Review: Amanruya Bodrum, Turkey

Ive heard that management and service at Amanruya is disappointing. The hard product looks great and I would spend a lot of time at my villa I think. Thanks for taking one for the team; doesn’t look to be worth the travel.

I’m so not a resort hotel person. I hate them. The last time I accidentally found myself in one (long story) in Greneda, I wanted to read my book somewhere without the ghastly, maudlin country & western (!) Muzak. I asked at reception where I could go: she explained that the hotel was tremendously proud of their piped music, and had even had it installed on the beach. If I wanted tranquility I would need to stay in my room...

Anyhow, I love, love, love the fact this hotel has a library.

But I’m hugely, hugely disappointed that you didn’t include a photograph of some of the shelves, showing some titles. I am desperate to know what they have provided for their guests and, as a bibliophile/ book snob, my guess is it would be hugely revealing.

Looks underwhelming, especially considering the ridiculous rates for a country like Turkey.

Also find it intriguing why you would eat there multiple nights if it is mediocre at best and Bodrum supposedly has all these great restaurants...why not actually visit them then?

@ Brent -- We ate at the hotel one night because we wanted to try it out, and because Amans usually have great food. As far as the second time we ate there, it's because on our last day we spent the entire day on a boat, and we were tired by the time we returned, and didn't want to go out anymore. We spent a long time in Bodrum, so we had the opportunity to enjoy lots of great restaurants.

Great review (and beautiful pics) Ben. I am surprised that you found the individual service issues to be minor.

I was there last year and the service was maddeningly poor and was made almost unbearable by the lack of interest by management when we sought relief (not compensation, just help with fixing the numerous problems we encountered).

@ Michael F -- Interesting and disappointing to hear that service last year was just as bad, it sounds like. To be clear, the reason I'm finding these service issues to be minor, or at least am trying to approach it in that way, is because I recognize that these are tough times for hotels. Many hotels are understaffed and struggling to adapt to new protocols, so I at least want to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Based on your experience, it sounds like that's not deserved, though.

Did you all relocate outside the US?

talk about charmless. harsh, hard, institutional. that bathroom, ugh. who is the target audience for Aman anymore?

Wow this Aman looks stunning but with a poor beach set up and crappy service I think you are cutting it too much slack for the brand. Edition for me every time

700 EUR a night for this???
In Turkey??
With no beach???

I guess there are enough fools to pay these rates .... but it boggles the mind....

Aman is not a Sanskrit word. it either is a Urdu or a Persian word.

The library fixated my eyes... wow! Just for that I might stay at the property for 2 nights.

Your review confirms my understanding of this Aman.

Not too far away is the Maca Kizi Hotel - by far my favourite hotel in the Bodrum area with an amazing restaurant and beach club. You would have enjoyed it.

With the exception of the library, lunch spot at the beach and the outdoor space of your villa, there is nothing special about this place. Also Turks don’t read much. They get their information from government sponsored TV. They are similar to the Trump supporters who think Fox News is actually news. So it is interesting that there is a library. I wonder if the books banned by the autocratic regime of Erdogan, Trump’s mentor, are available there.

That beach looks like Lake Tahoe. While I'd enjoy it if I was intent on going to Lake Tahoe, I'd be super disappointed on a trip to the Med.

As an Amanjunkie who values your opinion with these reviews, it's sad to see confirmation that this place has some fundamental flaws (mainly the beach) as well as ongoing service issues. The design has so much going for it, but on the Med it sure seems like Amanzoe is worth the premium... Thanks for giving this a go and reporting back on it.

Thanks for the review! Are you planning to visit Amangiri or Amangani in the US? Would be great if you did and wrote about them!

Great review in it's details. Thank you as I have been waiting to see this.

The design of the hotel is stunning, aside from the bathrooms, which remind me of high end shopping malls.

And that beach...ouch.

You know a hotel is on a poor site when the window in reception is the size of a postage stamp...

The rooms and the library look great, but even leaving service aside everything else looks like a complete joke for a supposed Aman. The presentation of food is way too ‘rustic’ (being generous with that word) for a generic five star hotel, let alone an Aman. The ‘beach club’ literally looks like they might as well not have bothered.

