AMANKILA

100   Recommended
Indrakila Suite
October 22, 2014 by EXPERT

 Map | 14 Reviews | 57% Recommended
Share
Save
Liked:
Location
 
Service
 
Food
 
Amenities
 
Room
 

{{ oRightNav.heading }}

Amankila
 Map | 14 Reviews | 57% Recommended

Save

Share

Indrakila Suite

Liked:
Location
Service
Food
Amenities
Room
Stats
Room
Indrakila Suite

This was where my husband and I became Bapak and Ibu (Mr. and Mrs.) XXXXXX. And, if you can’t tell by the length of this review, this is the property we consider the end-all, be-all of our trip, and the property that will someday draw us back to Bali.

We were picked up by private car and greeted by some of the most welcoming, warm people we have ever met. Taken immediately to our villa by multiple staff members for a more personal check-in experience, we were met with a full bottle of Moet & Chandon French champagne. Knowing that this property would have one of the more stunning vistas of our trip, we booked what our research told us would be the villa with the best view – the Indrakila suite. Unlike the rest of the property, this villa is only two years old. We had seen pictures of the villa and its view prior to our visit, and were driven to pay an unprecedented amount of money (for us) to secure the accommodation. Have you ever anticipated a place so much, that when you finally got there, you could be nothing but disappointed? This was not the case with the Indrakila suite. When the staff members left us, I remember turning to my husband and saying, “We’ll never be able to top this.” He agreed. The 180-degree ocean, mountain, temple and black sand beach view was pristine and breathtaking. Our oversized patio stepped down to a large, blue-tiled pool and a private bale, where we would take breakfast and after dinner cocktails. The inside of the villa was nearly as beautiful, with terrazzo tiled floors and sliding windows lined up to take best advantage of the spectacular scenery. All of our time in the villa was spent with gentle “selon ding” music playing in the background. We especially enjoyed leaving it to play overnight, with the sound of waves joining it in the background.

Service

Putting views and luxurious accommodations aside, the most amazing thing about Amankila was the staff. They knew who we were and where we were at every moment. They learned what made us happy and they shared that information with each other. They knew when we were out of our room and when they could get into it without disturbing us. Each staff member was equipped with either a cell phone or a radio – groundskeepers, too. When we would leave our room, the groundskeepers discretely reported it to the front desk, the front desk would then conversationally find out, from us, where we were going and report that to the staff members in our path. The result was an absolutely blissful, if eerie, experience where every staff member we ran into (even the person in the gift shop) was anticipating our arrival and knew our name. Amankila also kept a computer record of our likes and dislikes. They only asked my husband once how he likes his martinis. And a week later, when we had dinner at Amandari (while staying at the Four Seasons Sayan) the people at Amandari knew our names, knew we had spent time at Amankila, and knew how to make my husband’s martini – they didn’t have to ask!

Overall

Every moment of our stay was special. The hotel had arranged a gamelan band and a charming children’s ceremonial dance, even though there were only 6 couples at the property that night. And when it rained, there was a staff member ready for us with an umbrella before we even knew it was raining. Each day, two young local girls would sit on their mats and create welcome crafts/gifts for the villas. Referring to one of the crafts that a girl was working on, I said, “That’s beautiful.” The young girl smiled genuinely and replied, “So are you.” There was the ever-so-private dinner on the beach, where the chef spoke to us at length about what we would like him to prepare, and the not-to-be-missed Indonesian afternoon tea. And, when it came time to leave, my husband had to return the book he was reading to the Amankila library. He hadn’t finished it, and knowing that he had a birthday coming up, I decided to contact the hotel to find out the title. I asked them to check their records, telling them that he was reading something war or battle related. It turns out, they did not have a sign-out record, so they emailed me digital photos of their war and battle book covers so that I could identify the book by sight! Needless to say, my husband had a happy birthday surprise.

If we weren’t Aman junkies before, we certainly are now.

0 Comments

This review lives in the AMANKILA thread.
0 comments and Y review
Comment In Thread

Hotels you may also be interested in