Amankila Luxury Resort Bali

Amankila is set in the heart of one of Bali`s most traditional areas. It consists of 33 free- standing suites, with their alang alang roof thatching, are fashioned as Balinese beach houses. Elevated walkways link the suites to the restaurants, swimming pools and other areas. Service is 24 hours, dining is extraordinarily diverse and immensely satisfying, the facilities are among the world`s best and delivered with genuine Balinese friendliness.

A serene visa over the sea to the islands and the leisurely sight.

Amankila GM ID: Ms. Tracy Atherton, General Manager
Experience: 2 years hotel school in the UK, followed by 10 years with Hyatt Hotels in London, Sydney and Melbourne then 5 years in current position at Amankila
Hobbies: Enjoying the cultural and beach life on the East Coast of Bali. Cycling, diving and trekking
Music: I don’t have one favorite style of music, I have over 10,000 songs on my Ipod and it ranges from Classical to Hip Hop..
Books: My favorite book at the moment is "Eat, Pray, Love" especially as a third of the book is dedicated to Bali
Sayings: My mother’s favorite saying has become mine ‘To Grow Old Gracefully’

Ms. Tracy Atherton, welcome to the interview.

Q: What attracted you to the resort?
Tracy: The Aman brand initially attracted me the resort and then when I can over to Bali for the interview I fell in love with the architecture, the people and the Balinese way of life.

Q: Any reason to call resort "Amankila"?
Tracy: Aman means ‘Peace’ in Sanskrit and Kila is hill – therefore Amankila means ‘Peaceful Hill’.

Q: Tell us something about the resort, location, how to get there, and the place itself?
Tracy: The resort is set on a cliff edge overlooking the Lombok Strait on the East Coast of Bali. A majority of the suites have wonderful views out towards the ocean.

The resort is just over an hours drive from the International Airport and it’s located in a very traditional part of Bali. The wonderful part of Amankila is that it has a mixture of the best parts of Bali – it has it’s own private beach, wonderful snorkeling and diving areas and being in East Bali it also benefits from the real-side of Bali where you get to see the farmers tending to the rice fields daily and it really does take you back hundreds of years.

Q: Your welcome message and philosophy?
Tracy: My Welcome Message to all guests is to ensure that they have a magical stay at Amankila and to invite them to experience some of the many delights that East Bali has to offer..

Q: Can you please give us a guided tour, explain the concept, what was important when creating this resort, atmosphere?
Tracy: The atmosphere at Amankila is extremely peaceful. We are set on 8 hectors of land and with only 33 suites we have enough space for each guest to feel like they are the only guest.

Days can be spent relaxing on the beach or around one of the many pools, or guests can be adventurous and can go trekking or cycling through the rice fields or go on a cruise around the East Coast on one of our 2 boats.

Q: All resorts furniture has obviously been painstakingly selected, tell us something about the interior design?
Tracy: The resorts architect is a gentleman called Ed Tuttle who is based in France. Mr Tuttle not only designed the resort, he also designed all of the interiors. Having one person do both ensures that there is a flow throughout the entire resort.

He also designed the furniture and even which types of flowers we should use.

Q: What is the culinary experience like, range of restaurants, an "Amankila special"?
Tracy: There are 3 restaurants at Amankila:

The Terrace Restaurant offering breakfast and lunch
The Restaurant offering Dinner
The Beach Club Restaurant offering daytime snacks

James Stanton is the Executive Chef, James did his training in Australia and has a team of 30 Balinese Chefs at his disposal.

The menu’s at Amankila offer Western Food along with many Indonesian Dishes.

Q: An "Amankila " breakfast?
Tracy: Breakfast can be taken at our Terrace Restaurant, in the privacy of the guests suite, on a bale on the beach or on a bale high up in the hills behind Amankila.

We also offer healthy menu’s throughout the resort.

Q: Festive settings, private dining, hosting of memorable events:
Tracy: Due to the size of Amankila we offer quite a few private dining experiences:

Private Beach Dinner, with your own chef and waiter and the whole beach club to just one couple

Sunset Satay Dinner high up in the hills behind Amankila.
Unique experience with your own chef and waiter in one of our 2 Bales

Candlelit Dinner around our 3 tiered pool

And of course private dining on the terrace of your suite

Q: A reflection of Amankila`a resort`s experiences?
Tracy: Here is a list of our recommended experiences:

Cruising, Snorkeling and Diving
Trekking and Cycling
Cooking School and Market Tours
River Rafting
Yoga
Spa Treatments
Special Dining Experience like our Private Beach Dinner which we only sell to one couple per night – VERY ROMANTIC!

Q: What kind of entertainment facilities are you offering, a Balinese experience?
Tracy: Every 3 or 4 nights we provide an evening entertainment which is either performed around our 3 tiered pool or on our private beach. The entertainment is in the form of a Balinese Dance. The dancers come from our local village and they offer a complete Balinese experience. The main dances are: The Legong, The Donelan, The Cekepung and The Kecak [performed on our beach].

Q: String of services and facilities and activities
Tracy: We have a fleet of cars and guides that can take guests anyway on the Island. Our guides are all Balinese and they have grown up with the culture and are experts at taking the guests on a wonderful journey around the Island.

There are many temples and palaces in East Bali with a colorful history. I recommend a few hours touring to every guest.

Who are your guests and from which countries?
Tracy: We have many varied guests from all over the world; our top 3 markets are Japan, USA and the UK.

Q: Which markets or group are you targeting?
Tracy: Our main target markets are pretty much all over the Globe – we focus heavily on Japan, the USA, and Europe, however, we are also now broadening are markets to include Korea, China, India and Russia.

Q: How is your season so far?
Tracy: Bali is having a fantastic year, infact 2007 was the busiest the Island has ever been and 2008 is looking to be even stronger.

For Amankila we have started off the year very well and are looking forward to a very busy high season in July and August.

Q: Word about Aman resorts, future projects?
Tracy: Aman Resorts is 20 years old this year. Amanpuri in Thailand was our first resort closely followed by Amandari in Bali. Amankila was the third Aman to open and is 16 years old this year.

Aman Resorts will be opening 2 new properties in 2008 – being The Aman at Summer Palace, Beijing and The Aman New Delhi.

Thank you.

Picturing Amankila resort, Bali – each suite features a large bedroom with wide window views with wide window views, a canopied king – size bed, a writing desk and a music system. The expansive, terrazzo – tiled bathroom comes with a shower and deep soaking tub, a window – side divan, double terrazzo vanities and twin coconut – wood dressing areas.

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