One of a kind luxury resort in Utah

Antonio Cuellar is a world-renowned luxury resort & hotel photographer and he is also a Judge for Luxury Travel Guide. In his capacity as one of the judges for the Luxury Travel Guide Antonio is often asked to recommend the best luxury hotels in the world and it was without hesitation, that Antonio included the Amangiri Luxury Resort in his recommendations.

The Amangiri is a luxury resort of unprecedented beauty. The USA’s Grand Circle region is an area that is known for its stark and stunning landscapes. Endless stretches of desert scenery combine with the signature flat-topped mesa rock formations and the highest concentration of National Parks within the United States.   Amangiri is situated on 243 hectares (600 acres) in Canyon Point, Southern Utah. Canyon Point is located in the Grand Circle region of the Colorado Plateau and is within easy reach of the Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion National Park and the Grand Canyon National Park; one of the natural wonders of the world.

Suite Desert Lounge – Photo courtesy of Amangiri

This spectacular luxury resort is almost hidden in a valley with extensive views that include the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.   Luxury Hotels need to offer their guests an experience that is truly one of a kind. Amangiri is located in the heart of an environment that is known for its beauty and its drama and it appears to have effortlessly become a part of the spectacular landscape that surrounds it.

Exterior View Night – Photo courtesy of Amangiri

Amangiri means peaceful mountain deriving from the Sanskrit words for peace, Aman, and mountain, Giri. The resort is tucked into a protected valley in the heart of the Grand Circle and its location combined with its simple yet elegant exterior (which looks as if designed to blend with the amazing environment that surrounds it), and its interior, which offers a cool and sophisticated luxury, gives one the impression of something that offers an experience bordering on the divine.

Aman Spa – Photo courtesy of Amangiri

Amangiri, the intimate and exclusive luxury resort was completed in October 2009.   The actual construction of the hotel was unprecedented in that the land it is situated on was originally federally protected parklands. To complete the construction of Amangiri required Congressional approval and the signature of the President of the United States and as a result of this perhaps, for the first time ever, a private resort was built on what was originally federally protected parklands.

Girijaala Suite Desert Lounge – Photo courtesy of Amangiri

When enjoying these amazing photographs of Amangiri, it is interesting to note that the hotel’s concrete structure was designed to age and weather like the surrounding rocks and the massive sandstone escarpment which provides the resort’s backdrop. The architects who worked on Amangiri from the early stages of construction used a mixture of local sand and cement to closely match the colour and density of the surrounding formations.

Aerial & Valley View fr Mesa 2 – Photo courtesy of Amangiri

Since opening its doors in late 2009 this luxury resort has received an endless array of accolades which can only give a glimpse of the completely luxurious experience that Amangiri offers to its guests. Most recently this year, the Amangiri was included on the Conde Nast Traveller Gold List of 2016.   It has been named the Best Resort in North America by the Gallivantar’s Guide, Trip of a Lifetime Category Winner by Fodor’s and it has been included in the world’s Top 100 Hotels by Travel and Leisure Magazine.

Evening Fire View – Photo courtesy of Amangiri

Light plays such an important part in this beautiful luxury resort that was designed to embrace and celebrate the amazing environment in which it is located. Endless stretches of glass windows have been provided to capture and enhance the endless light play of the dessert surrounds, inviting this light in, to add to the beauty of the luxurious interior.

Dining Open Kitchen – Photo courtesy of Amangiri

Amangiri’s 34 suites are spread throughout two very elegant wings, which stretch from each side of the resort’s main pavilion. All parts of the hotel interior embrace the clean lines of the original design and celebrate the use of natural materials throughout.   At all times the suites celebrate the luminous qualities of the surrounding dessert. Design features include white stone floors, concrete walls, natural timbers and fittings in blackened steel. Each Suite has an outdoor lounge and fireplace with expansive dessert views.   Some of the Suites feature private pools, roof terraces and even come with their own fire pits.

Story Telling Lounge – Photo courtesy of Amangiri

All rooms come with standard features such as a King-size bed, living areas with reading chairs and writing desks, bathrooms with soaking tubs and twin rain showers.   All rooms are air-conditioned and have underfloor heating.

Living Room – Photo courtesy of Amangiri

Amangiri as a luxury resort, has a wonderful understanding of how their special guests need to be treated. Your guests, like the property are one of a kind and need to be treated as such. At Amangiri they say that no request is too great and no detail is too small.   Every element of the resort suites are understated and refined but never lacking in the most extraordinary luxury.

Sand Dune – Photo courtesy of Amangiri

When dining at the Amangiri you will be able to enjoy cuisine which is a celebration of the American Southwest with the head-chef utilizing local ingredients and creating a menu that is based on seasonal specialties.   Meals are served from an open kitchen to tables that look out through floor-to-ceiling windows over the ever changing colours of the desert.   In keeping with its surrounds, which is a recurring theme in all aspects of the Amangiri, meals are served on hot stones with desserts arriving on ice cold slabs of stone.

Private Dining Room – Photo courtesy of Amangiri

Organise a private dinner on your own private terrace and enjoy the surrounds whilst dining on the finest Southwestern cuisine on offer.

A very important component of the Amangiri and indeed any luxury resort, is their expansive spa facilities offered to their guests. Stretching over 2322 square metres the Amangiri spa offers a modern gymnasium, yoga room & treatment rooms which offer services as varied as massages, scrubs, wraps and flotation therapy.   You can also refresh at the Water Pavilion’s Sauna, Steam Room & Cold Plunge pool.

Aman Spa Treatment Room – Photo courtesy of Amangiri

The Spa in keeping with the ongoing theme of the Amangiri embraces its environment in its design. Its desire is to reflect the healing traditions of the Navajo through the four elements of earth, wind, fire & water.

Exterior – Photo courtesy of Amangiri

At all times the staff of the Amangiri are at your service to assist with the endless list of excursions and activities that are available whilst you are a guest at the Amangiri. Enjoy painting outside Broken Arrow Cave, go horse riding through the desert, enjoy an early morning ride in a hot air balloon or kayak on Lake Powell. At Amangiri you are only limited by your imagination, and of course, there is also the opportunity to explore some of the continent’s most magnificent protected areas, including the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion National park and Monument Valley.

Sand Dune – Photo courtesy of Amangiri

John Wesley Powell famous soldier, geologist and explorer of the American West said of the Grand Canyon, “The glories and the beauties of form, colour and sound unite in the Grand Canyon – forms unrivalled even by the mountains.”   One wonders if he had been fortunate enough to see the Amangiri, this singularly beautiful luxury resort if he would have said the same thing.   The Amangiri has been built with such respect for its surrounds and as a result seems to have united with the colours, mountains and formations that surround it.  It is indeed a celebration of its location and offers the guest an experience that will linger in their memory for a very long time.

Bath Shower – Photo courtesy of Amangiri

The Amangiri is nothing short of spectacular and its location is one of indescribable beauty. It is a resort that has embraced the world in which it is placed and as a result it offers an experience unlike any other.

Poolside Day – Photo courtesy of Amangiri

For more information, please visit the website of the Amangiri Luxury Resort:

https://www.aman.com/resorts/amangiri

About the Author

Lara Flanagan spent the first 15 years of her working life working with luxury hotels throughout Australia, Europe, the United Kingdom, the USA, Caribbean & Latin America. The birth of her twins changed things somewhat and now she writes full time about hotels, food, travel and everything in between.