chinmoylad

Technically not included on the rate you've booked, but you know...

Cityflyer10

Interesting. For us, they just took us to the pre-check-in security and told us where the CX desks were. There was no wait for neither security nor J check-in ( in fact the second security and immigration had zero waits as well!) so we didn't mind.

As Aman wasn't are first stop, I wasn't too sure about arrival services. Good to hear they offer it for most though I still stand by the fact that even without VIP it actually isn't too bad these days as we literally waited only a few minutes at both immigration and customs

Kagehitokiri

thanks nmuva98! lots of discussion of specific villas here
i compiled some, will have to do so again with latest/this

jmann2380, what would you say re expectations overall ?

so VIP available at least for arrival, also for departure ?

EXPLAT

We honeymooned at Amanusa, Amandari and Amankila many years ago and my wife and I still talk about it. Great memories and worth every penny and it's still paying dividends. We hope to get back there maybe for our 15th. Thanks for posting the photos, nice to remenise.

yhm85

Hello ... I'm new to FT here and the Amanjunkie world.

I have a stay coming up next month at the Amandari and Amankila. Browsing the threads it seems many guests are able to correspond with the respective GMs prior to arrival.

Question is, do the GMs proactively email you ahead of your stay or do you reach out to the hotel requesting contact with the GM?

I have tried the latter approach but was simply responded to by front desk with a list of attached activities, etc.

DetailsIM

Did having a view of the oil tankers in the distance take away from the resort for you at all (or anyone else that's been)?

vuittonsofstyle

I have stayed many times - some with the occasional oil tanker, some not. It varies. Even when you do see one, it is far out at sea.

Cityflyer10

Personally, I cold emailed the GM after flip-flopping over whether to email him at all. I could see how the the front desk might want you to go through them for simple requests though. If you do want to get in touch, it is best just to go around the gatekeepers (as is often the case in life)

yes and no imo. Bali isn't prestine and undeveloped anymore and unfortunately commercial marine traffic comes with that.

Would it be better if there were no tankers? Absolutely! Did we mind all that much? Not really. For what it's worth, one day there were a few tankers and another day a lone tanker that was facing perpendicular to the shore and hardly noticeable so the view does change in that regard.

FlyerEC

Musken

I have been to Kila twice. I do not think that the oil tankers in the distance ruins my view or stay in any way. Yes, they are there, but it is far and not like you hear them or anything. The view and the resort is so beautiful that you focus on that.

I normally get in touch with the GMs ahead of a stay. I either know them or ask another GM to introduce me. I have never experienced that a GM contact me before a stay, I initiate this myself. However, after the initial contact, all the practical things are taken care of by the rest of the team in most cases anyway. As a first time visitor it is not necessary to talk to GMs before arrival, I think. You will meet them anyway once you are there (as long as they are not away). The GM contact is more of an amanjunkie thing, but of course if it is something special it might help to contact them, but really normall the complete team is fully up to speed with everything.

benjahman

Personally I felt the oil tankers took away some of the mystique and air of elegance I was sort of envisioning prior to arriving. It's not the worst thing in the world, but I wanted to feel as though I was somewhere exotic and off the beaten path, but in reality it felt a little bit like being back at home, stuck in traffic on the Belt Parkway in NYC, watching the oil tankers come in and out of NY harbor. That being said, the view from the room (#36) and the lobby/pool area, is quite breathtaking. Room/property tour video in my TR.

A4K

Both Ian and Michel were both at Nusa this past week. Ian was away for the first part of my stay but he was there as of yesterday. With Ian handling all of Indonesia it seems he is not around very often, but I really liked Michel and he had things under control.

Heard from Ian that Karin (Bagh GM who I met last year and I thought was excellent) is helping at Jiwo while Bagh is closed for the summer.

Was at Dari prior and Jann was there.

One thing I don't think I've seen mentioned on here (maybe I missed it) is the partial disaster that the Nusa beach club is these days. They are building the Shangri La next door and that wiped out half of the beach Bales at the far end of the Amanusa beach. and there is quite a bit of noise. They also added (think this was the city not Aman) palm trees along the walkway. It obstructs the view to the ocean a bit and the trees are young so kind of ugly right now. The cranes from the contruction also ruin some view from the actual hotel down to the water.

