How I Loved It at Amata Resort & Spa!

Living it up in Ngapali Beach! So, I usually don’t stay at swanky places when I travel. It happens, but most times not. After a quick, initial hotel search, this was the second cheapest hotel that came up… At 60 euros a night (including a 10 euro or so upgrade) and with nice looking pics, I assumed it couldn’t be any worse than what I’ve done previously on trips, so it didn’t take much consideration before I hit book. When talking to my local friend about my stay in Ngapali Beach, we discovered I was staying at the same hotel she and her husband had previously. And being told how incredibly amazing this place is, I was feeling real good 🙂 And once again she didn’t get it wrong!

Amata is a huge complex set right on the beach with a few small, local shops around and, rumor has it, superb neighboring restaurants. And I got the upper 55 square meter studio of a bungalow 10 meters from the golden sands, with a pretty decent view from the front porch. Nice!! The hotel has what you can expect from a resort that charges 300 euros a night in high season… Great restaurant to have dinner at. Lots to choose from at breakfast. Vintage cars in the driveway. Library where you can drop off the books you’ve finished reading. Upstairs bar with a stunning sunset view. First-class beach and plenty of beach chairs. Complementary airport pick-up and drop-off (takes around 15 min. one way). Great staff. At one point 4-5 people, including some big boss visiting from Yangon HQ, were trying to help me get a local SIM card (actually the Norwegian Telenor 🙂 ) to work. And we had it all to ourselves, me and the 6 others that were there… Paradise for a person who dislike the crowds 🙂

Only downside was the very rarely working WiFi… The pool was kinda small too, but who cares with a beach like at your disposal. And if you’re squeamish like me, and bugs are not your favorite thing. They come out at night and into your territory. Had two geckos living with me, but we made an agreement, if they’d camp far up under the 4 meter high ceiling, they could stay inside. Had some run-ins, but mostly peace treaty was not broken. And then there was the super huge spider, which decided to land on me, and make its way down my arm. I could feel something moving, and at one point I spotted it in my side vision. I was preoccupied talking to one of the staff members, so just brushed it off, after which it landed on the reception desk, and another staff member brushed it quickly off the counter, like he was hoping I wasn’t going to see what had happened. A good thing I my mind was elsewhere, or I would have been in shambles. And a luxury problem at a luxury resort, the jungle sounds and crashing waves kept me awake…in the beginning. Zzzz…

Website: amataresort.com