Hangzhou, Amanfayun

We booked our stay directly and were very satisfied with all the help we got with regards to booking activities and outside meals, spa treatments and in-room preferences so that everything was ready for a perfect stay. One thing that we found out already before arrival was that there would be a butler available for us during our stay to take us on excursions, help us in restaurants and be our first point of contact during the complete stay, which was great.

Since we travelled with quite a lot of luggage, we agreed that the most convenient was to be picked up by Amanfayun at the Peninsula in Shanghai instead of taking the train.

The driver met us in the morning and while he was loading the luggage, we were talking to our butler on the phone. She explained that the drive would be around three hours and that there would be one stop midway for toilet breaks and possibilities to buy something to eat. In the car there was water available and also nice little boxes with cookies to enjoy during the drive. The drive went smoothly and we arrived Amanfayun on time.

Upon arrival we were met by the very friendly general manager Vaipanya Kongkwanyuen (Vp, from Thailand, ex Aman Summer Palace and also Aman Lijang) who showed us around, told us about the village and made us feel very welcome from the minute we arrived. We were served tea in the beautiful reception house and thereafter escorted to our home for the next four nights, which turned out to be an amazing upgrade to one of the villas.

In the villa a welcome bottle of red wine and fresh fruit was waiting for us.

Amanfayun is very conveniently located for sightseeing in the Hangzhou areas. The resort used to be a tea farmers village which was taken over by Aman and completely restored, still keeping it very authentic. Walking around Amanfayun made us feel that we were still sightseeing as the village is very unique, not at all feeling like a hotel. Actually we never really understood where all the different rooms were located as all buildings looked so authentic. The buildings are spread out widely with a walking path from one end to the other and a little creek. Walking all the way from the reseption to the end of the resort would take around 15 minutes. (Some) tourists and monks use the path as well, but not disturbing the quietness and tranquillity for the guests in our view. The rooms are also not directly at this path so noone would come close to where we stayed. Also some areas (Fayun place where tea is served and where there are different cultural experiences like calligraphy and traditional music every afternoon) and the pool/spa areas are closed to the public. 

Our room was one of the villas, a huge two storey building where a massive living room (including two daybeds, two writing desks, TV, sofa, dining table), separate massage room and small toilet/shower are downstairs and the open plan bedroom and bathroom upstairs. No doors upstairs, also not to the toilet, so the privacy aspect was not ideal. This was no issue for us as we had two floors, but if this same open solution is used in smaller accommodation, I am sure that some would find that a bit disturbing. TV, minibar (complimentary) and tea making facilities are downstairs. We asked for a coffee machine to be included as well, which was taken care of immediately. While all the space was definitely not needed, we enjoyed the villa a lot. The bed was really comfortable with the softest silk sheets and mattress topper to make the bed just right for us. Outside the villa there is no furniture to sit on, probably to keep the look and feel authentic, but the team was more than happy to help us moving out some chairs. It would have been nice to have a more comfortable lounging opportunities outside, especially in summer. At first we found the temperature in the villa to be on the high side as the resort has switched on the heating. We did, however, soon find out that this was needed since the evenings and nights were really freezing cold. Regarding temperatures it is also good to know that the temperatures are actually around 5 degrees celcius colder in the Fayun village compared to the city of Hangzhou because of its location. Finally, I can see how some people think that the rooms are too dark, but for us the lightening was just right, adding to the atmosphere. The management made sure to ask us about this and offered to put up more light for us if we would have preferred. 

There is really no need to leave the resort for meals if you do not want to, as there are 5 restaurants within the premises of the resort: The Western restaurant, The Steam House, the Vegetarian restaurant, the Hangzhou House and the Tea House. We went to all of them and would have been happy to go back as we did not get to try more than a tiny part of the items on the menu. Each restaurant is located in its own house, all very authentic, along the resort path. Most of the restaurants are much larger inside than it looks from the outside. Guests from outside allowed in most restaurants but never a problem to get a table and never full, just enough other people to get the right dining atmosphere. The Western restaurant and the Steam House are operated by Aman while the other restaurants are outsourced (but you can still charge to your room). We had to sign bills after most of our meals as far as I remember.

The Western restaurant:

We had a couple of breakfasts here and had room service Western food the last evening, but did not eat lunch or dinner since we love Chinese food. Breakfast is a combination of a buffet and ala carte, and we found everything to be very tasty. A bit of a long wait for our breakfast the first day, but the other days it went quicker. The room service meal of comfort food (hamburgers, sandwiches etc.) was also very good and everything arrived as ordered.

The Steam House:

We had an authentic Chinese breakfasts and a dinner here. Simple and tasty Chinese food, many of the dishes steamed. Very tasty food and very quick service. The most simple of all restaurants with regards to décor, but a very friendly place where one could just drop in.

The Vegetarian House

This restaurant is a must for foodies, a very special experience. Monks are cooking, using the best and freshest ingredients and very little herbs and spices to maximise the natural flavours. We had the choice between three different 10 course menus, RMS 300, 500 and 800 respectively – prices varying based on the ingredients used we were told. Tourists like we are decided to take one of each menu to maximise the experience and we were very happy that we did this as each dish was a piece of art. Some vegetables were made into looking like birds or flowers, all plates were different and very beautiful and the creativity of the dishes and the taste surprised us in an extremely positive way. We loved it. The restaurant is located close to the temples, so no alcohol here.

