Published on January 13, 2006

The Chakraphand family, which owns the Phu Jai Sai Resort and Spa in Chiang Rai, spent Bt120 million last year to transform the Baan Thai restaurant on Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok into a boutique hotel catering to health-conscious, high-end customers.

Intira Katanyutanon, a director of Khunpapichaya Ltd Part, which runs the Baan Thai Wellness Retreat, said yesterday that the Thai-style, peaceful, garden hotel contains 22 guest rooms, seven spa rooms and the usual hotel facilities in seven authentic teakwood villas. Five of them were originally at the site for 75 years and the other two were brought from Ayutthaya province and rebuilt there.

Baan Thai’s speciality is facilities that emphasise physical and mental rejuvenation for well-heeled professionals who want to relax and recover after working long and hard.

The hotel provides health consultants, customised diets and treatments from around the world, including Tibet and Japan.

The company plans to register all of the hotel’s treatment styles this year to prevent imitations.

The daily room rate, including all meals and a 50-minute spa treatment, starts at Bt8,000 and goes up to Bt70,000.

The renovation started last April and the hotel formally opened last month.

It has been running fully booked with British, German and Hong Kong as well as Thai guests but with the end of the festive season, the occupancy rate is expected to drop to 30 per cent this quarter before rising to 60 per cent.

Inthira wants to keep occupancy at 60 per cent because its customers look for a calm and peaceful atmosphere.

The company has attended trade shows in Germany and the UK and plans to attend another one in Singapore next week. In Asia, its targets are Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia.

It expects to log Bt60 million in revenue within the first year of operations – 70 per cent from international guests – and break even within two years.

To build awareness, the company is earmarking 30 per cent of its expected revenue for marketing, including advertising and road shows. The marketing budget will be reduced to 25 per cent next year.

Nitida Asawanipont

The Nation

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