Patong is dead.

[eisfeld]

Development on Phuket is showing no sign of slowing.

A new resort is to be built by a Bangkok group, most likely in Chalong.

One site being considered is on Patak Road above Kata, the other is on the Big Buddha Rd.

One resort? There are literally hundreds of developments going on at the moment. Resorts, condos, townhouses, villas. And it will continue in the near future until there is a collapse. There is still money to be made right now but it's getting tougher by the day. Smart developers will succeed but there is a crazy amount of properties for sale or rent for years and no price drops of course. It's an inefficient market and private "investors" will more and more start to lose their money. Plenty of other places on the rise that are a much better bet.

Could you please name a few of these hundreds of resort developments going on at the moment?

I wasn't talking about condos, townhouses, villas, sheds or any of the other forms of development that you seem to have confused my statement with. Do you even know what a resort is?

Not going to bother answering your rudeness. But I agree with what NamKangMan said.

[Old Croc]

Development on Phuket is showing no sign of slowing.

A new resort is to be built by a Bangkok group, most likely in Chalong.

One site being considered is on Patak Road above Kata, the other is on the Big Buddha Rd.

One resort? There are literally hundreds of developments going on at the moment. Resorts, condos, townhouses, villas. And it will continue in the near future until there is a collapse. There is still money to be made right now but it's getting tougher by the day. Smart developers will succeed but there is a crazy amount of properties for sale or rent for years and no price drops of course. It's an inefficient market and private "investors" will more and more start to lose their money. Plenty of other places on the rise that are a much better bet.

Could you please name a few of these hundreds of resort developments going on at the moment?

I wasn't talking about condos, townhouses, villas, sheds or any of the other forms of development that you seem to have confused my statement with. Do you even know what a resort is?

Not going to bother answering your rudeness. But I agree with what NamKangMan said.

I considered your reply to my post to be exceptionally rude!

I was passing on a piece of information, to members who may be interested, that there is a possibility a resort may be built in dreary old Chalong. The size of the project, 13 rai, would make this something unusual for the area.

Your brusque, dismissal of my information with a "so what" attitude because hundreds of projects including condos, townhouses and villas are being built all the time, was ignorant and off topic.

I don't read the troll NKM's posts, but I'm sure he's happy to have gained a new friend.

[phuketrichard]

Patong is showing no signs of non development

Anyone know what is going in where the primary school was on 200 year road in Patong?
drove past the other day and just noticed it was town down. and fenced n.

Project on the beach road near immigration

also what is going in across from Junk Ceylon on the back road?
seems there still expecting Patong to survive an after the seeing highs an lows over the past 25 years, am sure it will.

Edited March 21, 2015 by phuketrichard

[NamKangMan]

@ OC

"I don't read the troll NKM's posts, but I'm sure he's happy to have gained a new friend." - better to gain a new friend than not.

"Development on Phuket is showing no sign of slowing." - overdevelopment has a direct effect on the property market.

So, they may be building yet another resort, in the Chalong area. What is your point? Are you saying that shows confidence in the tourism industry here, or it shows property is maintaining its value?

You can't have it both ways, by saying they are building and building and building here, without any effect on the property market, both for expats, and room rates for tourists.

[NamKangMan]

It's amazing in this day and age on Phuket that there isn't a taxi meter hotline to call a cab to your house. I took my bike to get serviced on bypass today and I had to hang around for 3 hours due to no taxi to call or hail so i waited for my wife to be available to pick me up. If Phuket wants to be taken seriously and get out of the village mentality they need to get some basic infrastructure in order. I laugh when people say Phuket is an international destination. Can't even manoeuvre around the island without having to walk or being extorted for a dangerous tuk tuk/green plate taxi ride.

Can't do anything without a detailed plan in your head.

I probably would give up driving altogether if it had a taxi system similar to Bangkok.

