Why this luxury hotel group is attracting repeat guests at more than $3,700 a night | Canada Voices

At Amanera, one of the most exclusive resorts in the Dominican Republic, a private yoga session is held facing the Atlantic without another soul in sight. When the instructor cues me to close my eyes, there’s no reason to because there are zero distractions along the cliffside Playa Grande beachfront hours away from the high energy of Punta Cana.

I’m living the moment on countless screensavers: That ubiquitous photo of swaying palm trees and an empty beach that pops up when endless to do lists and DMs pile up.

At dinner, the only soundtrack is the lull of ocean waves and the polite chatter of a few guests. Even at high capacity, the resort hums with the sounds of nature instead of the steady beat of generic house music (or any music at all).

The main infinity pool is rarely occupied (most of the resort’s casitas come with a private pool) and there’s no mega resort buildings to block your view – ocean on one side and a jungle vista on the other. From day one, this strategic brand of quietude is unnerving; however, it’s easy to acclimatize with a good book and the view.

This silence is priced at a premium. Amanera (one of 36 ultra luxury Aman Group hotels in 21 destinations) caters to hit makers coming off a world stage, a champion recovering from a win watched by millions or a CEO decompressing from a major merger. Even the company name – Aman – translates to peace in Sanskrit.

For a villa that sleeps two, the nightly rate at the Amanera starts at more than $3,700 a night during high season. The rate includes breakfasts, a bottle of Champagne, non-alcoholic in-room refreshments, afternoon tea and snacks, wellness facilities, kayaking and paddle boarding.

This rate isn’t priced to be a deal. It’s priced to be exclusive, and secluded. After all, there are only 24 casitas and one casa (read: bigger than a casita) at the Dominican Republic property and 38 pavilions and 19 villas in Turks and Caicos, the only other Aman location in the Caribbean.

William Gingras runs Arthur Majordome, an international luxury concierge service based in Montreal, and frequently books clients at Aman properties. He explains ultra affluent Canadians are requesting more trips with bigger budgets in exchange for high touch and human-centred services. “Experience travel is the new Birkin,” he said, referring to the luxury Hermès bags which the well-heeled crave and collect.

Virtuoso, a global network of luxury travel advisers, conducted a 2025 survey in which 45 per cent of their responding advisers (that’s a total of 2,485 advisers from more than 50 countries) saw an increase in requests for “unlimited luxury” partly defined by privacy, exclusivity and remote retreats.

That’s at the core of Aman’s allure, which has been attracting guests looking for an elite experience since its first resort, Amanpuri, opened in Thailand in 1988.

Whether guests book the brand’s resorts in the D.R. or Bali or Bhutan, preferences are on file worldwide for staff to study. If guests ask for something once, Aman won’t forget, Gingras said.

“If, for example, you don’t want any alcohol in your room, but want specialized tea, once you say it for the first time, you never have to repeat yourself,” Gingras said. “They’re not focusing on high volume margin; they’re focusing on relationships and long-term repeat guests.”

I even discovered this as a first-time visitor. At Amanera, I was slipped an extra scoop of house-made gelato because servers took note of my sweet tooth. It’s a small gesture, but it speaks for the brand’s DNA.

Olivier Lordonnois, the managing director Americas for the Aman Group, said a guest should feel like they are at a very wealthy friend’s house that is warm, well-appointed and inviting instead of a resort with a robotic code of service.

It’s important to note that Aman has no loyalty program, but there are perks and experiences offered to repeat guests.

At Amanera in D.R., guests have access to the members-only Playa Grande Golf Course. That alone makes the resort’s nightly rate a drop in the bucket for those who pay to play regularly on the course. At Amanyara in Turks and Caicos, there is a mobility and recovery program for fitness and wellness enthusiasts vetted by Novak Djokovic, one of the world’s top tennis players, and sports clinics with leading athletes. Past “coaches” have included tennis pros Maria Sharapova and Leylah Fernandez and NBA All-Star Kevin Love.

“When you become an Aman junkie, you have access to those before everybody else,” Gingras said.

Guests who visit Aman properties seven times receive a T-shirt with the phrase Aman Junkie emblazoned across it. “It’s about recognizing the fact that you’re becoming slightly addicted to what we’re doing,” he said.

“They are ambassadors … I suspect that some of them are not great ambassadors because they don’t want more people at our properties. They enjoy the sense of privacy.”

A search of #amanjunkie on social media serves up posts of luxury travel operators and the occasional jet-setting personality, but there isn’t a steady stream of content creators or celebrities showing off their visit. “We understand the value of people taking videos, but we have much more interest in our guests feeling like they’re not surrounded by a bunch of people that are taking videos and posting them afterward,” he said.

Now, Aman’s brand of stealth wealth doesn’t always come with a quick commute; to get away from the noise and exclusivity requires some patience. Amanyara is a 25-minute drive from the Providenciales airport in the Caicos Islands; however, guests of Amanera are met with a V.I.P. service at Puerto Plata airport in D.R. and the 90-minute private transfer is longer but comfortable.

Last year, retired baseball star Alex Rodriguez, who was born in the U.S. to Dominican parents, drummed up more than US$1-billion to invest in tourism and development of the Playa Grande coast, including the addition of a small airport minutes from Amanera for private jets. Amanera is also selling multimillion dollar oceanfront casas as part of this expansion plan.

There is momentum worldwide for Aman with recent openings of resorts in Baja, Mexico and Bangkok and new properties in the Bahamas and more planned in the coming years. Growth is always part of a solid business model, but Aman will have to balance the pace to continue meeting the expectations of Aman junkies – and the newbies they hope will get hooked onto their hallmark quiet luxury too.

The writer was a guest of Aman Group, which did not review or approve this article. Stories are based on merit; The Globe does not guarantee coverage.