Showing posts with label luxury resorts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label luxury resorts. Show all posts

Monday, June 13, 2011

Popular Exotic Holiday Destination in Phuket

Phuket has long been a popular exotic holiday destination with almost all of the world’s 5 star chains having a hotel or resort located there. Places like Pattaya, Sumui and Phuket are now enjoying significant rental yields during the peak season when visitors are willing to pay thousands of dollars per night to accommodate their families in luxury villas. Villa rentals often work out cheaper and are more convenient for families and large groups of people and so are becoming more and more popular, especially amongst European and North American’s as well as Wealthy Asians seeking regular breaks from the stresses of daily life.

Phuket is very controlled in terms of the planning and environment. Fittingly the market is dominated by people who invest into a lifestyle. The villas are built to specifically please foreign visitors with large open terraces that run seamlessly into large living quarters and nearly all villas include a swimming pool and excellent amenities. Despite the development on the island of Phuket, the market is still in its infancy, however is set for a large growth period. The island’s growth is guaranteed as the property is resilient to domestic economy fluctuations because most of the investment is from oversea companies. The developers are all established and proven, with only the most professional and dedicated developers surviving the high end market.

Phuket features white sand beaches, clear seas, jungle and waterfalls and no pollution making it a desirable place to holiday at. Traffic, while on the increase, is still insignificant. Over the last 10 years Phuket’s infrastructure has burgeoned with international hospitals, schools, marinas, golf courses, restaurants, bars and shopping malls, offering everything a tourist could need.

Another major benefit is that 32% of the world’s population resides within 5 hours flying time of Phuket. The International airport has increased not only the number of flights from Asian capitol cities but Australasia and Europe too, making the prospect of relaxing holidays in Phuket more appealing for many people. For Europeans the lure of Phuket is helped by the fact that the Mediterranean is pricing itself out of the market for many people, so a few hours further is Phuket, providing more desirable property at a fraction of the cost of European villas. In addition to these benefits is the health system in Phuket and Thailand, again, a fraction of the cost of Europe, North America and Australasia but providing world class service without any waiting times. This provides peace of mind for all people staying in Phuket.

Over the last 10 years Phuket has built up an impressive portfolio of leisure, entertainment, dining and commercial venues, so much so, that Phuket has become ‘Hong Kong’s playground’. The islands golf courses are partly responsible for wooing many of these high end buyers. Phuket boasts 5 International golf courses with some of the most scenic and challenging holes in Asia. As the costs of renting property near the sea increases, many villas are now being built inland, located near these gold courses and now developments built along the green pastures of a golf course have become the second most popular choice for lifestyle investors. Other than the attraction of the golf course, other advantages include the seclusion of the property often closer to commercial and entertainment venues.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

One Of The Top Luxury Phuket Resorts Is The Racha Koh Racha Yai

When we booked the Racha we were told it was one of the top luxury Phuket resorts, but having been there I am certain it is the tops of the luxury Phuket Resorts. I had been looking for cheap deals on Phuket Hotels, or a Phuket vacation package to a nice hotel, when literally by chance I came upon The Racha. The idea took my fancy immediately, and we made some more enquiries and booked to go.

We were very impressed when we arrived at Phuket airport where we were picked up by a huge Mercedes and taken to a special Racha lounge, where we checked in prior to a 30 minute or so boat ride to The Hotel. I must be slow on the uptake, because it was really only then that I realized The Racha is in fact on an island called Koh Racha Yai!! It is very worthwhile checking the arrival of your flight, and the departure of the boat, because we knew other guests who had to wait a couple of hours in the lounge, whilst more by accident than design we were there for only a few minutes.

As to the resort itself, it is certainly beautifully presented, a beautiful place on a beautiful beach. It's worth getting a villa up the hill, because there isn't any passing traffic, and it feels very private even when you are sitting outside, and the views are pretty good too!! The inside of the villa is very minimalistic, but I did enjoy the outside shower. The standards of cleanliness were superb, there always seemed to be staff arriving to clean up behind us, and always with a smile on their faces.

The infinity pool is quite amazing especially at dusk, and unlike other places we have been the photographs didn't do the resort justice. I had read complaints about the service, but in our experience it was faultless, and everything with a smile, nothing being too much trouble. We particularly enjoyed the breakfasts, with just about everything you can think of, I just wish guests wouldn't slyly slip rolls and cold meats into their beach bags to eat later. In a hotel of this quality that is not on.

Meals were expensive, however within a brisk five minute walk if you choose you can find cheap and lovely inexpensive local restaurants. The beach wasn't always deserted, and we Westerners tend to forget that all beaches in Thailand have public access. If you don't like it, and it never lasts more than a few hours, there are beautiful and secluded beaches not far away. All in all we had a great time, did nothing, but then again, there wasn't much to do anyway, and generally just unwound. Having not yet experienced other resorts in Phuket, they will have to be pretty good to be better than the Racha on Koh Racha Yai, definitely one of the top luxury Phuket resorts in my book anyway.

 
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