This is where Amari Estates officially launched its new property development, Amari Residences, on Monday (June 17), at the south end of Patong Bay.
The site is part of 90-odd rai owned by ItalThai Real Estate. Just 20 rai is occupied by the Amari Coral Beach Resort, built 20 years ago and clocking up 80-per-cent-plus occupancy every year, year round.
The remaining 70 rai of heavily forested hillside has been left alone. Until now.
Now, however, with Yuthachai Charanchitti, the young CEO of Amari Estates and ItalThai taking a firm grip on the reins, Amari Residences is going up fast on 18 rai of that land.
The aim is to complete the entire project of 148 apartments and 12 pool villas by the end of 2014. Already, Mr Yuthachai says, 17 apartments have been sold during the pre-launch “soft sales” period, and four show apartments have been completed, two looking out over Patong and two out to sea.
The project is very much a family affair. Developer Amari Estates is owned by the Charanchitti family holding company, Sakdi Sin Prasit Co, which also controls SET-listed ItalThai, which in turn owns hotel management company Onyx Hospitality, which manages the Amari Coral Beach.
Amari Estates also owns OHTL, which manages the Bangkok Mandarin Oriental, and Chaophraya Development Corp, which owns and operates the River City shopping complex in the capital
The development will be sold on a leasehold basis only – no fancy condo contract – with 30-30-30-year leases. All but the top end pool villas will be sold under compulsory lease-back contracts that oblige the owners to have their apartments be part of a hotel pool under the Amari Coral Beach.
Owners can opt for up to 60 days occupancy. Beyond that they will be treated as “guests “ of the hotel – “at a special rate”. In return they are promised a minimum 6 per cent annual return for the first three years, and 40 per cent of revenue from their unit – the other 60 per cent going to Onyx.
Prices range from B6.9 million for the smallest one-bedroom units, measuring 44 square metres, up to around B22 million for the 102-sqm two bedroom apartments.
“At the moment we are shooting for an average sale price of about B180,000 per square metre but slowly we want to go up to B200,000, which I think is unheard of for Phuket condominiums,” Mr Yuthachai explains.
The apartments are all designed with floor-to-ceiling windows to make the most of the expensive views, and the interior design by Create Great Design, if not striking, is comfortable. Purchase prices include fixtures and furniture by Chanintr Living.
The pool villas are officially listed as “price on application” but Mr Yuthachai translates that to mean B70 million-plus. Owners will not be obliged to join the hotel pool but can opt to do so if they wish.
The group is on a big growth spurt. Three years ago its started with the Amari Residences, 129 serviced apartments with a hotel license next to the Bangkok Hospital on New Petchburi Rd, Bangkok, marketed as accommodation for medical tourists.
Next came the Amari Residences Hua Hin, a freehold condominium development next to the new Amari Hua Hin Resort.
Now it is the turn of Phuket, with the 197-room hotel getting a major makeover (due to finish by the end of October this year) plus the development behind it, at a total cost, Mr Yuthachai says, of B2.3 to 2.4 billion.
He is confident that the apartments will be popular. “We’ve been running the hotel for 20 years with 80-85 per cent occupancy year round. The rate for the apartments – in effect we will have 148 suites – will be about 30 per cent higher than for the hotel rooms.”
Asked why it has taken the company so long to get into hotel property – Laguna started 10 years ago – Mr Yuthachai grins. “I was still in school then,” he says.
The resort overall will aim for the highest environmental standards, says Warakjorn Jarusirikul, Amari’s area manager for Southern Thailand. Application has been made for Green Leaf certification.
And to ensure serenity amid all the outcry in Phuket over rapacious taxis, Mr Yuthachai says the resort has never had any problems. The road in from the main gates is long. “It’s a private estate, with security, so any taxi coming in is checked.”
Besides, he says with another grin, limo services are provided by Pisona which, as those who have been following the news carefully, is owned by Phrap Keesin, son of the Mayor of Patong and coincidentally chairman of the Patong Taxi Federation. Simple, really.
The sole agent for the Amari Residences is CBRE (Thailand).