Just a 10-minute drive from Phuket International Airport, The Slate is nestled on the shores of Nai Yang Beach and Sirinat National Park on Phuket’s north-western coast. The luxury resort, designed by the fantastical architect and interior designer Bill Bensley, is a whimsical wonderland of tropical suites and villas that pays homage to Phuket’s tin mining history. This attention to heritage is the work of Krystal Prakaikaew Na-Ranong, daughter of Pearl Group hotelier Wichit Na-Ranong, who began rebranding the hotel she co-owns with her father two years ago. With an enhanced programme of cultural excursions, new wellness activities on the rota, and an upcoming collaboration with Central Saint Martins College, Compare Retreats sits down with Krystal to learn more about The Slate’s rebranding.
Could you give us the background on how The Slate Phuket came to be? I grew up in the hospitality business and it became something very natural for me to do. I never wanted to do anything else. I went to hotel school to study hotel management in Lucerne, Switzerland. When I came back, I started to work for Four Seasons and then decided to come work for my father for the re-branding of The Slate. We began with the name—it was called Pearl Village, which we changed to Indigo Pearl. We stuck with the name because my father didn’t want to leave ‘Pearl’ out, but after a while, we realised in order for us to expand and create a story, we needed a name that connects us to our location and who we are. In Phuket, a huge part of that history is tin mining. So that’s why we changed the name to The Slate about two years ago. The decor and DNA are very similar, but the way we connect our guests with local life and the history of Phuket has changed.
The Slate’s facilities are vast and versatile. Who are the key clients that you keep seeing coming back again and again? We have a lot of couples, young families and also friends travelling together. People actually come from different places: they are usually interested in design, which is the main element that attracts people to this property. Once they’ve arrived, they find that the resort is this incredible unique space of 35 acres right beside the beach, packed with facilities like the tennis courts, fitness studio, yoga hall, and three swimming pools—one for families, one for adults only. The resort is so big, all of our clients can find the peacefulness they’re looking for.
With the rebranding of The Slate, where does wellness lie? We’ve been bringing in more visiting practitioners, yoga, nutritionists, and some expert wellness speakers to connect our guests to this kind of lifestyle. We offer a lot of sports and activities too, but we’re currently developing a lot of programmes to make this better.
What are the different activities on offer? There are so many options. Guests can start their day very early visiting one of the nine different temples nearby, or go forest trekking or walking along the beach. We can help arrange visits to the city—an excursion to Phuket Old Town, for example—or they can workout at the resort, with private lessons in yoga, boxing, Pilates or TRX. We’re also moments away from Blue Canyon and Mission Hills golf courses.
What are the food options at The Slate? We have seven different food and beverage outlets, so there’s plenty of choices. For a taste of local flavours, we have Underground Cafe, which serves healthy bites like salad, fresh seafood and smoothies, and then Black Ginger which is our Thai restaurant using local Phuket recipes. Our other restaurants include Rivet & Rebar which is Japanese cuisine, Tin Mine which offers international dishes, Shore Thing which does beach-side grills, and Dirty Monstera which is perfect for lunch and a cup of coffee.
What does your perfect day at The Slate look like from morning to night? I like to wake up and have my coffee by the pool before I take a walk around the resort—it’s so big and beautiful, it’s very relaxed. I’ll have breakfast and go to the beach. Maybe in the afternoon, I’ll spend some time at the Spa, and then have dinner at one of our restaurants: I love the Phuket street food dishes at Black Ginger.
What’s your favourite treatment in the award-winning Coqoon Spa? I am very simple, I like oil massage. It’s just a relaxing massage. We also use Anne Semonin products in the Coqoon Spa, I love the facial scrubs and treatments that we offer there. One of the best is the Cryotherapie Age-Defying treatment, where ice cubes are used with a serum to plump, freshen and rejuvenate the skin. Your face looks brand new.
Anything new coming up for The Slate in 2019? At the moment we’re working on a big collaboration with Central Saint Martins College: we’re going to sponsor one of their students and he will be artisan resident for the end of this year to next year. We’re going to develop ideas together and they will be in residence to create a few pieces of art. Then we can sell these artworks to our guest, and have them connect with the artist.
How do you think art enhances the guest’s experience? Art is very colourful and dynamic. There are so many ways to interpret things. A lot of our guests come to use for the design. We have a lot of artists that we have collaborated with before, and we have an art gallery in the lobby. We are always trying to engage more artists to come and display their work, as well as photographers.
What was your favourite memory growing up in and around the hospitality industry? People. I was lucky enough to meet very interesting people. My house was always busy. My grandmother used to love ballroom dancing, so it was an open house three times a week. My father used to have a bowling alley, so we had competitions and things like that before he started his hotel. I was so lucky to meet so many people: socialising became fun, and a part of my lifestyle.
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