Time has truly flown since the world locked itself down and holidays were paused for us all, but as you will be aware, the world is starting to wake up from these darker times and the bright holiday sunshine is appearing once again. 

Like many businesses, we are starting to regroup, our teams are slowly coming back together, and we are shaking off this past two years with a new-found energy, ready to welcome you in this shiny new year. 

With this in mind, we wanted to start reaching out to inspire your future holidays, in the same way we have always done, just this time a little more bite-sized. 

For those of you who subscribe, we will share a little monthly round-up of what’s happening on the islands of Phuket and Koh Samui and across our resorts. This will be the first of our newsletters, and together with our reinvigorated social media stories, we aim to keep you up to date with anything we feel may interest and inspire you. 

So, what did you miss this past season on the islands? 

Well, Thailand successfully reopened its borders on the 1^st November, with a common-sense approach for International travellers to return with minimum fuss and maximum safety, with the introduction of the new Thailand Pass, currently available to low-risk countries.

And with this, both Absolute Twin Sands Resort & Spa and The Beach Samui have been awarded ‘SHA Extra Plus (SHA++)’ certification by the Thailand Tourist Authority’s Health & Safety Administration. This demonstrates our resorts meet exceptional levels of cleanliness with our teams fully vaccinated.

And as more and more airlines reopen routes to the islands, our teams have been overjoyed to welcome back the first guests, who have been delighted with the chance to experience Thailand in such rare, quieter times. 

Thailand has had chance to rejuvenate, and the true beauty of our national parks are now being revealed, most marine life has returned and crystal clear waters and uncrowded beaches are being enjoyed once again. The islands are more breathtaking than ever, and with fewer tourists, now is an incredible time to holiday. 

With a higher conscious surrounding health, and most of the population now vaccinated, nightlife is also returning to normal. Street markets are opening once again and Phuket now enjoys a weekly food festival on Patong Beach. 

And as restrictions are carefully reduced, the island of Phuket has played host to a couple of international events. Namely, the ‘Miss Grand International’ pageant and the ‘Golden Fly Series’, the World’s first ever in-city athletics tour. 

A-listers have even started to return as film companies clamber to make the most if this truly special quieter time. Academy Award winner and Australian Gladiator Russell Crowe was joined by American actor and heartthrob Zac Efron. Both arrived under the Phuket Sandbox program, tweeting several times as to how much they enjoyed their stay while shooting upcoming war drama, ‘The Greatest Beer Run Ever’. 

And this New Year, the island will welcome one of the world’s most beloved tenors, Andrea Bocelli, who will perform at Phuket’s New Year countdown at Saphan Hin public park.

And the excitement of this reawakening resonates through our resorts, as more and more of our ambassadors start to return to work.

The Beach Samui continues to be managed under the love and care of Khun Rung and her team. Khun Rung has been with us since opening and her warm and wonderful manner is one of the many reasons our members and guests return year on year to the island of Samui. 

And at Twin Sands we welcome back a familiar face, David Cruikshank, whom many of you will remember in his longstanding position as Food & Beverage Manager, and who now returns to oversee our Front of House team, Food & Beverage, Transport and our Spa, as Executive Assistant Manager, under Absolute Resorts General Manager, Michael Massey. 

We are also delighted to welcome Executive Chef Khun Non, who joins us from The Conrad Koh Samui and previously Le Meridian Khoa Lak, who will oversee all resort restaurants at both Twin Sands and Bangla Suites. 

And under the guidance of Khun Non, Executive Sous Chef Khun Pat, who joins us from the Four Seasons Koh Samui and previously The Pullman Khao Lak and The Conrad Koh Samui.

180º Wellness also enjoys a new face in Spa Manager Khun Nina, who brings over 20 years’ experience in spa management to head up the team. 

And under this reinvigorated team our resort restaurants and spa are now open once again with new and exciting menus and a host of new ideas to make your holidays more memorable than ever. 

And to make sure you have the best possible return to your holiday home from home next year, you will receive 25% of your Annual Management Fee charge back in the form of Resort Credit at any of our Resort Restaurants and Wellness during 2022.

So, let us now take this opportunity to wish you all a warm and wonderful Christmas, and may your new year be blessed with health, happiness and adventure once again. 

From faces old and new, we can’t wait to welcome you back in 2022.