FlyerEC

Yes , Karin is covering & good to have caught up with Ian a week ago ..

Nusa Beach Club was not like that in January & we were all hoping for the best .
Oh dear , what a bummer when we return in a few weeks .
Hopefully we will see it improved sooner than later

The cranes have been around for a bit while the different hotels were being built

ajca

So happy to hear that you had a great time at Amankila! Love the photos.

I stayed at Amankila a few weeks ago on a Virtuoso rate and no VIP arrivals service was offered or suggested (I didn't ask). In fact I couldn't find the Aman rep after coming out of customs and had to call the hotel. To their credit they recovered pretty quickly and the Aman rep found us in a couple of minutes and we were on our way.

For sure now that Indonesia has ended their competition to run the world's most pointless visa on arrival system, VIP assistance at DPS is no longer of as much use. In fact the last 5 or 6 times I've been to Bali there have been no lines but maybe I've been lucky.

At departures from Amandari a week later they had a rep take us to the first security checkpoint which was quite helpful as we had a fair few bags. They said that is as far as they can go?

Somehow the Aman airport departures rep called my travelling companion by my ex's name (the ex I had previously stayed at another Aman with) - still have no idea how they got this mixed up. Luckily we both thought it was funny although a bit puzzling.

Indeed timeless - in fact I feel much like Amandari and the Datai in Langkawi, the way Amankila is truly built into the landscape means that it gets better over time as the jungle grows around it. Sure the rooms could do with a bit of a refresh in all three resorts but I would choose them as they are over their far newer and shinier properties. There's something special about the connection between the architecture and the nature surrounding it.

Yes this is mostly to do with the taxes and I am pretty sure Amankila actually reduces the standard luxury hotel markup on alcohol to take some of the sting out of it. You can test this out by going to any bottle shop in Bali and seeing how insanely expensive even the cheapest imported wine or spirits are.

Practically all my photos with ocean from a five day stay at 'Kila have small oil tankers (I guess?) in them but I didn't feel that they ruined the view or ambience at all. In fact at night the lights from the anchored boats add a bit of contrast and detail to the view which can be quite beautiful. It still feels like an incredibly remote and peaceful part of Bali.

I heard that one of the Amankila hotel staff used to be a harbourmaster or something at Padang Bai and he gets on the radio and suggests to the ships that they buzz off if they're dropping anchor too close to the hotel.

I sort of jokingly suggested to Ernst that surely Aman could buy the oil refinery site and get them to move it somewhere else and keep Amankila as a flagship property in the unspoiled beauty of East Bali. Then I drove past the oil refinery the next day and saw the oil refinery with a sign in bahasa Indonesia that I'm pretty sure said "NATIONAL SECURITY SITE" and could see why, economics notwithstanding, that idea would be a non-starter.

I was there just after heavy rains and the rubbish washed into the ocean was a much bigger concern than the oil tankers (but I think we just had bad timing and that much rain in late June is very rare). Took the snorkelling trip to an area around the corner from Padang Bai and the water was truly disgusting and the destruction to the environment truly sad.

As we were snorkelling the hotel guide got very animated and yelled out "shark!" and being from Australia I wasn't sure whether to be terrified or excited. It turned out it was only a reef shark lurking - actually two of them - which was cool to see, but the rubbish floating in the water was so gross I could only bring myself to snorkel for a few minutes. Obviously not that the hotel could do anything about the rubbish but if we'd been warned about the rubbish we probably wouldn't have done the snorkelling trip.

Anyway - overall, Amankila still a very special place in a beautiful and remote part of Bali that is still largely unspoiled by the development and Australian tourists that scourge the southern end of the island. <3

chinmoylad

Thanks for that! I agree for the most part - I think it would be MUCH better without the oil tankers as it is such a wonderful part of Bali, but it is what it is now. The trash washing ashore and ruining the ocean is more of a concern. Such a shame - what a wonderful area.

On the point of VIP arrivals, it's not included in the Undiscovered Indonesia and some of the other special rates, but it's still included in the Standard Daily Rate (and depending on negotiation they may extend this accordingly).

I think you were lucky with lines - I've heard both comments (long lines, no queues).