 "The Gulfstream G200")
In October, the uber-luxury Aman Resorts chain took to the skies - literally - with a specially curated private jet tour organised around its properties in China, India, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. That marks the start of several airborne offerings targeted at the famed "Aman Junkies", an informal reference to customers so addicted to the Aman's unique style of experiential, exclusive opulence that they plan vacations according to the global map of Aman resorts.
Designed in collaboration with Remote Lands, New York-based Asia specialists in bespoke luxury travel, the first of these included stays at Aman properties in Beijing and Hangzhou in China, Thimpu and Paro in Bhutan, Ranthambore in Rajasthan and Galle and Tangalle in Sri Lanka.
Groups for these curated tours are typically much smaller than offerings from other companies, which tend to accommodate between 30 and 50 passengers. Aman's October trip, for instance, had just 16 guests, aboard two Falcon 2000 jets. "The trip was sold out almost immediately," says Catherine Heald, co-founder & CEO, Remote Lands, "and we will run the same trip next year."
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FLIGHTS OF FANCY SOME OTHER PRIVATE JET TOURS IN 2016 |
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Each trip is hosted by one of Aman's general managers, and each couple has its own private car, driver and tour guide, the objective being to offer guests a means of exploring a region the "Aman Way".
Over March and April next year, three private jet journeys are planned, the first to China, the second to Indonesia and the third, a pan-Asia trip to Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, The Philippines, Japan.
The China tour, scheduled for March 5 to 11, provides an idea of what's on offer. The tour, aboard two 12-seater Challenger 605s, will incorporate stays in Beijing at the Aman Summer Palace, the Amandayan in Lijiang (near the Burmese border) and, finally, to the Amanfayun in Hangzhou on the east coast.
Each of these properties is at a unique location typical of the Aman network. The Aman Summer Palace, for instance, has a "secret door" that connects it to the grounds of the 18th century Qing Dynasty Summer Palace, one of the country's best-preserved royal parks and guests will get private access to areas of the Forbidden City that are usually off-limits to visitors. Visits to the Great Wall, a sunset cruise aboard a Dragon Boat, walks along the Great Wall of China and tai ichi and calligraphy lessons are part of the itinerary in the capital, as is a special private performance of Chinese opera at the Aman Theatre.
Both the Lijiang and Huangzhou properties are located close to Unesco World Heritage sites, the first a kilometre above the Old Town and the second in a thickly wooded valley near the West Lake.
The Indonesia tour (April 9 to 16) will be smaller in terms of group size and has a larger component of adventure tourism. Guests will fly between three locations aboard two seven-seater Piaggio P180 Avanti IIs from Aman's 36-suite Amanjiwo property, close to the 9th century Borobodur temple, the world's largest Buddhist monument. The evening programme involves a Ramayana dance performance.
The next leg of the tour takes guests via Aman's boat to Pulao Moyo island, a nature preserve and marine park that is uninhabited save for the Amanwana tented resort (complete with air-conditioning, hardwood floors, coral stone decks and soaking tubs). The stay here covers two days of nature sight-seeing plus a wide choice of activities from diving and snorkelling over coral reefs to kayaking, hiking, fishing and biking. One intriguing entry is a visit to a "bat cave" which is described as a "physically challenging trek with the opportunity to see seven species of bat, monitor lizards and, occasionally, pythons".
That follows a three-day trip on the chain of islands that form the Komodo National Park aboard two custom-made sailing vessels, the Amanikan and the Amandira.
The longest of the trips, from March 6 to 20, covers visits to Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, The Philippines and Japan, which has already been booked so that, at the time of writing, only two seats remained. This tour will be aboard two eight-seater Gulfstream G200s.
Aman Junkies, or pretty much anyone who chooses to stay at Aman resorts, typically do not pay a great deal of attention to cost. The China tour tariff is $35,888 per person, based on double occupancy, or $71,776 per couple. A single traveller will have to pay a supplement of $10,888 for a total of $46,776 per single. For Indonesia, the cost is $28,888 per person, based on double occupancy, or $57,776 per couple (a solo traveller would have to pay for two guests - this is because the cabins on the boat can only accommodate couples, Aman staff explains.) The pan-Asia tour costs $58,888 per person, and the October cross-Asia tour, costs $63,888 per person.
Aman is something of a latecomer to the private tours business. That is partly because since 2014, when debt-laden realtor DLF sold it, the Aman chain has been the focus of an acrimonious ownership battle between two self-confessed "Aman Junkies", Russian businessman Vladislav Doronin and an Indian-American Omar Amanat (disgraced former Indian Premier League chief Lalit Modi played a bit part). So the success of these tours could be crucial to restoring the brand image of a chain that boasts such "addicts" as Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, George Clooney and Novak Djokovic.
