I was at Amangiri for Memorial Day weekend last year, and to my great delight there wasn't a single child there. I'm feeling very lucky after having read the post below--Amangiri's pool area is very intimate, so even a handful of children would absolutely ruin the experience, sending me running for the spa instead. (Although there's no pool at the spa, just a sun deck.)

Similarly, no children at all when I was at Amanyara. But kids EVERYWHERE at Amanwana, bizarrely. So I guess it's just the luck of the draw.

The worst experience I've had with kids anywhere, though, was at Four Seasons Tented Camp, where the new GM has become horribly lax about the published age restriction. There were at least 4 different, unrelated families with children under 10 when I was there last month, and they were terrors--running around the dining area, shrieking, poking people with the Smores sticks, inserting themselves into other groups' conversations, etc. I really liked the Tented Camp, but it would have been a truly wonderful place if they'd simply stuck to their policy of creating an atmosphere free of young children. (I finally asked one of the parents how they'd been able to avoid the age restriction, and they said they'd simply called and demanded to speak to the GM, and he waived the policy without a second thought. Shame on him, as other guests, like ourselves, had selected that property explicitly because it had been sold as a child-free resort.)

My partner and I just returned from a five night stay at Amangiri. As others have posted more complete trip reports, I plan just include my overall impressions of the place.

As others have stated, the location is amazing. It�s a clich� to say �the pictures do not do it justice�, but that really IS true here. Just hiking around the extensive trails on the expansive property is amazing, as you are very quickly out of sight of the resort and almost everything else man made and alone on the trails. It�s an amazing experience.

Based on some of the pictures I�d seen I was a little concerned that the resort made an overly liberal use of concrete, but when you are there, you see that it really works well with the environment. It did not feel at all �cold� to me and seem to be very appropriate for the surroundings.

We were booked into a Terrace Pool Suite for all five nights but were upgraded to the Girijaala suite for the last two. As has been noted previously, the only differences between suite types are location, pools, outdoor space and bathroom sizes. Booking either of the top two suites will not get you any additional indoor living area. Overall, I liked the overall design of the rooms � I could nitpick little details, but most of them have already been mentioned. It probably pays to note again, however that if you get a pool suite (not one of the top two named suites) you will have no view of anything from your pool, as it will be surrounded by walls on three sides (and the fourth side will face the interior of the room). Further, the pools are located near the entrance to the room and therefore are right next to the resort�s main walkway. While in your pool (at least during the day), you will hear (and to a lesser extent, see) guests and staff walking by pretty consistently.

Of course, the outdoor layout of the Girijaala suite is very different, with a much larger courtyard and more extensive outdoor seating areas. The pool here is very large and is completely open to the desert landscape. Hanging out in the pool or in one of the outdoor areas was spectacular and very private. The only time the privacy was broken was when our neighbors decided to come over and peek in to our area (an irritant that I will discuss below).

Service at the resort was good solid five star stuff. I would say it is a notch down from service at top tier Four Seasons resorts in Asia (but is better than service I�ve received anywhere else in N. America with maybe the exception of the Inn at Palmetto Bluff or the BT Mayakoba). Was it anticipatory, was it �special�? I would have to say mostly not � there was nothing done here that was outside of my experiences at FS resorts in Asia - and many of the nicer service touches that we encountered were equally offset by some service misses as well. (As an aside, I have previously been to two Amans and both times left less than 24 hours into the stay because of horrible service issues. Given this, I have not been to the �flagship� Amans in Indonesia, so cannot compare service at this resort with those.) Since I was not expecting anticipatory or �special� service I was not in the least disappointed. Service is very casual and (I guess) American, but as an American myself, this mostly didn�t bother me. Everyone clearly knew who we were and always greeted us, but never by name (which isn�t a big deal to me but is outside of what I�ve experienced in Asia and may be a big deal to some). Everyone was friendly, competent and willing to help in any way possible. Like I said, good standard five star service. Management was constantly around and was accessible, friendly and helpful.

