EXO PICKS: Lan Na & Hazara Restaurants and Face Bar, Bangkok, Thailand

The Lan Na Thai Restaurant opened in Bangkok in 1997, its architecture, design and cuisine created to reflect the beauty and sensuality of Thai culture. The menu includes meats and seafood seasoned with garlic, chilli, ginger, lemongrass and other Thai spices, zesty soups flavoured with coconut milk, and curries of all colours. Its success prompted the owners to open the Face Bar and Hazara Indian Restaurant years later. They infused the sites with art and designs from China and India, creating an atmosphere where guests can come to socialise over drinks with friends and associates or enjoy simple and rich authentic dishes of northern India. Please contact thailand@exotissimo.com for more information.

Face Bar	Hazara Indian Restaurant

Hotel news

Anantara will take over management of Coco Palm Resort in Khao Lak. The exclusive resort, which has 45 luxurious Thai-style individual cottages with thatch roofs and private terraces, will be rebranded and redesigned in the Anantara style to become the fourth Anantara in Thailand after the Golden Triangle, Hua Hin and Samui. 

The 750-room Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel in Bangkok spent 7.5 million USD renovating its exclusive Towers floors – three floors of executive guest rooms and meeting rooms for corporate visitors. 1.7 million USD was also spent remodelling the hotel’s Grand Ballroom.

Sila Evason Hideaway & Spa

Six Senses Resorts & Spas has opened its first Evason Hideaway in Samrong Bay at the northernmost tip of Samui Island. The Sila Evason Hideaway & Spa comprises 66 villas located among natural vegetation around a gently sloping headland, providing privacy and panoramas of the Gulf of Siam and nearby islands. More than 50 of the villas have their own infinity-edged pools. There is also a full-size central pool. All of the villas are split-level and have an open-style bathroom. Samui Laem Samrong invested 14 million USD in developing the resort.

15 minutes from the Phuket International Airport, a resort named Trisara is currently being constructed. When it is completed in October, the resort will have 33 pool villas with ocean views, individual swimming pools, broadband Internet, entertainment systems, outdoor rain showers in private courtyards and oversized beds. Guests will also have access to restaurants, the Trisara Spa (opening in December), a gymnasium, a meditation sala, luxury motor yachts and use of the nearby Blue Canyon Golf Club.

In November, Phuket’s Karon Bay will see the opening of the Village Resort & Spa. The resort will offer guests 34 Thai-style poolside and garden villas, spa services, a health club and a restaurant.

Runways and luggage check-in

Koh Samui

A second runway will be built at the Phuket International Airport, replacing an earlier plan to expand the existing runway. The airport will also see an upgrade of its cargo facilities and passenger lounge, at a cost of 1.4 million USD.

Many airlines have signed a Through Check-in Agreement with Bangkok Airways for connecting flights to and from Samui Airport. The agreement allows airline customers to check their luggage all the way through Samui Airport to their final destination. Vietnam Airlines, Siem Reap Airways and Thai Airways International are among the participating airlines; for a full list of airline partners please contact thailand@exotissimo.com.

The Sakhon Nakhon Silk Festival November 2004

The Sakhon Nakhon Silk Festival, an annual event held each November, was initiated by Her Majesty Queen Sirikit and organised under the auspices of the Foundation for the Promotion of Supplementary Occupations and Related Techniques (SUPPORT).

Designed to encourage local villagers to preserve and perpetuate their indigenous art and heritage in traditional hand-woven textiles, and encourage village folk to continuously upgrade their weaving skills and the quality of their crafts, on the final evening of the Sakhon Nakhon festival, Her Majesty Queen Sirikit will host a grand reception, award presentation ceremony and fashion show, at the Bhuphan Rajanivet Palace. Attendance is exclusively by invitation only. World-class fashion designers in attendance at past events have included Erik Mortensen of the house of Pierre Balmain, Kenzo, Hanae Mori, Valentino, Mary McFadden, Johann Stockhammer – chief designer with Etienne Aigner, Liz and Kate Davenport. The prestigious guest list also includes international dignitaries, distinguished members of the diplomatic service, media and other prominent personalities.