Phuket's Surin becomes Asia's richest beach neighborhood
Located in Asia's hippest, most exclusive Surin Beach area in Thailand the $US 8 Million Villa Chan Grajang offers more than just bricks and mortar.
Phuket, Thailand: Driving through the Surin Beach area on the Phuket road that circles Thailand's largest island you get the impression this sleepy beach village is just a thoroughfare between famed Millionaires’ Mile on Kamala Beach and the ritzy Laguna neighborhood.
And for the growing number of camera-shy foreign billionaires and movie stars that continue to holiday and purchase second homes in Surin Beach, the unassuming nature of Surin and the anonymity it creates suits these new “locals” just fine. But stray just slightly off the main road down towards the beach or up to the sea view mountainside, and you will soon discover that there is much more in the Surin Beach area than meets the eye.
“Surin Beach is becoming an iconic Asian island getaway for the rich and famous come to unwind,” confirms Bill Barnett, Managing Director of C9 Hotelworks, Asia Pacific’s leading hospitality consultancy firms. “They are allured to Surin for complete privacy in an exotic Asian destination, be it a mega villa overlooking the stunning Phuket west coast or a cruise to Phang Nga Bay in a super yacht. As a sign of the times, Phuket International Airport is building a private jet terminal to handle the growing number of these affluent arrivals flocking to the area.”
Now recognized as one of the world's most beautiful and hippest tropical destinations, Surin Beach showcases luxury Asian icons like the trendy Chedi hotel and the ultra-exclusive Amanpuri where models like Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss and actors like Leonardo DiCaprio and Kevin Spacey have vacationed over the last few years. Surin also continues to host a growing number of the island’s best restaurants and beach clubs like Twin Palm’s Catch Beach Club and the hip Stereo Lab.
On the mountainside, which is not visible from main road, the landscape is dotted with private luxury villas like the exclusive Villa Chan Grajang estate, currently for sale at $US 8 Million. This private and secured estate, like other multi-million dollar villas on the hill, is perched high above Surin Beach featuring breathtaking views out to the Indian Ocean.
“We are seeing the Surin luxury market starting to mature as affluent individuals are demanding property and vacation rental villas that deliver privacy and a 5-star experience”, says Joanne Baylis, Founder of Awesome Villas (awesomevillas.com) and the owner’s representative of Villa Chan Grajang. “Villa Chan Grajang is a good example of a Surin lifestyle property that is impeccably maintained, staffed and operated, and consequently has a 95% occupancy rate and a waiting list that includes some of the world’s most affluent individuals.
Surin Beach is located on the west coast, a 30 minutes drive on Phuket’s notorious beach cousin Patong. Surin is sandwiched in the middle of Thailand’s most exclusive and expensive real estate region that include the Kamala, Surin, Bangtao, Laguna and Naithon areas.
To say this growing “Asian Rivera” and the surrounding Andaman region offers incredible lifestyle choices is an understatement. The region is consistently rated as one of the world’s greatest sailing, diving and golfing playgrounds, plus there are countless superb beaches and natural wonders to explore. Add Phuket’s broad range of world-class hospitals, restaurants, nightlife and shopping and you will understand why Phuket is Asia’s leading tourist and second-home destination.
Phuket is geographically situated in the centre of southern Asia, and the international airport, just 20 minutes from this exclusive area, offers a huge number of flights on the world’s major carriers to all major gateways. In addition, up to 50 private jets arrive each week during the high season, as the international elite fly in and out of the island on an increasingly regular basis for:
Yachting and Sailing
Sailors from all over the world are discovering Asia’s ‘French Rivera’ with its first class maritime infrastructure and a cost structure that is a fraction compared to other global maritime centers. There are literally hundreds of islands dotted around the sheltered, calm Phang Nga Bay, throughout the Andaman Sea, and to the north, in the Similan and Surin National Marine Parks. Phuket has three main marinas and was voted 'Best Asian Maritime Capital' in the annual Asian Boating Awards 2010 hosted by luxury magazine Asia-Pacific Boating.
Aquatic Adventures
The Andaman region is globally recognized as one of the world’s top-ten scuba and snorkel diving areas. The diving industry itself is highly developed and professional, with international guides, world-class dive boats for both day trips and extended live-a-board expeditions, and a cost structure that is the envy of divers everywhere.
Golfing Culture
Phuket offers an abundance of mouthwatering choices when it comes to greens, fairways and links. Thailand has embraced golf with an incredible passion over the past 20 years and as a result it has established itself as the leading golfing nation in Asia. The Blue Canyon course, just minutes from Surin Beach, overlooks Nai Yang Beach and features stunning scenery with challenging holes surrounded by the sea, lagoons and vaulting palm trees. It hosted the 1994 and 1998 Johnnie Walker Classics and the 1996 Honda Invitational. Also nearby is the Banyan Tree’s 18-hole, par 71 course, and Mission Hills, a Jack Nicklaus-designed course, set along the sea in the northeast corner of Phuket.
Active Outdoor Living
Surin Beach is surrounded by some of the most beautiful, natural environments on earth. The beach and ocean life, both on and beneath the waves, are ever-present facets of tropical island life. Yet Phuket also offers the astounding limestone karst-topography of Phang Nga Bay, with hundreds of islands that you can explore by yacht, cruiser or kayak.
Hospitals and Wellness
All the major resorts and hotels offer superb spa facilities, gymnasium and health clubs, and the cultural influences of superbly trained Thai therapists, masseuses and instructors bring an added, intensely personal dimension to these attractive offerings. You can find everything from hot yoga to Pilates; from triathlon training to mountain biking clubs, from detoxification retreats to wellness programs throughout the island. The hospital, medical and dental sectors offer state of the art facilities, with internationally trained staff, but at a third of the cost for identical procedures compared to the developed world. Thailand has become a Mecca for medical and dental tourism.
Dining and Nightlife
Surin Beach’s dining and nightlife scene has become absolutely legendary in the past few years. It offers an incredible range of choice from uber-fashionable and sophisticated restaurants and wine bars, to beach side shacks where you can eat fresh seafood with sand between your toes. Thai food has of course become established as one of the great international cuisines, so you can choose from a great number of amazing Thai restaurants. Plus, nearly every other international cuisine imaginable is on offer in the Surin area that consistently met the high expectations of their cosmopolitan customers.
Shopping
Phuket is a shopaholic’s paradise offering a huge variety of shops, from bustling open-air night markets and street stalls to the most sophisticated art galleries, antique stores, arts and crafts outlets that can be found anywhere in Asia. Phuket also has huge modern shopping centers such as Central Festival and Index Living Mall in the center of the island, and the recently opened Jungceylon Centre in Patong.
Awesome Villas is southern Thailand’s quintessential source for luxury vacation rental homes and oceanfront and sea view properties for sale in the Phuket region. For additional information about Villa Chan Grajang and other awesome villas for sale or rent, visit awesomevillas.com.
