Onyx Signs world’s first YOO Beach Club, APAC’s first Yoo2 Hotel and a Shama Hub

Onyx Hospitality has expanded its partnership with Ratanakorn Asset, a leading Thai real estate company, for three new developments in the eastern Thai city of Pattaya.

The partnership will see the launch of the world’s first YOO Beach Club on Na Jomtien Beach, the Asia-Pacific region’s first Yoo2 Hotel, and Southeast Asia’s first Shama Hub property, both to be located on Wongamat Beach.

Ratanakorn Asset Co. Ltd. Managing Director Jugkarut Ruangratanakorn said: “Since signing our first agreement with Onyx Hospitality Group one year ago, we have been in regular contact with the Onyx team and have been impressed with how they continue to generate healthy awareness and demand to their existing hotels in Pattaya and elsewhere despite the ongoing challenges. As forward thinkers and optimists, we are excited to extend our partnership with Onyx to bring to live several unique concepts and experiences in the coming years. There are a number of firsts here with YOO Beach Club, Yoo2 and Shama Hub that we are excited to work closely with Onyx Hospitality Group and YOO Group on.”

Designed by YOO Studio in London, the YOO Beach Club and the Yoo2 Hotel are products of YOO Hotels & Resorts, the hospitality arm of the YOO Group, a design-led global company, founded by Philippe Starck and John Hitchcox.

Conceptualised with the vision of becoming one of the top destination beach clubs in the world, the YOO Beach Club will be the first of its kind and will be developed on a coastal site south of Pattaya City, adjacent to the 400-key Amari Jomtien Pattaya which is currently being constructed.

Both the YOO Beach Club and Amari Jomtien Pattaya will be part of a mixed-use beachfront development incorporating a community retail mall and events space. The project is scheduled for opening in 2024.

The upcoming Yoo2 and Shama Hub will be built as a dual-branded hotel tower along Pattaya’s Wongamat Beach, with both properties offering distinct product highlights and experiences.

Yoo2 Pattaya will be a 100-room upscale lifestyle hotel that combines local influences with a vibrant lobby that showcases music from local DJs and creations from local artists and crafts makers. Unique guest experiences will include elements such as a sky lobby, restaurant and meeting rooms with elevated views, a rooftop pool bar, daily DJ sets, nail bars and guided morning runs offered as a refreshing alternative to the gym and new way to experience the nearby area.

Shama Hub Pattaya will be a 250-key studio-living concept property that combines co-working style lobbies, lively bar and grab-and-go services with apartments that offer innovative modular flexibility for different work, play, dine and sleep requirements.

Two other Shama Hub properties are currently being developed in Haikou and Changchun in China and scheduled to open by mid-2021.

Onyx Hospitality Group President and Chief Executive Officer Douglas Martell said: “Pattaya always holds a special place in our hearts. This is where Onyx Hospitality Group’s growth story started almost 50 years ago with the establishment of our first hotel, which continues to thrive as Amari Pattaya and its newly-launched OZO North Pattaya that stands tall on an adjacent site. Five decades on, as our footprint expands across the Asia-Pacific region, we continue to innovate across our different brands and locations. Collaborating closely with Ratanakorn Asset, we look forward to introducing these all-new exciting concepts and experiences, including our first YOO products, to the Eastern Riviera of Thailand.”