Deep in the ruddy desert lands of Utah, among towering, 165-million-year-old rock formations, lies an extraordinary resort that fuses cutting-edge luxury design with rugged adventure and transcendent communion with nature – Amangiri. OutThere checks in and blisses out.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, as it sits in 900 acres of Colorado Plateau desert land, I don’t immediately spot the Amangiri resort as we approach. And that’s kind of the point. Even with its distinctive architectural build of angular and ultra-modern clean lines, it somehow blends into its surroundings.
“The site is magical because of the scale and energy of the 165-million-year-old rocks,” says acting general manager Pantelis Korovilas. “The architects knew they needed to accentuate, intensify and work with the landscape, not impose something on it.” Indeed, the principal materials used for the entire property – a mixture of concrete and sandstone – mirror the colours of the dramatic rock formations, and the use of local minerals and recycled fly ash (from a nearby coal plant) helps create a reflective quality that sunlight dances off throughout the day.
It’s one of the guiding design philosophies at Aman resorts that everything the company builds is done with great respect for its surroundings, and I’m told that nothing exemplifies this more than Amangiri, at Canyon Point, Utah. Despite years of writing for the high-end travel sector, this is my first-ever Aman experience. But, as my travel compadres are eager to impress upon me, a stay at one of its properties far exceeds any conventional ideas of luxury.
This story first appeared in The Experientialist Awards Issue 2025, available in print and digital.
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If you’re lucky enough to travel via Flagstaff, Arizona, your journey here will give you a quick introduction into just how diverse the landscape and climate can be across Utah. Word to the wise – pack layers. When we arrive at midday, there’s bright sunshine and the air is thin and cold. As we leave the airport, we duck under sinister-looking ice stalactites dangling perilously from the fascias and walk past 1m (3ft)-high snowdrifts. But then, about an hour into our drive, and halfway to our destination, the snow starts to melt away to reveal desert land. Still high, the sun is now warmly welcoming and illuminates the spectacular ruddy terrain that whizzes by in a blur. The ground is a deep, earthy terracotta shade, while emblazoned across the craggy surfaces of the towering mesas and buttes is a blend of pastel stripes made of different types of sandstone. Welcome to Red Rock Country.
While the whole site is baked in sunlight, when we arrive at Amangiri, I experience what Korovilas references – the sunlight high in the sky playing with the angles of the architecture. The ever-changing shadow play is endlessly captivating, and I suddenly feel like a child fascinated by a new toy – but a toy that is not tangible and whose beauty is frustratingly difficult to capture on my iPhone camera. It’s a stark reminder that some things should just be enjoyed and admired – especially nature of this scale.
Inside the resort’s main house, large-scale panoramic windows ensure you need never miss out on the geological wonders outside. The lobby’s interior decor is understated and stylish, but not spartan. On the walls are two huge pieces of art by German artist Ulrike Arnold – specially selected for her dynamic approach that ties into the hotel’s aesthetic essence.
“I create art by collecting materials, crushing stones, mixing samples of the earth with a binder,” Ulrike tells me. “I love collaborating with nature. Sometimes rain or sand will hit the canvas too, resulting in a surprising input. It is like an improvisation in a moment of time, a dialogue with the earth.” The combined effect makes the lobby feel unpretentious and inviting, homely but still elegant – like dining in an upmarket restaurant in your favourite pyjamas.
Just to the right of the lobby is one of two heavenly pools surrounded by a terrace (the other is adjacent to the resort’s restaurant, five minutes away). When I venture out to explore it, there is a soft mist hovering just above the glimmering aquamarine water. Next to the pool are inviting double sunbeds, and everything is enclosed in a beautiful mountainscape – a reminder of just how immersed and secluded in nature this spot really is.
I’m staying down at Camp Sarika, accessed via a dirt road using one of the personally assigned golf buggies. The camp’s 10 ultra-luxurious ‘tented pavilions’ are typically made up of three adjoining and expansive rooms – a living room with a kitchenette, a bedroom and a bathroom, all tastefully decorated in bespoke wooden furniture and ochre textiles, hues that echo the landscape. The space is excessive for just one person, but I’m not complaining. With so much space between pavilions, there is a feeling of intense privacy, especially outside by the plunge pool – with just the mountains for company.
Amangiri’s magnificent isolation seems to stretch time and it’s impossible not to succumb to its slow pace. Alongside a world-class spa and gym, there is a yoga studio offering a variety of therapies, including a sound-bath experience. This is designed to take you, wrapped in blankets with eyes closed, on a sensory journey via sound only, and can, it’s claimed, transport you to deep meditative levels. I think I was too tightly wound to get there, but the gentle reverberating of gongs and drums was incredibly soothing, and I did sink into something that wasn’t quite sleep.
