Picture this. You’ve just finished checking into your gorgeous Thai resort and quickly dumped your luggage in a spacious villa. You decide it’s time to check out the property, especially the pool, which turns out to be… red.
We’re talking red, red. Like almost blood red.
The idea of near-blood red water isn’t exactly appealing to the masses, so what were the owners of Thailand’s luxurious and minimalist resort, The Library, thinking when they based a whole chapter of their property around a red pool?
Speaking to media in Sydney earlier this month, the property’s Senior Marketing Manager, Francis Gan, said that when the owner decided to build the resort over a decade ago there was a lot of competition with a number of highly recognised accommodation brands already operating in Koh Samui.
Image: The The Library/Facebook
The owner decided that if a property were to be built on the land it would need to be different and bold in order to stand out from the rest.
“He said he wanted to prove that the locals could do something completely different.”
Francis Gan, The Library Senior Marketing Manager
“And in order to do that, he had to be bold.”
And nothing says ‘bold and different’ quite as much as a near-blood red pool.
While it may sound a little off-putting, Gan said that despite what you see in pictures, the pool looks slightly different in person as the colour changes as the sun moves throughout the day.
Image: The The Library/Facebook
He continued, describing the pool as a highlight for guests and ‘the place to be seen’. It’s also become an iconic part of the property, as it features across marketing material and on the hotel’s website.
“It has received a lot of great feedback and people know us because of the Red Pool.”
Francis Gan, The Library Senior Marketing Manager
A Red Pool isn’t the only quirky and charming aspect of The Library, inside guests will find everything beautifully themed to represent a ‘book’, such as the restaurant called ‘The Page’.
Image: The The Library/Facebook
At ‘The Page’ guests dine on traditional Thai food – Thai food that goes beyond the meals you’d expect to order in Sydney.
The Library’s restaurant features an expanded menu of Old Kingdom Thai cuisine, with recipes dating back 50-100 years.
“We have a really good chef who knows all of this secret Thai food. Our guests get to sample truly traditional Thai food but with modern presentation.”
Francis Gan, The Library Senior Marketing Manager
Another distinctive feature of the resort is the strong connection with nature. This is particularly obvious through the ‘random’ trees scattered across the property and sometimes, even inside villas.
Image: The The Library/Facebook
Gan explained that when the owner was designing the hotel he was adamant about not cutting any trees because many “had been standing there longer than him”.
So instead, the team planned and built around the natural environment, which is why a large number of villas have trees inside them.
“Guests feel a mix of the outside environment on the inside.”