Trying to collect info on the status of luxury resorts in the SE Asia region in the aftermath of the Tsunami desaster, here's a first statement by Six Senses:

Six Senses Resorts & Spas

Update on the Operational Status of our Resorts & Spas

Six Senses join with our friends, colleagues and partners in expressing our shock regarding the recent events resulting from the earthquake in Western Indonesia and our heartfelt sentiments and condolences to all those who are affected.

As you are aware, several of our Six Senses properties are located within this region, and we are very grateful to say that we were comparatively unaffected.

Several of our properties were outside this region and therefore remained totally unaffected. These properties include:

* Ana Mandara Resort & Six Senses Spa in Nha Trang, Vietnam
* Evason Hideaway & Six Senses Spa at Ninh Van Bay, Vietnam
* Sila Evason Hideaway & Spa at Samui Thailand
* Evason Hideaway & Six Senses Spa at Hua Hin, Thailand
* Evason Hua Hin & Six Senses Spa at Hua Hin, Thailand
* Six Senses Spa at the Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai, UAE
* Six Senses Spa at Le Telfair in Mauritius

The three properties affected were:

Soneva Fushi Resort & Six Senses Spa in the Maldives

Only six villas on the south-east side of Soneva Fushi suffered some limited inundation which we expect to be repaired and fully operational before 30 December 2004.

Fortunately, there were no injuries to either guests or hosts.

Soneva Gili Resort & Six Senses Spa in the Maldives

Soneva Gili suffered the greatest damage of all our resorts, but happily no serious injuries to either guests or hosts.

For security reasons and because of the temporary suspension of water and electricity (which was back on line by the following day), we relocated our guests to hotels and guesthouses in Male' as well as on neighbouring unaffected resorts.

Soneva Gili is officially closed now, and it is our intention to reopen the resort by 1st February 2005. A firm re-opening date will be given as soon as we are very clear as of when we can accommodate guests again.

The Evason Phuket Resort & Six Senses Spa in Phuket, Thailand

The only physical damage was to the dive school and the jetty at the front of the property. The rest of the Resort suffered no impact and is fully operational. Transfers to the beach club at Bon Island will recommence on 29th December 2004.

At the time of this statement, whilst there have been no casualties on the property to either guests or hosts, we are trying to locate several hosts who were off-duty in order to ensure that they are safe, as well as two guests that were off the property at the time of the incident.

Any changes to the reopening times mentioned here will be posted on our website www.sixsenses.com

Whilst we were relatively unscathed, the communities which we operate in and other fellow hoteliers suffered much more. We will make available the funds from the social responsibility budget of each property to assist and support local community rebuilding efforts. Donations may be forwarded directly to each property at which special bank accounts have been established for these community projects.

As phone lines have been running very busy at all our offices and properties, we would like to encourage visits to our website for the most updated information and postings: www.sixsenses.com

personal note:
Please post more info about other properties when you get them.

And as most of us frequenting this board were lucky enough having enjoyed staying at one of those resorts in the area a donation to organisations trying to help the affected communities is highly appreciated.