Overall, the two are within a point of each other.
Amandari leads on location (+3.5) and service (+2); Aman Kyoto on rooms & design (+2) and dining (+1.5). Level on wellness.
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Ubud, Indonesia · Aman
Fifteen minutes above central Ubud in Kedewatan, on the Ayung River gorge, with free shuttles into town and to nearby rice-field walks and restaurants.
A 1989-built Aman resort styled as a Balinese village above the Ayung River gorge near Ubud, Bali.
Read the full verdictKyoto, Japan · Aman
Kerry Hill’s ryokan-style rooms with sliding doors and Hinoki baths draw near-universal praise.
An Aman hotel with 25 rooms set in wooded, garden-filled grounds at the edge of Kyoto, centered on an outdoor onsen.
Read the full verdictOut of 20. The bars start at 10, so half a point still shows.
Overall +0.5
Overall: Amandari 17 out of 20, Aman Kyoto 16.5 out of 20.Service +2 Why
Service: Amandari 18.5 out of 20, Aman Kyoto 16.5 out of 20.Amandari: Guests describe housekeeping that resets a room while you’re at the pool for an hour, and a Whatsapp line that answers instantly for a barber or a TV fix.
Aman Kyoto: Staff remember names fast even at 26 rooms, though a few guests paying $3,500 a night still had to remind a server about a drink order.
Rooms & Design +2 Why
Rooms & Design: Amandari 16.5 out of 20, Aman Kyoto 18.5 out of 20.Amandari: Thatched-roof villas from the 1989 build read as authentic Balinese village rather than showroom, though several travelers flag worn bathroom corners and an outdated toilet needing a refurb.
Aman Kyoto: Kerry Hill’s ryokan-style rooms with sliding doors and Hinoki baths draw near-universal praise, though a few call the slatted wood too plain for the price.
Location +3.5 Why
Location: Amandari 17 out of 20, Aman Kyoto 13.5 out of 20.Amandari: Fifteen minutes above central Ubud in Kedewatan, on the Ayung River gorge, with free shuttles into town and to nearby rice-field walks and restaurants.
Aman Kyoto: The forest setting north of the city divides people: some love the 13-18 minute pull from the crowds, others say it fails as a base for exploring Kyoto.
Dining +1.5 Why
Dining: Amandari 15.5 out of 20, Aman Kyoto 17 out of 20.Amandari: One restaurant covers every meal, which some found repetitive on longer stays, though the Sop Buntut, wagyu, and Balinese tasting dinners get specific praise.
Aman Kyoto: Taka-An’s tasting menu built around one ingredient (snow crab, done six ways) stands out, though the main dining room and breakfast portions feel small to some.
Wellness Level Why
Wellness: Amandari 16 out of 20, Aman Kyoto 16 out of 20.Amandari: The spa is small but the staff are singled out for skill, and villa plunge pools run unheated so they suit sun-soaked afternoons more than an evening dip.
Aman Kyoto: The private onsen and outdoor hot spring are the centerpiece, but there is no pool and no gym, and private onsen sessions cost extra.
Strengths of Amandari
Strengths of Aman Kyoto
Trade-offs of Amandari
Trade-offs of Aman Kyoto
Only at Amandari
Only at Aman Kyoto
Amandari opened in 1989 as the second Aman ever built, and it still runs on that idea: a cluster of thatched-roof villas built to look like a Balinese village, stacked into a ravine above the Ayung River outside Ubud. What you're paying for isn't the newest pool or the biggest spa menu. It's a staff who learn your breakfast order by day one and then just handle things: one guest said Whatsapping the front desk for a barber or a TV fix got an instant reply, no waiting on hold, no repeating yourself. Housekeeping resets your villa while you're at the pool for an hour, down to a fresh towel and a bookmark on whatever you left open.
The building is honest about its age, and that cuts both ways. Several recent guests loved the traditional bones and called it timeless rather than dated. One 2024 review reported a dead cockroach and a toilet that splashes back on flush, alongside praise for the food and the infinity pool view: both things can be true in a 36-year-old property. The single restaurant covers breakfast, lunch and dinner, and a few longer-stay guests got tired of one menu, though the kitchen's Sop Buntut and wagyu get called out by name. Villa plunge pools aren't heated either, so they're a warm-day dip, not a night swim. The service is the reason to book, and it's specific: a five-year-old got a complimentary tennis partner and an afternoon dance class she refused to miss, and a private rice-field guide built the walk around her nap schedule.
