GHM has signed a management agreement with Aquarius International Development (AQI) to operate a 200-key resort on Koh Chang, the third largest island in Thailand.
The Chedi Aquarius Koh Chang will feature an all-day-dining restaurant, a cliff-edge restaurant, rooftop bar, spa, infinity pool with pool bar, and conference facilities overlooking the Gulf of Thailand.
Scheduled to open in 2023, the new Chedi would complement the brand’s acclaimed hotels in Muscat (Oman), Sharjah (U.A.E.), Andermatt (Switzerland) and Luštica Bay (Montengro), as well as hotels under development for the Maldives, U.A.E., India and Taiwan, all set to open in the coming year.
“This new resort is shaping up with an integrity of design and a certain poise that are hallmarks of the Chedi experience,” said GHM CEO Tommy Lai. “We’ve been on the lookout for a way back into Thailand since 2013, and The Chedi Aquarius Koh Chang is the perfect vehicle.”
“We are delighted to partner with GHM to bring the prestigious Chedi brand back to Thailand,” said Nixon Chung, COO of AQI. “With its pristine location in this ecotourism haven, impeccable design and exceptional amenities, The Chedi Aquarius Koh Chang will represent the very best of Thai hospitality. We look forward to welcoming guests from the 4th quarter of 2023.”
Though Koh Chang lacks the name recognition of either Phuket or Koh Samui, Thailand’s largest and second largest island, its relative obscurity is partly a function of its natural splendour: A national park covers 83 percent of the island.
GHM, by design, is a resort group that has focused on emerging, rather, than mature destinations.
“As a group, we’ve always been like that peripatetic friend who’s always telling you about the next-best, up-and-coming place to go,” said Lai. “These days we’re talking about Koh Chang.”
Readily accessible by air and by road from Bangkok, flights to the nearest airport in Trat take one hour; overland, the drive is 300 kilometres. The ferry from the mainland takes less than an hour.
