Amanyara

Turks and Caicos
The Caribbean

The Experience

The 40-minute drive from the airport to Amanyara culminates on a bumpy, gravelly road bordered by dust-coated scrub brush. Just when you start to seriously believe that your driver has taken a wrong turn, the gravel ends and you arrive. There are no manicured rows of colorful flowers or gushing fountains to greet you. Instead, you step into the uncluttered entry pavilion with white stone floors, a soaring wood-framed roof, and a grand reflection pond. Designed by architect Jean-Michel Gathy, Amanyara, which derives its name from a combination of the Sanskrit word for peace and the Arawak Amerindian word for place, is a hideaway dedicated to quiet--a place for the over-stimulated to unplug and disappear.

The Rooms

Amanyara’s standalone timber-shingled pavilions offer guests a choice of location: on the ocean, nestled among the arid landscape, or perched on the edge of a reflection pond. That’s the only distinguishing factor among the 40 rooms. Their design evokes a sense of communistic luxury--all possess the same square footage, layout and décor, featuring sand-colored terrazzo floors, pitched timber ceilings, and soft, white bedding. Three sides of the 650-square-foot pavilions are encased by floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors, allowing guests to open their space to the sounds of the ocean and birdlife by day and enclose themselves in total air-conditioned silence by night. King-sized platform beds are centered in the space. A decorative wood screen hides the spa-like bathroom with its stand alone tub and rain-shower room.

The Service

The service is discreet and unhurried. Midway along the meandering paths that lead to the pavilions, guests can hang a carved wooden star fish to indicate that they do not want to be bothered. The bar features oversized daybeds for lounging and a mesmerizing conical ceiling adorned in a circular pattern of teak wood. It stays open until the last sip of one’s mojito.

The Highlights

A 160-foot-long infinity pool constructed of black volcanic stone from Indonesia, lets one slip into its darkness to take in the ocean views. Steps away, a sandy path directs guests toward rugged iron-shore outcroppings and to the beach club and a quiet stretch of sugary shoreline. While minimalist in design and devoted to peace, Amanyara offers guests the opportunity to break the vow of silence with wireless internet, flat-screen TVs, DVD players and complimentary international phone calls.

 

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