I agree with @kcb. What a disappointing Aman bathroom. That frosted glass shower toilet split looks like it belongs in a Sofitel

It's now so soulless. Russian influence and ownership has ruined Aman. Adrian must be incredibly sad to see how they're ruining the brand.

Amangiri, to me, remains the perfect combo of incredible design and service. It's expensive (and rightfully so). I hope the glut of Kardashian postings on Amangiri won't bring in a Insta crowd: Kids who will max out their plastic to get the pictures, but can't afford to ever come back.

Thinking about it, I'd also include Aman Venice in with the 'best-of' properties. It's small, exclusive and quiet.

@lucky, Do you have the cultural experience menu? If you do, can you publish them? Was suppose to be there later this month but decided to push the trip off to next year or the year after.... sigh.

Great review! Thanks for being so thorough. I'm a fan of the Aman properties, and was just in Bodrum two weeks ago, but decided to stay at EDITION last minute, so I had been wondering what I missed out on with Amanruya. I really loved the coastal beach experience, so it sounds like I made the right decision 🙂

I.m so sorry about your stay. For me, I would have to leave immediately upon arrival as it looked like yet another assisted living facility. I fear that any day now - any day - you guys will purchase smoking jackets to walk around here old lady-ish places.

The beach is pathetic. I would describe gözleme as akin to a quesadilla rather than just a pastry. Not that it is particularly difficult to make, but who orders panzanella in Turkey?

@Matt

There are studies showing that Fox is the least biased of the major news networks. I know it is hard for TDS-afflicted "folks" to believe that the likes of CNN and MSNBC outright lie to their viewers. Perhaps they could be described as "mostly truthful."

Aside from the villas / walkways / and rustic design of the building itself, what a mediocre, soulless, boring hotel! This along with that random Aman in rural Japan yall stayed in a while ago tops the two worst Amans I have ever read about.

And the room? Looks so cold. That "beach"? Basically Lake Tahoe.

Hard pass.

When are you trying REAL Amans like Amangiri, a Kardashian favorite, in Utah???? REALLY excited to see you review that!

Thanks for the review.
For what it is, in its location, it looks gauchely overpriced.

I was here in late June/early July, and my thoughts are very similar to yours. Beautiful architecture, really disappointing management, the GM needs to be replaced, which I don’t write lightly in a public forum. I found at the “beach” if you walk as far to the right as you can as you’re facing the water, there are some isolated loungers with private, beautiful views, but you’re right, the whole water edge area needs be demolished and redone from scratch, after importing sand and significantly expanding the footprint to allow privacy. That stated, the main complex is beautiful, I spent a fair amount of time chilling alone in the Iibrary after I got them to find someone to turn on the AC. One of the other open air rooms in the main complex is also great for alone-time reading, as are the open air seating areas, well-considered architecturally, though definitely not the room with the cheesy Turkish nightclub music playing during the day (the GM, respectfully, lacks taste and an understanding of his international client base).

Just returned from Bodrum. Spent a week at the Allium hotel there, you should have tried a few nights there. Was Fantastic. Was the Aman in Yalikavak? think readers should understand the Edition and i assume the Aman were in Yalikavak which is a suburb of Bodrum which in my opinion is much nicer to stay then in Bodrum proper which is nothing special

"Our registration form also indicated that our stay included two free nights, a 100EUR food & beverage credit, and a six course menu. I asked about that, and it was confirmed that was an error.
Obviously that’s not a big deal, but Aman is (usually) all about attention to detail, and that was lacking."

I think that's a very big deal. An error should be their problem, not your problem.

Aman doesn't have the management talent to run all of these new resorts they're building, and finding increasingly less special places to put them in. The Amans in Europe and the Americas are all much less special than the ones in Asia (particularly the original ones in Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines) and just don't have the Zecha touch.

Dear Ben, thanks a lot for sharing your experiences with Amanruya and other hotels in the area in such detail. This helps a lot for planning a trip to the Turkish Aegean. Does anyone of you have information on Yoga at Amanruya Bodrum property?