Amanera — Hotel in La Hispaniola

Just be aware that getting to the resort is like a pilgrimage in itself. Unless you have a budget to hire a private jet to the nearest small airport, it will take you 5-6 hours by car one way from Punta Cana, and 2.5-3hours from Santo Domingo. The resort is remote. It's something important to factor in before booking this hotel. Arrange your own transportation to and from the resort since the hotel transfer rates are not competitive.||The resort is other-worldly. Unparalleled luxury on par with one of the top 5 star resorts in other remote destinations. Check-in was flawless and perfectly orchestrated from the moment we stepped out of the car. The service mentality and style was nothing short of professional and courteous. The resort only has 25 villas or casitas as they call them and the maximum number of guests they would have at full capacity would be around 56 guests. It is the perfect place for secluded luxury to reconnect, recharge, relax and get pampered. The vistas are speechlessly beautiful. You dont need a TV. We never switched it on, not even once during our stay. The view from the main lobby, at the main restaurant and by the pool were endlessly spectacular. And the resort faces the Atlantic Ocean, so there is no sargassm problems like in the Caribbean during the warmer seasons.||Our Casita was very well designed with sliding doors separating the closet, the bathroom, the bedroom and living room. Spacious and immaculately maintained and serviced. I believe at one point the casita was serviced 4-5 times a day to make everything spotless any time of the day every day and even on our last day before our late check out. Attention to detail by the housekeeping team was incredible. The private pool is large and temperature controlled. We found the bed incredibly comfortable despite all the negative reviews about them. It wasn't a soft mattress but the kind that was good for the spine and allowed you to have the best sleep. We loved it. ||This is not a cheap hotel. Room rates itself are high and expect to spend in addition around 150-200 usd per head for lunch and easily 250-400 usd per person for dinner daily with drinks or wine. Drinks are around 30-40 USD each. They employ a different system where don't sign for anything. There is a certain level of trust you give to every staff and you expect them to be honest and treat you right. You can always check every item in great detail with front desk and they really do keep every single detail on the books and they do not cheat you on anything. You don't need to worry about tipping everyone every time throughout your stay either which is refreshing. And everyone is genuinely friendly and professional, not because they expect something from you. There isn't a lot of 'complimentary' drinks or stuff from this resort, which can feel strange if you are used to such from having a high status for other hotel brands. ||Pro tip would be to contact the hotel prior to checking in to pre-arrange an itinerary before your arrival. They have an activities list. Prices are on the high side but we felt most were worth the price. The kayak tour was one of the best experiences for us. The wreck dive....not so much. The diving instructor wasn't able to speak English and the dive spot had too many rough currents. Equipments were also not the most modern. The price performance value was not there. The Dominican cooking class was really enjoyable. I'd highly recommend the private rum tasting. You really get to learn and experience some small batch rum from the Dominican curated by Felix, who is apparently the best bartender of the year in the Dominican.||The F&B, despite the price and some criticism on tripadvisor, we felt it was fair. Every dish was cooked and presented with sophistication, full of flavour, fresh and the ingredients were good. We did start to get a little bored with the options towards the 5th day but it was totally forgivable. Daily breakfast was flawless. I loved their healthy fresh juice blends with ginger shots in the morning and their cold brew coffee. The cocktails were great. Amanera has their mixing game switched on. The private beach dinner was SUPERB. We did have our doubts in the beginning because of the hefty price tag close to 1k usd for 2 people but boy was it spectacular. Amanera doesn't kid around when they say 'private' and 'customized'. They closed the whole beach and beach club just for us one evening, with a curated seafood dinner, with the best lobster we ever had with fish and prawns as I have specifically requested, with a lounge bed to stare into the stars after dinner and a bonfire just for the two of us. The entire beach club kitchen and staff were there to wait on the two of us until we wanted to call it a night. Insane. It was the most immaculate and spectacular private dinner at the beach we ever have had to date and will be hard to beat. Was worth every penny.||If I were to criticize Amanera, there would be some things. One, the welcome bottle at the casita for this price category should be a Champagne. Not a Prosecco. No no no Amanera. You are charging USD 2.3k++ a night. Dont skimp on the welcome bottle with a cheap 20 dollar bottle. Shameful. Second, every restaurant will automatically charge you for water. USD 8 ++ from the get go. Felt a little trivial to be charged for water at every dining opportunity since there are only 2 restaurants in the property and you are essentially stuck there to spend money daily on F&B every day anyway. Why are you charging for water? Third, the gym is in dire need of renovation and some of the equipments replaced. The gym mats smells, the yoga mats need replacing, the kettle bells are rusty and they don't come in pairs and some machines are just outdated and rusty. There are smaller gyms in luxury resorts that utilize the space better nowadays with better machines. Also the gym bathroom is not as regularly maintained and kept clean as the other toilets in the property. The beach is stunning but it isn't safe for swimming with very strong currents and visible rip tides and the sand really sinks in deep with every step making it hard to get out of the water. There are no life guards in the area, the beach was stunning to admire but we never swam inside. Amanera might wish to at least be transparent and vocal about the risks of the tides from the get go rather than just asking you to sign a liability release form during check-in, in case something happens to you in the property. It'a a standard practice but you can also verbally inform or warn your guests to take pre-caution before entering the ocean due to strong tides and almost quicksand like sand. Some might find it more professional.||But other than that, perfection. Even the check-out was immaculate and left a lasting impression. I always feel the check-out is almost as important as check-in as it is the last thing a guest remembers. Often you feel so welcomed during check-in and feel so dismissed and no longer loved upon check-out. But Amanera was perfect til the very last centimeter we left the property. Amazing place. We can't wait...

