Are we talking about Amantaka, here? 1.5 hectares, 20 keys? Is this one of the French-Canadian architect, Pascal Trahan's projects in Luang Prabang?

I heard that one of his newer projects was the restoration of Villa Viceroy, the former residence of Prince Phetsarath Ratanavongsa, which is currently one of the most expensive places in town, with rates up to $1000 a night. The owner of Villa Viceroy, Jean-Marc Huss, who is a Phuket-based French artist, is apparently very secretive about his plans for this property.

However, Trahan's company, Vikara Architecture, in Luang Prabang, is also occupied with other interesting projects. These include the conversion of a French prison into a hotel by the end of 2010 (shades of FS Istanbul?) and the transformation of the old hospital into an exclusive Amanresort. I guess this is Amantaka?

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news...770810494.html
"outskirts"?

the aman location is marked in the center of this map. >
http://774766.vikara-architecture.com/site.html

satellite view of that location. >
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=e...9,0.00294&z=18
construction status?

There is nothing like an asian Aman. I am dying to see this place. How will it look like? More "Ed Tuttle style" or "Jean-Michel Gathy's"??

trahan's past projects >

http://www.alilahotels.com/3nagas/default.asp
http://www.villamaydou.com/

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news...770810494.html

I am finding out about this, but as you know, Aman are very secretive. The best way to discover things is to bump into Adrian at one of his resorts and have a drink with him, then all sorts of things come out, but not all of them happen!

Hi, I was at the Amanjiwo in July of this year and one of the staff there was going to be moving over to the new resort in Laos (I've seen here it is to be called Amantaka!). He said it would be opening on Jan 1, 2009 preceded by a few months of operation for press reports, etc.

I hope he's right!

GN

Welcome to FT gnilsson!

...over to the "New Amanresorts..."-thread - because to keep things easy,
whilst here in the "Aman Poll..." thread we discuss about existing Amans,
there in the "New Amanresorts..." thread we discuss everything about new Aman developments:

All new resorts: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=788263
The Anantaka discussion: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...7#post10302447

Do I have to copy everything on both threads now? Why don't we just have one Amanresorts thread?

Amantaka opens January 2009. Luang Prabang.

Yes, I agree. It seems quite silly and heavy-handed to have to regulate the posts like this, particularly when discussions happen organically.

This thread, by the way, from the very first post has been about Aman experiences AND news and rumors about upcoming Aman resorts.

...just to make things simple for the not-so-experienced users:

- The first post of the "New Amanresorts and GHM..." thread is always updated about all new facts and rumors about upcoming Amanresorts and new GHM Hotels, with the most complete list anywhere in the web I think (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=788263) - and the thread itself seems really to be a good place to discuss everything around that

- This "Aman Poll" thread is for discussions, experiences and questions about existing properties

Even for me as a very interested Aman-guest it seems simpler to have one thread for each, to get a quicker overlook about what I am looking for at the specific moment.

And, no: Nobody has to copy things in both threads, I will keep the New Aman-thread updated...

By the way: I am very happy about flyertalk becoming THE way best source for discussions about our beloved hotels and I thank vuittonsofstyle, Amanjunkie, AirJunkie, nama, Kagehitokiri and all the others very, very much for making both my pre-travelling and my travelling so much better!!!

Well fair enough, I like and appreciate the fact you keep the first post of the "New Amanresorts and GHM..." updated with the latest Aman news, as it does make things easier.

Just don't mind if we occasionally wander off into "news" in this thread as it can be pretty natural, especially after a recent Aman stay in which the GM or staff member has tipped us off on something new! ^

And of course, "new" and "existing" Aman properties are not always exclusive such as the case of the Aman at Summer Palace, Beijing, which is not open yet, though I recently visited and wrote about it.

But besides these points, I can see how having two threads can be useful; just don't mind the occasional overlap!

I have noticed there are other GoogleEarth-junkies in this Aman-addict thread and... I was wondering whether anyone has spotted satellite pictures of Amanresorts. I have already posted those of Amanwana, Amanyara (under construction) and Amancaya island, while Kagehitokiri has found the Amantaka site.
Most Amans are perfectly visible and others are recognizable from the location (sometimes pictures are not detailed enough). Can you find Amandari, Amangani, Amankora, Melezin, Beijing and Delhi? (I can't) but I got all the others!

For instance, this is easy:

http://maps.google.it/?ie=UTF8&ll=-8...03455&t=h&z=18

the amantaka site was tough, and i could only go by the designer's map, no idea if its accurate.

aman summer palace is apparently just east (connected?) of the east gate to summer palace. (based on Amanjunkie's post)

? general area for summer palace >
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=summer...04839&t=k&z=17

? le melezin is somewhere along this .5 mile long road >
http://maps.google.com/maps?client=s...19355&t=h&z=15

x labeled as amandari >
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=e...04839&t=h&z=17

~ amankora has 5 lodges

- amangani >
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&cl...,0.004839&z=17

- aman new delhi (labeled lodhi hotel)
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=e...04839&t=h&z=17
http://www.telegraphindia.com/103040...ry_1835507.asp amancaya (norman's cay bahamas) is the one thats proposed or whatever, not amanyara. (turks and caicos)

Amanusa! You're right, quite easy to tell from its close proximity to a golf course and the size and placement of the pool.