House Hong Kong, Trisara, Six Senses Yao Noi and Amanpuri
Mar 7, 2015, 3:01 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2005
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Posts: 1,068
Trip Report Upper House Hong Kong, Trisara, Six Senses Yao Noi and Amanpuri
We just returned from a fantastic 2 week trip to the above properties.
Upper House
Yes I love the FS Hong Kong, especially in the summer time, but I also love the Upper House. We took an Upper Suite, which was enormous with great harbour and city views. I did not think that the finish was at all cheap and I like the striking minimalist design. We went out for dinner both nights, but drinks in the bar were great - service was quick and professional. Very buzzy atmosphere in the bar. I thought that the breakfast was slightly odd and trying a bit too hard in Cafe Gray. Service the whole time was excellent. The staff found out that we were moving on to Phuket and presented us with a Luxe guide for the island as well as a long email with all of their tips. They also contacted the GM of Andara in Phuket and said that we should go to its restaurant Silk and that the GM there would look after us (we didn't go in the end). It felt as if they genuinely cared that we had a good holiday.
Trisara
We flew on Thai Airways direct to Phuket. Phuket airport was absolute chaos with queues of mostly Russian charter arrivals stretching all the way out of the arrivals hall. Thankfully Trisara includes VIP immigration arrival in its room rate, so we were whisked straight through, but I would always check that this is the case if staying elsewhere, because it would have been at least an hour's wait otherwise. Generally we noticed a huge Russian influence in Phuket, which was much more pronounced than 5 years ago.
We stayed 7 nights in an ocean view villa. We were in villa 209, which is one to recommend, because it is at the end of the row and is especially private. There have been many comments on how comfortable the Trisara villas are and we certainly found that to be the case. I would say that we slightly missed the high design of some of the Aman properties and think that the private pool areas could be spruced up - they do look slightly Costa del Sol (albeit with much nicer tropical landscaping). There is not much shade on the pool terraces and the sun is very fierce, so we did not use our pool more than a few minutes each day.
The overall feeling at Trisara is very relaxed. We were there over Chinese New Year and it was at 100% capacity with all the residences also occupied. Service just about managed to cope and we felt well looked after. No complaints about food and we really liked Trisara Seafood - it was good to have a second venue.
Interesting to note that all sun beds in Phuket have had to be removed from the beaches. For Trisara this means that the sun beds are now situated further back underneath the trees. This works OK and actually makes the beach look slightly nicer, but it also means that some of the sunbeds seem close together when the resort is busy. It is never going to be the nicest beach in the world, but is just about good enough.
So overall we had a very relaxing 7 night stay and would not hesitate to return.
Six Senses Yao Noi
Trisara dropped us off at Phuket Pier to catch the boat to SSYN. The staff were very welcoming and the boat trip affords stunning views. We were excited that this was going to be an amazing few days. We were welcomed on to the island after 45 minutes by the resort manager and our GEM, who was very friendly. Things went downhill when we were shown our hideaway villa (nothing with a view was available as the resort was full, and no possibility of a virtuoso upgrade either). It was VERY rustic and also seemed strangely hot. We put the aircon on full blast and hoped that it would get better. We went out for drinks at the Den. Service took forever and we were becoming more and more grumpy. We went for dinner at the Dining Room, which was so dark that we could not read the menu. The items we wanted to order were not available, but nobody told us until after we tried to order them. Food was Ok when it arrived. All of the public spaces seemed stiflingly hot as though little thought had been given to ventilation. It is not possible to walk anywhere in the resort - you have to rely on buggies.
Most of the other guests seemed to be honeymoon couples and the resort felt very busy. We went back to the room, which was still extremely hot, and decided that holiday was too precious to waste and that we wanted to leave the next morning. DavidO and his team did a great job sorting out our exit and finding us a space at Amanpuri. That night was pretty much sleepless as the room never really cooled down.
The next day the resort manager came and spoke with us and seemed genuinely upset that we were not happy and agreed not to charge the remainder of our stay. I think the problem is partly that the concept is one that is just far too rustic for us, so it is really as much our fault for going there in the first place (I'm sure they would have sorted out the aircon and found us a different room had we wanted to stay). Breakfast was quite nice and our GEM kindly gave us a full tour of the island as we had arrived in the dusk the night before. The beach is nothing special, but has nice views. The real plus point is the incredible hilltop reserve pool which is probably the nicest pool and nicest view I have seen anywhere. I can see that if you had a room with similar views at SSNY you could be happy there, so that would be my main tip for anyone wanting to go. What really stunned me was that the hilltop reserve does not actually open until 11am, which means that you lose most of the morning (they charge couples to stay there over night...). This is just totally unacceptable in my book, given that it is the only public pool in the resort.
