The resort is undergoing an extensive overhaul under the guidance of award-winning Australian designer Bill Bensley (responsible also for the Indigo Pearl Resort).
When completed, it will have about 240 keys, comprising both rooms and villas. It is scheduled to open in 2014 and will become the flagship property for the InterContinental brand in Thailand.
The former Evason is owned by JTM (Thailand) Ltd, a subsidiary of LC Development Ltd of Singapore, which also owns the Holiday Inn Resort Phuket and the Crowne Plaza London Kensington in the UK.
LC Development’s MD, Kelvin Lum, said, “We have had a great partnership with IHG for more than two decades and the signing of the hotel management agreement for the InterContinental Phuket Rawai Beach Resort cements this relationship further.
“The resort, when operational, will be our second hotel managed by IHG in Thailand after the Holiday Inn Resort Phuket in Patong.
“We are confident that IHG is the ideal operator for this unique hotel in Rawai, Phuket. We are excited about the possibilities this latest collaboration brings and are looking forward to seeing our first InterContinental come to life in Phuket.”
Though the IHG Group has three Holiday Inns on Phuket, and is due to open a Hotel Indigo at Naithon Beach in June 2014, this will be its first InterContinental-brand property in Phuket.
Jan Smits, CEO of IHG Asia, Middle East and Africa, remarked, “Having already established our Holiday Inn brand in Phuket, we’ve been looking for the right partner and right opportunity to add a luxury resort offering to meet the demand on the island.
“We are delighted that LC Dev has made this agreement with us and are looking forward to the InterContinental Phuket Rawai Beach Resort in 2014.”