At its heart, there is a wholesomeness to the resort that comes largely thanks to the staff. “The common thread at all Amans is a combination of a professional, personable and friendly welcome,” Korovilas tells me. “It’s as if we are welcoming guests into our own homes.” Almost all the employees are Utah natives, and there is no end to what they know about their home turf. I learn about the Glen Canyon Dam, the construction of which took seven years, resulting in the founding of the nearby town of Page. I admire a sculpture in the foyer of the restaurant and am told it’s made of honeycomb calcite that can only be found here.
The hotel is also embedded in the local community – another crucial pillar of Aman’s overarching ethos. In Amangiri’s case, this includes seeking out indigenous tribe partners and inviting them to the resort to meet and share their culture with guests. As the sun fades behind the mountains on our party’s first afternoon, we enjoy one of the daily visits from members of a nearby Navajo tribe. I wonder if the experience feels a touch inappropriate, but after showing us a traditional dance, the visiting trio seem comfortable and engaged as they discuss their ancient customs, and the entire ceremony feels more respectful than tokenistic. I probe the staff on the topic too, and I’m told that the hotel has taken pains to integrate itself with the locals and tribe, and not the other way around.
Day two in Utah and it’s time for adventure. We wake early to begin one of two excursions exclusive to the resort, the first being a speedboat ride on Lake Powell. This isn’t actually a lake at all, but a reservoir, with a shoreline that totals 2,000 miles (3,200km) and encompasses 96 canyons. Our guide, Bob Reed (another Utahn, and the owner of excursion company Up Lake Adventures), tells me that to cover it all would take three weeks. Alas, we have just four hours, but Bob promises to show us the best that time will allow. As we set off, he tells tales of camping adventures he had in the summer months with not much more than something to sleep on and a fishing rod for catching local striped bass. Even monsoon season doesn’t put him off – the heavy rainfalls pour over the cliffs and crevasses, creating waterfalls that are a sight not to be missed (brave guests, I’m told, are welcome to join him).
As our visit falls in low season, the lake is blissfully quiet, and we have most of it to ourselves. Apart from the waves made by our boat, the water perfectly mirrors the mountains. Bob explains that these mountains are ancient sand dunes that have appeared over the course of some 30 million years, driven up by the movement of tectonic plates. Over time, pressure and heat in the atmosphere have turned them into rock. And all those beautiful colours, the pale pink, orange and pastel shades of blue and green we have been admiring? They are a result of iron oxide in the sand, while paler white lines lower down are caused by calcium in the water.
The second part of our day involves a climb. I am not a climber, but in the hands of two seasoned mountaineers from local excursion company Adventure Partners, we head to the base of the Hoodoo Trail, a 120m (400ft) ascent up and over, a walk across the delightfully wobbly (but safe) suspension bridge and back down again. Suddenly, I find those rocks I have admired since we arrived become a landscape of skill, challenge and fear, and murmurs among us betray some collective trepidation. The duo lead us with a mix of confidence and careful guidance, showcasing their practised ease at working with all levels of skill. I find myself growing in confidence with every challenge, impressed with my own endurance and physical strength. At the summit, I find my hands are as dry as husks from gripping the climbing rungs too tightly, and I’m both sticky-hot from fear and exertion, and cold from the altitude. But none of that matters as I take in the vastness of my surroundings with a huge sense of achievement. Around me are endless plains of untouched wilderness, and a clear blue sky punctuated by more towering mountains. It’s all impossibly beautiful.
That evening, as we dine and share tales, I realise with clarity what my companions meant about this experience standing apart from the rest. Being immersed in such all-encompassing natural beauty is a different kind of luxury. While other establishments might impress with ostentatious decor and the latest technology, Amangiri strips away such trimmings in favour of consummate simplicity, showing off to maximal effect its greatest asset – the peace and beauty of its surroundings. In such an environment, even the silent moments among good friends (as I am) feel fulfilling.
“When the owners came across this area in the 1990s, you can imagine there was very little here,” says Korovilas. “They fell in love with the complete otherworldliness of it all. Many of our guests say they feel they could be on Mars because of the landscape. You can’t find anywhere else quite like it.”
Amy travelled with Abercrombie & Kent, who are experts at luxury, tailor-made experiences across Utah and the USA, including a stay at Amangiri. www.abercrombiekent.co.uk
Photography by Martin Perry and courtesy of Aman Resorts