We were waived off by our GEM and the resort manager and headed back to Phuket, again with beautiful views of the nearby islands. Amanpuri met us at the pier and the drive took around 30 minutes.
Amanpuri was the real high point of our trip. We had not stayed for a few years and thought everything about it was sensational. I have to say that, for us, it blew Trisara out of the water (which I recognise was not my view last time). The architecture is so iconic and the beach so special that we immediately thought we had been wasting our time elsewhere. What really struck us was how warm and caring the service was compared to last time, when we found everyone slightly aloof. We were welcomed warmly as Amanjunkies and there seem to be some seriously good members of staff there now.
We had a partial ocean view pavilion which we loved. It felt larger than last time and everything was very fresh and not in any way dated (noisy aircon now sorted out). We actually preferred the room in many ways to the pool villa at Trisara and did not really miss the private pool. The only criticism I can think of is that the pavilions are not very well sound proofed, so if you are a light sleeper, you can be woken up by birds and insects outside. You certainly know that you are in the tropics but I personally slept a bit better at Trisara.
Food was superb at all of the venues. We particularly loved the new beach club for lunch, which is just by the lap pool behind the beach. Naoki was also always very busy at lunchtime, with quite a fun atmosphere. They have managed to serve relatively gourmet Japanese food in a relaxed beachy way, which works very well. The new lounge at the top of the steps down to the beach serves great negronis with Italian nibbles.
We used the fantastic gym every morning and I had an amazingly good massage in the spa.
The crowd at Amanpuri is much more glamorous than at Trisara. More couples and fewer families and for some reason very French at the time we were there.
I do think it is ridiculous that there are no umbrellas at the main pool - we had unbroken sun for our entire Phuket stay and nobody could use that pool.
I hope that this report is helpful and am happy to answer any questions.
Upper House
Yes I love the FS Hong Kong, especially in the summer time, but I also love the Upper House. We took an Upper Suite, which was enormous with great harbour and city views. I did not think that the finish was at all cheap and I like the striking minimalist design. We went out for dinner both nights, but drinks in the bar were great - service was quick and professional. Very buzzy atmosphere in the bar. I thought that the breakfast was slightly odd and trying a bit too hard in Cafe Gray. Service the whole time was excellent. The staff found out that we were moving on to Phuket and presented us with a Luxe guide for the island as well as a long email with all of their tips. They also contacted the GM of Andara in Phuket and said that we should go to its restaurant Silk and that the GM there would look after us (we didn't go in the end). It felt as if they genuinely cared that we had a good holiday.
Trisara
We flew on Thai Airways direct to Phuket. Phuket airport was absolute chaos with queues of mostly Russian charter arrivals stretching all the way out of the arrivals hall. Thankfully Trisara includes VIP immigration arrival in its room rate, so we were whisked straight through, but I would always check that this is the case if staying elsewhere, because it would have been at least an hour's wait otherwise. Generally we noticed a huge Russian influence in Phuket, which was much more pronounced than 5 years ago.
We stayed 7 nights in an ocean view villa. We were in villa 209, which is one to recommend, because it is at the end of the row and is especially private. There have been many comments on how comfortable the Trisara villas are and we certainly found that to be the case. I would say that we slightly missed the high design of some of the Aman properties and think that the private pool areas could be spruced up - they do look slightly Costa del Sol (albeit with much nicer tropical landscaping). There is not much shade on the pool terraces and the sun is very fierce, so we did not use our pool more than a few minutes each day.
The overall feeling at Trisara is very relaxed. We were there over Chinese New Year and it was at 100% capacity with all the residences also occupied. Service just about managed to cope and we felt well looked after. No complaints about food and we really liked Trisara Seafood - it was good to have a second venue.
Interesting to note that all sun beds in Phuket have had to be removed from the beaches. For Trisara this means that the sun beds are now situated further back underneath the trees. This works OK and actually makes the beach look slightly nicer, but it also means that some of the sunbeds seem close together when the resort is busy. It is never going to be the nicest beach in the world, but is just about good enough.
So overall we had a very relaxing 7 night stay and would not hesitate to return.
