Amanpuri

I'll admit Amanpuri isn't worth it purely on value — The Surin next door is half the price on the same beach.

The beach is genuinely the reason to come — nothing in Phuket matches it for privacy. There's a small cluster of restaurants nearby worth walking to (Benny's is a nice break from Thai food), and the location itself is lovely. But if you're doing the math, The Surin makes the same beach accessible for a fraction of the cost.

This is genuinely one of my top hotels in the world after visiting this year.

What stood out most was how they managed to make our honeymoon feel truly special — the attention to detail was on another level. I'd put it up there with the best properties I've stayed at anywhere.

We debated Amanpuri versus Rosewood for our honeymoon, and the consensus was clear — Amanpuri's beach setting wins on tranquility.

Everyone who'd been to both told us the same thing: Rosewood feels more contemporary, but nothing beats the natural beauty of Pansea Beach at Amanpuri. The one piece of advice that came up again and again was to book an ocean view room if we wanted to get the full experience.

The gym here is the best hotel gym I've ever used, and don't listen to the reviews complaining about stairs.

Food was next level, and the rooms were spacious with high ceilings and heated toilet seats. The beach had beautiful clear water and soft sand, and I loved the infrared sauna, steam room, and cold plunge along with the best massage I've had anywhere. If steps worry you, just call for a buggy — they show up within 60 seconds.

I had to beg for a refund after being put in a room requiring 170 steps to reach the lobby with no cart available.

Every meal became a full workout just to get there and back, and I'd need a shower afterward from sweating in the heat while climbing. When I complained, the manager who came to help was so out of breath she could barely speak. It was bad enough that I ultimately had to insist on a refund for my remaining nights.

After disappointing stays elsewhere in Phuket, arriving at Amanpuri felt revelatory.

Even though we could only stay one night due to their annual closure for renovations, the grounds were beautiful and the beach sand spotless. Built in 1988 as the very first Aman, it doesn't feel old at all — everything is timeless and in great shape. The gym is A+++++, basically all new Technogym equipment with a boxing ring, and we had three restaurant options — Thai, Japanese, Italian — so we never felt bored eating on property.

The staff anticipated everything — even cleaning my sunglasses and hanging up my bathing suit to dry.

Though we weren't wild about Phuket as a destination, the resort itself exceeded already lofty expectations without cutting corners. There were waters and daily gifts everywhere, the doorless electric buggies were incredibly speedy, and my masseuse had rare, precise intuition for pressure around the spine. The waitstaff remembered our tea preferences and favorite dishes — the Khanom Krok at tea time was a genuine highlight — and the landscaping crew kept everything immaculate.

Nothing is ever too much effort here, and nearly everything is taken care of before I even think about it.

After four nights, I'd call this the antithesis of a Ritz-Carlton-type hotel where staff ask if you're enjoying yourself every ten minutes — here, the staff just know. The room was beautiful, the spa glorious, and the food genuinely great throughout. If I had one place in the world to switch off from everything for a week, it would be this one.

After twenty countries of hotel stays, this is the best service I've ever received, hands down.

The semi-private beach is tranquil and clean, without crowds shouting and running around. My housekeeping team somehow always knew when I left the room and had it refreshed before I got back — genuinely jaw-dropping. Almost every staff member knew who I was and what I needed, so I barely had to think about anything, and the gym was advanced enough to satisfy a serious gym-goer like me.

One of the best beach services in the world — staff prep dry towels while you're still swimming.

Everything happened quickly and with real attention to detail, and the beach itself was pristine, never crowded or staked out with towels. My rooms were clean but felt a bit tired — I'd love to see more premium in-room amenities and higher-end toiletries. Breakfasts and dinners were outstanding across the board, though I did have some noise issues near my room that affected the spa experience, and the Residence Manager, Linda, went out of her way to make the stay special.

Amanpuri's so-called 'best villa' was honestly a disaster for us.

Villa 18/19 has a terrible layout — endless stairs, rooms scattered across the hillside, completely impractical and exhausting to navigate. It's not suitable for families or parents at all, and shockingly bad design for a property that claims to be Aman's finest. I left extremely disappointed with this particular villa.

It really felt like being home again, from the first email exchange all the way through checkout.

We requested an accessible room for my grandmother, and the team delivered a villa with no steps at all, which made her stay far more comfortable than she expected. Breakfast was delicious every morning, using local southern ingredients with real stories behind them, and the water sports team turned our initial nervousness into a genuinely fun time. We got engaged in front of Pansea Beach during this trip, so the resort now holds a permanent, special place for us.

I visited during the quiet monsoon season and the resort felt entirely mine.

Nothing here felt dated or neglected — the teakwood floors, gardens, and infinity pool were all timeless and perfectly cared for. What impressed me most was housekeeping refreshing my villa every single time I stepped out, far beyond the once-daily tidying most five-star hotels offer. They also use electric buggies for transport, which keeps the whole property peaceful and quiet.

I can't find anything wrong at all with Amanpuri — my nephew's family has returned to the same villa every December for four years.

We stayed six nights just before Christmas in Villa 46, and the staff, especially Da, made the stay truly memorable. Breakfast was fabulous, and we ate at the sushi, Italian, and beach restaurants on property with impeccable food and service throughout. Beach attendants were wonderful and I had the best massage of my life.