Name: Amangalla
Address: 10 Church Street Fort, 10, Galle, Galle, Galle, 80000, Sri Lanka
Rating: 9

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We had a fairly hectic two weeks travelling around Sri Lanka and chose to spend the last 3 days at Amangalla. It was like arriving in heaven. I don’t think I can actually fault anything in this beautiful hotel. We were lucky enough to be staying in the Amangalla suite which was simply incredible. Our son was in a Chambers room which was also supremely comfortable and luxurious. 
The hotel is stunning, but what makes it truly stand out right up there with the very best of the Aman hotels are the wonderful staff there. Our butler Indika couldn’t have done more for us - organising spa treatments (the best massage my husband says he’s ever had), roti dinner on Paddy Island (another incredible experience), sunset drinks overlooking the rooftops. He has worked at Amangalla since it opened and is a true gem and such a credit to the Aman group. 
Days were spent round the pool with Kasun doing everything he could for us - bringing coconut water, fresh aloe Vera, copious glasss of water. I can’t tell you how incredible it was, swimming in that stunning pool with kingfishers and peacocks and dragonflies around you. It was perfect. 
Thank you to everyone at Amangalla for making our stay an unforgettable one. We miss you all 🩷🇱🇰🩷 🇱🇰 🩷

As close to perfection as you can get

We have been to about 8 Amans globally and this was one of our favourite experiences:
- You must stay here at least 3 nights, I think many make the mistake of staying one night before going on to Amanwella. We are so glad we read reviews where people wished they had spent longer here
- We used the Fort & Beach Journey 7 day offer which is definitely worth it (and means you do need to stay a min of 3 nights at Amangalla - we would have been happy to spend 5 nights there!!)
- Amangalla has an amazing feel to it which you can't quite put your finger on
- I think it is down to amazing staff who are clearly extremely well managed as well as brilliant rooms, spa, yoga area, pool, terrace restaurant
- From our butler, to housekeeping, waiters to the brilliant pool attendants everyone is great at their job
- Recommend the balcony rooms where you have a chaise longue on the balcony overlooking the tropical gardens and you can feel like you are back in the 1920s...
- Excellent reception on arrival by Harry Fernandes, regional director for India and Sri Lanka. Super friendly, attentive and interesting
- We went a bit off piste and organised a driver to go and see Rupert Beeley at Top House cinnamon plantation; he gave up a City job in London to take on a cinnamon plantation 12 years ago (near Weligama). What a highlight and a fascinating person. Maybe Amangalla can arrange this more systemically (?). His cinnamon oil is used in the library at Amanwella

One of the best Aman experiences globally

It was as my birthday get away and my husband planned a beautiful surprise private dinner with the hotel staff. Karen the GM and Narin were so welcoming and made us feel right at home. The Sri Lankan crabs were off the charts, the in house chef was charming and catered to all our culinary needs. I wanted to experience the history, culture, food and the stay here definitely made that happen. It was a perfect memorable experience!

Sweet Memories of Amangalla, Galle Sri Lanka

I have stayed here twice and absolutely love this hotel. The entire building is stunning and  like a „living“ museum. The rooms are beautiful with very comfortable beds and great views. The spa is very good and the complimentary hydropool-session is such a treat. Aman properties are of course well known for their excellent service and Amangalla is no exception. Starting with a very warm welcome by the GM, to extensive housekeeping, the over the top pool service (loungers being prepared for you, sunscreen, mosquito-repellent, little treats and water are not just provided but being brought directly to you), service during the meals, to a very nice goodbye - it is all there! Karan, the new GM is very nice and doing an amazing job. Everyone was great but I especially want to mention Kasun and Damminika who took really good care of me.
I can absolutely recommend staying here and I will most definitely be back.

A very special place

Wonderful hotel in the heart of Galle Fort. Aside from the beautiful colonial setting, the best part is the service. It is not mechanical, but delivered efficiently and friendly. They really want you and invest into you to ensure you have the best experience. Would love to visit again.

Beautiful property, excellent service

From the moment you pull up to the gorgeous Amangalla,  just up from the centuries old church upon which the street is named, you are transported back in time to an era through the grand entrance. We were welcomed by the wonderful Karen Merrick General Manager and the absolutely impeccable Pathum. After a lovely refreshment and a tour we were shown to our room, which was just beautiful. Words actually fail me in terms of the feeling one has... We live in Dubai where the standards in hospitality are at times impossibly high, and we have traveled and stayed at many high end hotels over our years, but the memories of our stay at the Amangalla will remain forever. Thank you so much to ALL of the Amangalla team, which I wish I could name every single person, you made our all too brief stay something so incredibly special.

Above and Beyond

Quintessentially Aman. 

1. A gorgeous, historic property that - like Amans in Venice, Beijing and Siem Reap - balances the comforts you expect while maintaining its vintage setting. AC is nice and strong in the rooms, WiFi works great. 

2. Intuitive service, remembering your preferences from one day to another, staff seeming to pass our favorite dishes along to the chef so they appear in another meal. 

3. Excursions are outstanding - we chose the Roti dinner which has lots more than Roti on the menu and is something we will never forget. We also did the Geoffrey Bawa tour which took us to Lunuganga as well as other properties he designed in Bentota. It was a great day away from the Fort. We also had lazy days by the pool which is a great way to pass time. 

4. Food - outstanding! A good balance of traditional Sri Lankan cuisine and western food. They were debuting healthy and vegan options on our last days in town. The chefs are very curious for your feedback. 

5. Strong management - the GM is seasoned, affable and eager for feedback and added to the thoughtful touches throughout our stay. There are a number of employees who have been on board since Aman took ownership as well as many new employees eager for experience. 

