The Slate, a luxury resort in northwest Phuket, is capitalising on the region’s colourful past, and Australian luxury travellers can’t get enough of it.
Speaking to Karryon after a recent visit to Australia, co-founder of five-star The Slate, Krystal Prakaikaew Na-Ranong says not only are Australian luxury travellers now one of its top three markets, they’re spending more when they’re there too.
She says spending by Australian luxury travellers is up by more than 30 per cent on food and beverages, spa and retail.
Na-Ranong says the reason The Slate resonates so much with Australian luxury travellers is because it authentically connects people with culture and place.
She says a good example of this is the recently opened Coolies Club in the heart of the Old Town which they created in a collaboration with designer Bill Bensley – inside one of the first buildings her great-grandfather bought with his money working in the mines.
“We don’t shy away from Phuket’s controversial history and Coolies is a place to pay tribute to the red-light district which isn’t celebrated much, but was a place where miners went because of its brothels, gambling and opium.
“People appreciate when you tell the real story. The food mimics what the locals used to eat when it was the red-light district, using charcoal to cook, and we also have a cocktail menu where we tell stories of the past, for example, the Mama Twist cocktail is inspired by the mamasans (brothel managers) who worked in the lane.”
Inspiring international travel
Na-Ranong’s family isn’t new to the world of tourism.
Her father, Wichit Na-Ranong, was credited with making Phuket a global destination after he invited the James Bond team to film The Man With The Golden Gun at Phang Nga Bay.
“When my father came back from his University days in the US in the 70s, he started tourism and wanted to put Phuket on the map and at the time it wasn’t really known, and there were no international flights and he lobbied to bring the James Bond film here.
“He owned a movie theatre and so had a connection with the right people, and he was very happy with the results because we were otherwise very dependent on tin, and the industry wasn’t doing so well. Now they call him the ‘father of tourism’ in Phuket.”
Decades later, Na-Ranong and her father co-founded The Slate.
“The traveller was changing, and we wanted them to be connected to the destination, and so I talked to my father, and we decided to transform our family-run hotel Pearl Village and give it a new life.
“The bonding with my father was amazing, and I learned so much from him and his years in the industry, and I brought a new vision to the hotel.”
Future plans
Na-Ranong says while Phuket is a UNESCO city of gastronomy, many people don’t see the province as being on the culinary map, and that’s something she plans on changing.
“Food is an area of focus because it reflects the culture. People know Thai food from famous dishes, but Phuket food blends Chinese, Thai and Muslim, and there are dishes that are not very well known, so I’d like to change that.”
In a bid to do just that, Na-Ranong launched a concept at The Slate called ‘bold’.
‘We created the series to try to push boundaries of conventional dining and bring art, fashion and entertainment to the experience.
“The first one we did was called Bong Appetite, and it was a culinary experience incorporating cannabis into the menu following the decriminalisation of marijuana in Thailand and it was a lot of fun.”
But Na-Ranong says most importantly, their purpose with food is “to educate people about Phuket’s history”.
“It’s about staying true to the original recipe, no matter how different the presentation, environment and experience.”
She says it’s that authenticity and storytelling that sets them apart.
“What we really want to achieve is for guests to leave here feeling connected to the soul of the island, and have a good understanding about the history of Phuket”.
For more information, visit The Slate.
