COMING to the heart of ''Millionaire's Mile'' soon will be a new resort and villa development, occuping a prime headland overlooking Kamala Bay.
While the developers have been maintaining a low profile, Phuketwan is now able to reveal some intimate details about the project, which will be named Cape Sienna Phuket Hotel and Villas.
The location, between the much-praised Andara villas estate and the rebranded and under-reconstruction Marriott resort, offers spectacular seascapes, something Cape Sienna will be making available from all 146 rooms.
The resort will be tiered up the headland and also spill across the beach road to the sea, with 10 premium villas right on the water's edge.
All of them have already been sold and in many cases they are likely to be managed investments.
Priced from 40 million baht to 75 million baht, one can only assume they were clearly such good value that nobody could wait for building to finish before writing a cheque.
Construction of the villas and the resort is well under way and management anticipates meeting the early 2009 deadline for opening.
Director Fredrik Bohmer, a partner and one of four representatives on the management team, guided Phuketwan around the hillside and explained that the resort will present good value as a four-star-plus rather than five-star, largely because of the location.
The view has not been wasted on tennis courts and other indulgences that swallow space yet can sometimes be underutilised.
While details can always be subject to change before the grand opening, essentially arriving guests will alight from their vehicles and look up into a ceiling aquarium.
Then, after going up a few stairs, elevators will carry them up to the lobby. The doors will open on a breathtaking view out over water, across water.
''Cape Sienna will be about lifestyle, with a skybar and poolside recreation complementing the fantastic view,'' Mr Bohmer said. It certainly has all the makings.
One of the other partners is Magnus ''Khun Mag'' Bergekrams. He came to Phuket from Sweden via Hong Kong and has a long history on the island that can be traced through the Orchid Resort at Kalim, the Kamala Bay Gardens and the Surin Beach Resort.
The two at Kamala and Surin are going to emerge from under green screening shortly, rebranded as Courtyards by Marriott.
Mr Bohmer's expertise over 15 years lies in developing concepts and brands, and he is as enthusiastic about Brand Phuket as he is about Cape Sienna.
''Phuket has everything a destination needs to become a long-term hot spot,'' he says. ''We took the decision a few years ago to be a part of that.''
He sees Phuket as a global brand that, without diminishing the scale of the tragedy, owes quite a lot to the big wave of 2004.
''If something good came from the tsunami, it's that the world opened its eyes to Phuket,'' he says.
He sees Phuket as poised to become the Riviera of Asia, largely because of the hospitality of the people, the weather, the food, and the location.
''It's possible to enjoy the best kind of international lifestyle the world has to offer, yet be on a fast boat and in a remote location within a short space of time,'' he says.
The one cloud he sees on the broadening blue view is that, with Brand Phuket booming, retaining high standards of service becomes more difficult without generating a cost explosion in wages and prices generally.
''It will be vital that costs do not accelerate too fast,'' he adds.
The developers are Paradise Beach Kamala Co Ltd and Fredrik Bohmer can be contacted at fredrik@capesienna.com. A website should be ready in late April.
While the developers have been maintaining a low profile, Phuketwan is now able to reveal some intimate details about the project, which will be named Cape Sienna Phuket Hotel and Villas.
The location, between the much-praised Andara villas estate and the rebranded and under-reconstruction Marriott resort, offers spectacular seascapes, something Cape Sienna will be making available from all 146 rooms.
The resort will be tiered up the headland and also spill across the beach road to the sea, with 10 premium villas right on the water's edge.
All of them have already been sold and in many cases they are likely to be managed investments.
Priced from 40 million baht to 75 million baht, one can only assume they were clearly such good value that nobody could wait for building to finish before writing a cheque.
Construction of the villas and the resort is well under way and management anticipates meeting the early 2009 deadline for opening.
Director Fredrik Bohmer, a partner and one of four representatives on the management team, guided Phuketwan around the hillside and explained that the resort will present good value as a four-star-plus rather than five-star, largely because of the location.
The view has not been wasted on tennis courts and other indulgences that swallow space yet can sometimes be underutilised.
While details can always be subject to change before the grand opening, essentially arriving guests will alight from their vehicles and look up into a ceiling aquarium.
Then, after going up a few stairs, elevators will carry them up to the lobby. The doors will open on a breathtaking view out over water, across water.
''Cape Sienna will be about lifestyle, with a skybar and poolside recreation complementing the fantastic view,'' Mr Bohmer said. It certainly has all the makings.
One of the other partners is Magnus ''Khun Mag'' Bergekrams. He came to Phuket from Sweden via Hong Kong and has a long history on the island that can be traced through the Orchid Resort at Kalim, the Kamala Bay Gardens and the Surin Beach Resort.
The two at Kamala and Surin are going to emerge from under green screening shortly, rebranded as Courtyards by Marriott.
Mr Bohmer's expertise over 15 years lies in developing concepts and brands, and he is as enthusiastic about Brand Phuket as he is about Cape Sienna.
''Phuket has everything a destination needs to become a long-term hot spot,'' he says. ''We took the decision a few years ago to be a part of that.''
He sees Phuket as a global brand that, without diminishing the scale of the tragedy, owes quite a lot to the big wave of 2004.
''If something good came from the tsunami, it's that the world opened its eyes to Phuket,'' he says.
He sees Phuket as poised to become the Riviera of Asia, largely because of the hospitality of the people, the weather, the food, and the location.
''It's possible to enjoy the best kind of international lifestyle the world has to offer, yet be on a fast boat and in a remote location within a short space of time,'' he says.
The one cloud he sees on the broadening blue view is that, with Brand Phuket booming, retaining high standards of service becomes more difficult without generating a cost explosion in wages and prices generally.
''It will be vital that costs do not accelerate too fast,'' he adds.
The developers are Paradise Beach Kamala Co Ltd and Fredrik Bohmer can be contacted at fredrik@capesienna.com. A website should be ready in late April.
