Coveted Phuket 2008 Gekko Awards Announced at Glittering Ceremony

Leading Phuket hotel consultancy C9 Hotelworks has announced its annual “Gekko Awards” for excellence in the Greater Phuket property and hospitality industries at a gala ceremony on the island.

In line with Phuket’s idyllic lifestyle, the Gekkos represent a serious, yet lighter side of life through the categories on offer, such as Get Your Ya Yas Out and Let’s Get Physical. The Gekko Awards are among the most soughtafter trophies in Asia.

C9’s Managing Director Bill Barnett said the awards are for top level personalities in the Phuket property and hospitality industries, but were also meant to be in good fun as all winners are presented with a foot-long sculptured Gekko.

C9 Hotelworks made a significant investment in the awards ceremony and they can be viewed at www.c9hotelworks.com/gekko/

“Phuket has firmly established its position as Asia’s leading resort destination with over 5.4 million tourist arrivals in 2007,” Mr Barnett said.

“These much-coveted awards recognise leading tourism personalities and establishments which embody innovation and achievement in the island’s property and hospitality industries.”

The awards originated from the gecko’s symbolic importance in the tropics and influenced by Gordon Gekko’s character (played by Michael Douglas) immortalised in the award-winning movie Wall Street where greed ruled< and taking financial advantage of others was accepted practice.

Reportedly, Gekko was released from a US minimum-security prison following the junk bond crises of the 1980s, and Barnett hoped, with his tongue firmly in cheek, that Gekko was able to reinvent himself as a developer of luxury lifestyle real estate in a warm and tropical climate.

And the 2008 Gecko Award winners are:

Green Thumb – Excellence in Landscape Design
Ross Palmer/Kumara Studio

Wish You Were Here –Best New Hotel
Sala Phuket

The Grape Escape – Best Vinoteque
Envision Wine Bar

Get Your Ya Yas Out – Innovative Spa Products
Lemongrass House

Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous – Most Luxurious Development
Cape Yamu/The Yamu

Best Leading Man – Restaurant Personality
Sean Powers/Supper Club

Seven Deadly Sins – Iconic Desserts
Paula’s Retro Café

Sit On It – Exotic Furnishings
Zee Zee Interiors

Lets Get Physical – Fitness Instruction
Nick Dobyn/Phuket Personal Trainers

A delighted Scott Gorsuch of The Yamu project accepts his Gekko Award for the project’s win in the Lifestyles of
the Rich and Famous category for the Most Luxurious Development. Gorsuch said the award would take pride of
place in The Yamu’s expanding trophy cabinet.