Amanfayun

From the Hideaway Report

August 2011 Hideaway Report

Amanfayun opened in January 2010 and is situated in a wooded valley about 20 minutes from the center of town. The approach is along minor roads lined with bamboos and bordered by tea plantations. The countryside around Hangzhou grows the most famous tea in China, Longjing “Dragon Well” green tea, which is customarily given to visiting heads of state.

The layout of Amanfayun is remarkable. Comprising a small village, with many of the structures dating to the early 1800s, it is linked by the wide Fayun Pathway, which extends for a little over a third of a mile and leads to Lingyin Si, one of China’s most important Buddhist temples, founded in A.D. 326. The path is still in daily use by the monks, as well as local people, so rather than being a hermetically sealed luxury resort, Amanfayun is organically connected to the life of a thriving religious community, as well as to the surrounding countryside.

On arrival, we were taken to a reception pavilion, a serene space with wooden beams, polished stone floors, lattice screens and a palette of restrained natural colors. Almost instantly, we felt ourselves being reabsorbed into a timeless China, one violated by 20th-century history but which had never entirely disappeared. Having been welcomed by the Balinese general manager — a longtime Amanresorts employee — we were escorted to our cottage, a five-minute stroll along the bank of a rushing stream. In addition to tea bushes, the resort is surrounded by magnolia, camphor, fig, waxberry and flowering sweet osmanthus trees, all of which help to generate a profound sense of peace and seclusion.

The 42 rooms, suites and villas are linked by cobbled pathways and are set around private stone-walled courtyards. Their dignified exteriors display an almost monastic simplicity. Inside, we found a four-poster bed screened by white gauze curtains, pale elmwood furniture, wire-framed cloth lanterns and cream walls hung with framed calligraphy. Modern amenities include air-conditioning, Wi-Fi and Bose sound systems with iPod docks; televisions can be installed on request. From the bedroom, a narrow corridor led past a series of built-in cupboards and drawers to an extremely spacious stone-floored bath with underfloor heat, equipped with a large walk-in rainfall shower, but no tub.

The aesthetic finesse of Amanresorts is unrivaled, and we walked around for a while in a trance of admiration. Finally, we flung wide the two sets of old wooden doors that opened into our courtyard. All we could hear was the splash and tumble of the stream and the occasional trill of unfamiliar birdsong.

Having unpacked, we strolled across to nearby Fayun Place, the resort’s principal public area. Two early 19th-century courtyard houses have been skillfully combined and now contain an exquisitely decorated reception area, where guest assistants are on hand to arrange excursions or to explain the attractions of the surrounding region. Upstairs, an atmospheric library holds an extensive book and DVD collection.

Amanfayun offers four restaurants, two of which are owned and managed by local people and operate semi-independently. One, Hangzhou House, serves authentic regional cuisine, with dishes such as West Lake snow shrimp cooked with tea leaves, and chicken baked in lotus leaves that have been sealed with mud. Another locally run outlet offers Buddhist vegetarian temple cuisine, while our favorite, the Steam House, serves wonderful wonton soups, dumplings and pork buns. Elsewhere, The Restaurant provides an elegant setting for Western cuisine and more conventional fine dining.

The chief amenity at the resort is the Aman Spa, located in traditional buildings set around five stone courtyards and screened by bamboo and magnolia trees. Three double and two single treatment rooms come with steam showers and circular wooden soaking tubs, as well as private relaxation areas. The therapies themselves combine Chinese and international techniques. For example, the “Signature Bamboo Massage” employs heated bamboo rollers and warming oils, while the “Traditional Chinese Massage” is oil-free and seeks instead to stimulate acupressure points. The spa complex also contains a 60-foot heated outdoor pool, a modern gym, and studios for Pilates, tai chi, yoga and meditation.

Amanfayun is an almost perfect hideaway. It is entirely self-contained, and during our three-night stay, we felt absolutely no urge to leave. We ate well, read long books, went hiking and visited three nearby Buddhist temples. And the pleasure of our visit was greatly enhanced by the local staff, who, despite their lack of experience, we found to be uniformly charming and hospitable. But Amanfayun would not appeal to everyone: It is a place for those who want to slow down, to de-stress and, for a few days, to rediscover a more contemplative side to existence. And its guests have to be content with relatively simple, albeit exceptionally stylish, accommodations.

Amenities