Nigel Harris heeded the hospitality calling in college. While studying architecture in the U.K., he designed a hotel project and realized that he had a passion for the business. After working as an architect for five years in Hong Kong for the likes of P&T Group, RMJM, and HPA (formerly Ho & Partners Architects), he joined Kerry Group, the parent company of Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, to oversee the construction of its Mactan Resort and Spa, Cebu, in the Philippines. That was in 1990, and Harris hasn’t looked back.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction to the hotel business, as I was learning directly from the property’s owner and operator,” he recalls. After the resort’s completion three years later, he moved on to Holiday Inn as a quality control inspector, visiting 120 hotels per year experiencing the nuances of Asia’s different cultures, and eventually heading up the group’s technical services functions in the region. In 2006, he joined Hilton Worldwide’s team in India, and while based in Delhi, led projects for a major joint venture between Hilton and DLF, one of the country’s largest real estate companies. At an event in late 2009, he bumped into a former colleague who had recently joined Amari, a Thai company with big plans. Two months later, Amari came under the ONYX Hospitality Group umbrella, and Harris was ensconced in its Bangkok head office as the company’s executive vice president, chief projects and product development.
Images of players adorn a guestroom at the soccer-themed Amari Buriram
United in Thailand. Photography courtesy of ONYX Hospitality Group.
For almost four decades, Amari had developed organically. “Amari’s previous growth was conservative,” Harris acknowledges. “It was a disparate brand, with 580 rooms in city properties and 50-room boutique resort properties. Six years ago, the owners wanted to move forward and become more competitive by leveraging the portfolio and expanding within the region. It invested heavily up front, doubling its [company] staff count in 2010 without increasing the number of properties. They hired senior hoteliers from international companies, and we worked with a branding team and conducted market research to identify what brand segmentation was appropriate for future growth.”
Amari, now known for its 4-Star hotels and resorts, has become the leading sub-brand within Onyx. The others include select-service OZO, 5-Star Saffron, serviced apartment brand Shama, and the eclectic Mosaic Collection—plus Oriental Residence in Bangkok, a standalone hotel and condo hybrid with interiors by local firm Abacus Design.
Bright orange umbrellas shade poolside loungers at Amari Buriram.
Onyx owns approximately half of its dozen or so properties in Thailand. “Our advantage is our flexibility,” Harris says. “We are able to exploit market trends.” The recently unveiled hilltop Ocean Wing by locally based Create Great Design at its flagship Amari Phuket for example, features residential-style guestrooms and blends with the older, A49-designed beachside wing, which the company recently renovated along with the F&B facilities, he says. The new section features a flat roof that overlooks Patong Bay (perfect for morning yoga) and a picturesque staircase that cuts through the property—from the highest villa through the clubhouse down to the sea.
A rendering of the Amari Dali, opening in 2017 in China’s Yunnan province.
Now the Amari brand has nine properties slated to open in the next few years, with Amari Havodda Maldives featuring interiors by Miaja Design Group and architecture by Riyan, and Amari Galle in Sri Lanka designed by Greymatters both scheduled for 2016; and Amari Dali in China’s Yunnan province by Hassell for 2017. These follow the 2014 openings of Amari Dhaka in Bangladesh by EK Architects and the football-themed Amari Buriram United in Thailand, completed by I’ll Design Studio. Also slated in Thailand for 2016: the Amari Residences Pattaya, by A35 Architect and interior design firm Model 101.
A beach villa at the Amari Havodda Maldives features a private deck and pool.
Design is key. Onyx has a portfolio of brand-approved architects and designers for its properties. “We like to build relationships,” Harris says, including with A49, which “understood what we wanted,” for the Amari Phuket. “There were no wacky designs, and we enjoyed an open, collaborative process.” And staying true to its Thai roots, the company also prefers to work with local firms. “Some are very creative but may not be strong in detailed documentation,” he explains. “The established ones may be too expensive. We tend to work with middle ground guys,” typically finding them through word of mouth or by visiting their previous projects, he adds.
The group believes in celebrating the individuality of each culture where its hotels are situated, and giving back to the community from which it draws its labor pool. In fact, it has initiated Plan BEE, an Onyx-funded project that provides an alternative source of income for Thai farmers (while also working to save the Asian honeybee population), introducing their honey in spa treatments and menus across the group’s properties.
Amari Phuket’s newly opened Ocean Wing offers neutral, residentially
informed suites, some of which face the ocean.
“We are an Asian company and we want to provide what’s relevant to today’s for the Asian traveler,” says Harris. “It’s a dynamic time: the rise of Russia and India, where guests are venturing outside of the hotel, and China where the market’s dynamic has changed [toward being] more cost conscious, and the massive impact of social media. Fundamentally, though, people are still looking for a good night’s sleep.”