Side-by-side
Amangiri vs Amanyara
Amangiri and Amanyara land neck-and-neck at 16.0/20 — Amangiri leans stronger on location, Amanyara on dining.
Scored across five dimensions — Service, Design, Location, Dining, and Wellness — from signals across luxury travel communities, editorial publications, and verified guests.
Scoreboard
| Dimension | Amangiri | Amanyara |
|---|---|---|
| Tier | Fat Approved | Fat Approved |
| Overall Fat Score | 16.0/20 | 16.0/20 |
| Service | 14.0 | 13.5 |
| Design | 18.5 | 18.5 |
| Location | 19.0 | 18.0 |
| Dining | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| Wellness | 16.5 | 15.5 |
The Verdicts
Amangiri
Amangiri's setting remains genuinely unmatched — the resort is carved into the Colorado Plateau so completely that arriving feels like entering another world, and that picture-frame window at the entrance, the fireplace-lit annex, and the sky deck stargazing still stop first-time guests cold. But this is a hotel wrestling publicly with its own success. Prices have climbed from roughly $1,000/night in the mid-2010s to $4,500–$10,000+ today, and a large, vocal cohort of repeat guests — the exact loyal, high-spending travelers Aman built its reputation on — now say the product hasn't kept pace with the price, citing slow restaurant service, inconsistent food, understaffed pool areas, and a reservations team that can be curt rather than gracious. At the same time, a meaningful number of recent stays, especially in the Camp Sarika pavilions under newer leadership, describe intuitive, anticipatory service and genuinely memorable moments (Navajo-guided slot canyon tours, via ferrata, in-room fireside evenings). The honest read: the architecture and landscape justify the trip on their own merits, but treat the on-property food and service as a coin flip rather than a guarantee, and go for the place itself — not for flawless five-star polish you'd expect from an Aman in Asia.
Amanyara
Kerry Hill's architectural masterpiece delivers an undeniably stunning hard product — those soaring pavilions overlooking Northwest Point beach are among the most photogenic in the Caribbean. The 18,000-acre nature reserve setting creates genuine seclusion that money can't buy elsewhere in Turks and Caicos. But Amanyara suffers from a service culture that falls short of Aman standards, particularly compared to the brand's Asian properties. Local staff training remains inconsistent, with Turkish seasonal reinforcements often outperforming the permanent team. The dining is adequate but uninspired for this price point, and facilities like the gym feel dated. Still, for pure architectural beauty and that unparalleled sense of private sanctuary, few Caribbean resorts match this level of visual drama.
Strengths & trade-offs
Amangiri
Strengths
- Architecture that dissolves into the canyon landscape rather than sitting on top of it
- Unrivaled sense of seclusion within a vast private desert estate
- Genuinely memorable excursions — via ferrata, slot canyon tours, Lake Powell, stargazing
- Spa consistently praised as a standout, even by critical reviewers
- Camp Sarika pavilions offer some of the best private-pool accommodations in the US
Trade-offs
- Restaurant service frequently slow, with multi-hour meals and understaffed pool bars
- Food quality inconsistent — praised by some as Michelin-level, called bland or poorly executed by others
- Reservations and gate staff sometimes cold or unhelpful, undercutting the arrival experience
- Price escalation (roughly 3-5x since the mid-2010s) increasingly seen as disproportionate to the actual product
Amanyara
Strengths
- Kerry Hill architecture creates stunning visual drama
- 18,000-acre nature reserve ensures complete seclusion
- Pristine Northwest Point beach with crystal-clear water
- Spacious pavilions with exceptional privacy
Trade-offs
- Service inconsistent and below Aman standards
- Dining quality doesn't match the price point
- Facilities showing wear and need updating