Experience Sino-Portuguese luxury

The Andaman Embrace Resort & Spa, due to open in December, will be Patong’s new Sino-Portuguese resort.

It will be the four-star Club Anadaman Beach Resort revitalised. The Resort closed on 30 April after 20 years for major renovations to transform it into a more traditional style in keeping with Phuket’s colourful past.

Phuket Town, the capital, features many Sino-Portuguese style buildings, reflecting early settlement by the Chinese and the subsequent arrival of the Portuguese on Phuket to exploit the tin mining industry of those days.

But Patong, the tourist centre of Phuket, is more modern, so the new resort will bring a little of that history closer to the sea and expose its architecture to guests. Phuket T.

Renovations to the 200 guest room resort will include addition of a 570 sq.m. swimming, an independently operated spa and a new restaurant. Remaining will be the old resort’s tropical garden dotted with 18 “lotus cottages” surrounding an ornamental pond, but they will be revamped to reflect the Sino-Portuguese architectural theme.

According to the resort Managing Director Salisa Limsakul the new resort will have new staff and offer “five star services at four star prices” with low season rates through out the 2011-2012 peak season.

The resort will also feature a Sino-Portuguese style shopping arcade–a modern version of Phuket Town–with 13 boutique shops.

Ms Salisa expects 78 guest rooms on the lower floors to be operational in time for peak season guests.

Andaman Embrace – new Sino-Portuguese style resort for Patong is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

More than just ice cream

Swiss hotel operator Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts will open a second hotel on Phuket’s Bang Tao Beach West Coast at the resort formerly known as The Palm Beach Club.

The rebranded Mövenpick Residences Bang Tao Beach Phuket property will join the Movenpick Resort & Spa Karon Beach Phuket.

Mövenpick has plans to increase its Thailand portfolio to six hotels by 2014. It operates 69 hotels in 26 countries with 19 new properties under construction.

The new resort has 39 suites and penthouses with a small number of units having private swimming pools or a Jacuzzi. There is a large communal swimming pool, restaurant, fitness centre and spa.

The Mövenpick at Karon Beach comprises 159 suites with sundecks, outdoor rain showers and some have plunge pools. It also has 175 renovated rooms.

Mövenpick Group was founded in Switzerland in 1948. It is also famous for its  food, Mövenpick particularly ice cream.

Mövenpick to open second Phuket hotel is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

A great room with a view.

Surin Beach, on Phuket’s west coast, has become “the” fashionable place to be. It’s rise and rise started around 2004 with the arrival of the iconic, and trend setting, Twinpalms Hotel. The nearby trendy Malaiwana followed.

Already there were Amanpouri, arguably still the top hotel on Phuket, and the nearby Chedi, since renamed The Surin, and about to close for a much needed refurbishment.  Newly arrived on the Surin scene is Yang Som, a just completed five-bedroom, six level estate villa listed on the market at USD5.8 million. Yang som is set on a double sized seaview plot of 2458 sqm with 1530 sqm living space and a 20m swimming pool.

The six level home is serviced by two elevators and is built in the Northern Thai architectural style, which means it is open to the sun on every level. The villa is part of an established residential development with on-site management, security, clubhouse, tennis court and restaurant. Nearby Surin Beach continues to regenerate with new restaurants and nightclubs, such as the http://indochine.com.sg, Catch Beach Club, which is part of Twinpalms and Duilios, a well established Bangkok Italian restaurant that has relocated to Phuket. The shops are trendy, with an upmarket complex, Surin Plaza, nearby; antique shops and a new fashion shop, Island Bliss, just down the road. Not too far from Surin Beach are exclusive real estate regions such as Bang Tao, Laguna, Nai Thon and Kamala.

Surin beach continues its upward climb is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

This works: at the Banyan Tree Spa, Phuket

Banyan Tree Spa in Phuket, next to the Banyan Tree Hotel and Laguna Phuket Golf Club, has again been voted by readers of Condé Nast Traveller, the “Bible” of travel magazines, one of the top 25 spas in the world.

It is a tribute to Banyan Tree Spa’s consistency that it continues to rank so highly as it was Asia’s first luxury spa resort, opened way back in 1994. The spa pioneered the tropical garden spa concept with Eastern therapies and holistic focus on spiritual, mental and physical harmony.

The Conde Nast readers’ Spa Awards have been going seven years. Banyan Tree Spa has previously been voted the “World’s Best Spa Resort,” by Condé Nast readers. The spa focuses on non-clinical and holistic treatment based on traditional Eastern healing therapies.

Also on the top 25 list from Thailand were The Spa at The Four Seasons, Koh Samui; Six Senses Spa, Evason Hua Hin; the Anantara Spa, Anantara Bophut Resort & Spa, Koh Samui and Chiva- Som, Hua Hin.

