a night, these guests were clearly the sort who have stayed in
luxury properties before. But even they seemed blown away.
Keemala defi nitely isn’t for the rowdy bachelor party-
type. Instead, it aims to create a magical and ‘other-worldly’
atmosphere for wellness and relaxation, but in the context
of Phuket’s own culture and tradition. For this reason, the
property is entirely made of materials sourced locally, the
spa treatments, the food, and the philosophy is deeply rooted
to Thai heritage. The owners believed they could off er a
higher and purer experience of the destination than what
visitors have encountered in Phuket till now. Keemala’s
design is born from a fi ctional story that embodies the spirit
of ancient Phuket settlers.
The fi ctional legend goes like this: once upon a time, in the
days of the ancient maritime trade routes, an epic journey
began merging eastern and western worlds. A caravan heading
for China travelled together and the people formed a strong
bond. While crossing the Indian Ocean, they encountered
a major storm; the surviving ships were scattered in the
roiling sea through the dark night. Once the storm passed,
the battered caravan found itself adrift. With the guidance of
skillful navigators, they followed the stars and landed on an
island in the Andaman Sea known today as Phuket.
Keemala and its grounds have been designed as an
expansion of the surrounding landscape, making use of natural
features such as grand old trees, streams, and waterfalls and
integrating these into the overall design. The architecture of
the four diff erent villa types refl ects the skills and way of life
of each of the diff erent fi ctional clans, and off ers guests 38
incredibly designed villas, each with their own individual pool
and quite gloriously indulgent outdoor showers.
Through the Clay Pool Cottages, the earthiness of the
Pa-Ta-Pea clan is refl ected, while the Tent Pool Villas have
been designed to refl ect the nomadic lifestyle of the Khon-
Jorn tribe. The We-ha people worshipped the universe and
chose to live suspended from trees so they could be closer
to the sky—they have been represented by the Tree Pool
Houses. Finally, the Bird’s Nest Pool Villas were inspired
by the Rung-Nok community and symbolise their opulent
way of life. Designed by a Thai fi rm called Architect Space,
the majority of the building materials throughout the resort
are natural, and resources found on site have been recycled.
Wherever possible, the design is environmentally sustainable
and the construction complements the surrounding
ecosystem. The interriors were also designed by Thai talent
Pisit Aongskultong from Pisud Design Company, who had
the creative vision for the resort.
The design focus for the landscaping utilises the
concept of ‘life’ and ‘village’, and the existing topography
and trees are still kept in their original condition. Many
of the villas had to be designed in a way to incorporate these,
so they didn’t have to be removed or cut down. Another unusal
aspect of Keemala is that most of the vegetation here is made
up of fruit trees. Outside our villas were trees laden with ripe
chikoos, hanging over one of our villa pools were banana trees
weighed down by massive bunches of half-ripe bananas. As you
walk the pathways, or take the canopy walk over a suspended
wooden bridge, you discover diff erent types of fruits, orchids,
and herbs. Lemongrass near the spa, fresh basil near the clay
pool cottages, vegetable gardens down near the resort pool,
all emanating a rich bouquet of aromas. Many of the fresh
TRAVEL TRAVEL ++ LEISURE / L E I S U R E / M AY 2 0 1 7MAY 2017 7977