Early next year, the Mantra Samui Resort on Thailand’s Koh Samui island will complete a major renovation. The hotel's management company, Louis T Collection, collaborated with three design firms—Tierra Design, Habros Design and Terra Architects—on the renovation of the lobby, spa, pool and rooms.
The new lobby has loft-like tiered ceiling reminiscent of traditional Thai house, as well as a five-meter-high vertical garden. Indigenous trees and plants now frame the road to the hotel.
The guestrooms now have natural wood furnishings and contemporary artwork. Bathrooms have his-and-hers sinks and a rainshower. Each of the 721-square-foot rooms use a palette of earth colors, including creams and browns, with splashes of blue in the furnishings, decor and couches. There are also terraces that enclose balconies in order to provide more seclusion.
The infinity pool, which has a swim-up bar, has panoramic view of the Gulf of Thailand. A new pool deck is finished in white marble quarried locally, while a new saltwater filtration system was added.
The existing squash courts was converted into a new spa, Jai. It has three single rooms and one double-treatment room as well as a foot reflexology treatment area. New mood lighting and high ceilings provide a sense of space, while bamboo cladding connects guests to the greeneries of the island.
A newly refurbished lounge area dominates the middle level of the hillside resort.
The hotel is also implementing environmentally friendly efforts, including harvesting more rainwater for filtration and reuse, and using more of its greywater for irrigation and gardening.
Many of the raw materials used for the renovation were sourced locally through Louis Thomas Leonowens' company, Louis T. Leonowens. Leonowens’ ties to the region were also the inspiration for the creation of the Louis T Collection. (Leonowens' connection to Thailand goes back to his childhood: He was the son of Anna Leonowens, the heroine of The King & I.)
