Kingdom Hotel Investments, a partner in Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, has signed a contract to acquire the Crowne Plaza Karon Beach Phuket from LaSalle Investment Management for an undisclosed sum.This is KHI’s first acquisition in Asia and offers a prime freehold location in an area of rebounding tourist demand.

The resort opened in 1984 as the Karon Villa Resort and was acquired by LaSalle Investment Management in December 2003. Following significant refurbishment, the resort was re-opened in August 2005 and is now poised to benefit from the recovery of tourist arrivals and room rates in the region.

The hotel is located on the West Coast of Phuket, on the popular Karon Beach, one of Thailand’s most popular beach resort destinations. It comprises 352 rooms as well as 30 apartments to be sold leasehold and managed by the hotel. The hotel also holds one of the largest ballrooms in Phuket, which should help drive year round occupancy by adding booking from the convention market.

KHI Chairman, HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal said, “This is a rare opportunity to purchase a fully refurbished hotel in a pristine site on Phuket’s most popular West Coast. The hotel will benefit from the recovery of tourist arrivals to the region, and the early reconstruction of the area.”

Sarmad Zok, Chief Executive Officer of KHI, said, “We are delighted by the addition of The Crowne Plaza Phuket to our hotel portfolio, which represents the first opportunity for KHI in Asia. This further demonstrates our ability to consolidate our position in attractive growth emerging markets.”

The resort is expected to be rebranded as a Movenpick resort in the future however the actual name has still not yet been announced.
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