I was reading about a trip review from a certain Aman Resort and found it amazing (and hilarious) how the staff managed to make the "frog noises" disappear when they got too loud at night.

I've also read a lot about the Aman staff just knowing what you want or need at any given time and how they do everything to make it happen.

I was wondering what other stories are out there? If you have other crazy requests from other luxury resorts, please share as well!

At a certain Ritz hotel (I don't want to mention specifics at the risk of potentially getting anyone in trouble) that I have frequented I happened to mention upon the day of checkout that my girlfriend had really enjoyed the bath salts that were in our bathroom to the very kind front desk manager whom I had gotten to know. When I returned to my room to grab my luggage, a bag of ten or so of these salts was waiting for me.

Every single time I have been back to that hotel, without fail, there have been no less than a dozen of these containers of these very high-end bath salts in the bathroom for me to take home.

funny i was going to include that exact quote. but there are plenty of things like that in the reports and aman threads. Ericka and Groombridge have a lot of reports.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxur...ip-report.html

from http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxur...ty-hawaii.html >

Here is a snipet from my very old Amankila trip report:

When it came time to leave, my husband had to return the book he was reading to the Amankila library. He hadn�t finished it, and knowing that he had a birthday coming up, I decided to contact the hotel to find out the title. I asked them to check their records, telling them that he was reading something war or battle related. It turns out, they did not have a sign-out record, so they emailed me digital photos of their war and battle book covers so that I could identify the book by sight! Needless to say, my husband had a happy birthday surprise.

They also made note of how my husband took his martinis and never asked again after the first night. When we had dinner at Amandari over a week later, they magically knew how to make them too.

Rather than recite a story of an 'over-the-top' request that was fulfilled - which I don't have, mind you since Aman generally left nothing to be desired - I can share with you a small but illustrative anecdote of how Aman took care of me in a very helpful and simple way.

When packing up to leave Amandari, I was happy to see that due to my great packing skills I had managed to fit all of my clothes and belongings into my suitcase with a generous amount of room to spare. I applauded myself on being able to fit everything in much better on this occasion, then when I was originally departing on my trip.

I then called for a porter to pick up my suitcase and then departed the villa on foot, and headed to the reception area to check-out. Upon completing check-out the driver, who was to drive me to Amankila, loaded my suitcase into the trunk of the vehicle, and I noticed him also packing two additional wicker bags that appeared full of stuff. I asked him what that was, and he told me that when he went to pick up my luggage from the villa, he had noticed that I had not packed everything. I had apparently filled two drawers full of clothes that I did not pack into the suitcase! As it turned out, he did not just go to pick up my suitcase and deposit it in the vehicle, he made a thorough check of each drawer and storage space in the villa, in order to ensure that I had not left anything behind, and upon finding my things, he packed them into two complimentary Aman wicker beach bags, and loaded them into the vehicle, all on his own initiative and likely as part of his training. He saved me a huge hassle and I really appreciated it. As a final nice touch, at checkout the staffer put a beautiful Aman mauve leather luggage tag on my suitcase, with my name and address on it.

Anyhow, very absent minded of me. Same thing nearly happened again at Amankila.

@Eircka & blueline - Sounds like those Indonesia Amans never cease to amaze. You all have inspired me to go there. I'll be planning a trip for early next year and I'm looking hard into staying in all 5 Amans but unfortunately, I'd only have a week to do it.

that means my stay would look something like this:

1st night - Amankila
2nd night - Amandari
3rd & 4th - Amanwana
5th & 6th - Amanjiwo
7th night -Amanusa

or

1-3rd night - Amanusa with day trips to kila and dari
4-5th - Amanwana
6-7th - Amanjiwo


Is this logistically possible? Is this the best order in terms of ease of transportation? Thanks in advance!

Well, you will likely be in a jet lagged state but think this maybe a possibility

Do Bali first

On arrival, stop at Amandari en route to Amankila to browse at their gallery/ shop , tour property & have a snack

Recover from time changes at Amankila .


Move to Amanusa for overnight before early flight to Amanwana
Then back to stay at Amanusa before connecting to Amanjiwo

However, it will be real pity to rush your stay.

