A suite will cost about ?8,000 (Dh36,420) a night, and if that isn't enough to keep out "hoi polloi" reservations will be by invitation only. A Bangkok-based luxury hospitality company is in the final stages of negotiations to form a partnership with a Dubai group to develop "chateau hotels" in France in a $100 million (Dh367.2m) expansion plan. Lebua Hotels and Resorts, which had previously focused on the restaurant industry, launched its first hotel in the Thai capital in 2006 and now has another hotel there, as well as an extremely luxurious lodge at Lake Okareka in New Zealand.
"We are looking at a joint venture with a Dubai-based business group for our expansion of chateaus and destination restaurants in Sydney, LA, Hong Kong and London," said Deepak Ohri, the chief executive of Lebua Hotels and Resorts. Mr Ohri would not identify the group but described it as "a huge group with a diversified portfolio". He said the joint venture would buy and renovate six or seven chateau hotels across France that "would create the 18th and 19th century atmosphere" in a luxury environment.
"We will jointly develop the properties," said Mr Ohri, adding he expected to finalise the details of the deal with the prospective Dubai partner this week, and an announcement was expected within the next three months. "We will be announcing the joint venture as well as the acquisition of the first chateau and the sites of the restaurants in Sydney and Hong Kong." Each chateau would have between eight and 10 luxury suites, Mr Ohri said.
It was too early to say whether the joint venture would have any properties in Dubai, he said. Mr Ohri said he was also trying to generate interest among UAE residents to consider holidays in Bangkok after political instability prompted tourists to cancel plans to visit the Thai capital. Business across Bangkok hotels suffered badly as a result, with occupancy falling to 21 per cent last month at Lebua's hotels in Thailand, while they would normally expect to achieve 70 per cent occupancy in May.
But Mr Ohri said business was starting to pick up as people took advantage of cut-price airline offers for Bangkok. "People are coming back," he said. "Bangkok is such a strong city that it will always come out OK." rbundhun@thenational.ae