"It's amazing in this day and age on Phuket that there isn't a taxi meter hotline to call a cab to your house." - what's more amazing is TAT promotes Phuket as "A World Class Tourist Destination" when it clearly has a 3rd World transport system.

[xylophone]

Following on from previous comments I made, I have an update, but first some words which spring to mind..........

The first, "when will they ever learn" from the song by Peter, Paul, and Mary, and second, words from War of the Worlds, "............and still they come".

As previously mentioned, the Beachhouse bar in Soi Nanai closed through lack of business, only to be taken over by a cafe/bar which did just about no business whatsoever for under a year, and has now been reopened by a farang who has been here for a few years.

There is no parking space for any customers because that was taken up and used by the Italian restaurant, next to it, which also suffers from lack of customers.

So far, very few customers seen in the bar.

In a little Soi close to me, the Thai restaurant (farang backer) has closed down after about four months, as has the little tattoo parlour next to it, and the pharmacy which stocks just the bare minimum, having closed once since opening, does little to no business. The laundry (farang backed) seems to be holding its own although I would doubt it is making any profit judging by the turnover.

Also adjacent to the shops mentioned just above is a restaurant built above a minimart/7-Eleven (or whatever it is) and this is also suffering from a lack of customers............ yet the building goes on, with another restaurant just taking shape on the opposite side of the road.

The shutters are also down on a few small massage places...........and so it goes on. And if you want a room for 500 baht a night, they are available in the small hotels along Soi Nanai.

What surprises me is that despite what appears to be "obvious", many are still prepared to risk their finances by "investing" in this place. Indeed some should surely know better.

[robertthebruce]

Following on from previous comments I made, I have an update, but first some words which spring to mind..........

The first, "when will they ever learn" from the song by Peter, Paul, and Mary, and second, words from War of the Worlds, "............and still they come".

As previously mentioned, the Beachhouse bar in Soi Nanai closed through lack of business, only to be taken over by a cafe/bar which did just about no business whatsoever for under a year, and has now been reopened by a farang who has been here for a few years.

There is no parking space for any customers because that was taken up and used by the Italian restaurant, next to it, which also suffers from lack of customers.

So far, very few customers seen in the bar.

In a little Soi close to me, the Thai restaurant (farang backer) has closed down after about four months, as has the little tattoo parlour next to it, and the pharmacy which stocks just the bare minimum, having closed once since opening, does little to no business. The laundry (farang backed) seems to be holding its own although I would doubt it is making any profit judging by the turnover.

Also adjacent to the shops mentioned just above is a restaurant built above a minimart/7-Eleven (or whatever it is) and this is also suffering from a lack of customers............ yet the building goes on, with another restaurant just taking shape on the opposite side of the road.

The shutters are also down on a few small massage places...........and so it goes on. And if you want a room for 500 baht a night, they are available in the small hotels along Soi Nanai.

What surprises me is that despite what appears to be "obvious", many are still prepared to risk their finances by "investing" in this place. Indeed some should surely know better.

Totally agree with what you have said, but this seems the ''Norm'' in ''Thailand''...

[madmitch]

So many businesses closing down or currently on the market all over Phuket.

Unfortunately that doesn't help those wanting to sell a successful business (me!) due to the fact that I have had enough and not to do with the downturn in tourism.

Anyone know a good commercial agent?

[xylophone]

Following on from previous comments I made, I have an update, but first some words which spring to mind..........

The first, "when will they ever learn" from the song by Peter, Paul, and Mary, and second, words from War of the Worlds, "............and still they come".

As previously mentioned, the Beachhouse bar in Soi Nanai closed through lack of business, only to be taken over by a cafe/bar which did just about no business whatsoever for under a year, and has now been reopened by a farang who has been here for a few years.

There is no parking space for any customers because that was taken up and used by the Italian restaurant, next to it, which also suffers from lack of customers.

So far, very few customers seen in the bar.

