Amanyara - Turks & Caicos
Frank's view 
'one for the hermit crabs'
It’s day 6 of a 7 night stay at Amanyara and we’re gradually going stir crazy.
Amanyara is set at the end of a nature reserve on the Turks & Caicos island of Providenciales. It is 25 minutes from the airport, but it’s also 25 minutes from pretty much anywhere else on the island, and that’s a problem.
Four miles off the main road, down a pot-hole strewn dusty track, we eventually arrived at Amanyara. The resort is very Asian in design. The centre piece is a man-made pond with a number of tiny tree islands. Surrounding the pond are several teak timber buildings, the most spectacular being the bar, a round house with a 20 metre high dome. The long dark slate swimming pool dominates the land between the bar and ocean with three magnificent gazebos sitting like huge thrones, one at either end, and the third grandly holding prime position in the centre. A path leads to the beach restaurant, then on to the pristine sandy beach with loungers and water sports.
The accommodation consists of large teak pavilions with heavy framed glass sliding doors on three sides. It is a clever design with each pavilion effectively completely open to light during the day. Electrically operated blinds turn the pavilions into cocoons at night. The large bed sits in the middle of the pavilion with the bath, shower, two wash basins and wc all positioned behind a teak screen at the rear. The pavilions have terraces on each of the three glazed sides, two with seating areas and the third with mats for lying and a sunken table for dining.
Whilst the accommodation is impressive the setting of the pavilions is not.
A number are placed on the edge of 18” deep man-made ponds .
I had reserved an Ocean Pavilion. The brochure promised:
‘..views of the ocean and pathways leading to the rock formations above the sea.’
The photograph below shows our view. I asked if our pavilion was an Ocean Pavilion and was assured it was. I don’t believe our position was worse than anu of the other pavilions.
Although the pavilion had terraces on three sides, it was hidden in thick vegetation and there was nothing to look at. Sitting out after dark was a challenge as large bugs and beetles attacked from the surrounding trees and plants.
Over the week our glass box began to feel more like a luxury cell.
Amanyara offers its guests unlimited complimentary international calls, an excellent benefit, due to a clever VOIP deal. Wireless Internet access in the pavilion is complimentary and was consistently reliable.
The standard of catering was very good, both at lunchtime in the beach bar and in the formal evening restaurant. The bar was very popular with guests each evening during our stay, which was probably due to the combination of a structure which must be one of the most stunning bars on the planet, and a need to escape from their pods.
Unless you have an affinity with one of the many hermit crabs which sneak around the resort, you will wish to escape, and the only way out is via an Amanyara Land Rover and in-house driver, fully at your disposal, but charged at around $75 each way. The transportation cost for our visit to Coyaba, a local restaurant was $154. A visit to the excellent Da Conch Shack, however, was a mere $66.
During our stay the general manager showed us one of the 33 villas Aman Resorts are selling at Amanyara. With 20 already built and a price tag of at least $12m per villa, I suspect this is the key focus of the resort. The villas are vast versions of the Pavillions with many sitting on shallow man-made lakes. La piéce de resistance is the Artist's Villa with its own recording studio built under the guidance of record producer, Nile Rogers. But at £85,000+ per week would the Amanyara ambience and setting get those creative juices flowing?
Since 9/11 and the subsequent dramatic downturn in travel, several top-end resort and hotel groups have increasingly moved into the business of selling homes to guests, maintaining them and sharing income from rentals. It is a clever model, which puts the risk on to the home purchaser.
We found Amanyara very disappointing and certainly not a venue for a 7 night stay. The atmosphere is sterile, although the staff, a number of whom had come from Asian Aman resorts, were fantastic.
At up to $2300 per night for a room with no view, this was no bargain.
There are many better options in the Caribbean.
Amanyara
Providenciales
Turks & Caicos
+1 649 941 8133
http://www.amanresorts.com/amanyara/home.aspx
'a room with an ocean view?'
Amanyara is set at the end of a nature reserve on the Turks & Caicos island of Providenciales. It is 25 minutes from the airport, but it’s also 25 minutes from pretty much anywhere else on the island, and that’s a problem.
Four miles off the main road, down a pot-hole strewn dusty track, we eventually arrived at Amanyara. The resort is very Asian in design. The centre piece is a man-made pond with a number of tiny tree islands. Surrounding the pond are several teak timber buildings, the most spectacular being the bar, a round house with a 20 metre high dome. The long dark slate swimming pool dominates the land between the bar and ocean with three magnificent gazebos sitting like huge thrones, one at either end, and the third grandly holding prime position in the centre. A path leads to the beach restaurant, then on to the pristine sandy beach with loungers and water sports.
The accommodation consists of large teak pavilions with heavy framed glass sliding doors on three sides. It is a clever design with each pavilion effectively completely open to light during the day. Electrically operated blinds turn the pavilions into cocoons at night. The large bed sits in the middle of the pavilion with the bath, shower, two wash basins and wc all positioned behind a teak screen at the rear. The pavilions have terraces on each of the three glazed sides, two with seating areas and the third with mats for lying and a sunken table for dining.
Whilst the accommodation is impressive the setting of the pavilions is not.
A number are placed on the edge of 18” deep man-made ponds .
I had reserved an Ocean Pavilion. The brochure promised:
‘..views of the ocean and pathways leading to the rock formations above the sea.’
The photograph below shows our view. I asked if our pavilion was an Ocean Pavilion and was assured it was. I don’t believe our position was worse than anu of the other pavilions.
Although the pavilion had terraces on three sides, it was hidden in thick vegetation and there was nothing to look at. Sitting out after dark was a challenge as large bugs and beetles attacked from the surrounding trees and plants.
Over the week our glass box began to feel more like a luxury cell.
Amanyara offers its guests unlimited complimentary international calls, an excellent benefit, due to a clever VOIP deal. Wireless Internet access in the pavilion is complimentary and was consistently reliable.
The standard of catering was very good, both at lunchtime in the beach bar and in the formal evening restaurant. The bar was very popular with guests each evening during our stay, which was probably due to the combination of a structure which must be one of the most stunning bars on the planet, and a need to escape from their pods.
Unless you have an affinity with one of the many hermit crabs which sneak around the resort, you will wish to escape, and the only way out is via an Amanyara Land Rover and in-house driver, fully at your disposal, but charged at around $75 each way. The transportation cost for our visit to Coyaba, a local restaurant was $154. A visit to the excellent Da Conch Shack, however, was a mere $66.
During our stay the general manager showed us one of the 33 villas Aman Resorts are selling at Amanyara. With 20 already built and a price tag of at least $12m per villa, I suspect this is the key focus of the resort. The villas are vast versions of the Pavillions with many sitting on shallow man-made lakes. La piéce de resistance is the Artist's Villa with its own recording studio built under the guidance of record producer, Nile Rogers. But at £85,000+ per week would the Amanyara ambience and setting get those creative juices flowing?
Since 9/11 and the subsequent dramatic downturn in travel, several top-end resort and hotel groups have increasingly moved into the business of selling homes to guests, maintaining them and sharing income from rentals. It is a clever model, which puts the risk on to the home purchaser.
We found Amanyara very disappointing and certainly not a venue for a 7 night stay. The atmosphere is sterile, although the staff, a number of whom had come from Asian Aman resorts, were fantastic.
At up to $2300 per night for a room with no view, this was no bargain.
There are many better options in the Caribbean.
Amanyara
Providenciales
Turks & Caicos
+1 649 941 8133
http://www.amanresorts.com/amanyara/home.aspx
'a room with an ocean view?'
Be Frank: agree or disagree? What do you think?