The Tea House

This restaurant has a set menu which varies every day dependent on what is available at the market. It is home cooking. A beautiful restaurant with food that our butler told us that her mother used to cook as well.

The Hangzhou house

Local specialities in a beautiful setting. An extensive menu of local Hangzhou food. Our butler helped us picking the best dishes and explained everything to us.

In addition to eating at the resort, we had two outside lunches, recommended by the hotel. One was called the Green Tea, located closet to the tea museum and the other one is located in the main traditional street in Hangzhou. We truly enjoyed both of them, delicious food and very good atmosphere, no other tourists. Extremely cheap compared to eating in the hotel. The butler joined us for the meals and helped us ordering which was definitely needed as noone spoke English here. 

The concept of a butler that joins you during your whole stay, from going with you to excursions, helping you order at restaurants, meeting you after spa treatments to escort you back home in addition to being your first point of contact whatever you need, was new to us and we really liked it. I think that one of the main reasons why they have such a system, is that English is not widely spoken in China and at the resort. Instead of training every individual to be fluent, they offer the butler to be there with you to help. In the reception area, in the Western Restaurant and in Fayun place, spa and on the phone, you would always meet someone that could speak English, but most other employees would speak very little or no English. In spite of not being able to speak English, everyone offered excellent service and knew exactly what to do to serve us well. An example would be the guard at the end of the path, just before coming to the nearby temple. He looked at us, asked “Hotel guests?” and when we said yes, he sent us to a little counter where someone would give us tickets to enter the temple for free with no further English words spoken. Worked for us.

Housekeeping was in our villa when we were out, always returning to a perfect villa. Everyone in restaurants smiling and friendly. Guards always greeting us in Chinese and pointing out the way to go if we got lost.

In addition I can mention that Vp or the F&B manager would come around to chat with us and make sure that everything was OK once or twice a day, just like we are used to from other Amans.

And finally we wound often find little edible surprises in the room in addition to the nice turn down presents at the bed every night.

All in all nothing to complain about. 

The pool is located within the spa area and is heated. The temperature in the pool was very comfortable, but given the pretty cold air and only shade at the pool during the times we went there, it was not  a place to enjoy for longer periods of time during the days we were there.

Instead we used to take a quick dip and then book (complimentary) time in one of the bath houses. There are no bath tubs in the rooms at the resort, but instead one can use the traditional bath houses which is a very nice experience. The staff serves tea and light candles plus fill the bath/turn on steam room for you, and then you can enjoy the experience in privacy. Also if you book a massage, they will plan enough time for you to enjoy a bath before the massage.

In addition to going to the bath house, I had two massages which were both really good. One 90 minutes bamboo massage and one oil massage. One night after the massage they took me back to our villa with a buggy, the other time the butler was there to escort me back.

The gym is good as well, my husband went there, but I did not hear any details. 

On the evening of our arrival, we went to see the famous show at the West Lake. Amanfayun had booked VIP seats for us in a boat from which the view to the show that took place AT the lake was excellent. They also made sure we got blankets with us which was definitely necessary as it was very cold. The show was beautiful and a real must see.

The first full day we went to a valley where we went for a walk in between the tea plantages with our butler. She was able to explain all we wanted to know about growing tea while we enjoyed the quiet and beautiful environment. No other tourists here. After the hike, we visited a local tea farmer in a simple house and got served tea. The driver met us here and after a short drive, we went to visit the tea museum which was very well done. Close to this was the Green Tea restaurant mentioned above.

The next day it was time for us to see the main traditional street of Hangzhou. Lots of beautiful traditional houses, all with shops (souveniers, tea, traditional Chinese medizine pharmacies etc.). We also visited a beautiful former private home of a rich TCM doctor and had an outside lunch as mentioned about.

On our last day we started early with a walk along the West Lake followed with a tour in a traditional rowing boat with picnic breakfast. While the boat used by Aman was no different than the other boats we saw, Aman was allowed to take a tour in the narrower “rivers”, not just on the big lake. Very quiet and beautiful. Unfortunately the weather was foggy so we did not get to enjoy the sunrise and the perfect view of the high rise buildings of modern Hangzhou in the distance, but still enjoyed this excursion.

In the afternoon we went on our own to see a few of the temples very close to Amanfayun. It is possible to go with a guide or your butler to see this as well, but we just went on our own. Amazing and enormous temples, all very beautiful. I wish we would have had time to explore even more of them, but I guess we will have to come back some other time for this.

In addition to this, as mentioned, it felt as if we were still sightseeing even being in the hotel as the Fayun village is so authentic with little things to see everywhere. The Fayun Place building serves tea and cake every afternoon as well as having artists visiting. Well worth taking a little trip there every day. 

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We really loved Amanfayun and think it is a place very well worth visiting and staying more than just a night. The restaurants and everything to see close by makes it a perfect resort if you want to experience something as well as resting in luxury.