In a little Soi close to me, the Thai restaurant (farang backer) has closed down after about four months, as has the little tattoo parlour next to it, and the pharmacy which stocks just the bare minimum, having closed once since opening, does little to no business. The laundry (farang backed) seems to be holding its own although I would doubt it is making any profit judging by the turnover.

Also adjacent to the shops mentioned just above is a restaurant built above a minimart/7-Eleven (or whatever it is) and this is also suffering from a lack of customers............ yet the building goes on, with another restaurant just taking shape on the opposite side of the road.

The shutters are also down on a few small massage places...........and so it goes on. And if you want a room for 500 baht a night, they are available in the small hotels along Soi Nanai.

What surprises me is that despite what appears to be "obvious", many are still prepared to risk their finances by "investing" in this place. Indeed some should surely know better.

Totally agree with what you have said, but this seems the ''Norm'' in ''Thailand''...

I suppose what surprises me the most is that this is still going on despite the very obvious signs of a downturn.

About five years ago, a friend of mine who owned a bar was making a pretty good living, but when it started to go downhill he sold – – the writing was on the wall and he saw it and the bar scene has been going downhill ever since with just about no one making any money.

Add to that the frequent closure of businesses over the past couple of years, the fact that selling of houses and apartments is now very difficult and that money sourced from overseas has become worth a lot less here because of the GFC and the artificially high baht, and you have what would appear to be an very negative situation with regards to investing in the likes of bars and restaurants, not to mention smaller guesthouses (with the exception of one particular poster here seems to be making a good go of things, and all the very best to him)..........so why would you do it?

Certainly the Chinese and other tourists are also spending less and really do limit their activities to shopping malls and cheap prepaid hotels.

Anyone who has been here a while or had bothered to do some research would understand the situation, and would surely save their money?

[xylophone]

So many businesses closing down or currently on the market all over Phuket.

Unfortunately that doesn't help those wanting to sell a successful business (me!) due to the fact that I have had enough and not to do with the downturn in tourism.

Anyone know a good commercial agent?

Have sent you a PM.

[simon43]

Up by the airport, the building of new hotels and condos continues at a fast pace.

- 2 new hotels on the national park road (where my old hotel is)

- 2 new condo buildings on the same road

- The huge 'Terminal' resort/condo project near to Nai Yang Temple

- A new 7 storey condo opposite the national park road

- Another large condo project next to vthat

- An 8-storey condo project just up the road from the latter

... and so on and so on.

I note a new hotel project called 'Royal Lee Resort and Spa' on the airport road, next to the new LPG station.

The number of tourists who visit Phuket is not really increasing (the demographics of the tourists are changing ==> Asian, not 'western'). So all these new hotels simply 'dilute' the occupancy rate of the hotels in this area, (unless you can maintain high occupancy rate based on good reputation/recommendation etc).

As new hotels/guesthouses open, so some existing ones and restaurants close, (Blue Sushi next to Airport Resort and Spa closed after the landlord increased the rent, Im Restaurant on the other side of that hotel has also closed).

And so it goes on....

[JetsetBkk]

Up by the airport, the building of new hotels and condos continues at a fast pace.

- 2 new hotels on the national park road (where my old hotel is)

- 2 new condo buildings on the same road

- The huge 'Terminal' resort/condo project near to Nai Yang Temple

- A new 7 storey condo opposite the national park road

- Another large condo project next to vthat

- An 8-storey condo project just up the road from the latter

... and so on and so on.

I note a new hotel project called 'Royal Lee Resort and Spa' on the airport road, next to the new LPG station.

The number of tourists who visit Phuket is not really increasing (the demographics of the tourists are changing ==> Asian, not 'western'). So all these new hotels simply 'dilute' the occupancy rate of the hotels in this area, (unless you can maintain high occupancy rate based on good reputation/recommendation etc).

As new hotels/guesthouses open, so some existing ones and restaurants close, (Blue Sushi next to Airport Resort and Spa closed after the landlord increased the rent, Im Restaurant on the other side of that hotel has also closed).

