Updated: June 2008
Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, Asia Pacific's leading luxury hotel group, has signed an agreement with Durham Holdings (Thailand) Limited, an affiliated company of PT Jan Darmadi Investindo, to manage Shangri-La's Phuket Resort and Spa, opening the end of 2010.
Shangri-La's Phuket Resort and Spa will be situated on the west coast of Thailand's Phuket island on the five-kilometre Bang Tao Bay beach, 25 minutes drive from the Phuket International Airport. The 20-hectare property is set amidst lagoons, gardens and a natural river flowing to the sea.
Designed by Arcadia Design Architects of Huelva, Spain, the 315-room resort hotel is comprised of 223 guestrooms and suites, and 92 grand/deluxe villas. All villas include water features with either plunge pools or positions suspended over lagoon waters. Private gardens will be accessible from large terraces. Resort rooms will be a minimum of 50 square metres in size, while the one and two-bedroom villas will measure from 90 to 280 square metres.
Fifty pool villas will shortly be released for private sale through international property consultants CB Richard Ellis; they will be an integral luxury component of the resort, operated by Shangri-La.
CHI, The Spa at Shangri-La - Shangri-La's signature spa brand -- will be located in its own spa village in the resort. For the first time at CHI, guests will be able to immerse themselves in a CHI lifestyle experience by opting for residential spa villas. At over 200 square metres, these villas will truly create a "spa within a spa" environment with space for in-room treatments and direct access to all CHI spa village facilities and amenities, including 13 single and couple's treatment villas.
Inspired by the legend of Shangri-La, CHI offers treatments based on ancient Chinese and Himalayan healing rituals and traditions. The spa's location overlooking a lagoon, providing the opportunity for waterborne arrivals by guests, will enhance the sensation of a secluded and exclusive spa experience.
Additional recreational options will include a health club, tennis courts, squash court, water sports, kid's club and entertainment centre, and three swimming pools including a 3,000 square-metre, three-tiered cascading pool.
Dining options will include a piazza with a market atmosphere of open kitchens, cafes and specialty retail shops; a grill; a Thai restaurant; two pool restaurants; a tapas bar and lobby lounge.
A beachfront, ocean view chapel will be the venue for weddings, vow renewals and related ceremonies.
Meeting and banquet facilities will include a 550-square-metre grand ballroom with 165 square-metre foyer with a capacity of 400 and 100 persons respectively. Additional function rooms will offer 440 square metres of meeting space.
Shangri-La's Phuket Resort and Spa will complement the hotel group's new wave of deluxe resort properties currently under development in the Maldives; Seychelles; and Boracay, Philippines.
Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, Asia Pacific’s leading luxury hotel group, currently owns and/or manages 55 hotels under the deluxe Shangri-La and mid-market Traders brands, with a rooms inventory of over 28,000. The group has over 50 projects under development in Austria, Canada, mainland China, France, India, Japan, Macau, Maldives, Philippines, Qatar, Seychelles, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States. For more information and reservations, please contact a travel professional or access the website at www.shangri-la.com.
For digitised pictures of the group's hotels, please go to http://www.shangri-la.com/imagelibrary