Spa Business issue 2 2012 - Leisure Opportunities

REGIONAL FOCUS KOH SAMUI
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The resort reopened in February following a 10-month renovation
■ InterContinental debuts
InterContinental’s third Th ai property, the
us$25m (€19m, £15m) InterContinental
Samui Baan Taling Ngam Resort opened in
February on a 22-acre (9-hectare) site on the
island’s west coast. Owned by Serenity Asset
Company, the renowned development has
been under the management of various hotel
companies including Mandarin Oriental.
As a result of a 10-month renovation a
new 600sq m (6,458sq ft ) has been added.
Designed by P49, the Baan Th ai Spa has been
conceived as a traditional Th ai house, with
■ Le Méridien returns
Starwood reinstated its Le Méridien brand
to Koh Samui in the third quarter of 2011,
taking over the former Langham Place.
Owned by GuRich Company, the 77-bedroom
beachfront property originally opened
in November 2009 with a feng shui-oriented
design by Bangkok fi rm Begray. Starwood
closed the original Le Royal Méridien Baan
Taling Ngam, which was situated on the site
of the new InterContinental, in 2006.
Embracing Chinese, Th ai and Balinese cultures
through architecture and artwork, Le
Méridien Koh Samui Resort features a 580sq
m (1,903sq ft ) Le Spa consisting of fi ve double
treatment rooms, relaxation lounge and
welcome area. Pachchanya Worrasednorragorn,
who previously worked at Outrigger
Koh Samui, has just been appointed as spa
manager. Th e treatment menu has a strong
Asian infl uence and includes therapies such
as a chakra-based crystal ritual, tamarind
body cleanse and herbal hot compress.
74 Read Spa Business online spabusiness.com / digital
teak wood interiors accented by cool indigo
blue. It features one treatment suite with a
soaking tub, four double rooms, one Th ai
massage room, a beauty salon, an ayurvedic
consultation room and a yoga studio with
ocean views. Asia Pacifi c Leisure Consulting
has delivered the spa concept, menu, training
and wellness programmes.
Thai, western and ayurvedic therapies
incorporating Harnn, Sothys and Esthederm
brands underpin the menu but each treatment
begins with foot bathing and ends with
an Asian tea ceremony using Harnn’s Tichaa
collection of herbal infusions.
The resort’s ‘lightway arrival’ sets the
tone for the feng shui design inside
Guests enter through salvaged Chinese
mansion doors from the 1700s and are guided
by therapists carrying lanterns to a basement
spa that off ers views out to water walls and
landscaped gardens. Antique wood, natural
stone and brass fi xtures feed into the resort’s
overall construction around the fi ve elements
of wood, fi re, earth, metal and water.
Starwood is set to further strengthen its
island presence when the Vana Belle Samui
Resort & Spa, which is part of Th e Luxury
Collection, opens this October.
Akaryn ups the ante
Owned and operated by Akaryn
Hospitality Management Services,
an independent Th ai company, the
fi ve-star Akaryn opened in March on
little known Hanuman Bay in Koh
Samui’s north-eastern corner. The
thb400m (us$13m, €10m, £8m) boutique
resort venture, featuring 34 pool
suites, embraces nature through integrated
outdoor living spaces. With
contributions from The Beaumont
Partnership and Paisarn Krusong,
the retreat’s Asian-infl uenced design
revolves around an ancient almond
tree where a black lava rock swimming
pool has been installed.
Th e group’s Spa IV brand has been
given a twist with each of the four
treatment rooms themed around a
crystal, its colour and powers. Th e spa
uses its own line of organic products.
Yoga, meditation, t’ai chi and qigong
are off ered on Spa IV’s rooft op.
Mövenpick moves in
Slated to open by the third quarter of
2012, the Mövenpick Resort & Spa Mae
Nam Beach will represent the Swiss
company’s third property in Th ailand,
with another three hotels due in the
country by 2014. Developed by Samui
Seaview, the 81-villa resort is situated
on the northern shore of Koh Samui
with design by local fi rm, Noppadon.
A signature spa will comprise eight
single treatment rooms, eight double
treatment suites, a fi tness centre,
yoga pavilion and retail shop. “We will
promote it as a destination wellness
centre off ering spiritual tranquility,”
says general manager Roland Svensson.
“Built as an ancient teak house
village set around a garden style courtyard
with a lotus pond, the spa concept
is based on rejuvenating Th ai therapies
and personalised packages.”
SPA BUSINESS 2 2012 © Cybertrek 2012