Falling through time and space and waking up somewhere on an alien planet: surrounded by sand and dunes, red rocks and bizarre stone formations, you experience the full force of nature at Amangiri, whose beauty almost distracts from the minimalist architecture of the luxury resort. Nestled in the desert landscape of Utah, this is a temporary home whose spectacle we rate a ten out of ten.
Photos: Amangiri
FACES: How did you get into the hotel industry?
Audrey Huttert: I traveled a lot with my family as a child and was lucky enough to be able to stay overnight in many beautiful places. Of course, I couldn’t keep still during my parents’ dignified dinners and always left the table between courses. Then I scurried through the rooms and chatted to the staff – I talked to the ladies at reception, chatted to the porters and made jokes with the other employees. These encounters stayed with me and were one of the reasons why I decided to pursue a career in the hotel industry at the age of 15.
F: How do you describe the Amangiri in Utah in one sentence?
AH: Hidden among the dramatic sandstone formations and in the middle of a valley in southern Utah, the Amangiri, with its minimalist architecture, is an enclave offering luxury in the middle of the desert.
From the initial idea to the finished hotel
F: Take us through the steps of your resort from idea to finished hotel!
AH: The vision of the architects of the Amangiri was to capture the spirit of the desert landscape and capture it in an environmentally friendly design. The swimming pool, a central element of the resort, winds around a 165-million-year-old rock formation and therefore embodies this idea perfectly. Since the resort opened in 2009, it has become the heart of the Amangiri. Each room has floor-to-ceiling windows that frame the landscape like a work of art. The Aman Group has succeeded in creating a modern and luxurious retreat with the Amangiri in Utah. For the past three years, the resort has also included Camp Sarika, ten luxury pavilions that allow travelers to experience nature even more closely and intensively.
F: For what reasons should we definitely stay at Amangiri?
AH: This surreal desert landscape in which the Amangiri is embedded gives you the feeling of visiting another planet. It is the ideal place to connect with nature and explore it. The Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon and Zion national parks are just a stone’s throw away. In addition, the Aman Spa, with an area of 2,300 square meters, is the perfect place to relax and unwind.
The profession of hotelier
F: What aspects of your job as a hotelier do you find particularly exciting and which are rather boring?
AH: I particularly appreciate the reception and hospitality of our guests, who come to us from very different countries and cultures and bring individual backgrounds with them. Working with a group of people who all share the same passion for this profession and have the ambition to offer our guests great experiences during their stay with us makes me happy. The Utah desert is a great place and I feel very privileged to live, work and have the opportunity to experience, explore and truly immerse myself in this environment and its nature. Office work, on the other hand, is rather boring, but even that has to be done.
F: What do hoteliers need to think about that others don’t?
AH: No request is too big and no detail too small.
F: What are you worrying too much about?
AH: I try not to worry too much and take one thing at a time.
Good hostess, good boss
F: What are you like as a boss?
AH: I am accessible, agile and adaptable. I have high expectations, but at the same time I encourage creativity and innovation in my team and ensure that the working environment is fun.
F: What makes a good host?
AH: A good host welcomes her guests as if they were good friends and gives them a sense of peace and belonging, no matter where they are in the world.
Great encounters with guests
F: Which guests do you like best?
AH: Time and time again, I and my team are touched when we see how grateful our guests are for their time with us and the special moments they have experienced at Amangiri. It’s great to see how much they enjoy the connections they make on the ground with our team.
F: What annoys you about guests?
AH: I pity guests who are distracted by the slightest mistake or mishap and miss out on the beauty, wonder and good will that surrounds them.
Changing expectations
F: What expectations do you have of your hotel?
AH: To further improve the already excellent reputation and keep the Amangiri as a destination on the bucket list of many travelers.
F: How have your guests’ expectations changed over the years?
AH: The time people spend on vacation has become very valuable, and it has never been more important to offer them an unforgettable experience.
F: What do you look out for when you are a guest yourself?
AH: Excellent service is particularly important to me. This should be unobtrusive, simple, attentive and genuine. I also make sure the surroundings are nice and clean.
F: What distinguishes a good hotel from a great hotel?
AH: His place. It should be able to establish a connection to the destination or to the people who visit it.
F: Where is your own bed today?
AH: I’m originally from Ghent in Belgium, but now I live in Canyon Point in Utah in the USA.
This is what Audrey Huttert thinks of…
cruise ships:
the really luxurious ones? Yes, please!
Buffet meal:
No, thank you.
All-inclusive:
with pleasure.
dogs in the restaurant and hotel:
yes.
Children in the restaurant and hotel:
clear.
Animators:
Live entertainment gives a place additional character.
Dress codes:
Only if this is appropriate to the surroundings.
TripAdvisor:
enables constructive reviews.
Sustainability:
Absolutely – in all areas, from the food to the facilities to the experiences.
Shortage of skilled workers:
You should pay more attention to people’s attitudes and less to their skills.
Amangiri & Camp Sarika
As if the desert landscape in Utah’s Nowhere wasn’t enough to take your breath away, Aman has created a place that could be straight out of dreams with the Amangiri and Camp Sarika. Surrounded by red sand, stone and cliffs, you can splash around in the outdoor pool and sort out your thoughts in the luxurious minimalist interior of one of 34 suites. If spa visits and yoga aren’t enough to really switch off from everyday life at home, then head to one of ten tented camps that celebrate peace, serenity and seclusion in a whole new way. The surroundings are too spectacular not to be discovered on your own, as fossils of dinosaurs that made this place their home over 160 million years ago can be found here again and again. aman.com/resorts/amangiri
Do you have wanderlust? Then we have even more hotel suggestions for you, such as Mamula Island in Montenegro, One&Only Desaru Coast in Malaysia or The Cambrian in Adelbode.
