Ital-Thai in hotel project

Targeting well-heeled visitors and upscale tourists, the hotel will be called the Sirimaya by Amari. It will be the second property by the group on the island, after the Amari Palm Reef Resort on Chaweng Beach.

The new hotel will be managed by the Amari Group, Ital-Thai's hotel-development and -management arm. Ital-Thai first stepped into the hotel and resort business 36 years ago.

The Sirimaya brand was created separately from Amari, and the new Koh Samui hotel will be its pilot project.

Amari Palm Reef Resort general manager Viranat Silananda said the Sirimaya would feature 110 rooms and be situated on 10 rai of land on Chaweng Beach.

"The hotel will be positioned at a higher standard than a four-star hotel but not quite yet five star," said Viranat. "It will be aimed at two main groups: honeymooners from abroad and international high-end tourists."

The Amari Group now manages 18 hotels nationwide, owning five of them outright.

Viranat said the new hotel would compete against several properties, including the Centara Hotel, the Buri Raksa and The Library.

"Tourism on Koh Samui is growing," he said. "Many hotels and resorts are under construction. We intend to tap into the trend."

However, Koh Samui is also facing tougher competition this year, because at least two destinations - Phuket and Bali - are staging recoveries and could take guests away.

Koh Samui has enjoyed much growth since the Andaman Coast was hit by the December 2004 tsunami. The catastrophe forced tourists to flee Phuket for Koh Samui.

"Lately, tourism has not been booming the way it did after the 2004 tsunami," Viranat said.

The Amari Palm Reef Resort this year will build a fitness centre and expand its spas by adding two more treatment rooms, for a total of six.

The hotel plans to run an average occupancy rate of 69-72 per cent this year, the same as last year.

With 187 rooms and located on the beach, the hotel is now focusing on international tourists aged 40 and above. Major markets include Singapore, Hong Kong, China, India and Russia.

Apart from the new hotel, the Amari Phuket is expanding its size by adding 200 rooms to cope with mass tourism, which is beginning to pick up again in Phuket.

Suchat Sritama

The Nation

Koh Samui