Londonjetsetter

I just got back from 7 nights at Amankila. Overall we had a fantastic stay and I cannot wait to go back. My only previous Aman experience was Amanpuri. While some aspects of the resorts are similar I preferred Amankila as it feels calmer, quieter and more spacious.

The Suite

As I have written elsewhere, we stayed in Ocean suite 37, which has the best views in the resort. Absolutely breathtaking. As well as having a clear view of the ocean you are also just above the tree tops, so can see all sorts of wildlife running and flying around. I would recommend either this suite or the Indrakila suite, if your budget allows it. I thought the design of the suite was superior to the Amanpuri pavilions and felt much less dated.


Time of year

The beginning of November is officially the rainy season, but we had unbroken sunshine the entire time. The staff said that the real rains don't usually start until Christmas time, but we may have just been lucky. It was incredibly hot and humid though. The resort was very quiet at between 30 and 50% capacity each day. This meant that we were often the only people at the beach or by the main pool.

Service

Absolutely outstanding. Every member of staff, without exception, was perfectly trained, helpful and seemed to genuinely care that we had an amazing time. Very quickly everyone knew our names, what we liked to eat and drink and what we were doing that day.

Beach/Pools

The beach is very quiet and private. We loved having the bales as an escape from the fierce sun. The grey sand is not the most attractive and we spent more time by the main pool. The lap pool at the beach club is great for swimming and was empty most of the time. Service was always excellent with water topped up constantly. Some local girls made offerings some afternoons, which they presented to us by the pool along with ginger tea and Balinese cake. They also liked to practise their English with us, which was very sweet.

Food

Perhaps the only minor criticism. The menus at all of the restaurants are great - varied and exactly the kinds of things that I want to be eating on holiday. Everything tasted good but nothing was outstanding, whereas I remember being blown away by several dishes at Amanpuri. Staff are very happy to deal with special requests or come up with entirely new dishes.

We had two private dinners - one at a new bale overlooking paddy fields and one on the beach. Both were incredibly romantic and a lot of effort had been made to ensure that they ran smoothly, but the food was not amazing.

Activities

As hard as it was to drag ourselves away from the resort we spent a few hours on the Aman XII, which was fabulous. Noone else had booked that day so it was just us. We sailed along the coast before snorkeling in the clear ocean. We also took a tour of East Bali, which was very interesting. I would not particularly recommend Tenganan, the traditional Balinese village, which these days feels like a theme park. You are constantly pressured to buy things. I remember the place from my first trip to Bali 15 year ago and it has changed a lot.

Spa treatments were excellent. One of the suites is converted into a spa suite, which works very well. I also had massages in the coconut grove behind the beach. One of the advantages of the resort being quiet was the ability to book treatments in the early evening without much notice. How many times is this time of the day fully booked at other resorts? The fitness pavilion is also fine and, since you reserve a slot, there is only one couple in there at any time.

GM

Tracy was outstanding. She was constantly around and seemed genuinely interested that we had the best possible stay. She knew exactly what we were doing and when, including our exact flight details going home. She made several great recommendations. You would never know that she has just had a baby!

Musken

Thanks for the report. It is a long time since we were there, but this brings back good memories. You were really lucky to have so few visitors when you were there. I remember that the main pool used to be crowded so that we had to be there very early to get a bale. Our private dinner at the beach was just magic and one of my best holiday memories ever.

Ericka

Fantastic report! Now that we have been to the other Amans in Indonesia, I feel ready to go back. Glad you had a good time.

Suite #37 sounds like a good find. We were in the Indrakila, but I often wondered how the ocean suites were for view.

Groombridge

Thanks for the incredibly helpful and informative report, Londonjetsetter. I'm just getting ready to book a trip to the Indonesian Amans next summer, but you've made me wonder if I should consider going in the shoulder season instead . . .
Again, thanks!

paul2

Thanks Londonjetsetter great report.
Were the steps up to suite 37 difficult?
We have stayed in the amankila suite which is easy enough to reach from the main resort areas (especially if you have older family members with you).
Its a pity the food wasn't up to scratch, I have had some great meals there.

Londonjetsetter

There were quite a few stairs to suite 37, although not as many as to some of the suites to the left of reception (looking away from the ocean). It is certainly not as convenient as the Amankila suite, but much higher up, so better views.

I wouldn't say the food wasn't up to scratch. Everything was perfectly nice, just not outstanding. Casual lunches worked better than dinners IMHO.

Londonjetsetter

One of the reasons that we haven't been to the Indonesian Amans before is that we are reluctant to travel all the way to Asia in the summer, when the weather in Europe is nice. We prefer to do our long haul trips in the winter, when the weather in most of Indonesia is not great. November is a good compromise.

Ericka

Do be careful about November. We got poured on in early October in Bali - 5 solid days. While I believe the coastal areas of Bali are generally dryer, you might want to look at the year-by-year stats on weather underground.

Londonjetsetter

Ericka. The rainfall figures for Denpasar are below. I think Ubud is quite a bit wetter. Of course it is the tropics, so it could rain at any time:


Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun
341.4 261.9 231.9 138.6 56.3 23.4 [mm]

Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
13.9 13.7 20.4 65.9 103.4 255.8 [mm]

Londonjetsetter

Hmmm I tried to sort out the formatting, but it didn't work. 103mm of rain in November on average compared to 341mm in January and 13mm in August.

MegatopLover

Our previous trips to Bali have all been in late May, which I consider perfect timing-- low season in terms of tourists but great weather, some but not a lot of rain. I guess we need to prepare for the opposite in November and December this year.

vuittonsofstyle

Not necessarily! These days you cannot predict the weather at all. We were there in January and had very little rain, yet it is meant to be the wettest month. The nice thing is, the rain is WARM.

auh2o

^

MegatopLover

True. We got a lot of rain last December at amanjiwo, and it was actually quite pleasant. Didn't spoil a thing. Should have remembered that.