Amanruya

We'd wanted to visit Amanruya for a few years, but honestly didn't know whether it was the right choice for a 3 year old. So we began a dialog with the front desk manager (Astrid Killian) a year prior to our intended stay. We discussed possible activities for our son and whether we would be able to keep him safe in such a uniquely laid out property. Her responses were favorable so we decided to give this lovely Anatolian(?) village a try. We loved the acres of olive trees and were pleasantly surprised to hear that none of the trees were cut down during construction, they were simply moved from one location to another where necessary. The hand laid local stone pathways also added to the resort's sense of place.  

Amanruya

Library

View from Restaurant

Because we had our 3 year old with us, we decided to forego our usual "view" accommodation in favor of something more practical. Astrid and GM Nick Juett went to great pains to select just the right cottage for us and carefully prepare it for a toddler. We were initially concerned about the edgeless pool, but we soon learned there were cottages that had steep drop-offs that would be equally problematic. So the resort recommended we book partial sea view cottage #8 which had been recently fitted as the "family" cottage. This was the most flatly laid out of all the cottages, and with the use of wooden gates and large potted plants, the staff were able to create two outside terraces....one smaller safe zone without a pool, and one with. We put our son's crib behind a partition in the closet area. There wasn't much of a sea view from our cottage, but the outside areas were very private. We loved the grey green marble used in the pool. Inside, the cottage had a romantic feel, using creamy cotton drapes to divide the rooms and surround the four poster bed. There were creamy white marble floors and a typically spacious Aman vanity area and bathroom with a walk in shower and roll top bath.

Cottage #8 Pool Terrace

Cottage #8 "Safe" Terrace

There were lots of exceptional service moments during our stay at Amanruya. One night, our safe malfunctioned, locking our valuables and some necessities inside. Astrid spent over an hour in our room working to access the contents, making phone calls to the tech team, etc. until the situation was resolved. People always knew who we were and what our plans were for the day. There were bedtime "lokums" left for us with turndown nearly every night. And on our last night, they gave each member of our family an Amanruya/Amanjunkie shirt. As for the treatment of our son, it was obvious staff members had been shopping for him prior to our arrival and they continued to buy things for him as the week went on. There were toys waiting for him when we checked in and a new toy each evening with turndown. The guest services member who spent a full day babysitting our son brought games and videos, took him for golf cart rides and walked him around the resort, to the library, etc. The kitchen staff managed to find (or make) peanut butter which apparently isn't a common food in Turkey and of course we took pictures of him wearing the tiny bathrobe housekeeping provided for him. We also happened to be there on our son's birthday and besides making a cake for him with dinner, they decorated our cottage with balloons. One of the staff members even found us at the beach club that afternoon and gave our son a brownie with a candle in it.

The resort website mentioned four different dining venues, but most people chose to eat either inside the main restaurant above the pool, or just outside on the terrace. When dining outside, bees were a problem, but the waiters brought out small containers of smoldering Turkish coffee which kept the bees at bay. In the evening, mangal charcoal fire pits were placed between the outdoor tables for warmth and atmosphere.  The food was mostly very good. Memorable items included a thinly sliced beef tenderloin with Turkish spices, a slow cooked leg of lamb, the Village Salad and more of that wonderful local pine honey. On our last night, we booked a sitter to have a private dinner in the hillside/sunset pavilion for our anniversary. We ordered the Ottoman Feast (probably our best meal of the trip) and enjoyed a little quiet time surrounded by pretty lanterns. When we returned to the room, we found they had more lanterns placed around our pool and leading up to the bubble filled bath.

Details

Local Honey

A Young Gentleman Walking to Dinner

Ephesus Library of Celsus

Our favorite activity as a family was a visit to a local pottery workshop. It was recommended by the resort and not something we would have sought out on our own. We were guided through the process of shaping clay into whimsical turtles, hedgehogs and snakes (for our son, of course), and we were even able to take our turn at a pottery wheel, making small vases and plates. Afterwards, the hotel arranged for us to have a picnic lunch at the home of one of the local carpet families. Astrid arrived with her 4 year old son and we had quite an international playgroup of American, Turkish and French children. Our son also enjoyed his time at the beach club, riding with us in a kayak. For our adult's only excursion, we spent the day at Ephesus touring some of the world's best preserved Greek and Roman ruins, and we were able to visit the house where the Virgin Mary spent her last days. Amanruya made lunch reservations for us at a wonderful Turkish restaurant in the area. Later that week, our massages were wonderful. Though this is not one of the Amans that has a dedicated spa, they've done a nice job converting one of the cottages for this purpose.

The only problem we had happened before our stay. Sometime after our initial reservation, the room rates went down. About the same time, we remembered we should be using a different credit card to pay for our trip; one that did not charge foreign transaction fees. So we asked for and received a new credit card authorization form. We completed it and emailed it back, asking that the first one be destroyed. We then received a confirmation that it was received and all was well. Unfortunately, the revised form was never filed and we ended up getting billed 2 weeks before our trip....for our entire stay....at the higher rate....and on the wrong credit card. By sheer luck, we figured out what was going on and once we brought it to Amanruya's attention, it was corrected immediately. But still, that's a pretty big mistake coming out of the billing department.  As for the little things, I mentioned to Nick that our full day's trip to Ephesus could have used a little snack service. We had breakfast at 7:30am to make the 9:00am departure, but had nothing but water until lunch at 3:00pm. I'm sure they'll provide some nuts or cookies in the car for future guests.