AMANs going forward or .. 10 different ones this 2019. ?
 

It is always , it has been so far this year , a relief to return to a previously visited AMAN & thankfully new ones this year .

Posting this from lovely Lupaia , AMANjunkies / livefromtuscany ‘ s boutique hotel / inn . Tuscany. , of course .
As a reminder that my Puri TR has not been on yet . As with Zoe & AmanCGV ..
Will do so when zone changes stop for 2 weeks - perhaps less jet lagged end of next week

After Zoe , the minute showers in Grande Bretagne & Seabourn Odyssey - top suites were rather let down . It was joy to get to Venice .. to the usual comfortably sized AMAN bathrooms and with decent toilet paper ;)

Thankfully , our AMANjunkie friends at Lupaia have design flair and taste , great to be here too :)

How does one amend the title ? It is 10 AMANs & not 8 !!

Christopher mixing the negroni's quite heavy these days ;) ?

No time to try ;) kept him ( them both & whole team actually ) busy otherwise ..

White truffle hunting , arranged by Christopher , was a great success though

Indeed, we’re doing 3 different Negronis now: the Classic with Tuscan gin/vermouth, a Vintage one, aged in a VinSanto barrel, and an Orange one, bottle-aged with Orange zest.

Can’t decide which one I prefer :)

[QUOTE=FlyerEC;31569007]
Posting this from lovely Lupaia , AMANjunkies / livefromtuscany ‘ s boutique hotel / inn . Tuscany. , of course .

Thankfully , our AMANjunkie friends at Lupaia have design flair and taste , great to be here too :)
/QUOTE]

Thanks for the compliments, it was a pleasure having you stay with us! Glad you enjoyed the truffles you found :)

AMANs going forward or are they ?

Most of us AMANjunkies understand AZ and appreciate his vision . Like the likes of livefromtuscany :)

Many AMANs have started to use rather generic items including plastic :( !!

This includes Asian ones like “ flagship “ Puri . All had unique ceramics in each of their properties ‘ s bathrooms & we could also always know which AMAN we are / were staying in .

Miss each property ‘ s unique stylised fonts too . Took what was of left of ‘ bags ‘ , .. with the original fonts from
like Dari , Jiwo , Kila , Nusa , Puri ..
It was quite a shock initially to see the bland new ones . A sinking feeling / foreboding what is currently happening . Some might say the dross has set in .

Thankfully , both ZOE & CGV - now common ‘ Venice ‘ ( like in many new AMANs like Kyoto which had more interesting ‘ identities ‘ ) , use ceramics .
Venice has bamboo straws :) .
We prefer AMAN Canal Grande Venice and what happened to Amaniwa ?

Seems like identity crisis & more here - lack of vision or somewhat wandering a bit more in the wilderness perhaps ?

While AMANs we have stayed in so far this year are still identifiable as AMANs , it feels that she is in danger of losing her soul faster than AMANjunkies would like .
So many long serving AMAN GMs & others have left this year - the drain continues & they are not those who are due for “ retirement “ .
They are ones who understand AMANs ethos .

As some have posted , it is just not the same . Intangible ..

AMAN stays for the year till this post , I think :
Added my TRs done next to individual AMANs listed here for ease of comparison / reference .

Galla
Wella
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxu...9-finally.html

Kila
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxu...to-aman-4.html
Inaugurating the Kila Infinity Pool Suite ! #58

Aman Villas at Nusa Dua
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxu...-nusa-dua.html

Puri
https://www.flyertalk.com/hotel-revi...-birthday-2751

Zoe

CGV

Then for October & November , return stays for Tokyo & Nemu . A first for Kyoto , braving it as usually give a year buffer , after all only opening in November . Thanks Kage ( Kagehitokiri ) for the timely prompt to stay in AMANKyoto , November .

AmanTokyo
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxu...l#post30437604 Post 14
AmanTokyo in autumn

Nemu

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxu...l#post29119642


AmanKyoto

re: lost personal touches like ceramic cups

I think that's the point. VD is trying to get rid of the "old vestiges" and make Aman totally generic or cost cutting by individual properties? Bamboo straws rock compared to paper ones. Metal ones would match the city properties a little more.

I miss the old style luggage tags with the unique fonts from each property. My black Jiwo ones are pretty worn out now and I won't put on the new ones.

Bottom line, Aman isn't what it used to be under AZ.

Their newer builds aren't as spectacular. The city properties are fine, but they're akin to any other 4S or Ritz.

The rarity of their air is decreasing.

Exactly .

Focus just isn’ t there from those likely private jetting around AMANs to review ROI . Somewhat schizophrenic .

