Amanyara, Turks & Caicos
The beautiful coastline of the secluded western shore of Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos islands is home to the stunning Amanyara. The name, which means peaceful place, sums up this luxurious resort entirely. Having already visited the Caribbean, the first thing that struck us about the resort was that it had quite an Asian feel, typical of Aman properties rather than West Indian. With Indonesian teak wood, rattan furniture and Southeast Asian silks as décor, we felt a world away from anywhere. The remoteness of the setting and the eclectic mix of perfect white-sand coves, stunningly clear water, limestone rocks, coconut palms, scrub and bougainvillea gave the landscape a variety of textures, adding to the other-world feel. Our accommodation was the beautiful timber-shingled Pavilion 115 with an ocean view, elevated some 20 feet above the water, with direct access to a sandy beach cove.
Other such pavilions have pathways to the rocky shoreline. All pavilions are open-plan, combining the bedroom with the living area, and feature a decorative wooden screen separating the spacious bathroom. The front of our pavilion opened right out to allow the sea breezes in and had enough shade from the wide-rimmed roof to make sitting outside a pleasure. The wonderfully inviting water proved too much of a temptation and, as the Turks and Caicos are renowned for their excellent diving, we headed off to the resort’s dive centre, operated by the eco-friendly divers Big Blue Unlimited. A day spent exploring the fascinating underwater world of the stunning offshore reefs will stay with us forever. We explored the Coral Stairway site, a 30-foot wall of one stunning coral formation after another. All this marine exploration left us ready for a well-deserved sampling of the sumptuous spa, before enjoying some truly delicious fresh seafood at The Restaurant. We opted to eat out on the al fresco terrace with views of the slowly setting Caribbean sun sinking softly into the ocean on the horizon.
