Aman Resorts

Aman Resorts

Industry	Hospitality, hotels
Founded	1988
Headquarters	Singapore
Number of locations	33 (2018)
Key people	Roland Fasel (COO) Vladislav Doronin (Owner), (Chairman) and (CEO)
Parent	Aman Resorts Group Ltd.
Website	aman.com

Aman Resorts International is a luxury hotel group with 33 destinations in 21 countries. The word "aman" means "peace, security, safety, shelter, protection" in the Sanskrit, Hindi, Punjabi, Arabic,Ge'ez,Amharic, Urdu and Persian languages. Vladislav Doronin is the CEO, chairman and owner of Aman Resorts.^[1]

History

Founded in 1988, Aman Resorts' first destination was the result of Adrian Zecha's desire to build a holiday home in Phuket.^[2] His plans soon developed into an idea to build a small boutique resort with Anil Thadani and two other friends. They invested their own money in the venture as no banks would lend for the project due to the small number of planned rooms.

By 1992, the group had expanded to include several resorts in Indonesia, a resort on Bora Bora and one in the Alpine village of Courchevel. Later, Clement Vaturi acquired a majority stake in the company,^[3] thereby allowing the boutique hotels to be further conceptualized.

In 1998, Vaturi's controlling interest was acquired by Los Angeles-based Colony Capital, a real estate investment fund. A lawsuit between Vaturi and Colony Capital promised to drag on and Colony Capital moved to protect its interests by taking a more active role in the company. At this time, Zecha resigned from his position at Aman and for the next two years pursued other interests.^[4]

In 2000, Colony Capital and Vaturi had settled their lawsuit and Vaturi sold his shareholding interests to Lee Hing Development, a Hong Kong investment company. With controlling investors allowing full control over the company, Zecha returned as chairman and CEO.

Over the next seven years, Aman launched retreats in Cambodia, India, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Caribbean.

On 27 November 2007, DLF, India's largest real estate company, acquired Lee Hing's controlling stake in Aman Resorts for $400 million including debt of US$150 million.^[5]

In early February 2014 DLF sold Aman Resorts for $358 million to Aman Resorts Group, an investment company led by international businessman Vladislav Doronin and which also included Omar Amanat.^[6] The sale included all Aman properties except for the Lodhi Hotel in Delhi. DLF sold Aman Resorts in order to reduce its debt and refocus on real estate after it had expanded into hotels, windfarms and running export processing zones.^[7] In August 2015, Doronin became sole owner of Aman, when Pontwelly Holding Company, took full ownership of the hospitality business, Silverlink Resorts. Following this restructuring, Doronin and board director Alan Djanogly, remain as the only two directors.^[8][9]

In February 2017, Roland Fasel joined Aman as COO, continuing his 25 plus year career in luxury hospitality.^[10][11]

The resorts

Each resort has a small number of rooms (typically less than 55). The staff count is typically four staff to one guest. There are no reception desks, lobbies or bellboys.

Guest accommodation is typically provided in individual private villas, pavilions or tents (in the case of Aman-i-Khás in India and Amanwana in Indonesia), often have private pools and outdoor lounging and dining areas.

Aman mandates a concern for cultural preservation. In Cambodia, for instance, they acquired a ruined guest villa that had been built in the early 1960s by the country's King Sihanouk. All architectural records of the villa had been destroyed, but the discovery of an old tourist book with pictures of the building allowed the company to closely replicate what had been lost.^[12]

Since its establishment, Aman has been highly rated by Condé Nast Traveler,^[13] Zagat Survey, Gallivanter's Guide, Harper's Hideaway"^[14] and Travel & Leisure.

34% of Aman patrons originate from Europe, another 34% from Asia-Pacific, 28% from the Americas and 4% from the rest of the world.^[15]

Architects

Among the architects who have designed Amanresorts are John Heah, Ed Tuttle, Marwan Al-Sayed, Wendell Burnette, Rick Joy, Kerry Hill, Jean-Michel Gathy, Aqsa Rafiq and Danilo Capellini.

