Victoria Carodine / Virtuoso
The best lunch spot: The Beach Club. Amanyara's private white-sand beach. Soaking in style.
Amanyara Amanyara Amanyara
Inside the most peaceful place in the Turks and Caicos.
I rarely leave a beach trip with little more than a sunburn and some rogue sand in my suitcase. But after a recent stay at Amanyara, Aman’s secluded beachfront resort in the Turks and Caicos, I flew home with a sun-kissed glow, less stress, and an eye-opening understanding of my body’s current imbalances. Amanyara’s ethos revolves around holistic wellness and peace: Check-in includes a signature mocktail (grapefruit and lime juice with a splash of seltzer), followed by a full-body assessment and consultation from the resort’s on-site wellness specialist. I can’t think of a better welcome to begin my healing journey.
The 56-room Amanyara – which just reopened for the season with revamped communal spaces and villas – is a 25-minute drive north of Providenciales International Airport. It’s perched on the northwest coast of Providenciales (Turks and Caicos’ main island) and encompasses more than 18,000 acres of white-sand beaches, rocky coves, and tropical vegetation. Here, you can spend mornings snorkeling by offshore reefs and afternoons getting your chakras balanced and body scrubbed. After just three nights, I felt reenergized and rejuvenated. Here are five things I loved about my stay.
The spa encompasses a heated pool, a yoga sala, four treatment pavilions, and a boutique.
Amanyara
Head-to-Toe Wellness
An undercurrent of healing is present at all 35 Aman resorts, including Amanyara, which offers two individually tailored wellness immersions: a mindfulness and stress-management one and a more comprehensive full-day immersion. The goal is for guests to leave feeling better than when they arrived, through meditation, curated meal plans, and spa treatments that relieve stress and boost immunity and clarity. My full-body assessment took place on a high-tech AcuGraph machine, which measures the body’s equilibrium based on Chinese medicine. To my surprise, the results indicated imbalances linked to my liver and stomach. Amanyara’s wellness specialist recommended meditation and a pressure-point massage to help recalibrate my body. I’m pretty sure Joao Santos – one of many visiting practitioner experts – single-handedly changed my life and released all the tension between my shoulders during an hour-long Shiatsu massage.
The arrival pavilion also received a refresh.
Amanyara
A Place of Peace
Amanyara recently reopened after an annual seasonal closure, during which Aman, Denniston Architects, and landscape architect Raymond Jungles redesigned and refurbished the resort’s entrance, reception, restaurant, beach club, and three of its villas. Meaning “peaceful place” in Sanskrit, Amanyara is just that. Many of the resort’s communal spaces are housed in open-air, pagoda-inspired timber-shingled pavilions with high ceilings, so views of the lush surroundings and the Caribbean in the distance are never interrupted.
The villas' reflection pond separates bedrooms from the shared living spaces.
Amanyara
Viva la Villa
Amanyara’s 20 two- to six-bedroom villas offer lots of privacy – no wonder the resort is beloved by A-listers. Bedrooms are spread out, separated from each other by a reflection pond, gardens, a heated infinity pool, and a hardwood deck. Guests can gather in the center of the villa, where there’s a living room, dining area, and cozy lounge chairs. Each comes with its own private chef and villa host, who are available around the clock to whip up beachside cocktails or late-night cravings. While most front the beach, Villa 14 is tucked away on a private lake. The resort’s most secluded villa, it just underwent a complete refurbishment, including the addition of a private pathway to a new yoga pavilion. Inside, rooms feature floor-to-ceiling windows and sliding doors, king-size beds, high ceilings, wood-paneled walls, and deep-soaking bathtubs.
Views of the Caribbean from the Beach Club bar.
Amanyara
Fish Tacos and Unbeatable Views
The Beach Club, Amanyara’s casual dining spot, was also upgraded recently. Its pergola-shaded, multilevel deck provides easy access to the beach – and quickly became my favorite spot to eat blackened fish tacos with chipotle mayo, pickled cabbage, cucumber, and guacamole. (They tasted even better with an Amanyara mojito.) For fancier fare, make a reservation at The Restaurant for Asian and modern Mediterranean-inspired dishes such as black cod lettuce sliders, green Thai curry, and Japanese Wagyu with bok choy and shiitakes.
Exclusive Beach Access
Time spent soaking up the Caribbean sun and swimming in the pristine water felt equally as healing as my life-changing massage. Amanyara’s private beach was steps away from my villa, where the host was always at the ready to set up beach chairs or hand out snorkeling gear, boogie boards, stand-up paddleboards, and kayaks. The hotel can also arrange scuba diving, deep-water fishing, and whale-watching excursions. Near the Beach Club, a sunscreen and aloe station kept my sunburn at bay, but I still went home with some sand in my luggage.
Virtuoso travelers receive an upgrade (if available) on arrival, breakfast daily, and a $100 dining credit.
Your holistic wellness and peace at Amanyara awaits....
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