The food was of good quality; however the menus were pretty limited and not very appealing to us. This wasn�t a big deal as the chefs were willing and able to cook off menu. I think I maybe ordered one thing from the menu during our stay and pretty much worked with the chef for the rest of my dinner meals. They have what they call a �breakfast table� where, again the food is of decent quality, but the selection is very small and uninspiring (granola, fruit, plain yogurt, mediocre pastries and non-homemade bagels). I didn�t much care because our Virtuoso booking (thanks David O) included breakfast, but if I had to pay for the �breakfast table�, I would be irked. You could also order a la carte. Service, for breakfast, lunch and dinner was always very good to excellent and, as the service at the rest of the resort, very casual.

The overall design of the resort is, I think, causing some issues. The designers made some assumptions on what the clientele would be and how they would act. Notably, the resort was designed to be a quiet retreat for couples. And as long as that is who is there and it is not too occupied, I think it is fine. But the resort also seems to be attracting a large number of families with children. The rooms are not designed to accommodate additional beds. The resort currently has to wedge a cot or cots between the side of the bed and the wall, which blocks access around the room. There are no facilities for children. Only one room connects to another room. I actually heard horror stories (from both the staff and management) of Easter Weekend when there were over 30 children at the resort and they literally tore the cushions off the chairs by the main pool to use as float toys. Given this, I am told that the resort is trying to work with potential guests to steer those who are looking for quiet to book when there are less children at the resort.

Even with the child issue aside, it�s easy to see how the design might not be the best if occupancy levels are on the high side. The suites are right next to each other (in most cases they share walls). If you are in your desert lounge you can easily hear your neighbors talking if they are in theirs. That and the fact that one can easily walk out from the desert lounge about five feet and see into every room (this actually happened to us on three occasions as one of our neighbors decided to walk over and look into our terrace pool suite while we were changing in the room and neighbors from both sides decided to come over and look into our girijaala suite while we were in the pool). Given the amount of land the resort has, I honestly don�t know why they chose to create suites instead of stand alone villas, which would have afforded more privacy.

The central area is also a mixed bag in my opinion. On one hand, I love the openness of the place. On the other, it�s a bit too open, containing the only dining areas, the library, the front desk, the wine cellar, the lounge and the kitchen. In addition, this is the main thoroughfare for anyone going from one side of the resort to the other or for those going out to the pool. Given this, I can totally see how some people would say the area is too loud and busy while others don�t have this experience at all - it really would depend on the occupancy.

The spa was lovely. I had two treatments, one of which was very mediocre and one of which rivaled anything I�ve had in Asia. The spa is one area where I thought the service could be a little more formal. I like a little ritual with my massage � give me some tea and a nice place to relax both before and after and I appreciate my massage a lot more. This spa had a very �get �em in and get �em out� feel to it, which I thought was not really in keeping with the spirit of the resort. Facilities at the spa (steam, sauna, hot and cold plunge, men�s and women�s changing rooms) were all there and very well done. The gym was quite nice.

We didn�t really partake of any of the activities that were on offer. There were quite a number of them, but nothing really cultural. I thought the prices were a bit high. And honestly, we are not huge �activities� people � just hiking around the property was good enough for us.

All and all, it was a good trip. As I said, the location is lovely and very unique and the service was fine. I�m still not certain that I have had an �Aman� experience, but it was a heck of a lot better than my last two Aman stays. I would certainly return, but would definitely check to see what that occupancy levels are and what the guest makeup is before I commit to a stay.

Oh, and I was told that the tents are currently �on hold�. My impression was that the resort was going to attempt to build some more facilities and/or suites with families in mind. I�ve no time frame for any of this, however.

This is a really superb and nuanced report, xracer, so thank you! And I agree with everything you describe. Out of curiosity, can you tell us what the two previous disappointing Amans were?

^ great info. can you give some idea or examples, even if general/vague?

only 34 suites. not addressing the behavior. i wonder what the stated/enforced occupancy is. they could choose to do 2 adults and 1 child, its not uncommon.

even amanjunkies have posted negative aman reports here, including all 3 of those properties.
amanjena >
Bungus report http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxur...ml#post6789215
eutow mentions ordering off menu http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxur...ml#post6789289
opxzaw reports good service feb 2005 http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxur...ml#post6791325

more amanjena and other >

paul2 horrible manager at amankila http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxur...ml#post6780190
bearbrick horrible manager at amanpulo http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxur...ml#post6782135

The two resorts were Amanjena and Amanpuri. I have also been to Amangani (jeez, I actually forgot about that one). While the stay at Amangani was not great, I would return there to try it again. Amanjena and Amanpuri: never, never again.