Banyan Tree Spa, Phuket One of Best in the World is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

Gone to a new home

Laguna Hotels & Resorts Plc., which jointly owns Laguna Beach Resort, is to sell its shareholding in the hotel for B723.56 million to Laguna Phuket Club Co. Ltd, a Thai company controlled by Real Estate Equity Partners, an Asian focused real estate private equity fund.

The 252-room deluxe beachfront property opened in 1992 as the second hotel in the Laguna Phuket complex. The hotel is popular with family groups.

Laguna Phuket has publicly stated it wishes to divest part of its interests in Thailand to focus on emerging opportunities elsewhere in Asia, such as China and Vietnam. Laguna Phuket last year divested its interest in the Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket hotel, one of the seven deluxe hotel and villa properties at its complex, which started more than 20 years ago built around a disused tin mine.

Laguna also recently announced that Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts would take over operations of the Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket hotel from July, 2011. The property will close for a five month, B500 million refurbishment and reopen in December as the Angsana Laguna Phuket.

Laguna Phuket’s hive of activity in recent months reflects the continuing changes in Phuket’s hotel industry as more resorts are opened and plans for new properties announced.

InterContinental Hotels Group is to add an additional Hotel Indigo on the island, set for opening in Summer 2014. Located at the north end of beautiful Nai Thon beach, it will be only 15 minutes from Phuket International Airport. InterContinental is aggressively rolling out the Hotel Indigo brand across the world, with 38 current properties and a further 62 being developed.

And Royal Coast Company recently launched Jindarin Beach Club & Resort on Coconut Island, a two minute boat ride from Phuket. The resort is environmentally friendly with solar power, water recycling and use of natural local materials whenever possible.

The developer, who has built the high-end Cape Yamu and Yamu Hills properties, envisions Jindarin as a beach side “village” with “cottages” ranging in price from B1.5-B5.5 million for land lots plus cottage construction costs of B1-B4.5 million.

The resort will have a private beach and pier.

Laguna Beach Resort Changing Ownership is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

Amari Estates is expanding

Amari Estates, an established Thai hotel and resort group, will build two new developments, one in Patong and the other at Nai Harn in the south of the island.

The Patong residential development will add 190 condominiums and 10 pool villas on the current site of the Amari Coral Beach Resort at the southern end of the town.

The Nai Harn development will be an eco-friendly set of bungalows at Baan Krating, on the hillside adjacent to the Baan Krating Khao Lak Resort.

Khun Yuthachai Charanachitta, CEO and President of Amari Estates said there was “significant growth opportunities for real estate markets in tourist areas” in Phuket.

The new Phuket condominiums will be marketed to both Thai and foreign investors as part of the group’s new Onyx Hospitality brand.

Prices will start around B7 million for sea view condos with villas selling up to B50 million, with full access to the Coral Beach Resort facilities.

Work will start on the Nai Harn Baan Krating Resort boutique residences once the Amari Coral Beach Resort condos are complete.

Amari Plans Two New Hotel Developments in Phuket is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

Robinson Crusoe Country: Khao Lak

The expansion into Khao Lak in Phang Nga, north of Phuket, by Phuket resort developers continues with the Kata Group announcing plans for a B1.2 billion resort–the Khaolak Cassaway Resort and Spa–to be built in this growing area for destinational resorts.

The four star resort will be the fifth such hotel under the Kata Group brand and is a joint venture with backing from the K Bank.

The other four star resorts in the Kata Group are Phuket Orchid Resort, Kata Beach Resort, Karon Beach Resort and Kandaburi Samui Resort.

The new development should open in November this year, in time for the high season.

It joins a growing list of new developments at Khao Lak, which still has considerably more room than Phuket. Khao Lak has more than 50 hotels of various descriptions.

According to the locally produced Takola Magazine, which reports on events and property developments in Khao Lak, property development in the area has “really picked up.”  Most of the developments are low scale.

Takola Magazine extols the benefits of investing in Khao Lak because of the abundant space, compared to Phuket.  It also has many attractive, relatively unspoiled, beaches such as Thai Maung, Bangnieng, Khaolak and Bangsak Beaches.

The area is much quieter than Phuket and charter boats leave daily for great scuba diving and snorkeling spots such as the Similan and Surin Islands. The three hour boat trip is worth the wait for the crystal clear waters and teeming marine life.

Khaolak Cassaway Resort – New Development by Kata Group is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

Succulent dishes every night.

Tuesday night is Indian night. On Monday it’s Italian and on Saturday its Thai streetfood.

Banyan Tree Phuket, flagship of the worldwide Banyan Tree group, is offering themed cuisine evenings until March, 2011.

Chef Benoj Pother, from India, which has a history with the Banyan Tree through several large scale weddings at the hotel, is the man who prepares food such as an Indian starter with a slight Thai twist of marinated pumpkin and cashew nuts.

Another is a goat’s cheese salad with yellow curry, Pilau or basmati rice with a varietty of curries, including lamb dopizaa, chicken korma and fish curry.

