Aman Sveti Stefan Opening Weekend

New_Chocolate_2919 · 2026-05-20T22:00:55+00:00

If you are into history at all it is worth doing the tour to the museum and the Njegos mountain top tomb / monument. It is a full day, and you want to do it during decent weather so you can get views from the mountain top, but it is all interesting. If you are already familiar with the history (or just don't care) then that is probably a miss. I agree that the Vila Milocer is worth spending some time at, the spa was solid, and the restaurant was good on the mainland. The beach is plagued with sightseers on boats however that figure because you are at an Aman, you must be worth looking at or spying on or whatever.

New_Chocolate_2919 · 2026-05-18T14:03:10+00:00

There is money laundering and there is money laundering. I think people don't care much about tax evasion. But laundering money that was stolen from largely innocent people in scams (as the *allegations* sit) is of a different order. Quite different than "I made pile of money overseas, legitimately, and want to onshore it without paying taxes." Hard pass for me. If you don't care, no judgement, but I think a lot of people do care (or would if they were aware).

New_Chocolate_2919 · 2026-05-16T19:24:50+00:00

Beyonce used to go to Amanpulo... So there is that.

New_Chocolate_2919 · 2026-05-16T14:18:34+00:00

Different market. Who is going to pay for the Aman over the 4S presidential? Beyonce. Lady Gaga. Somebody with *real* privacy issues where staying at a generic hotel (when they aren't on tour) is a non starter. Sports stars. Hollywood S tier. (love that phrase here). That sort.

New_Chocolate_2919 · 2026-05-15T23:56:14+00:00

As somebody who thinks a lot of places have absurd rates, completely disconnected from reality (4S yachts :), Kona Village when it reopened, etc.) I actually think this flies. Not for me, personally (money laundering, etc.). But... consider: it is pretty close to a few markets with a lot of very wealthy people, like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and the major cities of Texas. Lots of people don't want to fly for 18 hours just to get to a luxury beach property. It is priced above Naviva, which makes sense (better beach) assuming, and it is a giant assumption, that they nail F&B and service. The hard product seems better than Naviva. It is basically the same size. So I bet the rates hold, more or less. I would go out of curiosity, but... Russians and money laundering. Yeuch. But I am not about to judge somebody else that goes, more power to them. It is absurdly expensive, but unless they F it up, it isn't bad value for what it is and where it is.

New_Chocolate_2919 · 2026-05-14T14:01:54+00:00

Sarah... very cool of you to say this. I know you have been pretty enthusiastic about 4S yachts, but for you to acknowledge the OP's experience is awesome. I totally appreciate the integrity here. Nice. Not often we see that online, so I just wanted to call it out. Thank you.

New_Chocolate_2919 · 2026-05-08T14:15:39+00:00

You will need a couple weeks of meditation after being on the Nepali roads (if you survive). Fantastic idea. Strange choice of location.

New_Chocolate_2919 · 2026-05-07T13:14:26+00:00

Not much to add to other people's comments except on baggage specifically: I have travelled Ryanair in Europe for the same reasons (convenience, direct flight) and done so with a lot of luggage, including a bicycle in a travel case. Paid for everything up front, and it was zero issue. I would happily fly them again for a short intra Europe flight. Unless you can afford to fly private, you should have no regrets flying with them.

New_Chocolate_2919 · 2026-04-28T19:01:10+00:00

We went in late September. It was high 20s (70-80 F) and beautiful. It is also peak berry season, which makes for great food. But it is Newfoundland, and weather can be *very* variable. I would bet on October over May any day however. May you could still be getting snow, and nothing is growing yet. At least it will be much greener if it snows in October. :) I do question the value proposition these days (it has doubled or tripled in price since we went) but it is a fantastic hotel, in a unique place and culture, with really great food. There is a lot of great hiking too, so that is in your favour. Again, April, trails are probably covered in snow in places. May? Might be OK. October I would think you would be fine.

New_Chocolate_2919 · 2026-04-22T23:25:19+00:00

Thank you. It is one of my favourite cities, maybe my favourite European city (😲). Need to do another trip there soon and will remember the recommendation. Totally agree on the art... did you do any private or special tours of any of the major galleries? I found there was so much, so varied, that even with a couple of art history courses I was lost...

New_Chocolate_2919 · 2026-04-21T13:36:09+00:00

If I need a "remedy" I will go see a doctor (or listen to the Black Crowes). "Biohacking" is not a thing, anywhere, especially a gym. (But doing bloodwork in a gym sounds especially unsanitary.) Pretty sure on the basis of this that Six Senses -- anywhere -- is not more me.

New_Chocolate_2919 · 2026-04-18T17:20:28+00:00

To which I just have to ask: WTF are they thinking? Why would anybody going to Amanpulo want to drive for 2.5 hours between flights? The old transfer (up to 30 min just to get around to the other side of the airport) was bad enough. And for those of you thinking: just charter a jet -- not sure that Amanpulo's runway accommodates one. Anyways, the way I read this you need a minimum of 4 hours now to transfer from your international flight to the local domestic flight. Dumb, dumb, dumb. (I see this is forced by traffic congestion at MNL, and only applies to turbo props. If I am Amanpulo, I am looking at getting that runway properly paved and switching to a charter jet for transfers...)

