Hotel additions

The 108-room Ban Ao Nang Resort in Ao Nang Beach has been rebranded the Best Western Ban Ao Nang Resort and the 65-room Ao Nang Bay Resort & Spa has also changed its name to Best Western Ban Ao Nang Bay Resort & Spa.

koh Samui

In December 2004, Koh Samui saw the opening of Santiburi’s Bo Phut Resort & Spa, and its pool, beachfront, sea view and garden villas and studios. The resort also houses the Santiburi Samui Golf Course with its 18-hole course.

The six-storey Burasari Jungceylon Hotel is expected to open for guests in Patong Beach in Phuket in January 2005. It will feature 200 guest rooms and suites, meeting facilities including a convention room and three seminar rooms, a restaurant serving Thai and international cuisine, a health spa, garden, swimming pool, Jacuzzi, children’s pool and outdoor coffee shop on the rooftop.

Khon Kaen saw the opening of the seven-storey Bussarakam Hotel late last year. The new hotel, located a short distance from the city’s international airport, has 157 guest rooms, a conference room and two restaurants serving Thai and international cuisine.

Chiang Mai

Dusit Hotels & Resorts is opening the D2hotel Chiang Mai on Changklan Road in early 2005, the first of its new brand of lifestyle hotels. The D2hotel Chiang Mai, which focuses on modern design, will have 130 guest rooms, restaurants, a gymnasium, meeting facilities and the Devarana Spa.

In September 2004, the 4-star Duangtawan Hotel opened in Chiang Mai with 504 rooms situated on 24 storeys. Room categories include deluxe and superior guest rooms and junior, executive, and presidential suites. The hotel will feature dining facilities, a swimming pool, a spa and fitness centre, retail shops, a business centre, and a grand ballroom for up to 700 guests.

The Chiang Inn Hotel’s 152 rooms are being renovated and will open in December as the Dusit Chiang Mai.

Fortune Hotel

Renovations of the 26-storey Fortune Hotel in Bangkok began in October 2004, which will take between six to eight months. It will reopen as the Grand Mercure Fortune Bangkok with new executive rooms and lounge, redecorated guest rooms, and renovated facilities, including the meeting rooms, ballroom, business centre, spa, fitness centre and restaurants.

The 243 guest rooms at the Pinnacle Jomtien Resort & Spa in Pattaya are being renovated at a cost of four million US dollars. By 2005, 99 standard rooms will be renovated to superior quality, additional indoor parking will be available and two meeting rooms will be constructed.

16 pool villas, 13 suites and 88 guest rooms opened at the Royal Pavilion Resort & Spa Phuket in December 2004.

The 4-star boutique Siam Heritage Hotel soft-opened in Bangkok with 69 guest rooms designed in the northern Thai style, 30 of them studios, 21 executive rooms and six superior rooms. The hotel also houses entertainment facilities, a swimming pool, a fitness centre and a spa.

Phi Phi Island

In early 2005, Phi Phi Don Island will see the opening of the Sofitel Phi Phi Villa & Spa, a luxurious resort that will house 147 deluxe villas with private balconies and 280-degree views of Krabi and the Andaman Sea. The resort will also have two pools, indoor recreation, business facilities, a fitness centre, tennis court, day care centre, medical clinic and water sports, including kayaking, canoeing, jet skiing, and diving. All-inclusive pricing means that meals and beverages at the four restaurants and three bars are covered, as well as treatments at the health and spa complex.

The 4-star Village Resort & Spa opened in November 2004 on Karon Beach in Phuket with 12 Thai-style poolside villas and 22 tropical garden villas, a spa and health centre, a restaurant, and entertainment facilities.

The 4-star Woraburi Phuket Resort & Spa opened on Karon Beach in November 2004 with 207 superior and deluxe guest rooms and suites, a restaurant, spa treatments, a swimming pool, a pool bar, and modern amenities.