Singapore, 18 December 2012 ? IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON: IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)], the world?s largest hotel group by number of rooms, today announced the signing of InterContinental Phuket Rawai Beach Resort, the first for the brand in Phuket, with JTM (Thailand) Limited, a member company of the L.C. Development Ltd (LC Dev) Group.
Designed by renowned and 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. When completed, the resort will have approximately 240 keys comprising both rooms and villas. It is scheduled to open in 2014 and will become the flagship property for the InterContinental brand in Thailand.
A 50-minute drive from Phuket International Airport and located on the south-eastern Rawai beach, the resort will offer an extensive range of facilities within its 180,000 square metres of landscaped tropical gardens facing the Andaman Sea, fully catering to luxury travellers in both the business and leisure segment. 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.
[quote]On behalf of LC Dev, Kelvin Lum, Managing Director 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.? [/quote]
Added Jan Smits, Chief Executive Officer, IHG Asia, Middle East and Africa, ?Having already established our Holiday Inn brand in Phuket, we?ve been looking for the right partner and right opportunity to add a luxury resort offering to meet the demand on the island. ?
[quote]?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.?[/quote]
IHG currently has 14 hotels and resorts in Thailand with 3 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. 9 more are in the pipeline for Thailand, including hotel and resort properties for InterContinental, Hotel Indigo, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express.
[box type=”tick”]About IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group)
IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global organisation with nine hotel brands including InterContinental? Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo?, Crowne Plaza? Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn? Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express?, Staybridge Suites?, Candlewood Suites?, EVEN? Hotels and HUALUXE? Hotels & Resorts. IHG also manages Priority Club? Rewards, the world?s first and largest hotel loyalty programme with over 69 million members worldwide. IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns over 4,500 hotels and more than 672,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories. With more than 1,000 hotels in its development pipeline, IHG expects to recruit around 90,000 people into additional roles across its estate over the next few years. InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group?s holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.[/box]