I was intrigued by a June visit to an Aman resorts property in Wyoming to try this Bahamas property. Nearly everything was perfect. The welcome is a bit overwhelming -- they send a bunch of people to welcome you and to see you off when you leave. The villa is wonderful; we had an ocean view and, having seen the ones around the lagoon and the ones with the pool, we were very happy with our choice. We had room 104 which was near the main building and since a lot of the villas are quite a walk away and it can be hot outside or really dark at night, I would definitely want a room close to the main building. There was a problem with the hot water which was promptly fixed. TV and DVD system was excellent. We liked the pool, free minibar treats, free international dialing (with a touchtone -- not internet -- connection), spa (massages by Maria were in the top 20%), internet in the hotel library was fast -- and everything we ate on the food and beverage side was very good and we found our service to be fairly prompt (not everyone else we met there did). We had breakfast, lunch at the beach club and dinner there in the main restaurant. Service was very friendly and personal; they have some people who make it their business to walk around and talk to the guests. The beach was nice and the water is beautiful. We didn't leave the property once during our 48 hour visit.
Our only beef was with portion size at dinner in the restaurant. Some of the entrees were appetizer size and the sides of some of the entrees were a joke in terms of being more of a tease than a meal. The menu promises a lot of items on the plate and the entrees are about $40-45 each so you expect it. At one point we complained somewhat loudly that we expected to be fed better and within about 3 minutes 2 people showed up the table with several side dishes and salads. Probably about $100 worth of food that would otherwise have been charged to us on the a la carte menu -- but thankfully they didn't charge us for it. Other guests had the same beef, and I didn't find this to be the case at the Wyoming property. So I guess our complaint registered with them and they moved swiftly to make good on it. If you're captive on a resort (10 minute dirt road to the nearest paved road and there's no signs on the main road telling you where the hotel turnoff is) -- you at least expect to be fed pretty well. At breakfast, they charge you $40 for the continental breakfast buffet which has very little on it -- we didn't pay since we had the American Express Platinum package which includes the cold buffet. I think the hotel would be better off just giving it out for free to all their guests and just charging a surcharge for whatever hot food they order. I think the guests would feel the love a whole lot more if they just did that because it just makes sense. Another thing that would make sense is to put the amenities such as shower gel into 3.5 oz containers instead of the 4.5 oz containers they are using -- they are all being trashed by the local airport security personnel if you try to take them with you in your hand luggage (and I am quite sure that the airport staff is enjoying all the Amanyara amenities because the guard said they are confiscating this kind of stuff all day long from the local hotel guests).
Other than that, we were very happy campers here and would likely return. You could bring kids here and they do have a nature center program for them, but I think that it would be disturbing to the ambiance of the place to come with small kids other than at a holiday time. I appreciated not being nickled and dimed here and found the resort overall to be excellent and good value for money considering what a staff of 260 are delivering to 40 hotel rooms and 20 resident villas in the middle of almost nowhere.

I've stayed at Amanyara two separate times. Once in 2009 as a couples trip and again in 2010 with a sizable group of friends. Both visits have been truly out of this world.

The most recent visit, we stayed in a Tranquility Villa, which is an interesting layout involving a large common area building, staff quarters and a kitchen, a swimming pool, a pond, a manmade pond, and four very separate villas for sleeping. In Aman form it was all beautiful, clean, and well appointed.

As we were staying with friends, we made good use of the common areas. Everyone absolutely adored the private swimming pool we had for our villas and I would estimate we spent 50% of our waking hours swimming! We also had Scuba lessons during the trip and used the pool for those as well - very handy.

The staff were quick, helpful and kind, and also a bit ninja-like; we didn't see them all that often but things were always tidied, and anything our hearts desired appeared quickly.

We spent quite a bit of time scuba diving and our experience was very good. Incredibly expensive, but good. There are some lovely scuba sites close to Amanyara and we were able to visit a number of them.

The beach is gorgeous, the water the most beautiful color, and we had no issue transporting ourselves around through use of the villa's golf carts. Yes, the resort is rather spread out, but that helps contribute to the feel of the place. The resort's common areas are truly beautiful, and the drinks were fantastic. All the food we had was also quite good.

It should be noted that Amanyara is in a secluded area of TCI, and yes, is away from anything remotely resembling civilization. That didn't bother us in the slightest - there was plenty to do, plus we had each other for entertainment, and the seclusion and skillful immersion of the Aman villas into the landscape certainly helped with relaxation and tranquility.

In conclusion, we had what I would certainly rank as our top vacation to date, though quite the expensive one. Aman isn't for the faint of financial heart. Worth it, though... so worth it. A holiday I don't think I'll soon forget!