And so it goes on....

The beach up past the airport - Mai Khao - is fantastic. I used to go there occasionally just to get out of Phuket Town when I lived there. The restaurant salas further up past the checkpoint at Sai Kaew were also a great place for relaxing - don't know if they are still there or got cleaned out by the army. Shame if they did.

[stevenl]

Those sala's are gone.

[JetsetBkk]

Those sala's are gone.

Shame. Beautiful setting, beautiful view, totally quiet, & good food @Thai prices.

[Whyamiandwhatamidoinghere]

if its a nice day there at the pool, beach or on a tour

why go to a shopping mall on a nice day?

BUT also i usually go on sundays an compared to last year the lines at the Big c checkout are much shorter this year

Shorter checkout lanes because more shoppers are using shoplifting.

[phuketlive]

Patong is really dead, you can feel it.

Went to illuzion disco on bangla, they give you a free bottle of whisky or vodka if you buy one, never saw a discount like this in patong before...

High season was bad, it's going to be very hard for businesses as low season just started...

Still, i saw a new hotel just finished on soi nanai 8 for sale or rent, good luck with that...

In illuzion, lots of girls but not many guys. Tai pan sill busy as usual.

But like said by others, it's overpriced and thais don't understand it's not by putting prices up that you will make things better.

A restaurant i go to just raised his prices, ..., he wants to lose the few people he has?!

Still, 200 bahts for a beer in a club is unacceptable. Taxi still looking to rip you off.

But it will not change or you have to replace most of the locals here who have a mafia attitude, thinking, like said before, that there will still tourists coming here anyway to be ripped off...

Locals have a really bad attitude but they all like this so they think it's normal to be that way with tourists... Sad

There is a long way to high season now, some will die soon. Rents are too expensive, when i see some hotels with 200 000 baths per month to pay and they are empty now... Crazy.

Edited June 24, 2015 by phuketlive

[KarenBravo]

Just the opposite in Chalong and Rawai. Prices on drinks are being cut.

In Chalong, Gordons G&T in one bar has gone from 120 Bt to 100 Bt. That's all day, not just happy hour.

Another bar in Chalong is selling between 12:00 and 21:00 pm 50 Bt G&Ts, 50 Bt bottled beers. She does a great trade now.

Went into Phuket Town last Saturday to buy a bike part. Never seen so little traffic and so few people on the streets.

For years people have been predicting the demise of Phuket as a tourist destination. Maybe this year is the first year of the start of a new trend. It certainly feels like it.

[phuketlive]

Was talking to a guy who works as a diver, said business is really bad now, chinese everywhere but they don't go diving...

[xylophone]

Quote phuketlive, "Still, i saw a new hotel just finished on soi nanai 8 for sale or rent, good luck with that..."

I drove past that a couple of days ago and was surprised to see it as had not realised a small hotel was being built there.

The little restaurant at the junction of Nanai Soi and Banzaan has just come up for sale again and is advertised as "a quick sale, cheap price". The little restaurant (Middle Eastern of some description?) some 60 m south of that junction on the right-hand side has also closed down and this was brand-new (open for perhaps four or five months) and only ever saw two people in it.

At the bottom of my Soi where the owner of the land built four little "shops" (actually a square room with a roller door on the front of it) three of those have now closed and are up for sale again – – the little Thai restaurant which was only frequented by the occasional Thai motorbike taxi driver; the pharmacy which opened and never really got going and has now closed; and a tattoo parlour which closed shortly after opening, only to become a motor bike rental shop, which again closed about three weeks after opening.

The Nanai Road icon, "Dirty Nellies Bar" is up for sale...............and the list goes on.

