BANGKOK, THAILAND – The AHMS Collection of luxury boutique resorts has added to its own impressive collection of prestigious international hospitality accolades with key awards for each of its five star resorts bestowed within less than a month.
AKARYN Samui Resort and Spa, the group’s flagship boutique resort on a private beach at Koh Samui’s Hanuman Bay, picked up Best New Luxury Hotel at the 2012 World Luxury Hotel Awards, as well as making it onto DestinAsian magazine’s coveted Luxe List less than six months after welcoming its first guests.
The five star AKARYN Samui Resort and Spa at Hanuman Bay has been awarded the title of Best New Luxury Hotel at this year’s World Luxury Hotel Awards.
Aleenta Resort and Spa Phuket-Phang Nga, meanwhile, was named the world’s Best Small Hotel in Asia Pacific at the International Hotel Awards in London, described as a ‘small but perfectly formed’ boutique hotel by judges at the glittering presentation dinner at the London Marriott Hotel in Grosvenor Square on November 4, 2012.
The founding five-star property in the Akaryn Hospitality Management Services (AHMS) collection, Aleenta Resort and Spa Hua Hin-Pranburi, was also amongst the gongs, named Best Luxury Coastal Resort at the World Luxury Hotel Awards, announced at a gala ceremony on October 13, 2012, at Malaysia’s Pan Pacific Kuala Lumpur International Airport hotel.
Managing Director of AHMS Collection, Anchalika Kijkanakorn – ‘Thailand’s boutique resort queen’.
The AHMS Collection’s visionary founder and managing director, Anchalika Kijkanakorn, said she was delighted to see AKARYN Samui continue to go from strength to strength and land such a prized accolade so soon after beginning operations. The woman often described as ‘Thailand’s boutique resort queen’ said she was proud of all the resorts in the group and said each award was recognition of dedicated and inspiring teamwork.
“When a luxury resort is running properly and delivering unique and authentic Thai experiences to its guests, it’s like a symphony orchestra, where each instrument has its part in the whole production. I hope all of the group’s resorts continue to make beautiful music as we look at expanding the portfolio in 2013 into Bhutan, Cambodia and Myanmar.”
The World Luxury Hotel Awards are regarded by many as the industry’s most prestigious and exclusive awards, recognizing excellence and star quality in the tradition of the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards, and based on votes cast globally by travellers. Competition is fierce, with over 1,000 hotels, lodges, resorts and private islands nominated every year and a 50% jump in countries participating in 2012.
The highly-prized International Hotel Awards evolved from the International Property Awards, established 18 years ago. Its award winners’ logo is recognised as a symbol of excellence throughout the global industry. A specific awards’ programme for the hospitality industry was then launched two years ago to accommodate the increasing number of entries within its commercial categories.
Ms Kijkanakorn said AHMS would not rest on its laurels, but use these awards as a springboard to further hone the ‘barefoot luxury’, sustainable hospitality and authentic guest experiences the AHMS Collection was renowned for in each of the group’s resorts, as well as the ground-breaking environmental work done by the group’s non-profit Pure Blue Foundation.
This will be highlighted next month when on December 1 Aleenta Phuket-Phang Nga will host the annual fundraising event for the Pure Blue Foundation in an evening highlighted by the release of rare leatherback turtles into the Andaman Sea. At sister property, Aleenta Hua Hin-Pranburi, the iconic resort is gearing up for its 10th anniversary in 2013 with typical flair and flamboyance through a combination of environmental and destination dining initiatives. At AKARYN Samui, the first six months of operations have seen major improvements to the beach at Hanuman Bay and a Pure Blue Foundation initiative to restore and rehabilitate the bay’s damaged coral reefs making great strides. The next big news at AKARYN Samui, Ms Kijkanakorn said, would be the opening of Ochos in December 5, the resort’s much-anticipated signature fine-dining tapas experience and the star turn at AKARYN’s destination dining Gourmet Village.
The group’s hip adults-only resort at Chaweng Noi, akyra Chura Samui, was thriving a year after its opening, with Suikin and Baracuda restaurants building on strong followings on Samui as well as offering a raft of tempting romantic packages to entice couples to the island.
The Aleenta and AKARYN branded properties are also part of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH), of which Ms Kijkanakorn was recently elected vice-chairman. Special Winter Wonderland offers are available by visiting: http://www.aleenta.com/
For further information and high-resolution photography, please contact:
Paul Counihan
Sales and Marketing Director
Akaryn Hospitality Management Services
Tel: +66 (0) 2514 8112
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.aleenta.com
www.akaryn.com
www.theakyra.com
David Johnson
Managing Director
Delivering Asia Communications
Tel: +66 (0) 2246 1159
E-mail : [email protected]
Website: www.deliveringcommunications.com
Notes to Editors:
AHMS specialises in the management of small luxury resorts and is the owning and management company for Aleenta Phuket-Phang Nga (www.aleenta.com/phuket), Aleenta Hua Hin-Pranburi (www.aleenta.com/huahin) and AKARYN Samui (www.akaryn.com) at Hanuman Bay, Koh Samui. AHMS also operates akyra Chura Samui (www.theakyra.com) on Chaweng Beach, Koh Samui.
