Professional football visits Cape Panwa Hotel

Well that certainly grabbed your attention didn’t it!

Okay, even though the title of this blog may be far from true it is not entirely misleading if you possess a sense of humor and some vivid imagination – as I got to be  the manager of Manchester United and my friend the manger of Liverpool – for one day.

On my visit to Cape Panwa Hotel last week I was surprised by all the jubilant noises coming from the Games Room. When I peeped in I was somehow not shocked to find my boss playing with a Playstation!

Wearing his beautifully tailored suit he sat playing English soccer with a young boy in beach wear and a baseball cap and was losing 3-Nil.

(Ed – my phone kept ringing so it ended a draw)

If you really need a challenge speak to Chaovarit our Assistant Front Office Manager – he is a master of Playstation games!

              

Cape Panwa and its eggs

When ordering a steak at any decent restaurant the waiter always asks how you would like it prepared (my apologies to vegetarians) - there are three standard choices but we still struggle at times - rare or medium-rare? 

At Cape Panwa, the decision making process has to be activated much earlier as we have twice as many choices for your breakfast eggs.

The cooks wait patiently whilst you decide

1)    Scrambled eggs – with or without extras

2)    Fried eggs – easy or over easy

3)    Boiled eggs – hard or soft

4)    Omelette – with or without extras

5)    Poached eggs

6)    Eggs Benedict

And if you really want marmite soldiers I know that Tim keeps a stash…

              

Making a Splash with Songkran (The Thai New Year)

Once upon a time, the gentle pouring of blessed water over the hands or feet of one’s elders and other revered persons during the Thai New Year was the routine which has now evolved or degenerated into “The Biggest Water Fight in the World!”  

At Cape Panwa Hotel, we like to remember and honour the roots of Songkran, so we arrange for our guests to visit a local Buddhist Temple where gifts can be given and offerings made. The ambiance is quite special with people honouring their parents and other elders. Wais are made, gifts are shared, and people receive blessings for the New Year. It is a wonderful setting to experience.  

After this beginning ritual, the water fights began. As we drove through Sapan Hin, returning to the hotel, we were continually being ambushed with water thrown or sprayed by the local people. Personally, I think our driver may have known this would happen.

We returned to the Cape Panwa Hotel to tamer water fights, games, Thai dancing and other frivolities. The evening was more subdued with a Thai buffet at the iconic Panwa House , fire dancing and Thai dancing, and a sense of relaxed happiness.

Happy Songkran!

              

Eggs on the Beach at Cape Panwa Hotel

It was the weekend: many people had escaped from work in Bangkok, choosing to spend the time at the Cape Panwa Hotel in Phuket. 

After my early breakfast (06:30), I placed myself carefully on the beach, began to watch the waves slowly come closer to the foot of my sun bed, I was alone thinking to myself: this is paradise. 

I suddenly found myself back in reality when a small child tapped me on the shoulder and asked, “Have you seen any painted eggs or monster stones?” I was a bit startled but remembered that it was Easter. 

The children staying at Cape Panwa Hotel or Kantary Bay were having an Easter Egg Hunt! One of the girls introduced me to a monster stone. I listened to her excitedly tell me she had just found the stone that she had painted. 

On moving from the beach to the pool I saw children colouring little ‘Easter Books’ that the hotel had prepared for them. The fun and games of celebrating Easter continued throughout the day, finishing at Café Kantary in Panwa Village. 

There I saw the same girl collecting a prize for finding a painted egg and monster stones: a specially designed Easter Cake.

I’m looking forward to next year already. 

Happy Easter!

              

Miss Thailand World 2013 finalists stay at Cape Panwa Hotel

The recent three day Miss Thailand World 2013 Training Camp, held at the Cape Panwa Hotel, Phuket, saw the arrival of twenty talented Thai finalists and I can tell you the lobby was buzzing with anticipation prior to their arrival.

Kasemkij Hotels has been a proud sponsor and supporter of the Miss Thailand World event for the past several years. This year saw the finalists experience a variety of planned activities within the hotel and the local Cape Panwa area that were designed to promote philanthropic endeavours, tourism and culture in line with this years slogan “True ASEAN beauty on the global stage”. Activities included visits to a local school and some community projects, and one-on-one TV interviews, held in new The Absolute Suite of the hotel, to promote Phuket as a destination.

Some of the highlights included the private cruise on the Panwa Princess yacht to a local island in Phang Nga Bay (complete with a video shoot onboard!) and the annual swimwear bikini shoot which was held on the beach in near perfect weather. Check out the behind the scenes video of their stay. 

For your chance to vote for your favourite contestant and WIN a holiday to Phuket valued at 45,600 baht,  and enter the online competition by voting for your favourite finalist. Be quick as entries close 9th April, 2013. No.12, Khun Tawan is my winning pick …. I can’t wait to see who wins!

              

The Silver Fox meets Lydia and the Panwa Princess

The Panwa Princess always causes a stir at Cape Panwa Hotel – all eyes turn toward the jetty when the Panwa Princess draws up just to see who will be boarding the luxury yacht that day…

Claire and Gary - who got married at Cape Panwa Hotel

A newly married couple OR a family celebrating a birthday OR a guest redeeming their cruise privilege on their 10th stay with us OR a celebrity OR the hotel owner’s family? The list goes on.

Apart from the yacht, there was another “princess” on the hotel jetty today however - it was Lydia – a beautiful and popular Thai singer. Whilst she was shooting the cover for a local fashion magazine on our jetty  she met an English silver fox – Clive Fox, a regular guest of Cape Panwa Hotel. I think that he was even more surprised than I was that she wanted to have her photograph taken with him.

Wonder when another magazine will come to shoot at Cape Panwa Hotel and decide, on the spur of the moment, to include a foreigner in their fashion spread!