Magazine_Hotelier Indonesi 46

Marrying Thailand’s rich maritime
heritage with a sleek
contemporary design, the 30
intimate boat suites each feature
a bedroom with polished wooden
floors on their upper deck, and a
dressing room and impressive
bathroom, replete with a soaking
tub and double showers, on the
lower deck. These suites offer
either views of Choeng Mon
Beach, on the north­eastern tip of
Koh Samui in the Gulf of Thailand,
garden vistas or direct access to a
1600 sqm lagoon pool that loops
through the resort’s lush grounds
like a river.
Before the boats could be
converted into suites, their
decayed teak wood structures
required extensive refurbishment
that was by no means an easy
feat. To carry out the specialised
task, the resort recruited
craftsmen experienced in boat
restoration to painstakingly
restore the wood structures.
The craftsmen cut out old
decayed wood and replaced it,
piece by piece. They studiously
attended to decayed wood in the
keel of the boats, the bottommost
longitudinal structural
element of the vessels. In the
strakes of wood ­ that run along
the length of each boat from the
bow to the stern ­ on either side
of the keel all the way up to the
gunwale, the top edge of the hull.
In the intricate ribs that support
the hull and give the vessels their
shape and strength, upon which
the strakes of wood are fastened.
In the bulwark of the boats. And
then some.
In a method handed down the
generations of sailors, the
craftsmen used a special
concoction of ingredients
including rubber oil and red lime
together with cotton rope to seal
joints, gaps and holes.
“These boats were built to last
due to the great strength and
durability of the teak wood as
well as the craftsmanship initially
invested in them,” said Meliá Koh
Samui’s general manager Ernesto
Osuna. “In a fitting tribute to
Thailand’s seagoing past, we
turned to the tried and true
methods of the shipwrights to
provide the sturdy foundation of
our boat suites, that really are
one of a kind.”
The boat suites are part of the
tastefully done nautical theme
evident throughout the 159­room
and 41­suite luxury beachfront
resort. Located 15 minutes from
Samui International Airport, the
first property in Thailand
launched under Spanish hotel
group Meliá Hotels International
is also home to two restaurants,
an executive lounge, a swim­up
bar, two­level infinity pool with
sunken seating areas, spa, fitness
center, and ballroom. For families,
there's the kid’s club ­ also
housed in a former teak wood
vessel – an outdoor playground
and a mini water park.
The boat suites are among the
resort’s rooms and suites
belonging to ‘The Level’, an
upgraded level of service and
benefits, that provides access to
the light and airy executive
lounge shaped like a boat’s hull.
The Level Lounge also boasts a
vast open terrace with panoramic
views of Choeng Mon Beach.
In the lobby, the aptly named
Boat’s Bar is shaped like a long
boat with a black hull topped with
eggshell­colored marble.
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HOTELIER INDONESIA 46th | VOL 31 | 2020