And just as "phuketlive" has alluded to, I believe it will only get worse, yet all the while new places are being built ready for the unsuspecting farang with Thai GF in tow, looking to start a business to support them. And believe it or not I actually overheard a conversation today from a farang and his Thai girl who were negotiating to buy a small guesthouse, when they said that their objective was to buy it and make a living from it in order to support them!!

[phuketlive]

Those little shop are down on soi nanai 6 yes, the rent is like 25000 baths/month for just one unit, how can you make money with that... Crazy prices.

The restaurant you talk about, which was upstairs, rent was 50 000 baths/month... I think he had 3 staff minimum so 30 000 + electricity lets say 10 000, it's almost 100 000 just to pay for expenses and no customers in that area...

Crazy.

Edited June 24, 2015 by phuketlive

[LivinginKata]

Good luck to anyone trying to start any sort of smallish new business in Patong. How they can pay the high rent is beyond me. Once their seed money is used up ... then that's it. Even someone like me with a long standing business for over a decade sees the downfall. We are fortunate, our company owns the lands & buildings, so no rent burden and we can carry on at lower revenue in. I really don't see any upside to this downturn .... oh well, I have my 2 pensions rolling in these days. We will be Ok.

Edited June 24, 2015 by LivinginKata

[xylophone]

Those little shop are down on soi nanai 6 yes, the rent is like 25000 baths/month for just one unit, how can you make money with that... Crazy prices.

The restaurant you talk about, which was upstairs, rent was 50 000 baths/month... I think he had 3 staff minimum so 30 000 + electricity lets say 10 000, it's almost 100 000 just to pay for expenses and no customers in that area...

Crazy.

You are quite right, those little shops are at the end of Soi Nanai 6.

As for the little restaurant at the junction of Nanai and Banzaan, I had no idea it was that expensive and apart from the fact that it is up some steps right on the road, it is also inundated with mud and water which cascades down Nanai after a downpour, and literally makes the restaurant inaccessible............imagine trying to wade through 12 inches of muddy water to get to the restaurant. Simply not on.

Like LivinginKata has said, I can't see an upturn to much of what is going on here, because much of it doesn't make any sense (constant building when the infrastructure won't support it and small guest houses and hotels are nearly empty, not to mention the fact that apartments and condominiums supposedly being built off the plans have ground to a halt).......... luckily I sold two houses a few years back and also have a couple of pensions to live on, so I'm not unduly affected by it, however it is sad to see it happening because it is more like "paradise lost" and I have to feel for the poor farangs who are getting into such ventures without much research, or the use of the grey matter in the big head!!

[phuketlive]

The restaurant i talk about is the one on nanai 6, upstairs the family mart, name The 29. Closed after 6 months.

Edited June 24, 2015 by phuketlive

[xylophone]

The restaurant i talk about is the one on nanai 6, upstairs the family mart

Sorry, talking cross purposes, although I do know the restaurant you are talking about.

The one I was referring to is a little restaurant up some steps, which is right opposite where Soi Banzaan meets Soi Nanai.

[phuketlive]

Bad location there too anyway, dangerous to walk, can not park, traffic coming from everywhere...

But that's what is amazing here, there is always someone new to take over...

Edited June 24, 2015 by phuketlive

[KarenBravo]

But that's what is amazing here, there is always someone new to take over...

Not any more.......

[phuketlive]

But that's what is amazing here, there is always someone new to take over...

Not any more.......

Still ! Look at what xylophone was saying in a previous post about a farang looking to buy a guesthouse...

[Sharp]

Exactly Phuketlive!! They now think it's a great time to buy due to the reduced lease/purchase prices..... Lol....

[gaztop08]

Good luck to anyone trying to start any sort of smallish new business in Patong.

Everyone loves a pancake......tourists can't get enough of them ?

Edited June 25, 2015 by gaztop08

[Weblo]

I spent a day with a couple this winter in Chang Mai. They owned a dive shop in Phuket.

Moved from the UK to start the dream. They said it is now becoming a disaster. Very very few tourists anymore.

They left the business to travel.