Will Phuket Be the Holiday Hot-Spot for Britain's PM?

By Alan Morison

Monday, October 25, 2010

News Analysis

SPECULATION is mounting that British Prime Minister David Cameron will jet off for a holiday in Thailand this Christmas after overseeing the most savage spending cuts in a generation.

His visit is highly likely to include a stay on Phuket - if he manages to see off the baying British press and their circulation-seeking drive to always pander to the prejudices of readers. The pound may plunge, too, in which case Mr Cameron may have to dig deeper into his own pocket.

Getting to a long-haul holiday will be an interesting test for the new-to-No-10 British Prime Minister. Plenty of Brits have beaten a path to Thailand and Phuket before him, including celebrity newlyweds Kate Perry and Russell Brand, and under-and-over-the-top models Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss.

''Saggy bottom beach frolick'' is a heading that may seem unlikely for a visit by Mr Cameron to the seaside at Patong or Karon, but you never know.

While the British PM and the Thai PM Abhisit Vejjajiva were university contemporaries, the newspapers now say they were not friends, so reports of the British PM staying with the Thai PM seem unlikely to play out.

One Thai source told the Daily Mail today: ''I believe he is travelling to Bangkok at the end of this year around Christmas time and he's going to spend some time in Bangkok and some time at one of our beaches.''

Phuket would be the most likely candidate for the Cameron family's beach break. While the Vejajjiva family chose the Phuket east coast five-star resort of Sri Panwa for a short holiday last year, we reckon the Camerons are likely to settle on a west-coast destination.

The Amanpuri is where Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell usually hang out. The resort also has some proud British history: Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall have been among guests, although this makes it a destination for second-wedding couples rather than firsts or fourths.

And it's the Amanpuri for celebrity assignations. Carla Bruni, the elegant, dignified First Lady of France reportedly shacked up with Sir Mick there just a day after Jerry Hall gave birth to his daughter in 1992.

All gossip aside, the Sri Panwa and the Amanpuri are both headland resorts, a good choice for security reasons.

But the likely preference among Phuket destinations for the Camerons would be the new Andara Phuket in Kamala, where you need a head for giddy heights, and where infinity pools always seem to be in the way of the magnificent view.

Soon-to-depart British ambassador Quinton Quayle stayed at the Andara during his farewell trip to Phuket late last month. And if the British PM was going to visit Phuket, it is the ambassador who would be given the task of checking out the accommodation first.

So our money is on Phuket and the Andara - but only if the Camerons surmount the inevitable fire that even a well-deserved long-haul holiday to Thailand and Phuket would trigger.