Six Senses Yao Noi
Trisara dropped us off at Phuket Pier to catch the boat to SSYN. The staff were very welcoming and the boat trip affords stunning views. We were excited that this was going to be an amazing few days. We were welcomed on to the island after 45 minutes by the resort manager and our GEM, who was very friendly. Things went downhill when we were shown our hideaway villa (nothing with a view was available as the resort was full, and no possibility of a virtuoso upgrade either). It was VERY rustic and also seemed strangely hot. We put the aircon on full blast and hoped that it would get better. We went out for drinks at the Den. Service took forever and we were becoming more and more grumpy. We went for dinner at the Dining Room, which was so dark that we could not read the menu. The items we wanted to order were not available, but nobody told us until after we tried to order them. Food was Ok when it arrived. All of the public spaces seemed stiflingly hot as though little thought had been given to ventilation. It is not possible to walk anywhere in the resort - you have to rely on buggies.
Most of the other guests seemed to be honeymoon couples and the resort felt very busy. We went back to the room, which was still extremely hot, and decided that holiday was too precious to waste and that we wanted to leave the next morning. DavidO and his team did a great job sorting out our exit and finding us a space at Amanpuri. That night was pretty much sleepless as the room never really cooled down.
The next day the resort manager came and spoke with us and seemed genuinely upset that we were not happy and agreed not to charge the remainder of our stay. I think the problem is partly that the concept is one that is just far too rustic for us, so it is really as much our fault for going there in the first place (I'm sure they would have sorted out the aircon and found us a different room had we wanted to stay). Breakfast was quite nice and our GEM kindly gave us a full tour of the island as we had arrived in the dusk the night before. The beach is nothing special, but has nice views. The real plus point is the incredible hilltop reserve pool which is probably the nicest pool and nicest view I have seen anywhere. I can see that if you had a room with similar views at SSNY you could be happy there, so that would be my main tip for anyone wanting to go. What really stunned me was that the hilltop reserve does not actually open until 11am, which means that you lose most of the morning (they charge couples to stay there over night...). This is just totally unacceptable in my book, given that it is the only public pool in the resort.
We were waived off by our GEM and the resort manager and headed back to Phuket, again with beautiful views of the nearby islands. Amanpuri met us at the pier and the drive took around 30 minutes.
Amanpuri was the real high point of our trip. We had not stayed for a few years and thought everything about it was sensational. I have to say that, for us, it blew Trisara out of the water (which I recognise was not my view last time). The architecture is so iconic and the beach so special that we immediately thought we had been wasting our time elsewhere. What really struck us was how warm and caring the service was compared to last time, when we found everyone slightly aloof. We were welcomed warmly as Amanjunkies and there seem to be some seriously good members of staff there now.
We had a partial ocean view pavilion which we loved. It felt larger than last time and everything was very fresh and not in any way dated (noisy aircon now sorted out). We actually preferred the room in many ways to the pool villa at Trisara and did not really miss the private pool. The only criticism I can think of is that the pavilions are not very well sound proofed, so if you are a light sleeper, you can be woken up by birds and insects outside. You certainly know that you are in the tropics but I personally slept a bit better at Trisara.
Food was superb at all of the venues. We particularly loved the new beach club for lunch, which is just by the lap pool behind the beach. Naoki was also always very busy at lunchtime, with quite a fun atmosphere. They have managed to serve relatively gourmet Japanese food in a relaxed beachy way, which works very well. The new lounge at the top of the steps down to the beach serves great negronis with Italian nibbles.
We used the fantastic gym every morning and I had an amazingly good massage in the spa.
The crowd at Amanpuri is much more glamorous than at Trisara. More couples and fewer families and for some reason very French at the time we were there.
I do think it is ridiculous that there are no umbrellas at the main pool - we had unbroken sun for our entire Phuket stay and nobody could use that pool.
I hope that this report is helpful and am happy to answer any questions.
Last edited by Londonjetsetter; Mar 9, 2015 at 3:26 am
Mar 7, 2015, 7:49 am
#5
formerly known as deathscar
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Ah should have dropped by Andara - SILK is fantastic.
Interesting to hear about your stay at SS Yao Noi.
Interesting to hear about your stay at SS Yao Noi.
Mar 9, 2015, 3:00 am
#6
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Mar 16, 2015, 6:40 am
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Mar 17, 2015, 3:37 am
#9
formerly known as deathscar
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Amanpuri has private yacht for hire.
Mar 17, 2015, 9:38 am
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Mar 17, 2015, 8:30 pm
#12
formerly known as deathscar
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