Breathtaking vistas, outdoor adventures, restorative experiences, incredible service, moments of pure serenity, and nourishing food and drink all made for a truly remarkable visit. We left feeling like there was still so much more we wanted to do here, including visiting the surrounding National Parks. We can't wait to return someday, hopefully as a family since we know the kids would love it here as much as we did.

Overview

At-a-Glance

• Date of stay: November 2020

• Length of stay: 2 nights / 3 days

• Trip type: Couples trip

• Property type: Luxury desert mesa resort with stunning design catering primarily to adults, welcoming to children

• Tailor-made for: Outdoor enthusiasts and wellness seekers alike

Highlights

• Unique-in-the-world combination of thousands of acres of stunning, untouched desert mesa landscapes with awe-inspiring, low-impact architecture and design

• Hundreds of miles of hiking trails through Canyon Point, including direct access to desert mesas, via ferrata, Cave Peak Stairway, arroyos, slot canyons, and Broken Arrow Cave with ancient cave paintings

• Aman Spa water pavilion with steam room, sauna, plunge pool, and heated outdoor step pool

• All-inclusive with great dining options and endless activities

Good to Know

• The all-inclusive rate is steep and while the resort offers much to do, many of the activities come at an extra cost

• Prepare to be surrounded by selfie-taking Instagram influencers, a crowd that strikes quite a contrast to the low-key, natural setting

• Wine program isn't great for how well-funded the property is (not a great selection and overpriced)

• Remote location is a plus in many ways, but makes the resort difficult to get to by commercial flight or car (there is a helipad onsite)

Location & Setting

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After a 296-mile scenic drive from Phoenix Sky Harbor airport, we saw the small, "blink and you’ll miss it" sign for Amangiri off the highway. From there, we reached an electronic gate, then a pioneer-style guard shack for guest temperature and health screening. We passed by the dystopian-looking exterior wall of the resort and reached the front entrance where front desk and bell staff greeted us personally by name. The attentive bell staff asked us what we wanted brought to our room from the car and then we were whisked away for check-in.

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Property & Grounds

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The resort comprises two distinct properties on 600 breathtaking acres of red-rock country in the Colorado Plateau. The main property, Amangiri, offers a collection of 34 suites, each with an outdoor lounge and fireplace complete with expansive desert views (some with private plunge pools or roof terrace), and a 4-bedroom Mesa Home. The newest property, Camp Sarika, offers 10 1- and 2-bedroom tented ​pavilions reminiscent of glamping, but to call them tents would be a huge mistake. If you've ever dreamed of staying in a luxury wilderness safari tented camp in some far-off place, Camp Sarika brings that experience to Utah.

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Room

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We booked a Desert View Suite directly through the hotel. Upon arrival, we were upgraded to a Terrace Suite (pictured above and first two images below) featuring an open floor plan, an expansive bathroom with dual rain shower heads and a large soaking tub, a large outdoor back terrace with picture perfect mesa views and outdoor lounge chairs and beds (perfect for stargazing and spotting shooting stars), a fire pit (perfect for s’mores), a largely-shaded private front terrace (with outdoor dining seating for 2). We also toured a 1-Bedroom Tented Pavilion at Camp Sarika which was incredible, more details below (last 4 pictures below).

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Service

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Upon arrival, we were greeted at our car by the valet team, who promptly took our car and luggage, and Ashley, who brought us inside and gave us a welcome tour of the property, overview of how to access dining and activities, and tour of our Suite. There was also a refreshing welcome house-made lemonade in room on arrival (pictured above). The service at Amangiri was incredibly thoughtful and personalized at every turn.

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Dining

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We ate most of our meals at the Amangiri main restaurant but had lunch once and evening drinks once at Camp Sarika. Both restaurants were excellent in their own way. Amangiri restaurant features a tasting menu for dinner, including their signature "Spirit of the Journey" tasting menu where each course inspired by local Native American cultures and comes with a story of what inspired it. The tasting menus are flexible and you don’t have to order the same menus / courses for the whole table, you can pick and choose your courses. However, the wine program was only “so-so” by comparison in both selection and price — we would bring our own wine next time.

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Family Services & Amenities

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Amangiri offers plenty of family-friendly activities, kids menus / kid-friendly dining options, and kids receive a welcome amenity of sport backpacks filled with kids plushes and other goodies. Kids will also love spotting the wild bunnies around the property.

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Activities

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The focal feature of Amangiri is its beautiful large outdoor pool wrapping around a large rock formation (pictured, right), which the entire resort was designed around. The pool and hot tub are open 24 hours, with the pool heated to 86 degrees. There are hundreds of outdoor, adventure, wellness, and cultural activities onsite or nearby, including complimentary offerings and experiences available for a fee. Additional highlights for us included the extensive hiking trails, ancient cave carvings, and remnants of a filming location for the movie Broken Arrow.

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Wellness

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The resort was designed with a focus on wellness. Our afternoon at the Amangiri Spa was a highlight. We booked a wonderful Nourishing and Grounding Ritual Couples Spa Treatment, which followed a relaxing 30 minutes in the heated outdoor step pool in the water pavilion (pictured) with no one else in sight.

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Wow Factor

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Not only is this place endlessly Instagrammable, but it delivered on the Wow Factor with an incredible service experience and an abundance of enticing and unique activities on and around the property. However, the deluge of selfie-taking influencers detracted slightly from what otherwise felt like a spiritual and grounded place.

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Value

💛💛💛+

While staying here was a singular experience that we would do again in a heartbeat, it came at a steep price, even in low season and in the midst of a pandemic. Although much is included in the "all-inclusive" Amangiri experience, it would be difficult to stay at the resort without incurring additional charges for alcohol, premium activities, spa, etc..

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Overall

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Barring becoming an astronaut, visiting this stunning property is as close to an out-of-this-world experience as one can get.

Rating Legend*

💛💛💛💛💛 Exceptional

💛💛💛💛 Notable

💛💛💛 Standard

💛💛 Substandard

💛 Unsatisfactory

*All ratings are relative to similar-class properties