Amanoi — Hotel in Ninh Thuận Province

We stayed 4 nights at the Amanoi last week for our honeymoon, and I will say it was the most special and intimate hotel experience we’ve ever had. We were back and forth during the planning process of whether to visit or not due to its rather remote location, but we can now say hands down it was worth it and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for some R&R in an incredible setting.||Initially we intended on 3 nights and had booked an ocean view villa (no pool), but decided to pivot and extend a night on the front end to escape the unseasonably cool and wet weather we were experiencing in the north, and they didn’t have our same ocean view villa available so we were in a lake view private pool villa (room 30) on night one. Both villas were incredible and had the exact same design/layout, just differed by the view and private pool. We don’t mind being a bit social and sharing the hotel pools with other guests, and the view from our ocean view villa was mind boggling (villa 15), so I would personally recommend that over having a private pool lake/jungle view. We could see all the fishing boats out in the bay at night, and woke up to watch the spectacular sunrise on our last morning. Can’t really go too wrong with either room type though :). ||Aman is known for its incredible service, so we had very high expectations. While not everything was perfect, overall it exceeded our expectations and we are already dreaming about our next Aman vacation. We don’t have an unlimited budget, so this is an expensive hotel brand for us, but now that we’ve stayed at Aman I absolutely understand the hype.||Their staff is so warm and friendly, and their GM Joy is amazing. Nhi who runs operations and Putu who runs guest relations are also absolutely wonderful. We’ve never received such personalized attention from a GM or other hotel executives as we did during our stay at Amanoi. They spend time talking with you about the hotel, the area, really anything you’d like, and want to ensure your stay is magical. ||Where the hotel also shines is in its Experiences. We did the level 4 waterfall trek, which was fantastic and worth the challenging hike up to the waterfall where you’re rewarded with a swim in a beautiful waterfall in the middle of a jungle, and also a casual but amazing picnic that someone else from the hotel had hiked up ahead of us to set up (we didn’t pay extra for this and it was such an unexpected perfectly delicious surprise). Our guide Michael was amazing, so energetic and knowledgeable about the jungle and what we were seeing along the way. Local villages, cows, birds, snakes (only 1 beautiful bright green snake), rice fields, fruit growing on trees. And the best part about it was that there wasn’t another tourist in sight. One of the highlights of our 2 weeks in Vietnam. Michael found us the following 2 days to make sure to say hi and was so sweet to even make us some friendship lanyards that were so sweet and we’ve brought home as keepsakes.||We also did the private Sacred Cham Blessing and feast on our last night and it was so special and amazing. They invite a Cham Master to perform the blessing on the hotel property (though you felt like you were in the middle of the jungle and definitely away from the other guests). We were led down a candlelit path to this beautiful little opening where we sat on pillows on the floor and spent 30 minutes with the Cham master and his wife performing the blessing. This was so special, beautiful, authentic, and interesting, and we loved everything about it. We then had a private Cham feast around the Cliff Top Pool overlooking the bay. Alice was our server and she was so sweet and fun and we absolutely loved our evening with her. Nhi came and spent some time chatting with us as well, which was so lovely. We ended the night with big hugs from Alice and so much warmth in our hearts. An evening we’ll truly never forget.||The other activities we did were a 2 hour boat trip and 90 minute couples massage. Our boat guide was a different Michael, who was also fantastic. The boat trip itself was fun, not the most beautiful or exciting boat trip, but if you like to get out on the water to see more of the bay and surrounding areas I still recommend it. We went to a lovely snorkeling spot to see some coral and wildlife. The coral sadly is largely dead, but it was still a fun and interesting snorkel where we saw fish, starfish, coral,and other wildlife. The massage I received at the spa was one of the best I’ve ever had. My only criticism of the spa is there isn’t a common area where you can go and relax and enjoy other spa amenities without having to pay for them. It would be so lovely if there was a small spa pool where you could relax and have lunch and drinks before or after your service, or maybe a sauna/steam room that was complimentary rather than needing to pay for these as add on services. BUT, the service itself was excellent.||We loved the special treats they leave you each night at turn down -a small Cham make up bag, Amanoi coffee, 2 different beautiful little dishes, and on our last day new luggage tags were placed on our luggage. All beautiful Nd special little gifts.||We read reviews about the food being somewhat of a let down, but we found the food to be excellent overall, with plenty of variety for us over our 4 night stay. I’d heard you can make special requests to the chef if you have an off menu dish you’d like prepared, so I decided to do this on our last day and request my favorite San Francisco born Vietnamese dish - garlic noodles from Thanh Long. We provided the recipe we found online and the chef kindly obliged . While it didn’t taste quite the same, it was still delicious and we were so grateful and appreciative they were willing to go to the effort of creating a personalized dish for us.||There were a couple misses on service, mainly just at the pools during the day. We had to waive down servers to try to get refills or have our dishes cleared while at the beach bar each day, and there was oddly no staff at the Cliff pool both times we went. A quick WhatsApp message solved the issue and someone was there within a few minutes, but I’m not sure why the Cliff pool isn’t serviced full time during open hours. We also had to request menus and cold water even after the staff arrived at the pool. The weather was very hot, so little things like bringing and refilling cold water without having to specifically request it would be kindly welcomed. There was also no music at the Cliff pool, which seemed a bit strange. The pool is stunning and I think would be more widely used if it was staffed and if it had a little more vibe with music.||The nighttime dining is only at the main pavilion unless you organize private dining. It would be nice to have a second location to choose from to eat at night. And we would have preferred a little more variety on the nighttime entertainment. There’s a lovely lounge singer on most nights, but no where else on property to relax and enjoy the evening with music or anything besides the main pavilion.||Overall it was an incredible and unforgettable stay and we would highly recommend it for anyone wanting to relax and unwind for a few days. It’s not where you should go if you’re looking for nightlife, or expecting even to party into the wee hours at the hotel. But the experiences we booked were incredible, and the staff amazing. You leave feeling like family, and undoubtedly ready to book your next...

