It all began in 1985 when the late Akorn Hoontrakul, then chairman of The Imperial
Hotel Group, saw Tongsai Bay from the sea and declared that it was love at first sight.
Seven days later Akorn purchased the land. For three months he slept on the beach,
dreaming of his ideal resort, and started to plan the layout and location of the rooms.
A key challenge was to do it without cutting down a single tree or cause damage to the
beautiful natural surroundings.

The Tongsai Bay opened its doors in July 1987 and became the first five-star luxury
hotel on Koh Samui, under the umbrella of The Imperial Hotel Group. Following a period
of illness in 1993, Akorn sold the Imperial Hotel Group whilst retaining The Tongsai Bay,
because he wanted to live out the rest of his life there with his beloved wife
Chompunute.

In 2000 Akorn passed away and management of The Tongsai Bay moved to the capable
hands of his son, Thanakorn and his daughter in-law, Saisiri who both share Akorn’s
passion for the environment and for providing the highest standards of hospitality and
service. Under his watchful eye, The Tongsai Bay continued to grow from strength to
strength and developed its own ‘Green Project’. This is now the model for many new
hotels who also desire to preserve the island’s natural environment for future
generations.

In 2009 Michael Holehouse, a seasoned British born hotelier with 14 years experience of
working in Thailand was appointed Managing Director. He reports directly to the family
who now reside in Bangkok. Michael is equally committed to taking The Tongsai Bay to
even higher levels of service whilst maintaining the green policies already in place.