jackjesco

Hey folks – thanks to all who shared tips on the Indonesian Amans. We had an awesome honeymoon at Jiwo, Kila, and Dari. Ian and Ernst took great care of us. We briefly met Jann at Dari, but didn't get to interact much.

A very brief review:

We really liked the food at Jiwo. Our second favorite was Dari, and then Kila.
The service was flawless at Kila. Everyone knew who we were as soon as we got there. We checked in in the evening and quickly went to have dinner in their restaurant. The waiters already knew our names and that we're on our honeymoon. Really impressive. Both Ian and Ernst were wonderful, but we felt Ernst really went the extra mile. I won't go into details but we truly felt like home at Kila. Jiwo was a close second in terms of service. Dari was, sadly, a notch below.

In terms of memorable activities, I'd call out dawn at Borobudur, dinner at Pak Bilal's, and the satay evening in a remote balé. We also really enjoyed trekking the Menoreh Hills.

It was our first time at Aman, and we're already thinking where to go next. Thanks again to everyone who shared their experiences and their tips, they were all very helpful!

FlyingDoctorwu

congrats on your honeymoon and your first Aman trip. We did the exact same combo for our first Aman as well. It's a very very dangerous (read expensive) habit.

I agree entirely with your activities asessment. Pak bilal was a fun experience and dawn just incredible.

Congrats agajn!

fdw

chinmoylad

I love Aman Bali Great to hear you had a wonderful honeymoon @jackjesco

On that note folks, as mentioned - full reviews with more photos etc to come. But for anyone interested in the mean time, here's a quick vid of the Village House + Pool Suite at Amansara

Kagehitokiri

summer palace - may 16 > jul
pulo - jun > nov
dari, kila, nusa, jiwo, wana - may 16 > jul
jena - may 16 > jul

new japan & kora are only asia that havent done deal
(kora actually did better in 2015, 36% off half the year)

wella was closed may/jun for some minor renovations

FlyingDoctorwu

Some scans form the new Aman Residences book. Amanjena and Amanwella.. I love the look of the Amanwella renderings...

Kagehitokiri

wow. thanks! while wella apparently always planned residences, clearly original plans were nothing like that. makes me curious about potential plans for wana. some here were not impressed with wella rooms and wana tents. although unknown re starting rates, presumably some will book fewer than maximum bedrooms.

re FHR free night >

if free night does not repeat, can do direct+FHR/etc
(noi direct now; previously yara, jena, beijing, etc)

indonesia 4th free best outside low season, on higher rooms

Cityflyer10

I post this on my last morning at my first Aman, Amankila.

I am VERY glad to have stuck with the reservation and not stayed somewhere else. Everything was fantastic and the property provided the exact amount of solitude we were looking for. Beautiful locale, excellent service, and amazing food!

Only one or two minor blips (I.e waiter at beach club first day seemed slightly unsure of who I was so he said my name in a way so as to get a positive confirmation of who I was aka issues that are not really issues). Cancelling that issue, There was housekeeping done this morning, despite me reading complaints that they usually don't perform housekeeping on checkout day

will probably write more detailed review once I am back in reality. Now to start planning for the next Aman...

A Pulo villa seems to be calling my name

chinmoylad

Fantastic to hear!

Kagehitokiri

jackjesco and Cityflyer10, thanks for the update! what did you think in terms of expectations you had based on what you had seen before staying?

re pulo villas, could ask about new palawan villas with infinity pools

Cityflyer10

after reading complaints about too high of expectations, I specifically tried to go in with zero expectations and I think it worked. Aman isn't the end all, be all, but it is miles ahead of the vast majority of luxury properties (haven't been to iniala, north island, etc yet tho). Small things like not having to sign for checks nor say your room number oddly do add to the feeling of being more at home.

Unfortunately I will never experience the AZ years but it sounds like if you pick the right properties, you can at least get close

Kagehitokiri

hope Ernst sticks around, he reportedly had prior aman experience

nmuva98

Glad you had a great stay! I was at Kila about 2 months ago and had a similar experience--pretty much flawless.

Ernst & Shane are really running a tight ship, and other Aman managers (and other brands) should look to them to see how a resort should be run.

Kagehitokiri

GMs are still majority aman veterans, many long time very well regarded here
10 newer external hires - shanghai, tokyo, beijing, nera, puri, giri, dari, wana, bagh, noi

jackjesco

Kila exceeded all my expectations. Ernst is a truly wonderful GM. Jiwo was really really nice too. The only place that I felt did not meet expectations was Dari, but I think coming straight from a wonderful Kila experience had something to do with that.

A4K

Curious what it was about Dari that didn't mean expectations?