Four unique luxury properties plan to open in The Maldives, Japan, Thailand and Vietnam later this year. Check them out.

Chedi Kudavillingili, The Maldives

Located on a one-kilometre coral island called Kudavillingili, the 99-villa Chedi Kudavillingili is Singapore’s GHM’s first resort in the Maldives. It will include 36 overwater villas and a 150-metre central pool. While the overwater villas fishtail off one end of the island, a bridge on the opposite end leads to the spa with overwater treatment rooms on a kidney-shaped islet. In between are a variety of health and wellness venues—a long pool segmented for privacy, a basketball court, a football pitch, courts for tennis, badminton and volleyball, a yoga pavilion, secret garden and water sports centre. Other amenities include a library, cigar lounge, health club and gymnasium. The property’s dining options range from a beach club and bar and an all-day dining restaurant to the Hawker Restaurant with four live cooking stations plating up Indian, Chinese, Thai and international dishes. Chedi Kudavillingili will be a short 25-minute boat road from Malé’s Velana International Airport.

Images | (Top of page) Deck of overwater villa. (Gallery below) 1. Aerial oceanfront view of resort. 2. One hundred and fifty-metre pool. 3. Beach villa with plunge pool. 4. Villa living room. All images and renderings courtesy of Chedi Kudavillingili.

Banyan Tree Krabi, Thailand

Singapore-based Banyan Tree Holdings Ltd., one of Asia’s top luxury hotel groups, plans to open a new luxury property near the Thai town of Krabi later this year. Currently under development on serene Tubkaek Beach, a 35-minute drive from Krabi Airport, Banyan Tree Krabi fronts powdery white sands and the shallow-shelved coast of the Andaman Sea. Slated for a grand opening on October 1st, the resort will offer 72 pool suites and villas, including seven two-bedroom options and one three-bedroom villa. It will also offer all-day dining, a ballroom, a wedding chapel, a beach club, a kids’ club, a fitness centre, and in keeping with Banyan Tree’s wellness branding, a rainforest-themed spa. Banyan Tree Krabi is chiseled into a hillside where it commands a direct view of a dozen spectacular karst limestone towers protruding from the sea.

Images | 1. Pre-function space. 2. Bedroom, Beachfront Villa. 3. Bathroom, Family Ocean Pool Suite. 4. Living room, Presidential Villa. 

Zentis Osaka, Japan

With a pedigree that flows from the Palace Hotel Tokyo and designs on rewriting the playbook for “lifestyle” brands, the management arm of Palace Hotel Co. Ltd, has announced a Q3 2020 opening for Zentis Osaka, the first property of its new hospitality brand. Top UK designer Tara Bernerd has been tapped for the property’s modern interiors while Café Co., the operator behind the one Michelin-starred CRAFTALE in Tokyo, will develop and operate the hotel’s restaurant (UP STAIRZ), bar and lounge. A new build, the 16-storey property will feature 212 guestrooms with a contemporary design inspired by the intuitive functionality of bento boxes. The hotel will also feature a 24-hour fitness centre. Zentis Osaka is located where Osaka’s riverside area of Dojimahama and the high-end business entertainment district of Kita-shinchi meet.

Images | 1. Guest Lounge. 2. Studio Room. 3. UP STAIRZ Restaurant. All renderings courtesy of Tara Bernerd.

Alma, Vietnam

The bold, spacious Alma resort sits on 30 hectares of oceanfront on the Cam Ranh Peninsula. It offers 580 oversized suites and pavilions, all with sweeping views of the ocean. Highlights of the property include 2,400-square-foot three-bedroom seaside pavilions with four bathrooms, a living room, kitchen and private pool; 12 swimming pools cascading down to the beach; a waterpark; spa with 13 treatment rooms; 70-seat cinema; convention centre;  amphitheatre; art gallery; science museum; gymnasium and yoga room; 18-hole mini-golf course; watersports centre; an “Alma Mart” mini supermarket; and more. Alma also features a broad spectrum of restaurants helmed by top chefs, a food court serving local and international cuisine, as well as a classical bar, pool bar and beach bar.

Images | 1. Oceanfront aerial view of property. 2. Pool, two-bedroom beachfront villa. 3. Bedroom, beachfront villa. 4. Amphitheatre. Images 2-4 © AA+ Photography.