AMANGIRI

When we found ourselves in Phoenix, Arizona as part of a family Thanksgiving, we couldn't resist a stop at Amangiri. We self-drove 4 hours from PHX to the Grand Canyon, staying at the historic Buckey O'Neill cabin directly on the edge of the South Rim. We drove the remaining 2.5 hours to Amangiri using the directions provided by the resort which made it easy to find. Staff members buzzed us onto the property and we were immediately blown away by the beautiful valley, the entrada sandstone and the vastness of the place.

This was our 17th Amanresort, and we found it to be the most striking of all. We normally don't appreciate very contemporary architecture or decor, but the resort blended so well with the landscape. As most of the resort's activities were geared towards the outdoors, people were dressed in hiking and workout clothes giving Amangiri a very comfortable, casual feel.

Driveway

Public Spaces

We stayed in a base level desert view suite. Amangiri was at or near full capacity so there were no upgrades available, but that didn't matter since all of the (interior) room layouts were the same and the plateau view from our room was spectacular. The floor to ceiling windows brought the outside in; as did the white and cream stone, light colored concrete, gray green tile, and natural stained "barn wood" doors. There was no private place for our 3-year old's rollaway bed since the room layout was one large open space and the bathroom/vanity area, while generously sized, was too narrow. So we asked GM Christophe to locate a privacy screen for us and he was kind enough to purchase a beautiful brown leather one which we hope other families will make use of in the future. (Thanks to DavidO for facilitating this discussion). Both our king bed and the rollaway were incredibly comfortable and fluffy. We're not sure if this was their standard bedding or if they automatically placed a mattress topper for us based on our profile. Our room also had a romantic outdoor gas fireplace with a very Aman-like outdoor lounging space. Guests staying in warmer months would enjoy the higher room categories with larger terraces and pools.

Desert Suite #16

Bedroom

Terrace

We would characterize the service at Amangiri as genuinely friendly, but there were definitely some employees who were young and/or inexperienced. There were some service hiccups which we outline below in Opportunities for Improvement. But there were also a few folks that really "got it". Jade did a remarkable job helping us plan our activities in advance of our stay. Our private guides were both personable and incredibly knowledgeable about the area. And Chef Jon created an exact replica of a McDonalds Chicken McNugget for our toddler son. He obviously sent someone out on a reconnaissance mission in order to copy the batter and shape, and even collect dipping sauces. It's the most our son ate all week and we got a chuckle out of it, too; freshly made with high quality ingredients, they were the best McNuggets ever!

A Frequent Visitor

We really loved the food at the resort. There were some great house smoked meats, a fabulous brussel sprout side dish featuring bacon and cranberries, an unusual duck egg omelet and some wonderful pastries with breakfast. They were trying out a "breakfast table" and "lunch table" concept while we were there which were....not buffets. :-) The "tables" could be used as a standalone meal or as a supplement to items ordered off the menu. The food quality at the "tables" was excellent and looked like a nice option for folks rushing out for a hike.

Signature Aman Salt & Pepper

We made the most of our few days at Amangiri and did many activities as a family. We took our son on a private guided hike to the Broken Arrow cave which was inhabited from 6300 BC. The most well preserved of these peoples' artifacts were on display inside the resort, but many artifacts and petroglyphs could still be seen inside the cave itself. When we got back from the hike, our son made a point to tell everyone about the "poop" (coprolite) in the cave! The resort also lit a bonfire for us at the desert lounge so that we could introduce our son to s'mores. For our last family adventure, we drove Amangiri's complementary BMW 650i Gran Coupe to the Big Water Visitor Center to view their small dinosaur collection and child-friendly gift shop. There were wonderful opportunities to view marine fossils and dinosaur footprints in the desert, but we assumed this was beyond a 3-year old's understanding.

We left our son with a sitter so we could participate in a few of Amangiri's more adult-oriented activities. As Land Rover enthusiasts, we especially enjoyed the Secret Canyon Hummer tour which included some desert driving and steep rock crawls. The slot canyon itself is privately owned so we were the only people there with our guide. It was an amazingly quiet, awe-inspiring experience. We also visited the resort spa, undoubtedly one of the finest among the Amanresorts for both beauty and range of facilities. We took advantage of the sauna, steam room, cold plunge pool and hot tub. Our massages were both excellent; we opted for 90 minutes of deep tissue and hot stone.

Big Water Visitor Center

Secret Canyon Hummer

Secret Canyon Hummer

Secret Canyon

Nothing went horribly wrong on this trip, but there were some annoyances that could be brought up to Aman standards.
- Guest assistants and restaurant staff had to regularly ask someone else before they could fulfill a simple request (like ordering a restaurant menu item for room service). Room service was hit or miss, depending on who was taking the order.
- We asked for an early turn down but housekeeping never came after one hour and a few gentle reminders. We ended up canceling turn down altogether.
- One of the resort babysitters overslept and instead of the resort proactively correcting the situation, it took a few of our own calls to the front desk to determine that she was not coming. The resort quickly found a replacement for us, but we ended up late for one of our activities as a result.
- The resort ran out of ethanol for all of the suites' gas fireplaces halfway through our stay.

Details

We plan to return again because there were so many activities we weren't able to take advantage of; hot air ballooning, via ferrata, paleantology excursions, late night star gazing, etc. And of course, Amangiri was unbelievably beautiful. It's a very special resort in a very special location.