November 2008

Dear Friends and Partners,

Thank you to all of you who have visited us. The Sarojin celebrated 3 years on 7 October 2008 and we are very privileged to have welcomed visitors from more than 42 different countries.

Overwhelmingly the most popular activity at The Sarojin continues to be the consistent ability of guests to fall in love with the luxury of just relaxing; www.sarojin.com/overview_guestbk.html

Excellence in Wines	Adding to The Sarojin’s delight earlier in June of being awarded "Asia's Leading Boutique Hotel 2008" for the third consecutive year at the World Travel Awards 2008,
we are equally delighted to inform you that the Ficus restaurant has been awarded with the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for 2008. The award is made to those restaurants that share a dedication to wine and lists a well-chosen selection of quality wine producers, along with a thematic match to the menu in both price and style.

The Sarojin’s passion for wines is avidly shared amongst its owners! The Sarojin’s Wine Director, Sam Bonifant, a New Zealander and retired lawyer, personally dates his passion for wine back to his college days and the bottle of Liebfraumilch which he and his then girlfriend were accustomed to drink over supper. His taste thus wetted, he confesses to being fascinated by wine ever since. His excuse, if he needs one, is that his legal career left little time for other pursuits. Sam is an enthusiastic collector of wines which he cellars in England with a back-up cellar in his native New Zealand. Thus assured that a sudden world wine drought will not find him lacking in supply in either hemisphere, he enjoys sharing the results whenever possible with family and friends and exploring the many ways in which food and wine complement each other.

The latter is an endless subject he says. “The old principles of what went with what were really quite limited and thus the challenge is to find what is best for the myriad of flavours which modern cuisine has to offer.”

At The Sarojin, Sam has worked with the team to create a comprehensive wine list with over 200 selections from both the old and the new worlds. The emphasis is on quality yet affordability, which is quite a challenge given the very high Thai import duty on wines and limited supplier lists. Careful attention is also paid to proper storage as well as to proper serving, given the additional challenge of maintaining quality when drinking wine in a tropical climate. As Sam says “you can have the best wine in the world but if it is exposed to the heat for too long the result can be a total disaster”.

We are very proud of our wine selection at The Sarojin and hope that you too enjoy exploring Sam’s choices and recommendations during your stay.

Le Verre de Vin - Wine by the Glass
Le verre de vin is the world's most advanced wine and champagne preservation system and is the only wine preservation system capable of effect ively preserving an unlimited number of still, sparkling and fortified wines. Le verre de vin has been recently installed at both Ficus and Edge restaurants and we are delighted to now offer 20 wines by the glass including both still and sparkling wines. This is a wonderful addition and enables all guests to more freely roam and enjoy Sam’s wonderful wine menu at The Sarojin. Thank you Sam!

Degustation Dining
Executive Chef Khun Jui and his team have been delighting guests with a range of ten course candlelit degustation dinners. These very special dinners have been set in the most breathtaking of settings around the ancient ficus tree. Inspired cuisines created by Khun Jui and his team such as “mint tuna sashimi on a bed of whipped tomato terrine avocado topped with fish roe”, or “andaman blue crab and celery essence with prawn coriander ravioli” have been set with specifically chosen wines by Sam Bonifant, The Sarojin’s wine director for each course. These very special degustation dinners offer a true culinary adventure into cuisines and wines.

Dine in Extraordinary Locations
Food, food, food is what “What’s New” seems to be all about so far this month! But our chefs are passionate not only for the food and wines served but also for securing extraordinary dining locations and “just for 2”. Be prepared to be asked “where would you like your dining table set tonight?” and equally we love to be challenged! Under the age-old tree at Ficus or beside the shimmering Andaman Sea at the Edge restaurant? At your own private beach barbeque under one of the old sea almond trees; pool island pavilions; or in the intimacy of your private dining sala? Gourmet safari style breakfasts and lunch locations allow rare opportunities to take advantage of spectacular locations within the five adventurous national parks bordering The Sarojin. For the more adventurous why not sea kayak at sunset to a secret location for oysters and champagne, or dine romantically amongst four hundred candles by a tropical waterfall in the moonlight?



Beautifully, Authentically Thailand … Adventure and A Glimpse of Local Life
The area of Khao Lak and Phang Nga bordering The Sarojin is truly an area of outstanding beauty in Thailand and a great adventure playground. The world famous dive sanctuaries of the Similan and Surin Islands, five spectacular rain forested national parks, stunning Phang Nga Bay national marine park renowned for its dramatic limestone islands and captivating sea cave canoe journeys are all easily explored.

A team of personal guides and the elegant and inspired “imagineer” – the ultimate personal concierge delight in creating very personalized experiences “just for 2”.  Perhaps a private charter on the luxury boat Lady Sarojin, or a jungle adventure complete with champagne? A Thai cooking class and lunch by a waterfall?  A romantic private barbecue on The Sarojin’s own secluded white sand beach…the limits are only your imagination.

The surrounding area also offers a rare and authentic opportunity to observe Thai rural and community life. The surrounding rural communities offer a combination of farming and fishing as well as insights into the daily way of life and cultural.  As for all excursions offered by The Sarojin, these “Glimpses into Local Life” experiences are “just for 2”, tailor-made as you desire and offer ample opportunity for you to stop and to explore further as you wish.

