[CANYON POINT, ARIZONA] — About 30 minutes outside of Page, Arizona — home of the Lake Powell dam — is the second Aman Resorts property in the United States.  Amangiri. This is a review of the Amangiri hotel in Canyon Point, Utah, the best luxury hotel in the United States.

Based in Asia, Aman is the best of the best hotel chains on the planet and they’ve been rapidly expanding to dream destinations all over the world, almost always in distant and spectacular locations like this one. Aman Resorts are known for their understated Zen architecture and vibe and this one fits right into that. The location and buildings are the heroes here.

Amangiri isolated in its own valley, 600 acres set amid Utah’s most stunning scenery, surrounded by towering canyon walls, with no sign of man for miles. It. Is. Spectacular.

Every detail is perfectly and maniacally thought out. Every nook. Every cranny. Every doorknob. Every light. The architecture alone brings your blood pressure down to barely a murmur.

The service style is equally understated and elegant and friendly.  From the moment you weave through the canyons to arrive at the entrance, all the staff comes out to greet you on the front steps. From then on, you never have to say your name or room number, sign for anything, etc — they have some sort of system where they recognize you, your preferences from the day before and what your like and don’t like. THAT is the amazing thing that makes this extremely expensive property worth every single dollar.

I don’t like expensive, over-priced hotels, with butlers, fancy rooms and white glove service. But I’ll pay a fortune for a cool hotel in the middle of nowhere, where they have to generate their own power, treat their own water, grow their own food or have to truck or fly it in. To me, that’s worth it.  But without questions, this coolest hotel in the US is also one of the most expensive.  

With only forty or so rooms and a very low staff to guest ratio in a highly isolated area, that costs a lot.  Prepare to pay at least a thousand a night and closer to $1,500 or $2,000 in high peak.  We were there over Christmas and soon after it opened, so the word hadn’t spread yet. I could only afford a few nights, so we did as much as we can in three full days, but even just a few nights felt like a week long vacation, there’s so much to do.

The architecture of Amangiri stands out because it disappears. Letting the scenery and setting take center stage.

Now, the setting. Canyons, canyons and dessert. Gentle hues of a beiges, browns, sands and creams abound, inside and out of the resort.  Here’s a fantastic Amangiri video of the whole place that gives you a feel of the zen.

 

The Rooms at Amangiri

All rooms face outward and you have unrestricted views of the nearby canyon walls. Nobody to interrupt your mellow. And at only 40+ rooms, the overall quiet of the place is what makes it hum. I just get relaxed thinking of it. And all are big suites, some with their own private pool. If you can splash for it, book one with a fire pit on the roof.

Adventure Activities at Amangiri

The surrounding canyon lands are also the star at this adventure-based resort. There are numerous hikes on the property and the nearby national parks are there for the exploring. They’ll even charter a helicopter to pick you up on-site and whisk you up to all the world-class national parks like Zion and Bryce. But we barely left the place, there was so much to do… and not do.  Here’s a menu of all the things you can do at Amangiri, from Via Ferrata to horseback riding, to hiking, to boating to ballooning to choppering all over Utah.

The best part of the hotel is the adventure component. You can arrange for guides to take you on tours that elevate your experience; well-educated peeps that teach you all about the history, the lore, and the geology. They even have their own Via Ferrata course, which I didn’t understand at the time, but wish we would have taken.

One of the coolest and most decadent benefits included in Amangiri’s rich price: they have a fleet of spanking new BMW X6 SUVs that you can “loan” for exploring on your own. In keeping with “Aman Style”….you don’t have to rent them, sign them out, do a walk-thru or even pay for them. “You want to take the car for a while? Here you go…have fun.”  You take it out for a half-day and when you return all they say is “How was your adventure? What’d you see?” You hand them the keys and that’s it. No paperwork. No walk-thrus to check for dings. THAT is what makes Aman different than all other places. It was like having TSA Pre…but with a $60,000 rental car…. You can even rent a helicopter to take you up into the Utah canyonlands.

We went over Christmas of 2013 and it was the perfect antidote to the over-commercialized American Christmas. Ahhhhhhh.  I tried to book again this year, but the popularity of the place has really skyrocketed and now this off-season is now peak season.  But winter is an ideal time to escape and you can find greater availability outside of the Christmas holiday. The days are warmed with the sun and the nights cool. So being in the desert is palatable. I can’t imagine how hot it must get in the summer. Go here off-peak and you’ll nearly have the place to yourself.

Exploring Outside Amangiri

Venturing Out to Horseshoe Bend

When we were there, you could walk right up to the edge. But I’ve seen recent pics that have some sort of railing or fence.

Visiting the Surprising Toadstools National Park

A land of balanced rock formations which look like mushrooms, The Toadstools is an enchanting wilderness area accessed via an easy to moderate 1.5-mile round-trip hike located in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument about a half hour drive from Amangiri. You gotta go see it.  My favorite part was we saw only two other people on the hour and a half we poked around these crazy rock formations. The hotel’s adventure desk can give you directions. Here is some more information and maps. The area is called a number of different names: The Toadstools. The Hoodoo Toadstools or the Paria Rimrock Toadstool Hoodoos.  No matter what you call it, plan to spend an afternoon here, winter or summer.  Here’s a link to the All Trails page on this park, outside of Page.

Lake Powell

The Amazing Antelope Canyon

 

More Information on Amangiri

The hotel’s website: http://www.amanresorts.com/amangiri/home.aspx

Google this property and you can see what everyone is talking about. Forbes. Travel & Leisure. Men’s Journal. Conde Nast Traveler, which really nails the pool shot that I couldn’t capture. There are hundreds more. They don’t just have a great PR firm, the site speaks volumes.

Here are some reviews from Trip Advisor. And The Points Guy review. US News and World Report’s review. Great overview from Mike’s Roadtrip. And a review in  The Telegraph…who always seems to be everywhere before I get there. And overview in Conde Nast Traveler. And a review in Forbes.

And another great article from Luxury Travel Expert on the Top 10 Aman Resorts.

— Last Visited December 2013 — Post updated January 2020 —