Hotel Review: Amankila, Bali

Profound serenity and deep sleep are on the menu at Aman’s more remote Bali resort

Key selling points for travel agents:

• Hillside villas with sea views 
• Three-tier infinity pool
• Private black sand beach
• Complimentary water sports 
• Cookery classes available at an additional fee
• Two traditional outriggers available for hire with crews

Overview: Within 48 hours of arriving at Amankila, I spot something I haven’t seen in a long while: my Garmin watch records a body battery metric of 100% – conclusive proof that this is a place to reboot in the luxury of profound serenity and deep sleep. 

Set in the quiet of East Bali, Amankila offers the tropical landscape and blue skies of Indonesia’s favourite holiday island without the hordes. Frangipani-lined stairways climb through the treetops to elevated suites on stilts blessed with impressive panoramas of Mount Agung and the Lombok Strait. Below them, traditional Balinese and Italian dining is offered alongside Instagram-worthy swimming pools. A small gym, a spa, a library and TV room, a boutique and a black sand beach decorated with hammocks and cabanas complete the resort. 

Ocean suite

Accommodation: Constructed in traditional Balinese teak, suites glow with the wood’s cosy amber hue, while high vaulted ceilings and ornate archways lend an air of Indonesian grandness reinforced by the central four-poster bed. Daybeds in the bedroom and bathroom and on the terrace invite yet more lounging, while the sunken marble bathtub, decorated with bath salts and a candle, presents another opportunity to lie back and do nothing. 

Bathrooms house twin sinks, ample drawer and wardrobe space, and those clever Japanese Toto toilets that can wash and blow-dry intimate places. The motion-sensitive lid opens as you approach and the seat is heated, adding to the heightened sense of luxury Aman works hard to create. 

There aren’t any TVs in the rooms. Hypnotic playlists are programmed into in-room iPads, but you might want to bring a few extra books 

As part of the turn-down service, different room favours are delivered, from a vase of tuberose as fragrant as a perfumery to Balinese coffee beans, equally aromatic and a thoughtful souvenir. By night, silence paths the way to undisturbed sleep. Waking up to soul-restoring panoramas overlooking the Lombok Strait each morning is priceless.

Suites come with private terraces

Food and drink: All meals can be taken at The Restaurant, which serves international dishes alongside Indonesian classics. One day you might be in the mood for a breakfast of scrambled eggs and smoked salmon topped with roe on sourdough; the next you might prefer a spicy nasi goreng. 

The Terrace, open for dinner only, focuses on Italian fine dining; the red snapper carpaccio with locally grown tangerines is a highlight. Both venues are sedate and open-sided with Indian Ocean views. 

The Terrace

Cooking classes are offered at the eight-seat Harvest Table, while The Bar specialises in sophisticated sundowners and Balinese ‘afternoon teas’ featuring traditional handcrafted sweets made by local artisans. Down by the shore, The Beach Club sustains guests with light poolside Asian bites.

Learn Indonesian cooking

Facilities: Besides taking a cooking class, browsing the boutique or borrowing a book from the library, there isn’t much to do at the resort – and that’s the point. Guests are here to empty their minds, not fill their days. A massage at the spa, a jog at the small gym and a swim in one of the four pools form the loose scheduling of days. Complimentary kayaks, boogie boards and stand-up paddleboards are available for those who want to brave the waves. 

The three-tier pool at sunset

Long languid days can be broken up with excursions at an additional cost. Amankila’s two traditional outriggers are available to explore the Lombok Strait further. Half-day cruises take guests to East Bali’s best snorkelling and diving sites, including Manta Point and Crystal Bay. Other outings trace Bali’s winding pockmarked roads to visit colourful temples and royal palace museums.

As darkness falls, watching an old movie in the TV room or reading a book on the terrace is as taxing a dilemma as you’re likely to face before another early night calls. 

Suites cost from US$1,000 per night. For more information, visit www.aman.com/resorts/amankila