Best Western Hotels & Resorts and Thailand are becoming closer and closer with each passing day.
Here's the latest: The Hula Hula Resort & Spa, in Ao Nang, Krabi's main tourist area, will become the Best Western Hula Hula Ao Nang Resort this month. It’s the company’s first property in Krabi, popular for its beaches and, accordingly, Leonardo DiCaprio's 2000 drama, "The Beach."
The resort will have a total of 76 rooms with sea views of the pool or garden from private balconies or terraces. Some rooms will have the luxury of direct access to the resort’s lagoon-style swimming pool.
The hotel will also be able to host business and social events in a function room that can accommodate up to 150 people.
According to Olivier Berrivin, Best Western's managing director of international operations for Asia, the company had been looking to make its mark in Krabi. "Best Western had been seeking an opportunity in this desirable destination and we are delighted to have found such a high-quality resort in the heart of Ao Nang," he said.
More on the Way
Best Western's desire to run up a flag in Krabi is part of a larger expansion through Thailand. Earlier this year, Best Western signed the largest-ever multi-hotel agreement in the company’s 70-year history with real estate developer A.D. Houses Co. It will see the opening of four Best Western Plus hotels in resort destinations across the countryd. Three of the four new-build hotels will be the largest properties in the international Best Western Hotels & Resorts portfolio.
In addition to announcing its deal with A.D. Houses Co., Best Western Hotels & Resorts also announced its first two Vīb hotels in Thailand, which are expected to open in Bangkok in 2017 and 2018.
That's in addition to another announcement Best Western made earlier this month for its new GLō brand, which will make its Asian debut in the up-and-coming area of Na Jomtien, just a few minutes’ drive from the beach resort area of Pattaya. The new GLō Na Jomtien is being developed by Habitat Group Co. with construction work due to commence in September 2017. The new-build hotel is expected to open in 2019.
“Along with its sister brand Vīb, GLō represents a new era for Best Western Hotels & Resorts in Asia," Berrivin said. “We hope that this development will pave the way for multiple new GLō hotels to rise across the region in future.”
Best Western Hotels & Resorts currently operates a portfolio of eight hotels and resorts in Thailand.