Luxury resorts in Phuket offer Hong Kong expats a second home

Hongkongers seeking to escape the city have long looked to the Thai island of Phuket.

While the island has been attracting its share of tourists, it’s also drawing a different crowd – those looking for a place to retire or as a location for a second home. And luxury is always key.

“I ran into [Russian billionaire] Roman Abramovich the other night,” says Karl Langenskiöld, a long- time resident who runs the Twin Palms Resort near Phuket’s serene Surin Beach.

Abramovich was holidaying on his yacht, moored off the beach. Others, including Hong Kong’s Allan Zeman, drop anchor more permanently. Zeman built a villa on what is known as Phuket’s Millionaires’ Mile, on the island’s west coat, so named because of the luxury villas that dot the hillside.

This is a far cry from more rowdy places on the island such as Patong, an early centre of tourism in Phuket.

“They are separate developments, ” says Langenskiöld. Even as places like Patong continue to go about their business, other parts of Phuket have turned into high-end destinations.