Mr A and I are true “Aman Junkies”, the term given to those who love experiencing Aman hotels and resorts around the world.  Aman properties are exclusive, stylish and luxurious and are very much formed of and inspired by the place and culture in which they’re found.  When looking for hotels for our 2019 holiday to Indonesia I found that not only did Aman have a good selection of properties there, but they also offered a special promotion if you stayed at 3 properties in the area, called “Bali and Beyond”. The promotion gave a room discount, breakfast, free ground transfers and a daily resort “activity”.  I booked it all by email with Aman’s central reservations team. Our first stop was Amandari, on the edge of the town of Ubud in Bali’s cultural heartland.

An Aman car collected us from The Legian in Seminyak, where we’d spent 3 nights, and the journey inland took a little over an hour after hitting the dizzying top speed of 25kmh/15mph! We received a personal welcome from the British GM, Mark, who was wearing traditional Balinese dress because it was a festival day. Mark gave us a short tour of the resort’s shared facilities, before taking us to our room.

Amandari is inspired by, and laid out like a traditional Balinese village, with 30 stand-alone villas/suites looking down into the Ayung River valley, all surrounded by high walls and connected by stone pathways. 40 local villagers still own the land and many locals are employed at the resort (a particularly elegant lady has been there more than 20 years and now works part time as an “Ambassador”). So like many Aman resorts, Amandari feels very much part of its location and culture.

Our villa, No.14, was a delight to behold; very spacious, with a high pyramidal thatched roof, a large terrace with sun-loungers, umbrella and side table, a dining cabana and a private 40 square metre green swimming pool with an infinity edge looking across the valley. We’d initially requested a Valley Suite at US$930++/night, but at the time of booking they gave us a free upgrade to a Pool Suite. I get the impression from their website that all the 1 bed suites/villas are the same size internally, but the pool suites have a larger terrace area because of the pool. In total we had 263 square metres all to ourselves, except we happily let finches, doves, and flycatchers drop in for a drink from the pool. It was so relaxing to sit watching the lovely little birds’ visits, with a lush green backdrop. Though at certain times of the day we could hear the raucous shouts and screams of revellers white water rafting in the river far below us.

Inside the villa’s carved door we had a comfortable super-king bed dominating the main room, a central table with an impressive selection of daily changing fruit, chairs, writing desks and full length glass doors opening onto a garden. There was also a coffee pod machine and a chargeable mini-bar and gallons of comp mineral water (even though the tap water was potable). No TV, but during our stay GM Mark arranged for us to have a TV one night, so I could watch the Hungarian Grand Prix live. The aircon was quiet and worked perfectly. Wi-Fi was very good throughout the resort.

The bathroom-come-dressing-room was a good size and had ample drawers and wardrobe space for our clothes. It had twin wash basins, a toilet and a good rain shower. Outside was a sunken stone bath. Toiletries were good but unbranded, and what really impressed me was the provision of sun lotion (factors 30 and 50). Mosquito spray and coils were also provided, but we didn’t see a single mozzie (August is in the dry season).

We took all of our meals in the hotel restaurant, and on our first night the Executive Chef Reynaldo introduced himself to us and told us he would make anything we wanted which wasn’t on the small, daily changing menu. Generally I was pleased with the quality of the food, though one night I found an Australian “wagyu” steak tough and flavourless.

The restaurant overlooked the resort’s main saltwater infinity pool and most evenings Balinese musicians sat by the pool playing the soundtrack to our meals. Apart from one night, when live jazz music was played in the bar area, while chefs barbecued satay on the lawns, for a very good value and delicious “Jazz and Satay” evening.

Breakfast was a la carte every morning, very delicious, and a good offering of both cooked foods and healthy raw stuff. And as with all meals, there was a choice of Indonesian and Western dishes.

Amandari’s spa is traditionally built from yellow stone, like the villas. We liked the ‘couples room’ which was open-sided and had a waterfall falling into a pond.

Unfortunately I came down with a chest infection while I was at Amandari, which left me quite weak, so I spent most of my time in our villa. I didn’t manage to walk down the pathway to the Ayung River (apparently there’s a secret temple/shrine down there), I didn’t make the 5 minute journey into Ubud town, and I only went on one of the ‘activities’ which were included in our Bali & Beyond rate.

 

The one activity I did manage was a walk through a local village, and then through rice fields. It was a really beautiful walk, with a very informative guide. Bali’s interior is often a couple of degrees cooler than the coast, with more cloud too. But for us the climate was just perfect; we saw the sun every day and the humidity was not high.

Our fellow guests, in descending quantities, were Brits, Japanese, French and German. No sign of the otherwise ubiquitous Australians. Vilebrequins were a common sight at the pool, which readers will recall is a personal measure of the quality of a hotel and its guests!

Amandari is a beautiful, spacious, secluded and exclusive retreat. Mark is a very personable GM and his staff are great – they always addressed us by name, with warmth in their smiles. 10/10