New addition: the Outrigger Laguna Beach Resort in Phuket

Outrigger Hotels and Resorts has announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the 254-key Laguna Beach Resort, located in the renowned Laguna Phuket integrated resort on Bang Tao Bay in the northwest coast of Phuket, Thailand.

Outrigger Enterprises Group’s Asia-Pacific Managing Director, Darren Edmonstone, said the transaction was scheduled to close in the first quarter of 2013.

“The Laguna Beach Resort will be one of the brightest jewels in the Outrigger portfolio and we look forward to completing the renovations and opening this resort early next year,” he said.

“The addition of this iconic resort positions Outrigger extremely well in the growing Asia-Pacific region.

“The combination of the Laguna Beach Resort, with our existing management of the Outrigger Laguna Phuket Resort and Villas and the idyllic Outrigger Phi Phi Island Resort and Spa, creates exciting opportunities for guests who desire a luxury experience in premier leisure destinations in Asia,” he said.

Originally opened in 1991, the Laguna Beach Resort is nestled between a tropical lagoon and the Andaman Sea. The resort features amenities that include a spa, tennis courts, meeting and conference rooms, a wedding chapel, extensive water features and a resort pool. Each of the 254 rooms features a private balcony. A fully-equipped kids club makes the resort a perfect spot for families. The resort is just 20-minutes from the airport and Patong Beach, and 25-minutes from Phuket town. The property is currently undergoing a major renovation of all of its rooms and public areas and is expected to reopen early in the second quarter of 2013. 

The Laguna Beach Resort will be the second Outrigger property in Laguna Phuket, joining the Outrigger Laguna Phuket Resort and Villas, which it has managed since August 2009.

Since starting its Asian expansion a few years ago, Outrigger has grown its presence to include properties currently open or under development in Bali and Phuket, the two most popular resort destinations in Asia, as well as in Phi Phi island, Thailand; Sanya, Hainan Island, China; and Quy Nhon, Vietnam. 

“After managing a property in the Laguna Phuket destination resort for nearly three years, we are confident that the Laguna Beach Resort is a perfect fit for our first major investment in the Asia-Pacific region,” Edmonstone said.

“We look forward to continuing to expand the Outrigger brand to other major resort destinations as well.”

The Laguna Beach Resort is one of six deluxe resort hotels within the 1,000-acre Laguna Phuket integrated resort, widely recognized as one of Asia’s finest destination resorts, with five miles of pristine sandy beaches, the Laguna Phuket Golf Club, spas, restaurants and a retail shopping center.

 Laguna Resorts and Hotels Public Company Limited, a public company listed on the Thai stock exchange, developed the Laguna Phuket integrated resort starting in the mid-1980s from the remains of an abandoned tin mine once thought to be too polluted to develop.  Laguna Phuket has since won numerous environmental awards as a result of that successful effort.