koh samui

Four New W Hotels Set to Open Starting in December

File this under: You can never have too much of a good thing.

Four new W Hotels are debuting beginning this December. The new W's are in Austin, Texas; Taipei; Koh Samui Thailand; and a W Retreat and Spa in Bali. All are built-from-the-ground new facilities and all feature high-end resort-style amenities including cutting-edge restaurants and bars. Room rates vary by location and season, but are approximately $300 a night. The rollout plan begins in December and ends in February.

The W Austin, acknowledging the city's unofficial slogan of "Keep Austin Weird," captures the city's local flavor -- although hardly in a weird way. The 251-room hotel, with a rooftop pool and bar is surrounded by the city's hippest night spots and restaurants just steps from Sixth Street and the Warehouse District.

Tags: austin, bali, hotel opening, koh samui, new hotels, starwood, starwood hotels, tapei, w hotels

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Hansar Samui Boutique Resort Opens in Koh Samui, Thailand

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

There are 74 rooms with private balconies, all of them with uncluttered oceanfront views, now accepting reservations at the Hansar Samui resort in trendy Bophut Bay, on the island of Koh Samui, Thailand. The open-plan accommodations are furnished with local-flavor teak floors, stone bathroom fittings and local textiles, walk-in rain showers and free-standing tubs, and also come equipped with flat-screen televisions.

Culinary options come in the form of canapés and wine and champagne at Chill, the lounge, or Thai specialties at H Bistro served alongside French Mediterranean fare, Maine lobster, and oysters from Canada, Japan, and France. If you're a light eater we're sure that snacks and cocktails taken on a chaise between the ocean and the 30-meter, infinity-edge saltwater pool will be quite enough.

And if you must know, then yes, the Luxsa spa and its complete range of treatments will attend to any other need you might have. More traditional sweats can be worked up in the fitness center, more traditional relaxation can be had in the 24-hour lobby library and its free Internet access. The resort team will also be happy to arrange golf, yachting, diving, and sightseeing excursions if you're still trying to figure out how to relax by the beach. Rooms start at $197, which includes transfers to and from the airport. Bliss will be no extra charge...

Gallery: Hansar Samui

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Tags: bophut bay, hansar samui, koh samui, thailand

Golf in a Kingdom: Exploring the Game in Thailand

by Paul Rogers (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Sports

We all know Tiger Woods is part-Thai. But what's the golf scene like in Thailand, the lush and beguiling land where his mother, Kultida, was born? To promote the country's finest courses, a group of premier golf properties and hotels has partnered with a tour operator and the Tourist Authority of Thailand. The consortium, called Golf in a Kingdom: The Thai Golf Experience, can help you map out an itinerary stretching from Chiang Mai, in the cool, mountainous region of the north, to the seascapes of Phuket and Koh Samui in the south. And by "experience," they mean not just golf but also cultural immersions like visits to Buddhist temples, ethnic villages and the teeming city of Bangkok.

Long a popular destination for Asian golfers, Thailand has more than 250 courses. Some of them, alas, are "American-style" layouts that could be in Florida or humdrum spots in the Caribbean. But others, such as Santiburi Samui Country Club (above), set into coconut groves at the foot of a mountain, offer a distinctly Thai adventure. The many charms of Thai golf will be on full display when Bill Clinton arrives this week--with clubs in tow, it's expected--to accompany Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting on the island of Phuket. For a deeper sense of golf in Thailand, check out this story (which I played a hand in) from Travel + Leisure Golf.

Gallery: The Thai Golf Experience

Tags: Chiang Mai, ChiangMai, golf, Koh Samui, KohSamui, Phuket, Thailand

Four Seasons Koh Samui To Open This Winter

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

The Four Seasons is now accepting reservations for their latest gorgeous resort, the Koh Samui in Thailand. The resort is located on a hillside in Laem Yai Bay and overlooks the beaches of the Gulf of Siam. The resort includes villas and residences that feature private pools and sundecks. There is a forest spa and dining options that the opportunity to eat high on a hill or beachside. They are now confirming for February reservations and rates start at $600 per night.

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Tags: four seasons, FourSeasons, koh samui, thailand, travel