This suits people who want an intimate, walkable property where you can reach breakfast or the spa in two minutes, not a resort you need a buggy to cross. If you want a bigger room, a river view, and more on-site variety, Mandapa next door gets recommended for exactly that, though its service consistently rates behind Amandari's. Book Amandari for the staff who anticipate what you need before you ask, and the sense that Ubud in 1989 is still standing.
Aman Kyoto is a 26-room retreat carved into 3.2 hectares of cypress and cedar forest at the foot of Hidari Daimonji, and what you're paying for (rates run roughly 360,000 to 650,000+ yen a night depending on season) is the forest, not the city. The Kerry Hill-designed rooms run 646 square feet with private Hinoki baths, sliding doors that unfold into extra space, and tatami floors that guests keep calling the best-finished wood and tatami they've seen outside a private Japanese home. The onsen, indoor and outdoor, is the reason more than one guest calls this the real onsen hotel in the Aman portfolio, and Taka-An's set menu (six ways with one seasonal ingredient, snow crab when it's in season) gets guests going back a second night.
Two things get priced in honestly. There's no pool and no gym, which a hotel at this rate would normally include as a given, and the wellness sits entirely on the traditional onsen experience instead. And the location is a genuine split: it's 13 to 18 minutes by house car from central Kyoto, which some guests find is exactly the point (a real pull from the crowds around Kinkaku-ji) and others find makes it a poor base if you actually want to spend your days out seeing the city. A few guests also flag that the main dining room is small and breakfast feels modest set against the nightly rate, and one flat-out said the delivery felt closer to a much cheaper property at these prices.
Book it if you want a few days of quiet at the start or end of a Japan trip, ideally paired with something central like the Ritz-Carlton or Park Hyatt for the days you actually want to be in Kyoto proper. If mobility is a concern, know the paths through the grounds are uneven rock, not flat. For the forest, the baths, and Taka-An, nothing else in the city gets close.
We’re Sofie and Nicolas, and we’ve stayed in hotels like these ourselves. Tell us what the trip is and we’ll tell you which one we’d book, and why. We’re not really a booking service, but a few times a year we plan one properly for someone; if that’s what you’re after, say so.
It's just the two of us, so we take on a handful of trips at a time. If we're full, we'll say so. We reply within a working day. The hotel pays us, not you: your rate is the same as booking direct, and the perks come on top.
Amandari: Fifteen minutes above central Ubud in Kedewatan, on the Ayung River gorge, with free shuttles into town and to nearby rice-field walks and restaurants. Aman Kyoto: Kerry Hill’s ryokan-style rooms with sliding doors and Hinoki baths draw near-universal praise.
Amandari is ahead on where it puts you. Aman Kyoto is ahead on the rooms. Amandari adds Romantic; Aman Kyoto adds Japanese Design. Both are tagged Heritage, Countryside, Wellness, Culinary and Architecture.
Amandari leads on this. Amandari: Fifteen minutes above central Ubud in Kedewatan, on the Ayung River gorge, with free shuttles into town and to nearby rice-field walks and restaurants. Aman Kyoto: The forest setting north of the city divides people: some love the 13-18 minute pull from the crowds, others say it fails as a base for exploring Kyoto.
Amandari leads on this. Amandari: Guests describe housekeeping that resets a room while you’re at the pool for an hour, and a Whatsapp line that answers instantly for a barber or a TV fix. Aman Kyoto: Staff remember names fast even at 26 rooms, though a few guests paying $3,500 a night still had to remind a server about a drink order.
Amandari is in Ubud, Indonesia; Aman Kyoto is in Kyoto, Japan.
Aman Kyoto, with Two Michelin Keys in the Michelin Guide’s 2026 hotel selection; Amandari holds One Key. The Keys come from the guide’s own anonymous inspections and are separate from the Fat Score.
Fat Voyage scores every hotel out of 20 across five dimensions — service, rooms & design, location, dining and wellness — read from the trip reports in the most active luxury travel communities, critics’ reviews and verified guest reviews, with the long, detailed and recent ones counting most. Nothing is paid for, and no hotel can buy a place.
