Kedewatan, Ubud · Five-Star · Aman
Amandari
Aman's first Asian property, opened 1989. Thirty suites laid out as a Balinese village above the Ayung gorge. Aman's Asian DNA was written here.
Aman's first Asian property, opened 1989. Thirty suites laid out as a Balinese village above the Ayung gorge. Aman's Asian DNA was written here.
"Aman's first Asian property, 1989. 30 suites laid out as a Balinese village above the Ayung gorge. Aman's Asian DNA was written here."
Amandari opened in 1989 — Adrian Zecha's second Aman after Amanpuri in Phuket and the first in a sequence that would define the Aman aesthetic across Asia for the next thirty years. The site is the village of Kedewatan, on a ridge above the Ayung gorge, twenty minutes north of Ubud, and the architectural premise was radical at the time: build a hotel as a Balinese village rather than as a hotel that gestures at one. The architect Peter Muller laid out thirty thatched-roof suites along narrow stone-paved alleys, with shared courtyards and small open-air pavilions, in a layout indistinguishable from the surrounding actual village.
Three decades later, the village ages well. The thirty suites are the same scale as they were in 1989 — terraced thatched pavilions with hand-carved doors, deep ofuro tubs, outdoor showers, and private gardens. The category structure is simple: Village Suites are the original entry; Pool Suites add a private plunge pool; the Amandari Suite is the resort's two-bedroom flagship. The recent renovation kept every Peter Muller detail and improved the bedding, the bathrooms, and the WiFi, but did not modernise the architecture. The point is the village.
Service at Amandari is Aman service — which means the extraordinary high water-mark of luxury hospitality, delivered with the silence and minimalism that the brand is known for. The staff-to-guest ratio is six-to-one. The Amandari concierge has been doing this since the 1990s in many cases — institutional memory of three decades of returning guests. The hotel can arrange anything; it does so without performing the arranging.
The infinity pool over the Ayung gorge is one of the most photographed pools in Asia and was, at its 1989 opening, one of the first edge-pools at any luxury resort. Restaurant dining is the resort's main pavilion overlooking the gorge, with a single daily-changing Balinese-Mediterranean menu. The spa is small and treatment-focused. Yoga at the open-air pavilion runs daily. The hotel does not have a children's club, multiple restaurants, or any of the modern luxury-resort features — that is intentional. Amandari is for travellers who already know they want what Aman does, and want it in its original Asian form.
The Bali anniversary for travellers who already know Aman. Book a Pool Suite on the gorge side for the daily view of the Ayung valley. The Aman team handles vow renewals at the resort's small temple, private dinners on the pool deck above the gorge, and arrangements with the local Kedewatan village for blessing ceremonies. The anniversary at Amandari has the patina that only thirty years of operation can give.
The Bali honeymoon for couples whose taste runs to Aman's silence and discipline rather than the larger-scale resort experience at Sayan or Mandapa. The Amandari Suite or a Pool Suite on the gorge side. The hotel's pace — meals at the single restaurant, daily yoga, no programmed activities unless requested — works for honeymoons that want privacy and depth more than spectacle.
The Bali solo retreat for travellers who want depth and discretion. Aman's solo guest experience is consistently strong — the single restaurant means no awkward solo dining, the yoga pavilion is welcoming, the spa is small enough that the staff know you by name within twenty-four hours. Many of Aman's most loyal guests are solo travellers, and Amandari is the property where that pattern began.
Kedewatan, Ubud
Gianyar Regency, Bali 80571
90 minutes by road from Denpasar (DPS); 15 minutes from Ubud centre
30 suites in Balinese-village layout
Village Suite from $1,500/night
Pool Suite from $2,400
Amandari Suite (2-bed) from $5,500
Check-in: 2:00 PM
Check-out: 12:00 PM
Minimum stay: 3 nights
Aman's first Asian property (1989)
Peter Muller architecture
Edge-pool over Ayung gorge
Single restaurant (Balinese-Mediterranean)
Daily yoga at open-air pavilion
Open year-round
Best: April–October (dry season)
November–March: green season, lower rates
High-speed WiFi throughout (post-renovation)
Reliable signal in all suites
The pace of the hotel suggests using it less, but it is there
From $1,500/night. Aman travellers tend to book 4–6 months ahead. The Amandari Suite requires direct Aman contact.
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