Inside 10 Aman Hotels: Celebrating the Year of the Horse

If the Lunar New Year is a moment to pause, the incoming Year of the Horse is the signal to gallop. Associated with unbridled energy, travel, and momentum, this zodiac sign finds a spiritual home across Aman’s global portfolio. From the mist-shrouded peaks of China to the ochre canyons of Utah, the ultra-luxury hospitality group is interpreting the festival not merely as a date on the calendar, but as a curated series of cultural awakenings.

Here is how the world’s most exclusive sanctuaries are ringing in the Lunar New Year Festival, where ancient ritual meets modern reverie.

The Ancestral Heart: China

In the festival’s homeland, celebrations are steeped in terroir and history. At Amanfayun in Hangzhou, the mood is monastic chic. Tucked within a valley bordering the Lingyin mountains, the retreat offers a study in slow living. Guests are whisked away to the Yongfu Temple for daily blessing ceremonies, a rare, intimate window into Buddhist practice, before retiring to the Steam House. Here, reunion dinners are less a meal and more a narrative, where regional flavours are paired with symbolic intent, reminding us that sustenance is the ultimate blessing.

Shift the scene to the outskirts of Shanghai, and Amanyangyun embraces high drama. There is a sense of theatre here; the eve of the New Year culminates in a feast at Lazhu, punctuated by the fast-paced spectacle of traditional Sichuan face-changing opera. Under the resort’s ancient, transplant camphor trees, Lion and Dragon dances bring kinetic energy to the stillness, ending weeks later with a fireworks display that scatters light across the canopy.

Meanwhile, amidst the tiled roofs of Lijiang, Amandayan turns to the Naxi heritage. It is an intellectual kind of luxury: calligraphy sessions with a Dongba teacher decode the pictographic scripts of the past, followed by bonfires and banquets where the dancing lasts as long as the embers burn.

Tropical Rhythms: Southeast Asia

Descend into the tropics, and the festival loosens its tie, trading snow for humidity and high-spirits. Amanpuri in Phuket reimagines the holiday as the ultimate family gathering. Days are filled with the vibrant chaos of Ang Pao parades and craft making, while evenings settle into a glamorous hum poolside. Think Guzheng music floating over the water, fire performances cutting through the dark, and the scent of Chinese specialties lingering in the humid air.

In Bangkok, the highly anticipated Aman Nai Lert marks its debut Lunar New Year with a focus on sartorial and gustatory elegance. The approach is botanical and symbolic: tea-inspired cocktails and a citrus-themed afternoon tea that uses the orange—a perennial symbol of gold and luck, as its muse.

Across the water in Vietnam, Amanoi stretches the festivities into a multi-day wellness odyssey. It is a celebration of the physical form, combining treks through the national park with the tactile pleasure of Cham weaving and spring-roll workshops. Nights here are communal, evocative of Vietnamese night markets designed to bridge the generational divide.

In Cambodia, Amansara executes a delicate dance between Chinese tradition and Khmer mysticism. A candlelit New Year’s Eve dinner dissolves into the hypnotic movements of classical Apsara dancers, followed by days rooted in local healing rituals. Further north in Luang Prabang, Amantaka whispers rather than shouts, centering its celebration on understated luxury: mooncakes, gua bao, and restorative spa treatments that wash away the old year.

The Avant-Garde: Utah and Tokyo

Perhaps the most striking interpretations happen where they are least expected.

At Amangiri in the American Southwest, the Year of the Horse is taken literally. Against the stark, cinematic backdrop of the Utah desert, the festival is celebrated through movement. Horseback riding and canyon explorations replace the red envelopes, allowing the raw, elemental power of the landscape to dictate the ritual.

Finally, in the vertical sanctuary of Aman Tokyo, the celebration returns to the plate. In a city obsessed with precision, the culinary team presents a breakfast of edible symbolism: fish for prosperity, dumplings for wealth, and mochi for growth. It is a reminder that even in the most modern of metropolises, we still eat to remember who we are.

Across continents, the dialect of celebration shifts, but the syntax remains the same. Whether in the quiet of a temple or the gallop of a horse across the desert, Lunar New Year is the year’s ultimate luxury: a moment to gather, breathe, and begin again.