Well, we are mostly vegetarian and the menu had maybe one veggie option on it (pea and asparagus risotto, I believe). I tried that and liked it, but after that, what was on offer was a lot of steak, bison, venison and the like (which is I guess appropriate for the area and for American tastes, but not so great for us). They were fine with creating a bunch of stir fried vegetable dishes for us, which was great. They also had a couple of fish dishes on the menu, but we don't really go there, so didn't try them. FYI, the menu did not change at all during the five nights that we were there. My assumption is that they only change it monthly or when the run out of / get new ingredients. Again, I would not let the small menu put you off, as the chefs were very good.


I was told they were putting two adults and two children in each room.

brilliant. ^ (i eat vegetable stir fry at home all the time, almost daily, but not sure i would ever have thought of this.) i dont know why, but its going to take me a long time to get the hang of ordering off menu. i really appreciate the help.

so 30+ kids = 15+ suites, out of 34. insanity.

like Groombridge's recent reports from amanwana (20 tents) and FS golden triangle (15 tents) although much worse at the latter because of not enforcing age requirement, and considering the base rate.

Great detailed review Xracer! I agree with you on three points:

The hotel is not set up for children, so if there are multiple noisy children, there is NOWHERE TO GO. Other resorts like Amankila or Amanpulo have multiple pools/beaches, at Amangiri there's the one.

The room setup allows sound (and a careless eye) to easily wander. With our patio doors open we could hear other rooms. Also, I quickly learned that if I wanted to sunbathe on my patio, I should be as decently dressed as if I were in the main area.

The excursions were $$$. Nothing seemed under $500! We loved hiking the trails and would have liked to do the guided piton hike, but the price was just too high!

That said, I loved Amangiri, and would like to go again (on a low level child weekend). I wonder if it will eventually go the Post Ranch Inn route and ban children entirely.

even just 1 child per room would cut the potential maximum in half... and that is not an unusual limitation at all.

behavior standards seem like something hotels can choose to address, but maybe im wrong. US litigiousness?

During the time when I was at Amangiri, the resort was full and it indeed revealed the design flaw in the openness of the public space. The noise at breakfast was certainly not the usual aman experience and it make the use of the library impossible. Also the staff to guest ratio is not as high as the other Asian Amans so the service could be compromised. There were several times I have to wait to talk to the concierge because they were engaged with the other guests. While the activities are expensive, I highly recommend the Hummer tour which cost less than 500.

Thinking hard about perhaps making a trip out here over the winter holidays - likely the week between Christmas and New Year's.

Would love to get advice from anyone here who has been around that time ... Not sure whether this is likely to be a time when the property is bursting at the scenes, overrun by children, etc (seems to be lots of availability at the moment) ... or maybe it will be quiet, with winter in the desert not being everyone's cup of tea. Assuming the weather will be too cool to use the swimming pools, but what about other outdoor activities? We're thinking about a 5 or 6 night trip and are just a bit worried about having enough to keep us a but occupied - bearing in mind that the main purpose of our trip will be to relax and recharge.

Many thanks for whatever advice you all might offer.

It is a good time of the year to go. Summer is too hot and you can dress against the cold. They are still running activities even in the quiet time of the year and it will be a good time to recharge. Having said this, between Christmas and NY the place will get full so don't expect to have a private resort.

How about early November? I am told this is a really good time of year to go, but wonder whether this is just because it is a low seasons point in their calendar.

It gets cold at night in November, but it's my favorite fall month to travel in the deserts in Utah and Nevada.

^

Was hoping to have stayed then but as usual the opening was much delayed. May try again some pre/post - Thanksgiving perhaps .

The guest guide in the room says: "Amangiri welcomes families with children" and goes on to talk about babysitting facilities and kids menu.

Not too many kids here right now.