Anantara Chiang Mai
 

I happened to meet the chief operating officer of Minor Hotels & Resorts yesterday over lunch. In case you didn't know, Minor owns most of the Marriotts in Thailand, all of the Four Seasons in Thailand and the Anantara brand.

I asked him about Marriott's plans in Chiang Mai, since I heard from someone at Marriott they were planning on it, but this guy didn't know anything. He said Marriott's plans tend to be on-again, off-again. But he did say that Anantara would open in Chiang Mai. They have a location on the river across from Wiang Kum Kam.

He also mentioned they were opening a third Anantara in the Maldives. The latest one may be their nicest yet. "Basic" rooms will be at least 2,200 square feet!

The event we met at was a speech by his boss, Bill Heinecke, the founder of Minor Group. He always has some great anecdotes about his more than 40 years in Thailand. I've written a couple of them down in my journal at http://chiengfa.com

good news....BH is quite a dynamic guy...and his properties are top rate imo, as you know...

hope to see you nov 6 at his riverside property: 4:30PM, elephant bar....

bob

Got it on my calendar. Bill had a story about the Marriott as well, about how everyone told him it would never work.

its a failure!!

...and Thais don't eat pizza.

He almost always starts his speeches with how, before he started Pizza Hut, the total cheese consumption in Thailand was 4 tons PER YEAR. Now his own factory makes 9 tons PER MONTH, just for Pizza Company.

cha-ching, cha-ching