If one is doing or tending towards more “ Wellness “ approach , then really go for it like Chiva Som ( or even Trisara ) with ( like own ) farm to table meals for a start & not use plastic .
Then am not sure if really organic products .. no more with Sodashi ‘ s and using plastic in Puri :(

After Puri in August , with the cold / unwelcoming Wellness Centre receptionist , it only discouraged me from even considering checking it ( the Wellness part ) out further . This is just on other side of same building as where the Spa reception is , such a contrast . Spa warm & welcoming , as usual .
It was bad enough that the Wellness Centre menu in the pavilion is thick with small print which brought me to the Wellness area to enquire ..

Thankfully , the Spa & Wellness Centre in ZOE is truly AMAN ..
and the Therapists we had were visiting from Sara .

David M , the Group Wellness Immersion Director for Aman , was on site . Good that he was ensuring whatever the Wellness integration is was coming along . Had come across him previously checking on developments - Puri a year ago when the facilities were being built as well as Tokyo .
Now did I mention to him that he should go by Puri again ..

Then the small Spa at AmanCGV had this incredible aromatic oil used for our session . Didn’t wash the “ outfit “ till end of this trip just to have the aroma permeate through ;) . No did not use the outfit again after our session - Pity they did not have a lounger time slot .

Looking forward to see how Nemu is coming along , spa included , as we have enjoyed our previous stays there even with changes in the team .

Before posting the HR or is it TR for Puri ( update ) , ZOE & AmanCGV for easier viewing , have added the links for those done for Galla / Wella , Kila and AMAN Villas at Nusa Dua in post 6 .

Of note , as a teaser from the early AMAN , Amanpuri , days when no ‘ media ‘ was encouraged - so no TVs in the pavilions , think perhaps one in the “ library “ / meeting room if necessary , we now have this .. !

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...730f98fce.jpeg

These TVs should have been installed in all pavilions by now ..

The reviews will be added rather intermittently - jet lagging , you will be noticing below ;)

I never understood this "no-tv" policy. If I don´t wonna watch TV (in fact I often don´t even switch a TV on) I can simply ignore it. Not to have one is paternalism. Also mostly I watch German Pay-TV (i.e. Soccer;)) via my iPad these days.....

Amanpuri - the trail blazer 3 decades on !
 

Preamble This not so young lady is now onto her latest of her many refreshers , not referring to the annual closures for necessary maintenance work in this monsoons region .Puri seems to be in the throes of trying to transform herself into a Wellness Retreat , perhaps good for some , and also into a more family friendly “ home “ .Most of the major construction has been completed but .. Check In As routine , depending on our luggage and number of us , we request a MPV instead of the BMW 7 for transfers .Our usual pool pavilion ( s ) was / were not available as the updates were delayed & still very much in progress . We were told prior to arrival so not surprised but got to try on of the ones with the new infinity pools .Check in was smooth as normal that I did not realise we were done . More concerned about the change in double doors to the bath / dressing area to a big single to accommodate that new TV .. shown above postThe pool

When we considered our primarily Adriatic cruise we thought of staying at 3 AMANs in the region . However , when we decided on our Seabourn Odyssey cruise , and started checking flights and routings , it became clear that only 2 AMANs was best to anchor pre and post cruise . The ‘“reservations systems link “ the current ? management has installed .. a disservice to AmanSS or rather is a huge / key deterrent along with inflexible junior staff who seem to be manning it ( all AMANs who require seniors to do “ recovery “ - like for all 10 this year ) .
Complete absence of the personal aspects of what AMAN is supposed to uphold .

AmanSS was in the works since former GM Ken B ‘ s tenure - meaning a long time . We got even more excited when Jane & Tapa T moved from Pulo . But it is still not to be and they have all moved on from AMAN :(

May start on ZOE TR before Puri ‘ s is done .. deciding which photos to post for them - otherwise might just overwhelm system ! Hope you enjoy the “ ramblings “ while jet lagging ..
Then the Japan AMANs stays are from next week / mid October :) !! AMANs TRs crunch .. ;)

AmanZoe - finally - our first stay :)
 

Preamble We were thrilled when we found that we could finally slot AmanZoe in our itinerary & schedule . Also to have Paul L move from Puri to be GM there . To top it all , Guillermo V just moved to cover as interim HM & was still there during our stay . He was instrumental in sorting our reservation issues . Paul was travelling a far bit .There was a buyout just before we arrived so it made our stay “ iffy “ for awhile . We could not adjust our dates after as literally we would miss the boat !All sorted when AMAN veterans who are with it are at the helm . More pre arrival , flights and transfer We flew from SEA - FRA - ATH . Just to get on the B747 again ;) - not good on LH .What was worse was our luggage did not arrive in ATH along with others on the same flights , but a guy ‘ s dog made it ! More on the luggage later .Thankfully , having reserved the ZOE BMW SUV , all was ok . We chose the SUV due to the number of luggage which turned out to be unnecessary .. but who was to know .. The chauffeur was accommodating steady likely feeling sympathetic about our situation and the ride smooth . Arrival ! We were so relieved to arrive at ZOE !

While I am still on FT hiatus for private reasons, couldn't help but make a point to read & adore the pictures and report!