Just be aware that getting to the resort is like a pilgrimage in itself. Unless you have a budget to hire a private jet to the nearest small airport, it will take you 5-6 hours by car one way from Punta Cana, and 2.5-3hours from Santo Domingo. The resort is remote. It's something important to factor in before booking this hotel. Arrange your own transportation to and from the resort since the hotel transfer rates are not competitive.||The resort is other-worldly. Unparalleled luxury on par with one of the top 5 star resorts in other remote destinations. Check-in was flawless and perfectly orchestrated from the moment we stepped out of the car. The service mentality and style was nothing short of professional and courteous. The resort only has 25 villas or casitas as they call them and the maximum number of guests they would have at full capacity would be around 56 guests. It is the perfect place for secluded luxury to reconnect, recharge, relax and get pampered. The vistas are speechlessly beautiful. You dont need a TV. We never switched it on, not even once during our stay. The view from the main lobby, at the main restaurant and by the pool were endlessly spectacular. And the resort faces the Atlantic Ocean, so there is no sargassm problems like in the Caribbean during the warmer seasons.||Our Casita was very well designed with sliding doors separating the closet, the bathroom, the bedroom and living room. Spacious and immaculately maintained and serviced. I believe at one point the casita was serviced 4-5 times a day to make everything spotless any time of the day every day and even on our last day before our late check out. Attention to detail by the housekeeping team was incredible. The private pool is large and temperature controlled. We found the bed incredibly comfortable despite all the negative reviews about them. It wasn't a soft mattress but the kind that was good for the spine and allowed you to have the best sleep. We loved it. ||This is not a cheap hotel. Room rates itself are high and expect to spend in addition around 150-200 usd per head for lunch and easily 250-400 usd per person for dinner daily with drinks or wine. Drinks are around 30-40 USD each. They employ a different system where don't sign for anything. There is a certain level of trust you give to every staff and you expect them to be honest and treat you right. You can always check every item in great detail with front desk and they really do keep every single detail on the books and they do not cheat you on anything. You don't need to worry about tipping everyone every time throughout your stay either which is refreshing. And everyone is genuinely friendly and professional, not because they expect something from you. There isn't a lot of 'complimentary' drinks or stuff from this resort, which can feel strange if you are used to such from having a high status for other hotel brands. ||Pro tip would be to contact the hotel prior to checking in to pre-arrange an itinerary before your arrival. They have an activities list. Prices are on the high side but we felt most were worth the price. The kayak tour was one of the best experiences for us. The wreck dive....not so much. The diving instructor wasn't able to speak English and the dive spot had too many rough currents. Equipments were also not the most modern. The price performance value was not there. The Dominican cooking class was really enjoyable. I'd highly recommend the private rum tasting. You really get to learn and experience some small batch rum from the Dominican curated by Felix, who is apparently the best bartender of the year in the Dominican.||The F&B, despite the price and some criticism on tripadvisor, we felt it was fair. Every dish was cooked and presented with sophistication, full of flavour, fresh and the ingredients were good. We did start to get a little bored with the options towards the 5th day but it was totally forgivable. Daily breakfast was flawless. I loved their healthy fresh juice blends with ginger shots in the morning and their cold brew coffee. The cocktails were great. Amanera has their mixing game switched on. The private beach dinner was SUPERB. We did have our doubts in the beginning because of the hefty price tag close to 1k usd for 2 people but boy was it spectacular. Amanera doesn't kid around when they say 'private' and 'customized'. They closed the whole beach and beach club just for us one evening, with a curated seafood dinner, with the best lobster we ever had with fish and prawns as I have specifically requested, with a lounge bed to stare into the stars after dinner and a bonfire just for the two of us. The entire beach club kitchen and staff were there to wait on the two of us until we wanted to call it a night. Insane. It was the most immaculate and spectacular private dinner at the beach we ever have had to date and will be hard to beat. Was worth every penny.||If I were to criticize Amanera, there would be some things. One, the welcome bottle at the casita for this price category should be a Champagne. Not a Prosecco. No no no Amanera. You are charging USD 2.3k++ a night. Dont skimp on the welcome bottle with a cheap 20 dollar bottle. Shameful. Second, every restaurant will automatically charge you for water. USD 8 ++ from the get go. Felt a little trivial to be charged for water at every dining opportunity since there are only 2 restaurants in the property and you are essentially stuck there to spend money daily on F&B every day anyway. Why are you charging for water? Third, the gym is in dire need of renovation and some of the equipments replaced. The gym mats smells, the yoga mats need replacing, the kettle bells are rusty and they don't come in pairs and some machines are just outdated and rusty. There are smaller gyms in luxury resorts that utilize the space better nowadays with better machines. Also the gym bathroom is not as regularly maintained and kept clean as the other toilets in the property. The beach is stunning but it isn't safe for swimming with very strong currents and visible rip tides and the sand really sinks in deep with every step making it hard to get out of the water. There are no life guards in the area, the beach was stunning to admire but we never swam inside. Amanera might wish to at least be transparent and vocal about the risks of the tides from the get go rather than just asking you to sign a liability release form during check-in, in case something happens to you in the property. It'a a standard practice but you can also verbally inform or warn your guests to take pre-caution before entering the ocean due to strong tides and almost quicksand like sand. Some might find it more professional.||But other than that, perfection. Even the check-out was immaculate and left a lasting impression. I always feel the check-out is almost as important as check-in as it is the last thing a guest remembers. Often you feel so welcomed during check-in and feel so dismissed and no longer loved upon check-out. But Amanera was perfect til the very last centimeter we left the property. Amazing place. We can't wait...

