In a League of their own: Laguna Phuket

Story : Marie Moon   
Images : courtesy of Laguna Property

Throughout the trials and tribulations of the Phuket property boom, Laguna Phuket has been a driving force in the luxury residential sector not only by representing the best of Phuket to close to a million international visitors every year, but also through innovative design, environmental sensitivity and management excellence.

Amous Lee, General Manager Knight Frank Phuket, testifies to the popularity of Laguna Property, “Approximately 25% of Knight Frank clients enquire about Laguna property and out of these approximately 20 - 30% will make a purchase of either new / resale properties. Laguna gives many buyers confidence in purchasing properties here in Phuket.”

The story begins with an environmental wasteland. When Laguna Resorts & Hotels took over the 600-acre site back in 1984 it was scarred with open-cut tin mines, piles of scrap metal littered the barren soil and discarded machinery and makeshift huts added to the overall dishevelment of the area. A 1977 United Nations Development Plan team surveying Phuket’s tourism prospects had actually written-off the site saying it was “too environmentally damaged to have any development potential.”

Enter the visionary Kwon Ping Ho who imagined something entirely different. It was KP’s determination, inventiveness and pure entrepreneurial talent, as well as a US$200 million investment that converted the ravaged wasteland into Asia’s first and finest integrated resort. Today Laguna receives close to one million international visitors annually and boasts six deluxe hotels, an 18-hole golf course, a boutique shopping village, five luxurious spas, a wedding chapel, a corporate training and adventure centre and a wide range of tropical homes. To boot, the various branded hotels and spas within Laguna have collectively received more than 200 awards for service, design, management, and ironically environmental protection including consecutive Environmental Awards from Tourism Thailand from 2000-2004.

The Laguna Property division was another pioneer project for the company, being the first ones to sell resort property to foreign buyers through the Allamanda Laguna Phuket in 1991 and later in the Sheraton. The first stand-alone properties launched were the Laguna Homes in 1992 in the form of 54 large 1-rai plots on which owners built their own properties. While sales of the Laguna Homes were strong, the company soon decided to make all subsequent villa developments more uniform so as to function better for the then blossoming villa rental market.

The launch of the Banyan Tree Two-Bedroom Pool Villas in 1997 revolutionized tropical architecture in Thailand. In an article entitled ‘Building Banyan’ K.P. Ho told Hotel Asia Pacific, “If imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, we can take solace in being flattered. In our case, innovative features - such as pool villas and tropical spa pavilions - are no longer a monopoly of Banyan Tree.” With price tags well into the millions, Banyan Tree pool villas remain Laguna’s signature premium properties. Banyan Tree added 22 Double Pool Villas to its portfolio in 2006 and in June 2007 the now international Banyan Tree Residences brand launched sales of its signature villas in five new and exquisite locations; Phuket, Bangkok, Seychelles, Lijiang and Bintan. The brand which KP Ho built through what he described as, “a series of zigzags, U-turns and even walking around in circles” is now one of the most distinguished in Asia.

With the success of the Banyan Tree and their reputation as superior developers firmly in place, Laguna was primed for the Phuket property boom which began around the millennium. In 2001 the Laguna Residences and Laguna Townhomes were launched to an overwhelming reception. Today the company has completed 3 phases of Residences and Townhomes and is now building the new Laguna Village Development consisting of 2 phases of Townhomes and 4 phases of Residences.

The Residences are detached one or two-storey family homes positioned along the golf course and around the lagoons. They are popular among Asian-based expat families and retiring couples. The Townhomes have been particularly successful and today many people remain on a waiting list to buy a resale. The Townhomes are oddly named for they do not reflect a typical townhouse; these are surprisingly spacious three or four bedroom semi-detached properties, each with a pool, garden sala and great views over the golf course or lagoons. The capital appreciation of these units as indicated by resale values is an amazing 42% as Laguna Property Sales Manager Rung-aroon Wichitwatee highlighted, “Townhomes bought in the early phases of development for approximately 13 million baht have been sold for upwards of 20 million within three years.”

A new development of high-end Dusit Laguna Villas is also being constructed. The Dusit Laguna brand is a bastion of Thai hospitality and these three-storey, two-bedroom units are selling like hot-cakes; five of the six beachfront villas have already been sold and the project hasn’t even been officially launched yet.

The latest stage of development is Laguna Village. The Village Villas comprise two-storey, two-bedroom properties with a shared free-from swimming pool. These have already been popular with buyers off-plan representing an affordable entry level into the Laguna lifestyle.

It is this lifestyle factor that sways many property buyers to Phuket in the first place and what Laguna offers in this department is unsurpassed. Laguna Property Sales and Marketing Director, Dan Simmons commented, “Other developers can come and try to get to the quality that we have, they can try and get to the look that we have, they can try to imitate our colours, they can do beautiful landscaping, put in pools etc., but they simply cannot offer the lifestyle and the amenities that is Laguna. No one has what we have!”

The major benefit of every Laguna property purchase is access to the full range of amenities at all the Laguna resorts. Richard Skene, Assistant Vice President Laguna Property added, “Owners are also rewarded with free golf course membership, and a privilege card which entitles them to many discounts at all the hotels and access to all the facilities.”

Another keystone in the Laguna package is the rental system. Richard explained, “Through sale and lease-back we sell the property to the owner, then we lease it back from them and we pay them rent of six per cent of the purchase price for six years guaranteed. The owner gets 60 days complimentary use and receives rental income for the rest of the year. After the six-year period they can renew for six per cent per annum for another six years, or opt for a share of the revenue. In international terms that’s very attractive.”

To support this rental system Laguna has global marketing capabilities and over twenty years of proven resort management excellence. Dan pointed out, “After-sales service is one of the things we get complimented on. When you buy a Laguna property we assign a personal salesperson to you, so you always have a go-to person. We have a whole department of people whose only job is taking care of the customers after they’ve purchased.”

In another first for the company, Laguna has just approved financing for the Dusit Villas project. Richard said, “It’s just been approved and will be available for the Dusit lagoon-side villas. Buying property is still a big investment and not everybody has loads of money available. We have offered deferred payments terms before but this is basically equivalent to bank financing at competitive rates. We are the developer, owner and manager so we are doing the financing, but it would effectively be like borrowing from a Thai bank.”

Yet another feather in Laguna’s cap and perhaps the most important of all is that the properties are sold with leasehold title. With leasehold being the only viable option for foreign buyers these days, the security of Laguna as a solid, reputable and public listed company rests very well with buyers who might not be comfortable leasing from a smaller company. Laguna Hotels & Resorts Plc was listed on the Thailand Stock Exchange in 1993.

With the widest product range, the widest price range, the most amenities, the most lavish or functional designs, the most secure development company, the most environmentally aware construction, it is clear why Laguna has been so influential in the Phuket property market. Smaller developments advertise their proximity to the “Laguna area”; the Banyan Tree pool villa has been reproduced in hundreds of forms since its inception and development companies have modeled their rental and home management services from Laguna’s leadership.

With another 400 acres of prime land available for future high-quality development, a sustained concern for the environment and a never-ending demand for its products, Laguna’s pre-eminence seems likely to endure. 

Tropical Living: July 2007, Volume 7 Issue 2

Many of the properties on this site are for sale or for rent.
If you wish to know more about them don't hesitate to CONTACT US HERE