Thai Hotels Chase Beach Club Mojo

Checking into hotel news one story that caught my eye is Thai hospitality group Centara expanding their Coast Beach Club concept.

With Coast now in Phuket, Koh Samui, Pattaya and Hua Hin, next in line Krabi at the Grand Centara.

Hotels in the country have been chasing the mantra of beach clubs for a number of years, with points of reference often being Ibiza, South Beach and the French Riviera.

Taking a look at Bali who have iconic outlets like Ku De Ta and Potato Head, it’s important to note these are freestanding outlets. Though the latter does have one hotel adjacent to it, Katamama, and another on the way, it is not a linked brand.

Here in Phuket, Twinpalms’ Catch Beach Club has maintained its gold standard, despite moving from Surin to Bangtao and once again, the club is not a linked brand.

Certainly Xana, Dream and lately Anantara’s M Beach Club have had mixed result to attract similar numbers to Catch, the reality is hotels have yet to understand now to make entities that are bars or restaurants, and  yet, most often end up as  hotel outlets.

Beds and beach clubs have yet to gel, but let’s see if anyone can crack the code.