Radisson Plaza Panwa to Open Second Half 2009

The 211 room Radisson Plaza Resort Panwa Beach is set to open in later this year according to Carlson Hotels who is the management company. Facilities include 15 swimming pool villas and 14 ocean villas and a ballroom to accommodate 220 guests. Carlson brands include Park Plaza Hotels, and Inns and Country Inn's and Suites, and the upscale Regent which also has a new hotel under development near to the Radisson site in Panwa. They remain one of the largest global brands under private ownership.

Panwa was one of the first developed hotel markets on the island with the well established Cape Panwa Hotel a long time favorite, and recently has gotten a second wind with Accor's branded Novotel which is expanding its room count and now both Radisson and a Regent underway. This development has tracked the market in terms of seeing a significant shift in Thai investors building hospitality investments on the island and looking at the hotel pipeline both branding and domestic investment continue to be leading trends.