But that is just the Indian fare. Apart from the Monday, Tuesday and Saturday nights already mentioned, on Wednesday Thai food, Thursday Chinese, Friday Seafood and Sunday a Sunday BBQ.

Banyan Tree is probably better equipped than most Phuket based hotel chains to mount an “around the world” cuisine night. Already it has hotels in China, Korea, Indonesia, the Maldives, Mexico, the Seychelles and United Arab Emirates with other planned for India, Vietnam, Portugal, Greece, Morocco and Oman.

Eat Your Way Around the World Banyan Tree Style is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

The 419-room Sheraton Grande, one of the longest established five-star hotels on Phuket, will close from 1 July, 2011 for B500 million worth of extensive renovations and refurbishment covering all rooms and public areas and re-open as Angsana Laguna Phuket on 1 December, 2011.

The opening of an Angsana on Phuket will fill a long held desire by Banyan Tree to have an Angsana branded hotel under its group on the island. It consolidates Banyan Tree’s Phuket property as the flagship of a company continuing to expand in Asia, particularly in China.

Angsana's Morocco Hotel has won numerous awards.

Angsana Hotels & Resorts operates more than 10 resorts and hotels, over 40 spas and retail galleries. It is a member of the The Leading Small Hotels of the World and The Leading Hotels of the World. The group has won numerous awards, including the Conde Nast Traveler USA Hot List 2008 for its Angsana Riads Collection in Morocco.

The Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket was also on Conde Nast’s Traveler Readers’ Choice top 10 resorts in 2007. It is a member of The Luxury Collection, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. It commands a large Bang Tao Bay beachfront location close to Laguna Phuket Golf Club.

Banyan Tree’s Laguna Phuket property is the flagship of the Singapore based company which in 2010 had more than 26 resorts and hotels, 65 spas, 70 retail galleries and three golf courses under its management or ownership. In Phuket its Angsana spas and galleriesd are already well established within the Laguna Phuket resort area.

Banyan Tree was founded by Ho KwonPing, executive chairman, and has expanded rapidly beyond its Phuket base. It has plans for eight new developments in China between 2011 and 2013 and others in Macau, Indonesia, Vietnam, Portugal, Greece, Morroco and Oman in the same period..

Laguna Sheraton to Become Angsana Laguna Phuket is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

Computer generated image of The Yamu, as envisaged before the arrival of the global financial crisis. The final result may look very different.

Construction has resumed on The Yamu, the five-star-plus resort on the east coast of Phuket, which was stalled by the Global Financial Crisis, after developers Campbell Kane (CK) found a new backer, Singapore’s Hotel Properties Ltd (HPL).

HPL is controlled by Ong Beng Seng, and already has Four Seasons and Hard Rock Hotels in Asia in its portfolio. Ong also owns the rights to the Singapore Grand Prix and the city-state’s first Ferrari dealership.

Originally, the hotel was to have been run by Adrian Zecha’s GHM (Zecha is the man behind Aman Resorts), but CK and GHM parted ways about a year ago. It has now been announced that a management agreement has been signed with Como Hotels and Resorts, also based in Singapore, which already runs high-end resorts and hotels in London, Bangkok, Bali, Bhutan, the Maldives and the Turks & Caicos Islands.

The hotel, which will be known as The Yamu by Como, is now set to open in September next year.

‘”The addition of this Phuket property is aligned with Como Hotels and Resorts’ expansion plans within the region, supporting our growth strategy to include key destinations within the Como portfolio,” says Harry Apostolides, Vice President of Business Development, Como Hotels and Resorts.

Original design by Philippe Starck for a room at The Yamu. Whether Starck will come back on board under the new ownership is "not yet decided".

“This new Como resort will be our second Thai property, after the Metropolitan in Bangkok. These two properties will, in concert, showcase both the vibrancy and serenity of Thailand. Phuket is one of the top tourist destinations in the region, and we have focused on its east coast— an area of outstanding natural beauty and great biodiversity.”

Peter Hamilton, Managing Director of Campbell Kane, added, “We are pleased to be working with Como Hotels and Resorts on this venture. Como’s range of properties and the experiences they offer continue to redefine luxury travel.”

The hotel may end up looking very different from the original concept. For example, the original plan included an exclusive hotel within the hotel, the Club Villas, with its own dedicated hotel facilities. Hamilton told the Observer that there will be pool villas, but whether they will be run as a separate enclave is “not yet decided”.

Also not yet decided is whether the property will have a state-of-the-art recording studio, as was originally planned.

The earlier concept also included gorgeous design by Philippe Starck, probably the world’s best-known designer. Whether he will be involved now, Hamilton said, is also “not yet decided”.

One facility that has survived the ups and downs, however, is the 100-metre pool, hanging in thin air at one end.

Singapore’s Como to run Yamu hotel on Phuket’s east coast is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.