Point Yamu by COMO, a new luxury resort from COMO Hotels and Resorts, will open in Phuket, Thailand in November this year.
Designed by Italy-based Paola Navone, the resort is located at the tip of Cape Yamu and overlooks the limestone karsts of Phang Nga Bay – a UNESCO World Heritage Site – and the Andaman Sea.
It aims to offer contemporary Thai luxury, alongside a COMO Shambhala wellness retreat and two restaurants serving Thai and Italian cuisine.
The resort will feature 106 rooms and private villas, a 100m swimming pool, a COMO Shambhala Retreat.
The wellness retreat, COMO Shambhala, will house eight treatment rooms, including one beauty treatment room and a yoga studio offering yoga, Pilates and Asian-inspired therapies.
The retreat follows a healthy living philosophy which takes its inspiration from mythological roots: in ancient Buddhist texts, 'Shambhala' refers to a sacred place of bliss.
The concept is that, “tranquillity need not to be found in any specific location but with the right tools, it can be discovered within oneself, by exploring body, mind and spirit”.
Christina Ong, owner of COMO Hotels and Resorts, designed COMO Shambhala out of her personal pursuit of a meaningful spa experience.
In 2000 she created COMO Shambhala Retreat at Parrot Cay in the Turks and Caicos; the company now owns and operates seven sanctuaries worldwide as well as a standalone yoga and treatment space, COMO Shambhala Urban Escape, Singapore.
The flagship property, which opened in 2005, is COMO Shambhala Estate, a residential health retreat in Bali.
The company also creates skin, hair and bodycare products as well as activewear and loungewear collections.
Ong said: “We chose each of our retreat locations for their unique sense of peace, from the pine forests of Bhutan to views overlooking Bali’s rice paddies. At COMO’s private island properties, it is all about the simplicity of an empty horizon and fresh sea air.
“We apply COMO Shambhala’s holistic approach to the materials used in each property’s construction. Buildings express sympathy to their locale, while silence makes itself a key element, important when encouraging quiet meditation.”
COMO Shambhala focuses on hands-on healing combining traditional Eastern techniques with scientific advances. Therapies range from lymphatic drainage to muscular pain to weight loss or anti-ageing skincare.
The retreat houses products from its own wellness lifestyle brand, COMO Shambhala at Home, which includes a range of massage oils, body care, hair care, home and travel products.
The products are based on the principles of aromatherapy, using only pure essential oils. All products are free of Sodium Laurel Sulphate, parabens, silicones and synthetic substances including artificial colour and fragrance.
In addition, COMO Shambhala At Home produces a capsule collection of yoga and activewear, Balinese silver jewellery and yoga accessories.
Point Yamu is COMO’s first resort in Thailand outside Bangkok and it is also the first property designed for COMO Hotels and Resorts by Paola Navone (Navone is also working on COMO’s first Stateside hotel, Metropolitan by COMO, Miami Beach, set to open in December this year.) At Point Yamu, the collaboration sees signature clean lines and pared-back, contemporary style merged with the designer’s colourful approach and the use of local materials.
