MacMyDay

Noted! Photos galore coming up.


Easy? Hell, no, but I'm used to the hassle of traveling between SE Asia countries by now. I realised yesterday that I'd been in Singapore Changi International 9 times in the last 12 months and that's only covering 2 holidays. We did HKT > SIN, stayed the night, SIN > MNL on the earliest flight arriving into MNL at 13:00, meaning we had to wait nearly 3 hours in the Amanpulo airport lounge until the 16:00 flight. The lounge only have snacks and as I slept the entire flight I was starving, so they ordered me takeaway. How very uncouth of me.

Last time we came to Amanpulo it was just the two of us on the sea plane, whereas this time it only had a few empty seats.

bhrubin

We are so ashamed to not have made it yet. We hope you'll still consider us your friends.

I'm waiting to see what healthy glow you manage to get on that English skin! Have fun!

Seriously, I'll be very curious to hear what you think. As much as I'd like to see what all the fuss is about, I'm not convinced that I won't be horribly bored here, what with no really great diving nearby.

Pausanias

Our first trip to Amanpulo was in 1995, the year the hotel opened. We stayed 10 days, I think. For several months before that we were receiving weekly postcards from Amanresorts with a photograph of a beach and the simple message, 'This beach is waiting for you.' No clue as to where it was. It was a very clever teaser. So when all was revealed we booked and went and thought it was the best beach resort in the world. Still do, I think.

The first trip we combined it simply with Honkers. Then another trip we combined it with Palau and Honkers. You flew from Manila to Koror. Staying in Manila was fun, at the legendary Manila Hotel. On another trip we combined it with Rayavadee which was so disappointing after Amanpulo we called Amanpuri and they came with a car and rescued us.

We haven't been to Amanpulo for about six years now - not since we discovered the South Pacific and started expedition cruising - but we always think of going back. Macmyday is getting us all nostalgic for it.

One of the things I particularly like about Amanpulo is that it's a private island with a lot of space, unlike so many of those Maldives resorts. And it hasn't built any of those overwater bungalow horrors which wreck at the landscape and destroy the environment.

ainternational

Probably the most relaxing and best two vacations of my life were at Pulo. Well, Puri was great too but for other reasons. The Pulo beaches can't compare. Despite lackluster food and service, the villas and really the setting are what define it. Can't wait to go back but am hoping to see some improvements as well as have a few experiences in the Maldives first.

MacMyDay

I agree. It's what I liked about North Island and Laucala as well, as there is actual terrain and plenty of places to visit. I still like the Maldives, but I'd rather go back to the Seychelles, especially for taking photographs.

Some brief thoughts so far:

• I've kept in my mind for the last 2 years that the beach at Amanpulo is the softest sand I've ever experienced, but coming back I do think North Island beats it. Amanpulo has a more beautiful looking beach due to the colour of the water, but North Island's is more private (only 11 villas) and better sand, although I'm aware that will depend on what time of year you go.
• We have 2 butlers, as one is a trainee and only started 2 weeks ago. Another member of staff at the Beach Club had only just started as well. I know that resorts need to hire more people during peak, but I'd have thought they would have started longer ago. A bit of patience and all is fine, but still surprising.
• It does mean we have a butler everywhere, taking care of everything. We have yet to even use the golf buggy, as the butler was waiting to take us to the Beach Club for breakfast (we could have had it in our villa, but prefer the views down there) and then waited for us to finish to take us back.
• The villa comes with a chef, but so far I've not found any real use for him, as the food from the main resort is so good. It has improved dramatically since my last visit 2 years ago.
• The villa really is a significant upgrade on a casita. There is nothing wrong with the casita, but the villa feels that extra bit special, with a lot of outdoor and indoor space. It is also at the end of the beach, so feels a lot more private.
• The turtle is still around and just as friendly as ever.

North Island beach


Amanpulo beach


1 bedroom villa pool


Private sun loungers for the villa

chinmoylad

Wow you definitely got the nicer one-bedroom villas! The one I saw, it was nice but nothing spectacular that I would particularly recommend clients go out of the way for (and pay the premium up from beach casita).

Absolutely agree about the space - the Maldives islands are tiny. And it's GREAT to be somewhere without overwater villas.

Interesting about the sand; I do hear it really depends when you go (due to winds etc), but a few people I know who've been (and done the other places) went around January-March and said it was the finest they've seen.

On the same note, has anyone done Mnemba Island? How does it compare to North Island/Amanpulo?

Mickidon

MacMyDay, How "hovering" is the butler? On our first visit, we wanted the space of a villa
but opted for the beach casita (which we loved) because we were uncomfortable with the butler concept on this type of trip. We had to call them off at Nam Hai and Rajvilas because they were so attentive and needing to plan that it became an irritant. Now we are considering another trip to Pulo and doing the decision tree again.

Pausanias

We Brits tend to take our butlers with us and they stay in the casitas.

A nice wide shot of the main pool would be nice sometime, Macmyday. I'd like to see how the surrounding vegetation has grown up. They had just finished planting the little shrubs on our first visit so the pool then enjoyed amazing views as well as some spirited breezes!

MacMyDay

It's a 2 bedroom, but one of the bedrooms is locked. It was sold as a 1 bedroom though, so perhaps worth presenting to your clients as an option in future.

Our last visit was the exact same time of year. It's still very soft, but North was that bit better. El Nino does keep getting thrown around as the reason for anything not being perfect this year, so let's just include it here, just to be safe.

No, but it is actually on my list.

Not been an issue at all so far, although I've never found it an issue at any resort. Along with Fregate, it's probably the most hands off I've butler service I've experienced. Whether that is down to our unique situation of 2 butlers I'm unsure, but it certainly hasn't caused an overload of attention. I don't feel the need for a butler to do much for me, but prefer it as it's only 1 person that you have to deal with to take care of anything. I do want to feel value for money though, so may phone the butler at 3am, to ask him to urgently wake the chef up, as I need a glass of water. Only a chef can prepare my drinks.

I will do that for you, but for now I actually took one earlier at night and will continue to update this with photos as I go along: