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Published on October 16, 2007

The 140-room Alpina Phuket Nalina Resort and Spa is on Kata Beach. Pitched at international visitors, it also has eight suites and eight villas. Tariffs range from Bt5,500 to Bt20,000 a night.

Alpina is a domestic joint venture, with the major shareholder being Chongkolnee Pinjaroen, who also holds a big stake in Japanese tour operator JTB. The other partners are a tourism company and Pansuang Xumsai na Ayutthaya.

Before getting into hotel development, Chongkolnee's Today Asset built malls in Bangkok, on Chaeng Wattana Road and in Don Muang district, together costing Bt240 million.

The Phuket hotel is Chong-kolnee's first foray into the tourism market, one she expects to see annual growth of 10 per cent a year. She also predicts 70 per cent of its guests will be international. It had its soft opening in March.

Chongkolnee said the hotel would develop an adjacent, five-rai plot at a cost of Bt120 million, doubling the size of the hotel.

Suchat Sritama

 The Nation