PHUKET: Leading luxury hospitality group MANATHAI Hotels & Resorts is preparing to offer travelers more insight into Thailand and Thainess when the latest in its unique collection of luxury boutique properties, MANATHAI Surin, Phuket opens on November 1, 2015.
Located at the edge of the sophisticated and up-market Surin Beach on Phuket's west coast, the 66-room boutique resort is only 30 minutes from Phuket International Airport and has easy access to a broad range of upscale restaurants and cafes as well as shopping and entertainment venues.
MANATHAI Surin Phuket will be the fourth property of the independent Thai hospitality group, the other three situated in Hua Hin, Khao Lak and Koh Samui, as the group makes good its promise of unveiling four resorts in its first year of operations following its launch at World Travel Market in London late last year.
''We have moved ahead with purpose and remained true to our objectives of opening four resorts in 12 months, all in high quality beachfront locations and offering a uniqueness by embracing Thai culture and values,'' said MANATHAI Hotels & Resorts Chief Operations Officer, Christoph Berger.
Thainess is found in particular in the way the resort is designed, with Thai textures, fabrics and flavors featured extensively in the resort's modern facilities.
Materials used include rattan and carved wooden Thai motifs, offset by vibrant local silks under the high ceilings of the public areas. Rooms will also be enriched by this approach with terracotta flooring and fashionable fabrics and hangings.
In a very Thai touch, lotus ponds will grace the resorts' pool and outer areas, which are enclosed by three-meter high hedges, creating a calm and naturally cloistered open space that ensures absolute privacy and a peaceful retreat-like ambiance.
Cuisine features prominently in the experience for all guests.
The pool bar offers light fare while signature restaurant Pad Thai features the iconic Thai dish and a range of other traditional Thai food cooked with authentic precision.
Pad Thai serves breakfast before seguing into an all day dining restaurant in the day and a specialty Thai experience for dinner. Cooking classes are also available.
The restaurant of the luxury resort is devoted to Pad Thai, a dish that has been borrowed from Laos and promoted after WWII to be sold at street stalls both to improve employment and provide affordable dining option.
When I here a reference to Thai cuisine as to "rice&noodles", or that "my favorite Thai dish is Pad Thai", then I know well I'm dealing with gastronomic "connoisseurs" , who have very limited knowledge of real Thai cuisine.
It's strange that this resort seems to devote seemingly a lot of effort to create optical "Thainess" effect, but in regard of cuisine went in such very doubtful direction.
yes, it highly probably it is of ultimate Chinese origin, but for postWWII version - that is what I read in one semi-academic Thai history book - Lao version of that has been promoted , there was given a name of that dish in Lao.
Another version is that it originated in Vietnam.
However it doesn't exclude that immediate borrowing of that promoted variation took place from Laos.
I almost wet myself with laughing at that statement.
"Sophisticated and up-market Surin Beach"
Interesting use of the English language.
I used to live just behind Surin beach in what was technically Bang Tao. Those are probably two of the last words I would have chosen to use about Surin Beach. How about "over-rated and over-priced" -that is more accurate.
What happened to the illegal beach restaurants that had 7 days to get off the beach or be demolished? Let me guess- nothing happened as usual.
My compliments to Manathai on launching a new resort at Surin Beach. It will complement the other hotels in the area.
I am more than sure that Phad Thai standing within Thai cuisine establishment is significantly lower than your excellent, among the best-in-the-city steakhouses.
It is much better and wiser to have a middle range resort with a great steak house than a luxury resort with a strangely positioned restaurant.
I personally for sure will not go for specifically a plate of Phad Thai neither in Manthai or Trisara.
I don't know what idea is behind such accent on fried rice noodles - may the target is low-middle class to middle-class Singaporeans who are currently almost priced out of fine dining in their home country , and Phad Thai may be perceived as a top achievement of Thai cuisine basing on what they managed to experience in their country.
wm I think a few of us were slightly bewildered and not a little amused by the clumsily-written press release. Let's face it: Surin at the moment is far from 'sophisticated and up-market'. It's a mess and everyone knows that.