Amankila - Great First Foray into Aman

100   Recommended
May 29, 2017 by

 Map | 14 Reviews | 57% Recommended
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Amankila
 Map | 14 Reviews | 57% Recommended

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Liked:
Location
Service
Food
Amenities
Room
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We had the pleasure of recently spending 3 wonderful nights at Amankila as part of longer trip to Bali

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While planning this trip, we almost decided against staying at Amankila due to the mixed reviews the resort sometimes gets. Let's face it, if there is anywhere with a plethora of luxury properties, it is Bali. We waffled over where to stay for the last part of the trip. Amankila, Amanusa, Alila Villas Uluwatu, The Club at The Legian, and the newly opened Katamama were all contenders. Ultimately, we decided that if ever there was a time to sample the highly-regarded Aman service, it was in Bali. Further, Amankila's relatively secluded location was just what we wanted before heading back home.

aving settled on Amankila, we found the Amankila Romance package to have just the right amount of inclusions at a fair value. Included were the following:

  • Return airport transfer
  • Traditional Balinese decorations upon arrival
  • Bottle of Bollinger Special Cuvee
  • Daily breakfast
  • Private Morning Cruise (2 hours)
  • 'Melukat' Water blessing
  • Sunset Satay in the Hills
  • 60-min Amankila Massage for two

Check In

After having been picked up in Ubud by our Amankila driver, we had a calm hour and change drive to the resort. Upon arriving, we were greeted by staff and the very pleasant GM Ernst. As we arrived not much after 12 noon, our room was still being prepared so Ernst took us to the bar for our welcome drinks. We had a nice conversation about the resort and the area and before we knew it, it was time to be taken to the room for check-in. We were informed we were upgraded from the lead-in Garden Suite to a Ocean View suite (~$200/night for the view) as we walked to the room, up the many steps in the resort.

 

Check-in formalities were simple and consisted of signing the usual reg card, a liability form (not sure if it was for the massage or the boat tour as it was seemed to be standard boiler plate terms), and what seemed to be a form for passport registration with the local police. Additionally, our passports were borrowed for quick copies and credit card number quickly written down to charge against the room rate. Frankly, not the simplest check-in but it was pain-free so no big complaints.

Room

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View from the room

 

Much has been said about the rooms at Amankila. The resort is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year and the rooms have not been substantially altered in that time. While the rooms could be considered slightly dated, we found they had a somewhat timeless feel to them and added to the sense of place of the resort. It was very much in line with the understated ethos Aman was built on.

They seem to be doing an excellent job keeping the rooms in good shape as we really had no complaints. Additionally, A/C was strong, water pressure was excellent, and the bed was very comfortable. The toilet and rainshower head were both TOTO and most likely weren't original hardware ;)

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Updated ceiling and showerhead

All that being said, two things of note. First, there did seem to be a minor lack of privacy in our suite. With walkways visible on both sides, we kept some of the window covers shut to give us a bit more privacy. While the resort was only half full or so, there is a lot of staff out and about that can easily see in on you if you are changing etc. Second, the room did smell a bit like straw that took some getting used to. It reminded me of a room with tatami mats, if that gives anyone any reference.

 

Service

Housekeeping is very thorough, yet out of sight. The room is spotless when they are through and always serviced while you are away. I happened upon them only once one morning finishing up our room, as I had gone back to grab our camera before heading to the beach. Other than that, I wouldn't have known they were there. There seemed to be touch-ups during the day as I noticed waters were being replaced midday.

 

Restaurant staff were attentive yet unobstrusive. I found they tended to wait near our table and keep an eye on when we needed something, rather than come to us and interrupt us to ask if we needed anything. We had no problem with them recognizing us (minus the first full day at the Beach Club where the server verbally confirmed I was in fact so-and-so) so no room numbers or checks to sign. This might have actually been oddly one of the most satisfying things about Aman. It truly does make one feel more at home. We did not have any issues with the SOs nut allergy so they all seemed aware minus our arrival day when we had a late lunch at the terrace. I had ordered Nasi Goreng, which had come with some chicken satay covered in peanut sauce. As the satay and peanut sauce was not listed on the menu, we were a bit surprised as we had originally planned on sharing this dish. We chaulked this up to either having just arrived or me ordering it, and not the allergic person ordering, but we thought it would be nice if they could verbally acknowledge the allergy when ordering.

 

The GM Ernst was visible and interacted with us on several occasions (note that I did ultimately reach out to him before arrival so not sure if that changed anything but I suspect not). We were curious how the GM/guest relationship would work as up until now, any interactions with GMs tended to feel rather forced and awkward. However, Ernst was a excellent host that seems to care a lot about the hotel and his guests' experiences. He is without a doubt an asset to Aman.

 

Now to the hiccups, they were minor and basically non-issues anywhere else but this being Aman, I wanted to mention them:

  • The guest assistant who checked us in wrote down my credit card information wrong. This resulted in an awkward conversation two days later where he casually mentioned that the card declined. Oddly, they seemed in no hurry to fix the decline so not sure why it was brought up the day before check out. Regardless, either write the number down correctly or just take a swipe.
  • One of our Amankila luggage tags was addressed to someone who was neither of us. As they stealthily put the tags on, this was something we only noticed at DPS airport.

Not dealbreakers for us but perhaps stuff that wouldn't have happened during the golden era

Dining

Food was positively fantastic. It was by far the best food we had the entire trip. Flavors were fresh and vibrant and dishes were executed perfectly. We enjoy the homestyle cooking that was well-done, without trying too hard. Prices were reasonable by western standards (and the quality of food we were eating) but expensive by Bali standards, as expected. We were perfectly satiated with just a main each for dinner.

 

The evening satay was fantastic. The meat perfect and the environs stunning. Highly recommended.

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Pools and Beach

While the three-tiered pool is most famous, we spent most of our time down by the beach club, both at the beach and at the pool. Service was excellent and there was only ever one or two other guests around, if that.

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View of Beach Club from above

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Beach Club Pool

One day local fishermen were active catching fish right in front on the bales.

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Activities

As part of the package, we were able to experience a few activities.

 

The Amankila massage was well-done. Some have complained of it not being a proper spa, which I understand, but we were very satisified with the massages.

 

The private boat tour might have been the biggest let-down. It was cloudy the morning we went out and a bit rough, so the SO got a bit seasick. Plenty of fish in the Blue Lagoon but sadly the effects of coral bleaching are very visible. Was just ok overall but as it was included, we couldnt complain that much.

 

The water blessing was wonderful. Very nice to get to experience a little bit of Balinese culture and we found it very memorable.

Overall

We were ultimately very glad we stuck with Amankila. Service was amazing overall and miles ahead of anywhere we had been before. We are already brainstorming our next Aman stay and would without any real hesitiation, recommend the resort to others.

 

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