First time in an Aman resort, it was recommended by a friend of mine, upon arrival I was happy when the driver told me there is internet in the car, this was positive.
But as we arrived in the resort I felt an absolute quietness in this place that seemed deserted from any guest....All the restaurant where empty, nobody in it..it felt very strange for mid December..

The room at it first look was ok, but when I asked about the TV, I was told that they can bring one if I wishes so...They got me a 21 inch Samsung screen, like the one you get for your computer ages ago...Frankly I felt angry, because TV is very important for me...I can't live in a room cut from the world, and can't sleep at night without watching the TV, and coming from Honk Kong where I was staying at the Ritz Carlton with a descent size TV (42 inch) fully computerised, with movies and over 100 channels in different languages I felt immediately the downgrade of this place..beside the design of the room doesn't allow for a place where to put the TV.
Also the telephone set is very old style, and next to it a paper with numbers to call the Room Service, etc etc...

When you stay in the Four Seasons hotels or the Mandarin, the Ritz etc etc , you have a high quality bed, I mean the entire bed with mattresses etc, this is not to expect in the Amanpuri..the bed is ok, but far from luxury beds!!

About the restaurants, they have 3 restaurants, Japanese, Italian and Thai...I come form Monaco so we do have the best Italian restaurant, so this one here at Amanpuri doesn't deserve more than 2/5...the Thai, I couldn't eat there, very spicy (we told them to do it mild) ...although I love Thai food,and I always go to Thai restaurant, in Las Vegas at the Aria, Monaco, Paris ''Chez Diep'', London, and even in Cairo which is ran by a Thai family...this one in Amanpuri would take 1 maybe 2 over 5...as for the Japanese, of course very far from Nobu or similar...by the way all the restaurants looks the same..no difference whatsoever...China wear, Silver wear, all old and poor quality..

In the morning I ordered continental breakfast (simple & easy), the croissant was horrible full with butter and nothing to do with a real croissant and no danish pastries ...To cut long story short the entire cuisine is to be all replaced!!! I can't eat in this hotel!! it is excellent for diet!!! I think I lost like 3 kg during my stay!!

The staff are very friendly, very nice people, very polite and I mean all of the staff but they lack experience, they are not real hotelier, this is local poor people with uniform of an hotel and of course the language is a big barrier...they hardly speak English so forget about French, Italian or Spanish ..

So the question is what is good in this place? why people come here? I tell you... the beach , the beach is clean, private and the sea water I feel much more cleaner from other places in the Island of Phuket, so the location is good, and the weather, we are in December and its warm, hot...so I guess thats why people come here!

I enjoyed the jet ski rentals, even if I paid it more expensive than in Cannes or Monaco (3500 Bat for 1/2 hour and 7000 Bat for 1 hour) $200 per hour.., that allowed me to escape from this place and see other beaches where I could meet with people and eat in another restaurant for lunch...the hotel offer a small catamaran, nice...

The hotel provided Taxis, this was positive, because it help to get out and move to down town to see the Island and its people and tourists..

Another problem is for handicap, it is not possible to have a handicape person with you, you have plenty of stairs and no elevators or ramps, that would make it very difficult to move around, although the resort provide cars to take you from the lobby to your room & vice versa, but not to the beach...and the car should be club car electrical for the pollution but they are not!! did I mention about the mosquitos, the insects and the ants in the room, on your bed, inside the drawer and every where in the room?? I don't know what they should about it, I am sure there is product they can use to prevent insects inside the rooms..

I will never recommend this resort to any of my friends, I will never come back again, this place need $$$$$ complete renovation, New Beds, TV's with movie systems and international channels, new telephone sets, new showers, and professional staff to upgrade the resort to an International 5 stars level..
I stayed in room 609 the pavillon, parital view on the sea, from December 9, 2015 for 8 days ..

This place would be a good 3 stars resort and of course prices should reflect the quality, if I tell you I am paying around $1300 per night, you will either think I am stupid or crazy...that the price you would pay to stay in a real five stars hotel in Paris, London or New York but not in Thailand with all due respect...and not in this Resort!!!!

It is really unexpected to have to write a review for an Aman property which doesn't start with some sort of superlative service statement but this is sadly one such occasion. And we didn't even get to stay.

I contacted this property to book a family holiday and the email exchange with the reservation executive can only be described as a complete let down.

Two specific items I take issue with.

1. Having to inquire, first indirectly then very directly about the need to pay for breakfast for young children - in all other Aman we have stayed at, this was complimentary - this isn't of course about the cost but rather about the principle - if the rate offered includes breakfasts for 2 adults, surely, adding two young children to the same offer, knowing how little their consumption is likely to be, cannot warrant to request an extra sum on a US$1500++ nightly rate...

Here, the person I was dealing with first asked for payment "based on their consumption" and then offered to comp one child's breakfast. How incredibly petty and frankly entirely idiotic.

2. Astonishingly, again for an Aman, was the request to confirm how many properties we had stayed at... when I asked whether this was not information they already had, I was told that yes, they had it but wanted to have a confirmation... inept.

Combined to the complete lack of follow-up from manager "Vicki" and one was left with the feeling this was not a team in control.

For context, there was indeed a management vacuum, since Fred Varnier, the long-time GM had just left. He was being replaced by Paul Linder from COMO... who had not yet arrived when I was trying to make this booking... clearly the absence of a leader made all the Aman standards evaporate... something to ponder I guess.

I heard back from Linder much later - he was very apologetic, which is certainly noted but by then we had elected to stay elsewhere.

Overall, a terribly underwhelming Aman experience and frankly one that is very off-putting for the brand - if the standards they have implemented cannot resist a management change, there is little hope in such a dynamic industry.

Perfection!!! We stayed in few different Aman Resorts and Amanpuri is spectacular! This is 1st Aman but you will never feel the "age" of this amazing property! definitely best stay we ever had! Amazing crew and superb customer service anywhere you go.. We got engaged on the private beach dinner they set up for us..Absolutely amazing! Well Recommended!