At first arrival, you experience a truly grand staircase and entrance to the lobby. It’s a showstopper. We arrived late and the resort GM greeted us. The resort is located in picturesque national park that we only saw upon departure. We agree this our favorite hotel globally. It is spectacular.||Aman differentiates itself with its service. Amanoi staff had an exceptional dedication to our time together. Joy, the GM, is exceptionally charismatic and glamorous. Housekeeping, restaurant servers and room service delivery team were great. We requested a number of exceptions for us during the stay (early pool opening, off-menu food requests) and they worked to make them happen. Though every staff member we interacted with was helpful and pleasant, I’d like to give special mention to Sunny, Putu, Tony and Keva all of whom are world-class hospitality professionals.||We stayed in Room 11, an “Amanoi Ocean Pool Villa.” It had a spectacular vista of the bay. Amazing, unforgettable view. There is a private 40’ infinity pool which was really terrific. We loved the privacy. Strongly recommend. Unlike other pavilion and villa types, it had its own private library, well stocked with books, which we used and loved. Shower and bathroom in general were terrific. We wished the wall coverings were grander like they are at Amandari and that they had Japanese style bidet toilets. A/C was bone chilling. We loved the grand view onto the bay where we could see Vietnamese fishing boats during the day at distance. At night, the bright lights of squid boats would light up the sea like stars.||The only services that we had were three massages. My husband was in love with his hand massages by the talented Oanh, to the point where he had one and then went back for another. They come with the highest of recommendation. The private hydrotherapy suites, which cost about $35 an hour to use, are also lovely enough to make up for the odd lack of complimentary sauna and steam room.||At this hotel you get around by buggy. You call and they come and get you. We like being as close as we were to the main lobby. It works fine, though we occasionally had to wait a few minutes. ||The food was all around OK — not bad, but probably the weakest element of the resort. We did like the variety of foods available. My husband has more exotic tastes and I have more (to me) traditional western tastes. We were able to both order and enjoy our respective meals. The culinary highlight was a private BBQ dinner that took place in the five-bedroom Residence 18; the staff there did a fabulous job decorating the area and creating a custom menu for us. This dinner was included with the package we booked, but we would’ve been happy if we’d paid for it too. ||We did not like the Beach Club. It was small, the sand was rough, and the water was a bit dirty from the nearby fishing village. I would not want to stay here if I did not have our own pool and private outdoor area. We do not like interacting with other guests while traveling and found this area to be a bit crowded. The staff at the beach club was exceptional. It was the other guests. Too common for us. The beach is really a nothing experience. There is a 25m pool swim lane (within a 110-foot pool) but if you want to swim laps, visit the 20m Cliff Pool. It’s more sophisticated, with panoramic views of the mountains and oceans.||Other guests seem to be local Vietnamese and Korean guests. We were the only Americans who we identified. Also, we are a gay couple. No one cared, which is what we like. ||We love Viet Nam and the people. ||I was willing to return to Aman after a memorably poor experience at Amanpuri. I’m glad that we did because Amanoi is really spectacular. This place is truly grand, with a diligent caring staff. The views are exceptionally memorable and our villa was incredible. ||The following is completely unrelated to Amanoi: if you have read this far, I would l ask that you read my review of Mandapa, A Ritz-Carlton Reserve. It is a Mariott-themed cesspool. We are regular consumers of luxury Asian hotels and want to be sure that no on has to suffer the indignities we had to on...

Wow - talk about disappointing.

You hear so much about Aman hotels, so I was very excited to stay at one of their properties for the first time - however now I feel like I have been taken advantage of, and left extremely disappointed.

The whole place is a mess. Let me tell you about my experience.

Food: The allergens on the menus are all totally wrong - so watch out for an anaphylactic shock.

General food service is terrible for the price point. You constantly have to wait 30 min for a coffee, 20min for half of your breakfast, and then another 20 for the other half. Everything about food/drinks is just really, really slow.

One day at dinner they brought out my food 20min before my partners, so they were just sat there waiting while I very slowly ate the mediocre tasting food. When theirs turned up - it was cold and the order was wrong and missing items. You would think that mistake after mistake they would do the right thing and remove the food from the bill - wrong, they tell you with an attitude “what did you expect?”.

Location: Right below the hotel is a public beach in which 100 tourist boats full of really loud people arrive every day and play music from 8am.

A group of floating restaurants live right in front of the hotel, and they blast karaoke music until late at night.

The room also gets really bright in the mornings because there are no blinds in the bathroom which is open to the bedroom. So don’t forget to bring an eye mask.

Activities: Activates are cancelled at the last minute, and you will then get an angry phone call from the team because you did not turn up to the activity they had cancelled.

Staff tell you different things so you constantly get inconsistent information.

Eg: We had been told we could do an activity, so we got a buggy ride around the resort to get there. When we arrived we were told we could not do it - the beach activity manager then told us he would book it for the next day. However by then we had learned not to trust anything which had been promised, so we spoke to a higher up manager that evening to ensure it had been booked. Surprise surprise - we then learned it had not actually been booked, and it was now unavailable. Hours of my vacation I’ll never get back due to constant errors.

We had also booked activities which we were then told we could not do because employees had quit, or we could not do because they had not actually been booked due to staff confusion.

Conclusion: We have now tried the Aman Amanoi - I won’t be staying again at an Aman. I don’t see the hype. This place is a joke, especially for the price point you’re paying.

There are way cooler hotels in Vietnam which have better interior design, better views, and leave you with waaayyy better experiences - don’t be...