tiffy

Could anyone tell me if Amanpulo is worth the journey? How do you rate the accommodation? How would you rate the scuba diving?

Ericka

I was there last December. Here is my detailed trip report. Are you familiar with Amans? Have you been to any before?

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...light=amanpulo

tiffy

Hi Erika,

Thanks for the info. It's very detailed and informative. It'll be my 1st time to an Aman resort.

Mr. Strong

Amanpulo is definitely worth the journey. Accommodation is 5 star, as is the service. My most recent visit was in April 2005 and as always, I had a wonderful stay.

The staff are wonderful...they even sent me a Christmas card! Amanpulo has a new General Manager and I'm sure he'll continue on with the great work of Shane and Karen.

Clear waters, coral reefs and it's location in the northern part of the Sulu Sea offers Amanpulo good diving. However, the best diving in the Philippines can be found in the Tubbataha Reefs, Batangas, Bohol and Palawan.

Ericka

Tiffy,

If this is your first Aman, you'll have a grand time! The few shortcomings that I mention in my report are for the Amanjunkies on this board (we like to compare one Aman to another in search of the ultimate Aman and get a little nit-picky in the process).

As for Amanpulo, it really is a wonderful place. Feel free to let us know if you have specific questions.

Ericka

zigzag

Amanpulo is wonderful and worth the time and effort to get to. I think you should schedule spa treatments during the middle to the day along with your nap as I found the sun to strong last February after 10:00am. We awoke at 5:30am for a walk on the beach, a swim and snorkle, breakfast and then headed to the beach club which we like much more then the pool. Service at the pool was not good but at the beach club it was perfect. Great music, wonderfur food, and great magazine's and boardgames. It was all we needed and next time will get a hillside room as we really never used the lounges at the beach in front of the casita. None of the other guest used the beach club unless they where going out to scuba or snorkle or sunset cruise. The oysters where world class and the champagne ice cold. God it was good!

whizzer

We spent five magnificent days at Amanpulo last week and every aspect of our stay was in line with what Ericka described in her thoroughly accurate trip report.

The new GM and his wife Mafalda are wonderfully warm people and spent a lot of time making sure we were enjoying the experience. They must have ironed out whatever problems they had with the pool service, as it was absolutely faultless in our experience. As there were only about fifteen casitas occupied, we often felt we had the island to ourselves.

Beside what Ericka has already described, we had a fabulous "serenaded sunset cruise." The boat came to pick us up on "our" beach. We enjoyed cocktails and canapes to the sounds of a guitar player while the sun was setting.

It rained one night, and in the morning the staff had placed towels on the seats of the golf cart so that we didn't get wet.

The resort also managed to make our departure flight leave about 15 minutes early because they knew we had a tight connection in Manila.

A truly fabulous experience.

erik123

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1:7926...html?refid=SEO

I think there was a abu sayef raid on Palawan at a neighboring reort there in 2001. I believe this refers to it. Though it shouldn't be a problem now.

Makanmata

I'm thinking about a trip later this month. Has anybody been to Amanpulo in the Northern Summer, and able to compare it to the weather in the Northern Winter? I am concerned about what I have been told are high winds this time of year, and I'm wondering if I should put the trip off.

Thanks.

Ericka

We were there in December and the winds were very high. You might want to send the resort an email and ask them how much wind to expect. They were very frank before our trip and quoted exact wind speeds, etc.

Mr. Strong

I've only been to Amanpulo in March, in April and in August. However, generally speaking, I don't think high winds should be a problem for typical weather in late June. I expect that at most, winds are 5-7mph this time of year.

As Ericka suggested, e-mail Amanpulo directly and they can provide weather/wind details. Tropical storms and typhoons run throughout the year in the northwest Pacific Ocean and Amanpulo should have information about normal weather conditions in late June.

Mr. Strong

Just got back from another fantastic stay at Amanpulo. I thought I'd report on a few new developments. My last stay was in 2005, and when I returned last week it was like returning home. The new General Manager and Executive Assistant Manager have maintained the high standards of the property. While there are lots of new faces, the staff continue to be gracious, attentive and very hospitable. The main reason for the new faces...quite a number of former staff moved to Amanyara! There's also a new chef (who was previously at Hotel Bora Bora). Chef Craig has moved on to Amanusa. The casitas have upgraded with a new entertainment system: flat panel TV, new DVD player as well as iPod dock and remote. WiFi access is also available at the Club House and the Beach Club and the Library has a PC desktop for those who need acccess to a computer or the internet. Finally, seven new Aman Villas (all already sold) are being built on the island.

Kagehitokiri

thanks for the update ^

any idea what the villas went for?

since noone else addressed it here, ill just say that from what i've read, Amanpulo has some fairly good security protocols/personnel. (read: extremely good compared to the vast majority of hotels/resorts) if i remember correctly both Amanpulo and Amanpuri have similar things in place (since theyre both on islands)

Michelin Girl

I love this Aman as it's so private and quite spectacular if you're a beach-person. Security-wise, it's in an area of Palawan that is further up so less chance of an Abu Sayaf raid as their boats would be spotted along the way by the military. Also, from the last time I was there, I understand that Amanpulo has a very sophisticated radar set-up that can spot oncoming boats (there wouldn't be many, so it would be easy to spot) and a hotline to/ understanding with the local military; as well as it's own security precautions/ heavy-duty equipment in case there is a landing of rebels.

I wouldn't be too worried. Aman has known about this threat since the beginning and I understand they have taken every possible precaution.

PS: Get your breakfast delivered and set-up right on the beach for a great start to the day...

RichardInSF

A friend of mine is thinking of popping down here after working some in Manila. He would like to know if the posted rates include meals and, in case not, what to budget for meals (since there obviously aren't other restaurants to go to!).

Anyone remember? Thanks!

Edited to add: It appears little details like this are lacking from the Aman web page. They also say "++" after the rate quote without telling you what the "++" amount is and what it includes.