By Mel Kaneshige
(Dr. Richard Kelley is traveling. His column will return on June 13.)
Our team in Phuket, Thailand, is going to be a bit busier with the announcement this week that Outrigger Enterprises Group was selected to manage a third resort project on the famous Thai island.
The “Outrigger Laguna Phuket Resort and Villas” is a new luxury collection of residences, villas, town homes, and apartment located on Bang Tao Bay in Phuket, Thailand
The Outrigger Laguna Phuket Resort and Villas is a new luxury collection of residences, villas, townhouses, and apartments being developed by Laguna Resorts & Hotels Public Company Limited in Laguna Phuket, located on Bang Tao Bay, along Phuket’s northwestern coast. When fully built-out, the resort will consist of 309 two-, three-, and four-bedroom units, many with their own private swimming pools. The first units will be ready for occupancy as early as this fall.
Laguna Phuket is widely recognized as Asia’s finest destination resort. The 1,000-acre mixed-use tropical resort has five miles of pristine sandy beaches, six deluxe resort hotels, including the Banyan Tree Phuket, Sheraton Grande Laguna, Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket, Laguna Beach Resort, Allamanda Laguna Phuket, Laguna Holiday Club Resort, the Laguna Phuket Golf Club, spas, restaurants, and bars, as well as a retail shopping center.
Laguna Resorts & Hotels Public Company Limited, a public company listed on the Thai stock exchange, developed the Laguna Phuket Resort starting in the mid-1980s from the remains of an abandoned tin mine. Once thought too polluted to develop, the project has since won numerous environmental awards as a result of the company’s successful reclamation and development efforts.
In a press release issued this week, Michael Ayling, Managing Director, Laguna Resorts & Hotels PLC, said, “We welcome the Outrigger brand and their expertise in villa and condominium management. We’re delighted to announce the opening of Laguna Phuket’s seventh resort: Outrigger Laguna Phuket Resort and Villas, and we’re positive that Laguna Phuket will greatly benefit from Outrigger’s quality management services of Laguna Village.”
The Outrigger Laguna Phuket Resort and Villas will consist of two-, three-, and four-bedroom units, many with their own private swimming pools
Approximately one-half of the 309 units have been completed, with the remaining units scheduled for completion in 2011. Amenities at the Outrigger Laguna Phuket Resort and Villas will include a beach club, private clubhouse, fitness center, tennis courts, an Angsana spa, as well as retail shops and restaurants.
Phuket is one of Asia’s most popular beach destinations, offering an unbeatable combination of soft, white sand beaches and superb hospitality. It was named the number one luxury destination by The New York Times in January 2009 (http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/travel/11phuket.html) and is consistently voted among the world’s favorite island destinations in the prestigious Travel + Leisure magazine’s annual survey. Phuket is serviced by the Phuket International Airport, which is the second busiest passenger airport in Thailand, behind only Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi. Since the early 1980s, tourism has been Phuket’s main economic driver. Whether it is world-class diving in the Andaman Sea, golf at world-standard championship courses, or exciting eco-adventures in tropical forests, Phuket is a favorite visitor destination.
Outrigger Laguna Phuket Resort and Villas will be Outrigger’s third property in Phuket, in addition to the Outrigger Serenity Terraces Resort in Chalong Bay, along the island’s quiet southeastern coast and the Outrigger West Sands Resort on Mai Khao Beach in the northwest. Phuket and Bali are the top leisure resort destinations in Asia; and with this newest announcement, we now have five resorts open or under development in those two locations.
In three short years, Outrigger has grown its presence in Southeast Asia to include the five resorts in Phuket and Bali, as well as properties on China’s Hainan Island and in Vietnam. The Outrigger brand is synonymous with warm weather, beachfront, leisure resort destinations, and we continue to search out the best resort destinations in Southeast Asia for our brand.
