Amanyangyun

Lucky and Jeremy are the reason the trip was saved for me. Lucky patiently showed my aunt and uncle around, explained the property’s history, and answered all their questions when I hosted them for dinner. They’re quite old, so his kindness meant a lot. Jeremy treated everyone warmly, remembered my name and room after one meeting, and brought me a spare card when I lost mine. Bravo to the staff, truly. The rooms are spacious and beautiful, with impressive art throughout. In winter, the heated floors, fireplace, and indoor and outdoor baths were wonderful. The accommodations themselves were excellent. I also stumbled across the art galleries, which were a pleasant surprise, though they aren’t advertised clearly. The grounds are manicured, but for the price I expected more beauty and more activities. Since it’s away from the center, guests spend more time there, and the activity program felt limited compared with other resorts. Food was a letdown. Breakfast was mediocre, and the Chinese and Italian restaurants felt both mediocre and overpriced. Even our 35RMB lunch was much better than dinner at the property. The dishes seemed to aim for healthy, humble Chinese food, but neither restaurant’s menu really worked for me. Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for it. There was “zen” music playing all night from one central speaker. Depending on your room, it gets pretty loud. Smaller speakers around the property might let it fade into the background more naturally.

Breakfast was fabulous, as was the rest of the food, and the staff, including Anna and Martin, made our trip memorable. The property and rooms are peaceful and lovely, with modern comforts despite the Ming dynasty feel. There are deer, black swans, and white peacocks on site, which add to the charm, plus activities arranged for guests. The spa, gym, and pool are well equipped, and there’s a hot sauna and pool too.

I’m very late posting this, but I stayed here at the end of 2024. The hotel is really pretty, with deer, black swans, and a whole park on the grounds. Kerry Hill designed it, and it feels polished and modern without being boring. The food was not bad. My room was boiling, at 30C, because the air conditioning was centrally controlled with no thermostat. At midnight staff had to open all the doors to cool it down. I’d already travelled 12h++ by plane and car that day and couldn’t sleep. I was worried about air pollution, and leaving the doors open all night didn’t feel safe either. Nobody apologized. The staff member said this was normal, as a matter of fact. I still don’t understand why, when my other Shanghai hotel had a working thermostat and English-speaking staff. Most staff here seemed unfriendly. They often walked by without smiling or bowing, some avoided eye contact and others stared. More than three times I was pointedly asked whether I was a guest and for my room number. I know it’s a huge property, but it’s in the boondocks of Shanghai, and the way they asked felt rude. There were activities, but most were in Chinese. Even though staff knew my grasp of the language was poor, they mostly spoke to me in Chinese. It felt as if their comfort mattered more than mine. I ended up translating for other guests with my crusty Mandarin. At my other hotel in Shanghai, everyone could speak English. The location is very secluded, as with most Amans, and there weren’t enough activities to keep me entertained. Without the deer, I think I’d have been really bored. I’d read in the brochure that one restaurant would serve fresh panettone slices during Christmas season, and I’m a fan. On day one I went straight there, but instead of answering whether it was available or explaining that I might buy it at the front desk, they asked if I was a guest and what my room number was. Why was that relevant? I complained at the front desk, and the next day they gave me a whole panettone cake. It felt a bit passive aggressive. What was I meant to do with a giant cake and no knife in the room, pick at it? I ended up throwing it away.

The rooms and architecture are beautiful, and I loved the breakfast and calligraphy class. But for my first Aman stay, the service felt below even other five-star hotels in China, such as the Regent, which costs about a third as much and is much more central. I’d heard so much about the ultra-luxe brand and wanted to try it, but it wasn’t worth the splurge for me, and doesn’t make my top ten hotel experiences alongside brands like Ritz, Waldorf Astoria, and Four Seasons. Traffic from downtown Shanghai was awful, nearly two hours from The Bund. When we arrived, the gate man didn’t have our names. We’d told the hotel our Mandarin was poor and we preferred English, but the check-in staff could barely communicate in English, so we had to switch back to Mandarin. That led to several misunderstandings, and they didn’t even mark our room’s location on the map. The QR code they insisted we scan to add service staff on WeChat didn’t work, perhaps because they didn’t know it led to a hotel website, so we were told to use the room phone instead. Little things kept going wrong. I walked into the lobby bathroom and found a staff member who hadn’t locked the staff toilet door, which was awkward. When we first entered our room, a maid was inside apparently doing turndown at 5pm, and the check-in staff hadn’t communicated that. Neither she nor the person giving us a room tour took off their outdoor shoes. Calls for a buggy or answers to property questions took over ten rings to reach someone. When we walked around, staff repeatedly asked whether we were guests and for our room number, which was uncomfortable. I’d told them ahead of time I wanted to book the tea boat experience, but they didn’t contact or confirm it until I asked twice. At the appointment time nobody was there, so we had to ask around. They’d put my name down as Li instead of Liu, and staff only came to set up ten minutes later. Then we had to hurry to high tea before our transfer downtown arrived. The pastries took 30 minutes to come, even though we’d been told the day before to call ahead and reserve. There was also constant airplane noise all over the resort.