Aman’s pitch to travellers has always rested on stillness, privacy and a sense of place rather than marble lobbies and chandeliers. Now the Swiss-headquartered group is testing whether that formula can travel: onto the sea, into guests’ wardrobes and through a ranking that this year delivered a sharp reminder that reputation alone no longer carries a luxury brand.
The question readers keep asking is simple. What actually defines an Aman stay in Asia, and does it survive outside the resort gates?
A Holiday Home That Became a Brand
Aman Resorts is the trading entity of Aman Group Sarl, a Swiss-headquartered multinational hospitality company. It was founded in 1988 by Indonesian hotelier Adrian Zecha, whose first property, Amanpuri in Phuket, began as a plan to build himself a holiday home.
That plan turned into a small boutique resort built with Anil Thadani and two friends, who put in their own money after banks refused to lend against so few planned rooms. Amanpuri opened in 1988 with nightly rates reportedly five times higher than local competitors, and the bet paid off. By 1992 the group had several resorts in Indonesia, one on Bora Bora and one in the Alpine village of Courchevel.
The ownership history has been eventful. Colony Capital bought a controlling interest in 1998, Zecha stepped away for two years and returned as chairman and CEO in 2000 after a lawsuit was settled. India’s DLF bought the controlling stake in 2007 for $400 million including debt, then sold the business in 2014 for $358 million to an investment company led by Russian businessman Vladislav Doronin, who remains owner, chairman and CEO. The company today operates 36 properties in 20 countries.
Why Asia Remains the Core
Asia is where the brand’s identity was formed, and it is still where the formula is clearest. The group’s Asian retreats came in a deliberate sequence: Cambodia, India, Bhutan and Sri Lanka followed the early Indonesian properties, each built around a landscape rather than a city centre.
That distance is the point. Guests at an Aman in Asia are typically far from urban conveniences, moving between a workout, a snorkelling trip and a hike on the same day. The setting, not the lobby, does the work.
The name itself carries the idea. “Aman” means peace in Sanskrit, and the group’s first cruise ship, Amangati, translates to “peaceful motion”.
Quiet Luxury, Now Sold by the Suitcase
The clearest test of whether Aman’s cultural immersion translates into a product came in September 2026, when the group’s Aman Essentials label launched its first designer collaboration. The collection, “Lines of Passage”, was designed by British designer Kim Jones, former artistic director of menswear at Louis Vuitton and then Dior.
It draws on the landscapes, colours and experiences of more than 30 Aman destinations. Jones has stayed at more than 30 of them and describes himself in the Aman Essentials journal as “a proper Aman Junkie”. Kristina Romanova, CEO of Aman Essentials, said of the choice: “He understands the world of quiet luxury better than anyone.”
The palette came from a traveller’s keepsake. Jones started from the luggage tags of his favourite Aman hotels. “I have a bag full of all these tags, and every Aman has its own,” he says. The collection uses a mineral blue on fleece and striped pyjamas, yellow on a hoodie and swimsuit, and kombu green, a deep seaweed green, on a draped silk dress.
The eight categories span tailoring in technical fabrics, knitwear, silk, outerwear, swimwear, jersey, sportswear and accessories including caps, a bucket hat, nylon mules and a woven tote. Most pieces are unisex, from XS to XL depending on style, and Romanova stresses the use of responsible, low-impact fabrics. Prices run from €250 for a cap to €2,950 for a silk dress; the signature striped silk pyjama set costs €2,500, or $3,505 in the United States and £1,813 in the United Kingdom. It is sold online, in selected Aman hotels and at Dover Street Market.
A Ranking Setback
The brand’s standing took a hit in October. Luxury Travel Intelligence’s 2026 ranking of the world’s best luxury hotel brands placed Aman at No. 9 with a score of 75.5%, down seven places from No. 2. LTI attributed the fall to its claim that Aman did not properly address a data breach, which it said damaged consumer trust and hurt the brand’s operational score.
Mandarin Oriental topped the list for the fourth consecutive year. LTI says it builds its rankings with a proprietary algorithm evaluating 134 touchpoints, including corporate leadership, brand ethos, staff quality and strategic investment. Capella was the highest new entry at No. 8 with 76.1%, credited in part for its cultural immersion programmes.
The result is a caution rather than a verdict. Aman’s reputation for privacy and minimalist design is not in question; how it handles client data is.
From Resort to Superyacht
The group’s biggest expansion is at sea. Aman at Sea, a joint venture between Aman Group and Cruise Saudi established in 2023, will operate the brand’s first cruise ship, Amangati.
The 183-metre vessel will carry no more than 47 suites, following the industry’s “superyacht-inspired” trend: privacy for each guest, full-height windows, spa-like en-suites, a 16-metre swimming pool on Deck 6, a large beach club and a water toy box. An inaugural Mediterranean season is planned for mid-2027.
After that comes a winter of Atlantic Passages built around wellness. The first, 13 nights from Malaga to Saint John’s, includes four port stops and follows the ancient mariners’ route to Cadiz and the Azores. Deluxe Suites of 703 to 731 square feet start at $54,600 per voyage, the most affordable option onboard; the Grand Suite, more than 1,000 square feet forward on Deck 6, costs $132,600. The signature Aman Suite spans almost 4,000 square feet with its own massage room and a terrace with a private jacuzzi. Toward the end of March 2028, Amangati leaves Saint John’s on an 11-night passage ending in Madeira on 31 March 2028.
The timing fits a wider shift. Drew Daly, senior vice president and general manager of Dream Vacations, told last week’s 2026 World Travel Expo in Miami that luxury cruising has grown 30% over the past few years and that cruise capacity is expected to rise 20% over the next year. He argued that hotel brands entering the market, Aman among them, will draw travellers who never considered a cruise. “People are loyal to their hotel brands,” he said.
What It Means for Travellers
The appeal of an Aman in Asia has never been the thread count alone. It is the sake brewery tasting in Saga, the hot spring in the Nagano mountains, the sense that the stay could not be transplanted anywhere else. Japan’s small auberges have built a following on exactly that logic, trading big-brand polish for stays rooted in local craft and landscape.
Aman’s wager is that the same instinct can be packaged without losing its edge. The Kim Jones collection, the Amangati itineraries and the group’s Asian retreats all sell the same idea: that luxury is a route through a place, not an escape from it. The LTI slide suggests the execution, not the idea, is what gets marked.
For travellers weighing a booking, the practical advice is unchanged. Ask what a property does beyond its walls, check how the brand handles your personal data, and talk to your doctor before committing to a long-haul itinerary or a wellness-focused voyage, particularly if you have existing health conditions. The encouraging part is that the choice has rarely been wider.
Sources
- Aman Resorts
- Mandarin Oriental Tops 'World’s Best Luxury Hotel Brands' Ranking For Fourth Straight Year – Maxim
- Aman launches a Kim Jones collection, from Bali to New York, with a €2
- Brand-New Amangati to Complete a Spectacular Wellness-Centric Atlantic Passage
- Luxury Cruising Is Growing. Hotel Loyalists Could Be Its Next Big Audience
- Sake Brewers, Hot Springs And Four-Room Retreats: Inside Japan’s Tiny Luxury Auberges
Photo: Tris T7 (CC BY 3.0)