Locations

As of 2017, the group operates the following resorts (in order of opening):

• Amanpuri on the island of Phuket, Thailand. Designed by Ed Tuttle (1988)^[16]
• Amandari at Kedewatan on the outskirts of Ubud, on the island of Bali in Indonesia. Designed by Peter Muller (1989)^[17]
• Amankila near Manggis on the island of Bali in Indonesia. Designed by Ed Tuttle and Danilo Capellini (1992)^[18]
• Aman Villas at Nusa Dua on the island of Bali in Indonesia. Designed by Kerry Hill and Danilo Capellini, interiors by Dale Keller (1992)^[19]
• Aman Le Mélézin in Courchevel, France. Designed by Ed Tuttle (1992)^[20]
• Amanpulo on the island of Pamalican in the Philippines. Designed by Bobby Manosa (1993)^[21]
• Amanwana on Moyo Island, at the western end of Indonesia's Nusa Tenggara archipelago. Designed by Jean-Michel Gathy (1993)^[22]
• Amanjiwo in Central Java, Indonesia. Designed by Ed Tuttle (1997)^[23]
• Amangani at East Gros Ventre Butte near Jackson Hole in United States. Designed by Ed Tuttle (1998)^[24]
• Amanjena with 40 rooms, on Route de Ouarzazate on the outskirts of Marrakech in Morocco. Designed by Ed Tuttle (2000)^[25]
• Amansara in Siem Riep, Cambodia. Designed by Kerry Hill (2002)^[26]
• Aman-i-Khás in Rajasthan, India. Designed by Jean-Michel Gathy (2003)^[27]
• Amankora has five lodges in Bhutan. Designed by Kerry Hill (2004)^[28]
• Amanbagh in Rajasthan, India. Designed by Ed Tuttle (2005)^[29]
• Amangalla in Galle, Sri Lanka. Interiors designed by Kerry Hill (2005)^[30]
• Amanwella near the village of Tangalle on Sri Lanka's south coast. Designed by Kerry Hill (2005)^[31]
• Amanyara on Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands. Designed by Jean-Michel Gathy (2006)^[32]
• Aman at Summer Palace in Beijing, China. Technical assistance by Jean-Michel Gathy and interiors designed by Jaya Ibrahim (2008)^[33]
• Villa Miločer. Phase one of Aman Sveti Stefan, located on the coast of Montenegro. Designed by Jean-Michel Gathy (2008)^[34]
• Amangiri in Utah's Lake Powell Region, the United States (2009)^[35]
• Amantaka in Luang Prabang, Laos (2009)^[36]
• Amanfayun in Hangzhou, China. Designed by Jaya Ibrahim (2010)^[37]
• Amanrüya in Bodrum, Turkey. Designed by Turgut Cansever, Emine Ögün, and Mehmet Ögün (2011)^[38]
• Amanzoe in Peloponnese, Greece. Designed by Ed Tuttle (2012)^[39]
• Aman Venice in Venice, Italy. Designed by Jean-Michel Gathy (2013)^[40]
• Amanoi in Vĩnh Hy Bay, Vietnam. Designed by Jean-Michel Gathy (2013)^[41]
• Aman Tokyo in Tokyo, Japan. Designed by Kerry Hill (2014)^[42]
• Amandayan in Lijiang, China. Designed by Jaya Ibrahim (2015)^[43]
• Amanera in the Dominican Republic. Designed by John Heah (2015)^[44]
• Amanemu in Shima, Japan. Designed by Kerry Hill (2016)^[45]
• Amanyangyun on the outskirts of Shanghai, China. Designed by Kerry Hill (2017)^[46]

References

External links

• Official website
• Cohen, E. "Subtlety and Luxury - Jean-Michel Gathy does it again at Amanyara in the Turks and Caicos," Interior Design, July 1, 2006.
• Phoenicia Times Feb 2008
• Hartwick College The Gerry Family Papers