I spent four nights and five days at Amanera in May with my husband and toddler. Overall, we had a great time but did not particularly enjoy our stay at Amanera.

The food was quite bad. We ate at the main restaurant, the beach club, and had room service. We had very low expectations because we had read a couple of reviews saying the food was not that great, but it was much worse than I had expected. We had some of the worst food there. I had the worst eggs benedict. My husband had the worst BBQ short rib—it was so dry, almost like beef jerky. (It was part of the Dominican feast at the beach club. The only good thing from the pre-fix was the fish soup.)

The room was okay. It was a bit old and not well-maintained. All the numbers and names on the phone were scraped off, so we did not know which button to press to call. I know it sounds ridiculous but when you pick up the phone all is you are identical black buttons. The temperature markings were also scraped off the shower knob, so we had to figure out which was hot and cold. I know they are supposed to be there because we switched rooms.

Oh, also be aware: if you get the regular pool casita, not the bay view pool casita, you might end up with a view of a very ugly roof blocking your ocean view. We upgraded to the bay view after seeing that. They don't tell you this on the website, so FYI.

The bed and beddings are not the most comfortable. They give you a thick sheet for a blanket. I had asked for a thicker one. I had to ask three times to three different people over two days for it to happen.

The tiles by the pool broke when my husband stepped on them, causing him to fall into the drain. I was very relieved because, right before this happened, he had been at the same spot holding our baby. When I called the front desk, their attitude was like, "Oh, no big deal, we will fix it." No serious apologies, no acknowledgment of how bad it could have been. The outdoor shower was broken as well. It got fixed right away, but I think it is fair to expect things not to be broken when you are paying close to $2,000 a night.

The setting was beautiful, and the privacy was great, but I really would not go back or recommend this...