In June of this year, the On On Hotel’s owner, Anurak Tansiriroj, grandson of the founder Pak Yok-tew told The Phuket News that he was on the lookout for investment and a possible partner to renovate the old Sino-Colonial style hotel.
That help has come in the form of the Treasury Village Group, a resort group that also owns, runs and manages the Koh Yao Yai Village Hotel and Nasara House.
Kyaw Kyaw ‘Joe’ Khine, the associate property operation director of the Treasury Village Group said that their latest hotel was a very special project indeed for Nasara Trisuvan, the owner of the group.
“Mrs Nasara knew that the hotel had existed since 1929 and so she was very interested in taking over the project. We’ve taken out a 20-year lease on the land and property and re-branded it The Memory at On On Hotel.
“The original owner, Mr Anurak wanted us to promise not to demolish the hotel in its entirety owing to it being in his family for many generations and he believed it may
affect the heritage of the island.”
Joe says The Phuket News that attempting to maintain the authenticity and not tarnish the overall feel of the On On experience was in fact one of the main reasons for the delay.
“In order to keep the experience genuine and maintain the look we needed to strengthen the foundations, walls and pillar.
“This is also why we didn’t want to change too much, we just couldn’t without causing structural weaknesses.”
The overall interior look of the new On On Hotel will remain the same – classic, traditional and wooden – but it is the rooms themselves that will most benefit from an overhaul.
“Before the rooms were...” here Joe searches for an appropriate description for how the On On hotel’s previous rooms used to be without appearing rude.
He doesn’t quite find it, but suffice to say the On On Hotel was the setting for the dodgy, dark, grim, dirty hotel at the start of the movie The Beach, when Leonardo DiCaprio’s somewhat innocent tourist Richard encounters the terrifyingly-crazed backpacker Daffy, played by Robert Carlisle.
Much like before, the rooms will be split between dormitories and private rooms. There will be 21 dormitories, eight of which will be female-only. All dorms will come with A/C. In fact every room will now come with A/C – in news that will sadden some, gone are the cheaper ‘fan-only’ options.
The extra room luxuries at the On On hotel definitely come at a price. Room rates for dorms will be from B450-550, while private rooms are priced at a relatively-speaking whopping B1,500.
This price, Joe believes is really quite competitive for the island, especially considering its prime location in the centre of historical Phuket Town.
“The old rooms were very cheap and the guests quite often made complaints, but now it is clean and is a nice hotel in a great location and good value.”
The Memory At On On Hotel is due to open on February 1.