Thai Golf Experience Adds Woodlands Properties

Published on: July 29, 2009

“Golf in a Kingdom: The Thai Golf Experience” is a month old and is already having an impact. Another luxury property has joined and the region’s top pro tour has again put a kingdom track on its schedule. Last week, the Woodlands Hotel & Resort and Woodlands Suites, a pair of related lodgings in Pattaya, became part of “Golf in a Kingdom: The Thai Golf Experience” (www.golfinakingdom.com), which launched in June as an itinerary and golf-travel resource that matches Thailand’s top courses with its best hotels. Also, the Asian PGA Tour has tapped “Golf in a Kingdom” member course Santiburi Samui Country Club as host venue of the inaugural Queen’s Cup tournament, Aug. 13 to 16. Santiburi Samui CC is a dramatic layout that traverses a jungle of towering coconut trees on the slopes of Koh Samui’s Khao Pom Mountain.

The Woodlands properties are the first upscale accommodations in the resort hub of Pattaya. One is a sprawling hotel containing 134 contemporary guest rooms; the other a vertical compilation of 74 stylish, serviced apartments. Both are set in a quiet beachfront locale just north of town, connected by footpaths that weave through gardens and lead, in some directions, to swimming pools.

Fellow kingdom member Siam Country Club, a 36-hole, championship venue (its Plantation Course hosted the 2009 Honda LPGA Thailand), is about 10 minutes away by car. Other accommodations in the “Golf in a Kingdom” portfolio include the Anantara Phuket, Bangkok Marriott Resort & Spa, Anantara Golden Triangle, Anantara Hua Hin, Anantara Koh Samui, and Hua Hin Marriott Resort & Spa. “The kingdom’s hotels comprise an elite group,” said Stephane Bringer, the Woodlands general manager. “We fit into that collection by offering the same high level of style, comfort and service as the rest.”

The Asian PGA Tour has stopped at “Golf in a Kingdom” courses before, at the Thai Country Club six times, and at Santiburi Chiang Rai in 2008 for the Singha Thailand PGA Championship. Other golf venues in the kingdom lineup include Muang Kaew Golf Club in Bangkok, Chiang Mai Highlands Golf & Spa Resort in Chiang Mai, and Banyan Golf Club in Hua Hin. For more information, email info@golfinakingdom.com or visit www.golfinakingdom.com.