The founder and CEO of Phuket9 on how to build resort complexes that remain in demand for decades
When it comes to resort real estate, most people imagine hotels, villas, and apartments for tourists. However, in recent years, Thailand, and especially Phuket, has become a platform for a new understanding of development—the creation of multifunctional mixed-use complexes. According to the CBRE Thailand — 2025 Outlook report, it is large mixed-use projects that are becoming the growth engine in the market today, attracting the bulk of investments, particularly in the hospitality and logistics segments. One of the first to recognize this as the model for the future was Kirill Vyalykh, founder and CEO of the development company Phuket9. Under his leadership, the company has not only grown sevenfold over the past four years and won a series of international awards for quality and architectural innovation but has also effectively established a new industry standard for the entire Phuket market. His projects, including the unique Rawayana Beachfront Village, have become a manifesto for a new paradigm: a “city within a city” at a resort.
Living the Future, Not the Trend
Vyalykh himself says that the mixed-use concept today is not just a trend, but the only viable model. Ten years ago, when he first started developing this format in Phuket, the idea seemed almost adventurous. Managing a complex that goes far beyond hotel standards was not easy: it required coordinated work between the management company, the hotel group, and the services.
“The main question a developer should ask themselves is: will my project be relevant in ten years? In demand? Will it appreciate? — he emphasizes. — We try to work not for marketing, but with a view to the future.”
According to Kirill, the reason mixed-use development has become a global trend lies in changing behavioral patterns. People want to save time, feel safe, and at the same time be in an environment where a living community forms. For resort real estate, this factor is perhaps even more critical than in everyday life. The opportunity to have everything within walking distance and spend time in a closed, secure territory that has everything — from schools and medical centers to parks and restaurants — becomes the primary magnet for guests and investors. “For vacationers, walkable infrastructure and the ability to be within their community in a secure area is the ideal everyone strives for,” comments Vyalykh.
When a Resort Turns into a City
Phuket has become the ideal platform for such experiments. About 13 million tourists come here annually, and for a long time, this discouraged local developers: why change anything if the hotels will be full anyway? “The market operated on its own, lulling the desire to develop and scale. Low initiative among local personnel and a lack of striving for innovation were the main challenges,” recalls Vyalykh. But it was precisely the market’s inertia that paved the way for those ready to think bigger.
But it was the market’s inertia that opened the way for those ready to think bigger. Vyalykh, who since 2004 has been involved exclusively in the construction of villas and apartments in more than a dozen major projects, such as Rawai VIP Villas, Private Lagoon, and the Phenomenon condominium, admits that he is simply tired of these “stereotypes.” This led to the idea of a “city within a city”—a unique complex combining residential space, commercial, educational, and medical facilities, and leisure zones. “We gradually adapted existing projects for mixed-use, while new ones were built on this concept from the outset,” explains the developer. — The result was Rawayana Beachfront Village, where everything is gathered under one roof: a school, kindergarten, children’s amusement park, medical center, family restaurants, a water park, and a trampoline center—all within one village. No one else offers such a comprehensive infrastructure package.”
Taming the Tropics and Building a Community
But creating such projects is not only about architectural boldness. The high cost of land in Phuket—according to Thai consulting firms, prices in promising locations have shown a minimum annual growth of 10-15% over the past five years—forces a careful balance between profitability and end-user comfort. Vyalykh notes that public spaces, local urbanism, and pedestrian accessibility have become not a luxury but a necessity. Here, he draws inspiration from Singapore—the only Asian metropolis where, in his words, “the pedestrian environment is created with warmth and care.” “Pedestrian accessibility is critically important. It is almost absent in Asia, and we actively utilize Singaporean developments,” he says.
In architectural solutions, the company also emphasizes “living” facades—an idea borrowed from Singapore, where approximately 55% of buildings are equipped with green facades or roofs, and which has already found favor in Phuket. “We try to integrate the project into the tropical landscape, avoiding bright facades. The building should be a part of nature, not its opposite,” he says.
Looking to the future, Vyalykh sees Asia as the main driver of mixed-use development. India looks especially promising, where “tectonic changes” are currently underway. He also predicts growth in projects with a corporate component—media hubs, coworking spaces, conference halls, and office spaces at resorts. “Projects with corporate capabilities will emerge. The demand for work within walking distance will only grow,” he is confident.
Phuket9 is currently constructing five projects simultaneously and developing a new resort aimed exclusively at digital nomads.
The company’s philosophy is simple: every new project must be better than the last. Vyalykh emphasizes that leadership for him is not about numbers or awards but the ability to change the market. “There is nothing more valuable than seeing your ideas start to be replicated by others,” he says.
According to him, Thailand is destined to become a world leader in resort development. Nature has given the country what cannot be artificially reproduced: white sandy beaches, warm seas, jungles, fruits, and eternal summer. The task of developers is only to add the best achievements of civilization to this.
“The ideal resort of the future is a place where a person combines habitual comfort with unique geographical advantages, rests to the fullest, and, most importantly, doesn’t want to leave,” concludes Kirill Vyalykh. And in this combination of nature and architecture, a new standard of resort happiness is born.