Will be at Amanusa next week & stopping by Amandari enroute to Amankila .

Decided to miss Amanwana this time

Think have too many OTT requests/ experiences at Amans

From having them pack plants e.g. Amanpuri , Amankila , etc
to being carried on the wonderful wheelchair - they had to hunt it down being their inaugural user - over all the numerous thresholds & steps at Aman Summer Palace male team from then GM Mark SWINTON
& having them going beyond their call of duty , from spa manager to the
chauffeur to ensure I was comfortable

@FlyerEC - Appreciate the tips. I'll look into this more as I really do not want to feel rushed but at the same time would like to maximize my time by seeing all 5 Amans. Regarding the jetlag, I would've been in South East Asia for about a week by the time I fly to Bali so I should be adjusted already.

Quick question, regarding the plane ride to Wana, will they do the transfer from any one of the Amans? Also, I've heard that they also offer an alternative route to Wana, I presume this is by boat? Which of the Amans is the most convenient transfer point for this? Thanks!

Suggest you split your trip & save some Amans for another visit or use this as a 'recce ' to return next time to the ones you really ' love ' .. decisions, decisions, decisions

Lots to explore at all Amans just look at their exclusives to get an idea

Amanusa is the best point for Amanwana.
Float plane, scheduled jet plus boat or helicopter

It will also be cooler then in Indochina if you decide on those other ' northern ' Amans

Enjoy!

Hard to fault you for wanting to try 'em all in one shot, but consider quality of your stay over quantity; will be a shame to only pass through some of these fine destinations....

You should definitely do the second alternative, since it makes absolutely no sense to check-in-check-out nearly each day. Also you will need a good day to relax the jetlag, so 1-night-only-at-Amankila-to-start-with makes absolutely no sense at all.

And since Kila is so much better and more beautiful than the vistas of the Novotel and the ugly St. Regis from Amanusa in retort-city Nusa Dua, I would highly recommend the following:

1-3rd night - Amankila with day trip to Dari (easy to do!)
4-5th - Amanwana
6-7th - Amanjiwo

This would be a magic trip indeed...

After that you need more than one night at each to get the real experience. Aman is not just about staying, eating and sleeping and you really should plan your stay to include some of their amazing activities and time to just being there.

I now have so many Aman leather luggage tags that maybe I should sell them on e-bay (only joking). Every so often, I remove some of them from luggage, and every so often, baggage handlers steal them. They are by far the nicest you ever see, although I did have some lovely leather ones from one of the Taj properties in India, instantly stolen by baggage handlers.

We have a pretty nice collection as well. I like that each property uses a different color. They make identifying our boring black tumis so much easier.

As for the suggested Indonesia trip, I agree Kila/Wana/Jiwo is better. For Wana, if you are a diver, make sure you are following the PADI rules for how many hours you need before and after you fly. If you are not a diver, make sure you spend a lot of time snorkeling. The magic at this property is underwater, not in the tents.

Same here! But I don't think any of mine have been stolen yet.

AirForceFlyer, packing in all 5 Indonesia Amans is logistically possible, but I'm not sure it would be a satisfying experience - you might end up longing to stay more at each property. If I were you, I'd pick one out of Amankila and Amanusa (my personal preference is for Amanusa, but I think I'm in the minority here. You could flip a coin; they're both fabulous) since they're beachy properties with no pronounced "theme". I'd certainly do Amanjiwo - it stands out for its uniqueness and for me it's decisively the best of the 5. Unless you really like water activities, esp. snorkeling and/or diving, I'd pick Amandari, again for its uniqueness. Completely agree with Ericka on Amanwana. I've seen better tented properties, prettier islands, and better waters and snorkeling than Amanwana - although the combination of the 3 at Amanwana is formidable.

I don't think a day trip from Amanusa to Kila and Dari would be worth it for the amount of time it would take you. If you haven't visited Bali before, I'd highly recommend spending time instead on any of the following activities, depending on your interests: visiting temples, beaches, restaurants, local dance performances, hikes or bike rides around rice paddy fields, etc.