THE BAD news: We think Elvis is dead. We suspect the man who sang to us last night may be a look-alike.
The good news: Phuket is very much alive. The Andakira Hotel opened in Patong with a dinner, a burst of ''Love Me Tender'' and a House Full sign out front.
No vacancies. Could that be because they advertise on Phuketwan?
Ahem, we'd like to think so . . . canny marketing that surprises is certainly one of the clues to success these days.
There are the traditional reasons for instant success, too. Like location. The Andakira is close to Jungceylon, ''in the heart of Patong.''
It's a modern four-star with a large swimming pool on the third floor and 104 rooms. Some of them may be available soon.
And it comes with a good reputation as the sister of two existing resorts, the three-star Baramee Patong Beach Resortel and the two-star Baramee Hip Hotel.
Andakira Group President Eam-on Likit-ittiruks says the plan was to open the hew hotel around Songkran next year, but there were so many advance bookings coming in they decided to open early.
The Andakira has plenty of free parking, a shuttle service to take guests to the beach, balconies on every room and wireless internet access. Needless to say, being so close to Jungceylon it's perfect for holiday shoppers.
Elvis, or someone who looks just like him, will apparently return every two weeks to serenade diners. You have been warned.
Andakira at www.andakiraphuket.com
The good news: Phuket is very much alive. The Andakira Hotel opened in Patong with a dinner, a burst of ''Love Me Tender'' and a House Full sign out front.
No vacancies. Could that be because they advertise on Phuketwan?
Ahem, we'd like to think so . . . canny marketing that surprises is certainly one of the clues to success these days.
There are the traditional reasons for instant success, too. Like location. The Andakira is close to Jungceylon, ''in the heart of Patong.''
It's a modern four-star with a large swimming pool on the third floor and 104 rooms. Some of them may be available soon.
And it comes with a good reputation as the sister of two existing resorts, the three-star Baramee Patong Beach Resortel and the two-star Baramee Hip Hotel.
Andakira Group President Eam-on Likit-ittiruks says the plan was to open the hew hotel around Songkran next year, but there were so many advance bookings coming in they decided to open early.
The Andakira has plenty of free parking, a shuttle service to take guests to the beach, balconies on every room and wireless internet access. Needless to say, being so close to Jungceylon it's perfect for holiday shoppers.
Elvis, or someone who looks just like him, will apparently return every two weeks to serenade diners. You have been warned.
Andakira at www.andakiraphuket.com
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Didnt realize that buying advertising also bought editorials too :p !!
Editor: There are good advertisers who will tell you that we haven't covered events they would have liked us to cover. It's always a matter of what resources we have and what else needs to be done. But as a matter of keeping our readers informed, we do try to cover hotel/resort openings. Should we discriminate against advertisers? No. However, for ethical reasons, we do tell you when we have a conflict of interest. And it's probably fairer if we tell you high up in the article rather than after you've read it.
Posted by LivinLOS on December 17, 2009 14:16