The Chedi Phuket rebrands as The Surin Phuket

PHUKET: The Chedi Phuket has been re-branded as The Surin Phuket, the name change effective from the beginning of this month.

Senior Sales Executive Sureerat Bunpanluek said The Chedi Phuket was managed by General Hotels Management (GHM) as The Chedi since 1995.

Last year the resort’s Board of Directors decided not to renew its contract with the management company.

“Since Chedi is a brand owned by GHM, the resort had to re-brand upon termination of the management contract,” Ms Sureerat said.

“GHM’s head office is in Singapore, from which they manage The Chedi Chiang Mai and The Chedi Muscat in Oman. Now that we have re-branded, our head office will be located at the premises of the resort in Surin, which should be an advantage to our management team,” she said.

Since the re-branding, the biggest change to the resort has been the appointment of a new General Manager, Antonio Saponara.

Mr Saponara previously worked for the Chedi Muscat and as Hotel Manager of Amanpuri Resort.

Other than that, the resort’s management policies are set to remain the same for now, said Ms Sureerat.

There are plans for major renovation of the resort from May to October next year.

During that period the resort aims to raise awareness of the name change amongst former guests through e-marketing campaigns, travel agents, booking websites, as well as social networking websites.

Based on the products offered and the location of the resort, The Surin Phuket will continue to target mainly European tourists looking for a premium yet secluded holiday resort.

— Anand Singh