by Rungtip Hongjakpet Izmen

Anantara Resort set to open soon

Sunset on Mai Khao Beach

The Anantara Resort Phuket, on Mai Khao Beach next to the JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa, is scheduled to open in late 2008, making it the seventh Anantara property in Asia.

Set in tropical gardens designed by Bill Bensley, each of Anantara’s 83 Thai-style pool villas will be decorated with colourful silks and teak, with a deep terrazzo tub big enough for two. The larger suites will have two sumptuous bathrooms and an open-air living sala.

The name Anantara derives from a Sanskrit word meaning “borderless water” and was chosen for water’s association in many Asian cultures with wealth and good fortune.

Over the next 10 years, Anantara Resorts expect to continue expanding, with the aim of having at least 40 resorts in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe by 2018.

Accor opens first Hotel Ibis in Phuket

Patong Beach

The year 2008 is an active one in Thailand for Ibis hotels – the three-star Accor brand with nearly 800 properties worldwide. It has four new hotels opening, in Pattaya, Bangkok, Phuket and Samui.

The Phuket property, the Hotel Ibis Erawan Patong Phuket, opens this month with 260 rooms, just 500 metres from Patong Beach. The hotel has a pool, restaurants, cocktail lounge, dry cleaning and laundry, nursery and business center, as well as WiFi Internet connection in all rooms, round-the-clock drink and snack service, and 24-hour reception desk. The hotel is also 100 percent non-smoking.

Guests seeking exercise or leisure can choose from the hotel’s menu of activities including windsurfing, fishing and scuba diving.

Joe Kool’s goes live on FM radio

Party at Joe Kool's

Phuket was rocked on April 5 when Joe Kool’s Bar & Grill in Karon made radio history in Phuket with the restaurant’s “Live Rock” session being broadcast across the island on FM 98 radio.

The broadcast was hosted by DJ Alis, one of Phuket’s leading DJs, and featured performances by the rock group Blindd Spott from the Philippines. Live Rock is now a twice-weekly radio feature, every Friday and Saturday evening, from 20:00 to 22:00.

“The broadcast from Joe Kool’s is a precedent we are proud of,” said Stephan Beher, General Manager of the Bar & Grill and of the Ramada Resort Karon Beach. “Joe Kool’s will bring a new standard to entertainment events for Phuketians and visitors alike.”

With seating capacity for up to 200 people, Joe Kool’s is well known on the island for its rock-based décor, themed merchandise and Live Rock performance venue.

Phuket figures large in 2008 Hot List

SALA Phuket Resort & Spa

Phuket may be a small island, but it figures large in this year’s Condé Nast Traveler magazine Hot List, which highlights the world’s best new hotels, restaurants, nightclubs and spas.

The island has two of the six hotels in Thailand named by the magazine’s writers and editors, two of just three restaurants named, and two of the six spas.
The two resorts are the Sala Phuket Resort & Spa in Mai Khao and the Six Senses Hideaway Yaonoi on Yao Noi Island. Their spas also made this year’s list.

The two Phuket restaurants that made the list are both small and intimate: the eight-table Chef’s Table at the Aleenta Phuket Resort and the 26-seat Naoki, the French-Japanese fusion restaurant at Amanpuri.

Meanwhile, Amanpuri, along with the JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa, the Banyan Tree Phuket and the Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket all featured on the magazine’s 2008 Gold List, listing the best places in the world to stay, as voted for by readers.
Condé Nast Traveler specializes in luxury travel, reviewing expensive hotels, products and services.