Amangalla is very different from Amanwella in terms of experience, and so visiting both properties in one holiday is a great idea. These were Aman number 14 and 15 for us, and both properties reflect exactly what it is that has made us repeat Aman guests.

Outstanding

We fell in love with Sri Lanka during a one week visit and Amangalla is part of the reason why.  We stayed at both Aman properties in the country, and while we preferred Amanwella overall for its staff and quieter, more laid back atmosphere, we surely would have regretted missing the history, quality of spa treatments, unique experiences and general refinement that sets Amangalla apart from other hotels we’ve stayed at.  If you can book a package that includes both Amans here, we highly recommend that you do so.

Strengths:  

The garden house where we stayed is absolutely beautiful, extremely spacious, and offers a very large  and private wraparound balcony to watch wildlife and enjoy a drink.  We found very little online in terms of video or images of this room category, but we expected a lot, and were disappointed in no way whatsoever.

The food may have been even better here than Amanwella, which is saying quite a bit.

Some of the activities offered, though not all, are certain to stay in our memory a lifetime.  In particular we recommend the roti private dinner experience and the cinnamon plantation visit.  The tea plantation visit, on the other hand, was not a good fit for this calibre of hotel.

Area for Improvement:

Though we were generally quite happy with the level of service we received, it did not quite match up to our experience at Amanwella.  For example, we had to remind folks here  on a few occasions that we are vegetarian, despite making it very clear ahead of time and on arrival that we are indeed.  It should be noted, however, that Amangalla is completely able to accommodate a vegetarian diet both from the menu and off.

Memories to Last a Lifetime

This hotel is simply one of the best hotels in which we have stayed to date knowing that we had the chance to experience some fantastic Aman, Six Senses, Mandarin Oriental or Four Seasons ones during our previous trips. 

Beyond the fact the hotel is an absolutely gorgious, historic building  with a lovely pool, we were in awe with the way we were treated during our stay.

- A constant attention from the newly - since October if I'm correct - GM, who greeted us  at our arrival, took news during our two day-stay and ensured to be there when we left quite early in the morning. I believe that the Amangalla is likely to nicely develop further under her lead.

- Our young - and likely with a bright future in the hospitality business - Sachin, took very good care of us both at the hotel or during our activities. He was perfectly embodying what "customer care" should look like.

- The food was excellent all over our stay, surpassing the already excellent experience we had  at Ceylon Tea Trails.

In short, a fantastic hotel that requires spending a minimum of two nights to experience it fully.

PS: as part of the transfer from Amangalla to Amanwella, we organized through the hotel a "whale watching experience". Despite this was perfectly organized, I'm not sure that I would recommend this activity. On one hand, we had the chance to enjoy tens of dolphins, both bottlenose and spinner ones but, on the other hand, the high number of boats is likely to be extremely stressful for the whales which, by the way, seems to be increasingly rare on this road as the time goes.

Simply perfect - Not to be missed

This is undoubtedly a beautiful property crammed with amazing history. Lovely rooms, grand public areas, a decent size swimming pool surrounded by cabanas and beds and a great location by the city walls. This is the sixth Aman we’ve stayed at. Dinner was very good indeed; they have a super experienced chef although we found the gazpacho far too spicy to the point we couldn’t eat it. There is Tabasco in it and we joked with the chef that the sous chef must have emptied the bottle in! Service was generally excellent throughout the whole property.

There were a number of little niggles. The room a/c was showing 24.5 degrees at night despite being set at 22 degrees and never going lower. (We were advised that the 20 year old a/c does not go lower than 22). After lots of fiddling by the team the second night was definitely cooler. The safe malfunctioned; hard soap wasn’t replaced in the shower; we were offered cocktails and canapés as a benefit but told we couldn’t have a gin and tonic or whisky instead by both our butler and waiter until management intervened; a half eaten mango was left in the room; at times the room service was too obtrusive with someone in our room to service it around five times+ a day which is great but a little over the top; the prices are Aman with a glass of mango juice at breakfast comIng in at just under £10 etc. 

We found our beautiful room noisy; not because of the hotel but because of lots of surrounding noise from the town and further afield. 5.30am prayers from the temple woke us up on Day 2 which we totally get; there were late fireworks in the evening; often rather a lot of noise from the street. This a busy noisy little town; don’t stay here if you want tranquility and peace.

When going into the restaurant on our first night many of the tables carried reserved signs, possibly for non resident guests who are an important source of business for the hotel; in my view Aman needs to handle this better. Perhaps they should reserve the best tables for hotel guests first and foremost or leave one side for residents. Overall these are all small things but they did affect our experience.

However what we both felt this property lacked was something intangible but the source of our delight at other Aman properties. It’s that ‘thing’ (AMAN DNA perhaps) that allows Aman to charge double or so above Mandarin Oriental, Four Seasons etc. where we normally stay. This place lacked the calmness and tranquility of Luang Prabang and Bali; it missed the generosity of spirit and warmth of all the other five properties (although Karen was lovely); it didn’t have the peace & professionalism and slickness of a busy hotel like Aman in Courcheval. 

Sadly Amangalla struck us like just another beautiful hotel, generally well run in a fabulous building. I don’t know if Aman as it expands can keep its soul and I don’t know if our experience was atypical. But nickel and diming over for instance a gin and tonic rather than a cocktail is NOT Aman’s style. There are many luxury properties in and around Galle; I’m not sure I would necessarily recommend paying the premium to stay here. Come here for dinner or afternoon tea by all means.

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