Aventine

It's probably like Porsche and Audi. Same owners and core technologies but told to treat each other as competitors.

Akkku

What would these Aman Amans be? Looking forward to try one before it's too late.

flyertalkenjoyer

Yes it is a watered down version like all La Bottega toiletries but I am wondering what the scent used in the toiletries are, if anyone knows. I know it is inspired by the Aman Essentials line so it is one of Nourishing, Purifying, Grounding. I think they are all based off Purifying but not positive.

FlyingDoctorwu

one of the amenities at Amangiri was a pouch containing their toiletries, which I thought at the time was incredibly lame. However we ended up loving the sage infused products at Amangiri and treasured that pouch of toiletries when we got home.

fdw

HaleiwaFlyer

Article by Skift: Interview with CEO

Rumples

Quick thoughts on Amanpuri -

Pre-Arrival - there were a few misses. My original email asking about spa reservations + car transfer was forgotten for 48+ hours and required me to follow up. Upon replying on the follow up, the team forgot a few details as well, in which I then had to go back and clarify - definitely something that could be improved, but I am just chalking it up to a rare miss. I can’t say enough about Donna, who has been checking in with me each day and has been great at communicating.

Arrival - fantastic - no qualms at all. Everything was set up and perfect, especially the upgrade to the partial ocean view w/ pool. I made it known that I do not drink alcohol, but they kept mentioning the free minibar + champagne.

Housekeeping - For the most part, amazing! Room was always tidy and clean when I left and came back. There was one night where I came back from dinner and had to wait outside for about 15 minutes as they were still servicing the room. There was also a case of room service dishes being tidied up, but then left outside by the pool for a day and a half. Not a big issue at all.

Service - The service here is great - they are proactive, and someone seems to just “show up” no matter where I am on property to make sure I was OK. They always brought cold water to me + a towel, etc. There were a few (maybe 3 times) where I keep getting asked if i am here by myself and if I needed a table for two - again, not a big deal. Breakfast is always fun for me because they always remember my preferences, pace, etc. (while on vacation, i typically have a 1.5-2 hour long breakfast, very slowly as I catch up on emails, etc!) - great ala carte breakfast each morning.

Will definitely be back to Amanpuri and the Amans in South East Asia. Europe and others, im on the fence about!

A4K

Seems like kind of a big issue. They left dirty dishes out by your pool for a day and a half!?

Aventine

I would not be waiting outside or anywhere else. Unacceptable.

Rumples

yes, it was hidden, i think just in haste!

was coming back from the Omakase dinner at Nama, and having enjoyed the fireworks as well, was not in a hurried mood at all.

i understand its a miss on their side, but overall fantastic trip and some slip ups. Debating on doing this again in Sept to try again, or head elsewhere to maybe Amanoi

United747

Very late in posting this, but below is my video of pavilion 104 at Puri from last September (apologies for the video quality...) Rumples post had me reminiscing about my stay

Rumples

United747 - fantastic video and you’re already making me want to go back. Which…is a problem, because since you posted this video at 5:20PM, i have spent the last 2.5 hours looking at my calendar and how I can get back to Puri and maybe pair it with a different property.

I’ll be in Taipei for family//work and then will have some time (about a week) free before I need to head back stateside.

Any thoughts from fellow travelers on the below pairing?

Mid-Sept
Amanpulo + Amanpuri =

1. 3 nights at each property
2. end at Amanpuri (for routing reasons via DBX)

or

Cheval Blanc Randheli and roll the dice on Mid-Sept. weather?

I love beach/warm/hot weather, and I know I would love Puri, so ending there is less risky than me loving Puri and then hating Pulo. What I’d REALLY like to do is CBR, but Sept just makes me nervous.

callmedtop

Are Puri prices not updated or something, or is this really the new normal? $2.5K per night for an entry-level pavilion in February. Somehow the "Detox & Cleaning" package is cheaper (at ~$2K per night), despite it being full board and with activities, which gives me hope that maybe the Standard Daily Rate isn't updated that far out on the calendar or something?

Who is paying almost $3K a night for an entry-level room in Thailand? This is more egregious than the Hawaii or Paris price inflation we've discussed ad nauseum in other threads on this forum.

kosy91

February is too far out. My suggestion in such situations is always to book the best available cancellable rate and then wait it out to see what offers come between now and circa 6 months prior to your stay.

More generally though, this seems to be the new normal and the crazy prices will be around for a bit longer. If you are interested, there is an ongoing thread in the Luxury Forum on this topic....!

United747

I was at Puri mid-sept last year and it did rain pretty much every day, but it wasn’t a washout.

I wouldn’t hesitate to go back around that time (looking to pair Puri and Noi this time)

luxefarer

It seems hotels that have adopted dynamic pricing models felt too confident in doing so because they were swayed by their post-covid results. I think the slow-down seen in some destinations/properties are having hotels re-think and question this strategy. At least, this is what I have been told by a prominent Japanese development company and hotel owner directly, noting cooling numbers.

It's baffling why luxury niche hotels with limited rooms would opt for AI-driven 'dynamic pricing', especially when it results in favoring potential future guests over current loyal ones. Experiencing a sudden surge of 30%-50% in rates after just one room is booked is not welcomed by long-standing clients and feels like exploitation, regardless of their financial capacity. Where hotels used to plan for realistic annual revenue goals (10% or so YoY - covering expenses such as wages, inflation, and renovations), it's now difficult to justify the staggering 150%-200% increases, especially when service and product are lagging behind. The idea seems to be, expensive, for the sake of being expensive.

Ah, but perhaps the hotels brilliantly factoring in the heavy cost of marketing to expand their direct-to-consumer (D2C) business via the wonders of social media advertising. Splurging on compensating affiliates, influencers, and every social media ad platform under the sun—because, you know, that always works wonders for the big players i.e. Marriott, Hyatt, Four Seasons... Forgive my skepticism, but I can't help but chuckle at the thought of this being a well-informed approach for the smaller, boutique, high-end luxury hotels. Who needs loyal clients or trusted advisor partnerships when you can aim for just one goal: revving up the ads, AI pricing, and pack those rooms to the rafters with the masses?! Now that's luxury!....

This whole pricing frenzy at its core seems to be driven by low hanging fruit strategies to appease investors hungry for more growth, but at what expense? The long-term client, perhaps? Left with a sour taste in their mouths and pushed away to explore other options...