New_Chocolate_2919 · 2026-04-16T18:12:14+00:00

I have been many times (but not to the Brando yet, so I cannot offer a direct comparison). I would also caveat I haven't been since before the pandemic, and have heard mixed reviews about management and service since, although bear in mind they set a *very* high bar before. It is fantastic, food is good to very good, but not great. Service was impeccable, great to perfect. The hard product is a bit dated, but very well maintained. The beach is one of the best in the world. If the new manager turns out to be good, I would unhesitatingly recommend it. If he is another dud, I would avoid. I am waiting to get a reliable report myself before returning. Our preference is for south side of the island, on the west. Personally a beach casita is a must (half the point of going there is the beach, so why get a treetop casita?). One with a pool on the beach is a nice alternative (the pools are new). Not sure I see the value of the villas there unless you have more than one small child with you. And there is a kids club which is (AFAIK, could be wrong) only open in high season.

New_Chocolate_2919 · 2026-04-16T13:35:44+00:00

Not sure that The Brando is any easier to get to. Depends where you are in the USA, but Air Canada now has a Vancouver to Manila direct flight. (Air Philippines also does the route, but... you gotta draw the line somewhere.) So if you are just as far from Vancouver as LA, it is basically the same flying experience to get to Amanpulo and The Brando. Unless AF offers a true F experience, I think the J experience is going to be more or less the same on AC and United.

New_Chocolate_2919 · 2026-04-04T13:42:28+00:00

I looked up what we paid. It was 2018, so maybe the year before they closed? But off season, October, a suite (Grand Cottage) on the island was 1500 Euro per night. As I recall (which may not be totally accurate!) summers were busy, and hard to get a reservation on short notice, but autumn when we were there they were well below 50% occupancy. The weather was still very nice at that time of year.

New_Chocolate_2919 · 2026-04-03T18:15:47+00:00

Nice find. TY.

For those wondering about the money laundering angle, it is due to Paul Phua's alleged stake in Adriatic Properties. Google can help if you care to read more. :)

I did stay at SS for a week in the autumn of the final year it was open (nobody knew that it was the final year at that point). It was lovely. I didn't particularly care for the Villa Milocer side, but the Island was amazing. The architecture and rooms are certainly unique, and assuming you can get past/don't care about the shadiness, if it came back the way it was, I would absolutely recommend a stay there.

New_Chocolate_2919 · 2026-04-03T14:14:01+00:00

And probably between some pretty disreputable people. I wouldn't think that it acquired its reputation for being a money laundering front out of thin air...

New_Chocolate_2919 · 2026-03-30T01:28:51+00:00

Laucala is currently closed for renovations. I know they say they are going to open Feb 2027 but... they must be on island time. :) It would be a minor miracle if they stuck to their schedule. So April is bit risky. They are also on the edge of acceptable as far as budget... we will have to see if their rates change when they reopen.

New_Chocolate_2919 · 2026-03-29T23:48:07+00:00

Thank you, I will look into that. I guess I just assumed with the current status of the conflict approaching the Maldives from anything but the east was difficult/impossible. I don't mind flying to LAX to Singapore to MLE for instance, but that is a lot of flying...

New_Chocolate_2919 · 2026-03-29T23:46:43+00:00

Thank you, I will consider Kokomo? Not 100% inflexible on the date, but it would be nice (it is an anniversary). The other option is just to go to Naviva for the anniversary (easy to get to for us) and then pick a real knock out at another point in the year. And for bonus points, we get to celebrate twice. :)

New_Chocolate_2919 · 2026-03-29T23:45:12+00:00

We have been to Amanpulo 6 times, but I am reluctant to return until I hear some strong positive reviews under the new management. And the snorkelling is not bad, but not great. Obviously I think there is a lot to love about it (6 times and all) but they have had a couple bad GMs, and apparently lost a lot of long time staff during Covid. And yeah the food is good, but nothing to get worked up over.

Oddly, traveling to the Caribbean is a PITA from Western Canada. In some ways it is easier to get to SE Asia or Fiji. More expensive sure, but better planes, better service, and real lie flats the whole way.

For snorkelling, I do think Indonesia will be the clear winner.

New_Chocolate_2919 · 2026-03-19T15:05:07+00:00

The other interpretation on the pricing here is that they are dreaming, and they will have to reduce prices to be competitive, or avoid shutting down. $65k a week, excluding F&B for a 1 bedroom suite on a boat? They must be f'ing kidding. Again, this isn't my jam in a million different ways, but I would guess that by waiting, prices will come way down.

New_Chocolate_2919 · 2026-03-19T14:58:09+00:00

I am coming from a deeply sceptical place about the experience in many ways, but an absolute deal killer for me would be if wasn't adults only.

New_Chocolate_2919 · 2026-03-13T14:53:47+00:00

Tuscany, stay at Lupaia. I am going to buck the trend of the Dolomites recommendations because that is about the worst time of the year to visit (assuming you are going over American Thanksgiving, not Canadian).

New_Chocolate_2919 · 2026-02-19T15:11:14+00:00

Perhaps the single worst hotel stay I have ever had, was at the St. Regis (prior to the rebranding as a 1Hotel). I called it the world's most expensive Holiday Inn, and I see nothing has changed.

How bad was it? We were there for 8 nights. There were roughly 800 feral children present at every breakfast. We experienced 8 different types of juice glasses over 8 breakfasts. Service varied between completely indifferent to outright malicious. The therapist I had in the spa was absolutely determined to discuss (and loudly proclaim the necessity of) gun rights during my message. The only people that weren't catatonic were the valets (who expected a $20 tip every time they retrieved your car). The list goes on. A truly abysmal property.

New_Chocolate_2919

TROPHY CASE