Onyx Hospitality Group has unveiled the Saffron Collection, a new portfolio of individual boutique hotels and resorts.

The Saffron Collection of boutique hotels by Onyx plans to take travellers on a memorable journey across Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam. We explore the concept behind these new story-led properties.

Hotels with a tale to tell

Already a significant player when it comes to hotel management across Asia, Onyx is hoping to complement the ongoing regional expansion of the Amari, Ozo and Shama properties with the creation of the Saffron Collection. This new hotel portfolio brings together a selection of boutique hotels and resorts that are all distinguished by the stories they have to share.

Each property will aim to connect guests with the past and present through curated details and a locally inspired experience. For example, a customised cocktail cabinet will lie at the heart of every Saffron Collection lobby, offering guests a selection of mixology concoctions from the locality and a signature cocktail that’s representative of the hotel’s identity.

“Saffron Collection is driven by our quest to create a distinctive portfolio of boutique hotels and resorts that appeal to guests who want to be immersed in the stories and legends of the places they visit,” said Douglas Martell, president and CEO of Onyx Hospitality Group.

“Each Saffron Collection property aims to create memorable experiences through locally relevant design and sensitive integration into the past and present of a destination. For owners and investors, Saffron Collection is also our way of preserving the compelling moments in a family, a corporation or a building and area’s history, and reinterpreting them towards memorable experiences for our present and future travellers.”

Openings across Asia

The collection will initially consist of hotels in Bangkok and Hanoi, but with plans to subsequently expand across APAC.

To start with, the company’s Oriental Residence Bangkok is to be reintroduced as a Saffron Collection property, and The Five Residences Hanoi is scheduled to make its debut in October 2020. Mid-2021 will then see the launch of The George in Penang, followed by the early-2022 reopening of Indochina Hotel in the popular Thai town of Aranyaprathet. In line with the collection’s ethos, these four hotels will draw on the history, legacy and people that set them apart.

Oriental Residence Bangkok will be inspired by the history of the famed ‘Oriental Hotel’ on the banks of the Chao Phraya River, with the French-inspired Cafe Claire sitting comfortably alongside its 145 suites. Similarly, the 116-key Five Residences Hanoi will provide a sanctuary in Vietnam’s capital city, with reminders of the Five Elements Mountains of Central Vietnam carefully incorporated into the guest experience.

Meanwhile, the 93-room The George in Penang will place travellers at the heart of the island’s Unesco World Heritage-listed old quarter in a storied site that was once a Chinese dispensary, with new amenities including a destination restaurant and rooftop pool. And the 120-room Indochina Hotel in Aranyaprathet will benefit from an extensive renovation, serving as a showcase of the textiles, jasmine flowers and Thai green curry recipes beloved by a famed local philanthropist.