Phuket Property: IHG takes over the Evason Resort

PHUKET: The InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), the world’s largest hotel group by number of rooms, announced the signing of InterContinental Phuket Rawai Beach Resort recently, the first for the brand in Phuket, with JTM (Thailand) Limited, a member company of the LC Development Ltd (LC Dev) Group.

Designed by award-winning architect Bill Bensley, who also designed IHG’s award-winning InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort in Vietnam, the resort will be a redevelopment of the former Evason Phuket and Bon Island.

On completion, the resort will have approximately 240 keys comprising, both rooms and villas.

Scheduled to open in 2014, it will become the flagship property for the InterContinental brand in Thailand.

A 50-minute drive from Phuket International Airport and located on south-eastern Rawai beach, the resort will offer an extensive range of facilities within its 180,000 square meters of landscaped tropical gardens.

The property is also 30 minutes from Phuket Town and 20 minutes from the popular nightlife area of Patong Beach.

LC Dev also owns the Holiday Inn Resort Phuket and Crowne Plaza London Kensington.

Kelvin Lum, MD of LC Dev said:

“We have had a great partnership with IHG for more than two decades and the signing of the hotel management agreement for InterContinental Phuket Rawai Beach Resort cements this relationship further.

“The resort, when operational, will be our second hotel managed by IHG in Thailand after the Holiday Inn Resort Phuket in Patong.

“With IHG’s established presence in Thailand, we are confident that IHG is the ideal operator for this unique hotel in Rawai, Phuket.

“We are excited about the possibilities this latest collaboration brings and are looking forward to seeing our first InterContinental come to life in Phuket.”

Jan Smits, chief executive officer, IHG Asia, Middle East and Africa, added: “Having already established our Holiday Inn brand in Phuket, we’ve been looking for the right partner and the right opportunity to add a luxury resort offering to meet the demand on the island.

“We are delighted that LC Dev has made this agreement with us and are looking forward to the InterContinental Phuket Rawai Beach Resort in 2014.”

IHG currently has 14 hotels and resorts in Thailand with three in Phuket. These include the Holiday Inn Resort Phuket, Holiday Inn Phuket Mai Khao and the brand new Holiday Inn Express Patong Beach, which is set to open this month.

Nine more are in the pipeline for Thailand, including hotel and resort properties for InterContinental, Hotel Indigo, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express.