Similans Islands- SCUBA and
Snorkeling
The Similan Islands Marine National Park, one of the world’s top ten world dive sites, is less than an hour away by the Lady Sarojin boat yacht direct from The Sarojin’s beach and re-opens again on 1 November 2008. The Similans are renowned for their underwater beauty, marine life and coral, soft white sand beaches and lush interiors. With reefs beginning only yards from the white sand beaches and a visibility of up to 30 meters, the islands offer superb snorkeling as well as a unique diving experience.

We are delighted to be able to offer regular scheduled cruises to the Similans Islands as well as private charters. The luxury boat, Lady Sarojin, is exclusively available for guests to privately charter. These days are spectacular and offer a very personal and special opportunity and memory. Apart from the Similans Islands other destinations off the west coast for private charter include Surin Islands, Koh Bon, Richelieu Rock as well as Phang Nga Bay national marine park in the south east renowned for its dramatic limestone islands and captivating sea cave canoe journeys,

Pathways Spa – Midnight Spaaaaaa
Secluded, privately entered and luxuriously integrated with the natural surroundings, guests are lulled by sounds of the Andaman Sea. As always we are delighted to personalise any aspect of your stay at The Sarojin as you wish and in response to several requests Pathways is now open twice a week to midnight!

New treatment additions at Pathways include the sumptuous “Nature’s Midday Haven“ a gorgeous 4 hour spa experience embracing all natural products for a body scrub, body wrap, facial and hair nourishment treatment, aromatic bath, body m oisturizing massage, spa cuisine lunch.

Weddings
We are so joyous to have had the opportunity to celebrate weddings at The Sarojin in the last few months and we wish all a very, very happy life together, filled with love.

With an Asian contemporary boutique resort design, an intimate atmosphere of staying at a “friend’s private estate”, the turquoise crystal waters of the Andaman sea and an expansive soft white sand beach, The Sarojin offers a beautiful and intimate setting for weddings. Our own personal wedding planner and team of 245 staff delight in providing a very high level of personal attention and detail to ensure a wedding is extremely personalised and tailor-made to each couple’s desires, and making the wedding day truly memorable.


Lady Sarojin Awards 2008
The Lady Sarojin Awards are presented annually to those staff that have indeed exceeded all expectation and delivered “The Spirit of exceptional service and attention” that Lady Sarojin has inspired. Nominations for these awards have been gathered from heads of department, previous award winners, travel agents and guests. These awards are given to staff that has been truly “exceptional”.

For the third time The Sarojin was delighted to be able to award the prestigious “Lady Sarojin Awards” to:

Khun Ra ( Administration), Khun Tik (Front Office), Khun Gogh (Food and Beverage), Khun Jowell (Imagineer), Khun Harn (Housekeeping), Khun Junko (Corporate Office), Khun Pe (Finance).

Past Lady Sarojin Award winners include:

Khun Chalai (Housekeeping), Khun Debbie (Sales), Khun Eke (IT), Khun Jui (Food and Beverage), Khun Kai (Reservations), Khun Kate (Administration), Khun Sak (food and Beverage), Khun Toy (Facilities), Khun Yai (food and Beverage), Khun Yui (Food and Beverage), ,

Congratulations and thank you all for delivering “ The Spirit of exceptional service and attention” .

English English English
Set up in February 2008, our in house English School as gone from strength to strength. Led by our “headmistress” Maria and teacher Ryan, all 245 staff each receives two x 45 minutes English lessons per week. A unique approach to teaching includes classroom teaching and “in-situ” teaching. All departments competed during the month of October in the first annual “Power Quiz” conducted in English. Winners were the Reservations Department – congratulations!
We are very grateful the staff’s great commitment and enthusiasm for this learning and development initiative.

New Staff Bus
Q: What’s big, black, shiny and seen all over Khao Lak?
A: The Sarojin’s new staff bus

Launched 3 November 2008, The Sarojin’s staff bus provides comfortable and complimentary transport to and from The Sarojin for our staff.

Community Fund
The surrounding area offers a rare and authentic opportunity to observe Thai rural and community life as well as opportunities to be involved with and support many worthwhile and deserving local community projects. We are very happy to share these projects and opportunities with any interested guests during their stay at The Sarojin.

The Sarojin established ’The Sarojin Khao Lak Community Fund' in December 2004 and has supported community projects in the Khao Lak area as well as further a field. Past projects include fishing boats; housing; red cross; new school buildings; children’s play and educational equipment; orphanage support. Projects further a field has included raising over US$ 9,000 for the Burma Relief effort in response to Cyclone Nargis.

Currently The Sarojin has primarily focused its resources on children support (orphanage) and animal welfare (support of a full time veterinary surgeon in Khao Lak)

We thank all those of you who have visited us and look forward to warmly welcoming you again and others in the future, and hope that you will be truly enriched by your sojourn with us.

Sincerely yours,

Kate Kemp
Owner & Executive Director
kate.kemp@sarojin.com