Room at the top

It’s tricky to make a luxury hotel seem like home. But one chain has done it around the world. It’s now reinvented the formula

- VIR SANGHVI

It is one of the most famous stories in luxury hoteliering. Adrian Zecha, a former publisher who had revolutionised deluxe hotels in Asia by founding the Regent chain, decided to build a home for himself in Phuket, Thailand, after selling his Regent stake.

A few friends joined him and they found a location outside the city to build their villas. But, as construction commenced, they realised that the area lacked the basic infrastructure required to support luxury homes. So, Zecha decided he would build a small hotel next to their homes that would provide the generators, boilers, laundry, security, etc needed to provide support services to their homes. He called the hotel Amanpuri, and by the time it opened in late 1987, a business model had emerged. Zecha and his friends sold more land around the hotel to other millionaires who built their own luxury homes. Amanpuri managed the properties and, if the millionaires so chose, they could offer their homes up for rent when they were not using them for their own vacations.

The Amanpuri experience had two consequences. The residences-plus-hotel model began to be copied all over the world. It was good for guests because they got to spend holidays by renting the homes of millionaires. It was good for the millionaires because they earned money from their vacation homes when they were not using them. And it was good for hotel developers because they made an immediate return on their investment by selling luxury residences on the hotel site.

But there was also a second consequence. Zecha priced the hotel rooms in Amanpuri at such high rates that most hoteliers thought he was crazy. The hoteliers were wrong, Amanpuri became a rage and guests flocked to Phuket.