Which Aman Resort Is Right for You: A Complete Guide

With more than forty resorts and hotels across the globe, Aman can be hard to choose between, not because any one is better than another, but because each is so completely its own place. The desert resort in Utah and the glass tower above Tokyo share a philosophy of space and calm, yet the experiences could not be more different. This guide is the shortcut: a way to find the Aman that fits the trip you want, by landscape, by country and by occasion. Every one can be booked through Pampered Pursuit at the same rate as booking direct, with VIP recognition and benefits added at no extra cost.

If you want a landscape you will never forget, Amangiri is the one. Set on 900 acres of the Colorado Plateau, the modernist resort wraps around a sandstone butte with a pool embedded in the rock, and Camp Sarika's tented pavilions let you sleep even deeper in the canyon country. It is the most photographed Aman for good reason, and it pairs naturally with the national parks of Utah and Arizona.

Japan is where Aman has built its most compelling cluster. Aman Tokyo is an urban sanctuary on the top floors of the Otemachi Tower, with the highest onsen in the city; Aman Kyoto hides in a secret forest garden a stone's throw from Kinkaku-ji; and Amanemu is a ryokan-inspired hot-spring resort on Ise-Shima. Together they make the finest luxury journey in Japan, which we lay out in our guide to the best Aman resorts in Japan, with a direct comparison of Aman Tokyo versus Aman Kyoto.

For an island, Amanpuri in Phuket is the resort that started it all, on its own peninsula above the Andaman Sea. Amanpulo occupies a private island in the Philippines reached by the resort's own flight, and Aman in the Maldives brings the philosophy to its own atoll. These are the barefoot pinnacle of the collection.

Some Amans are destinations in themselves, and some are journeys. Amankora is a circuit of lodges across the valleys of Bhutan, moving from Paro to Thimphu, Punakha, Gangtey and Bumthang, a once-in-a-lifetime way to see the Himalayan kingdom. Amanzoe, rising like a temple above the Peloponnese, is the Greek equivalent of an epic.

Aman's city hotels are a world apart from a conventional urban stay. Aman Tokyo, Aman New York in the Crown Building on Fifth Avenue, and Aman Venice in a Grand Canal palazzo each turn a great city into a private retreat.

If this is your first Aman, the easiest introductions are Amanpuri for a classic beach resort, Amangiri for sheer drama, or Aman Venice for a city stay with the Aman calm. Any of the three will show you what makes the collection different. Our broader guide to the best Aman resorts in the world and our guide to booking Aman go deeper.

Each Aman is so completely its own place that the question is never which is best, only which is right for this trip.