India, Aug. 14 -- It is one of the most famous stories in luxury hoteliering. Adrian Zecha, a former publisher who had revolutionised deluxe hotels in Asia by founding the Regent chain, decided to build a home for himself in Phuket, Thailand, after selling his Regent stake.

A few friends joined him and they found a location outside the city to build their villas. But, as construction commenced, they realised that the area lacked the basic infrastructure required to support luxury homes.

So, Zecha decided he would build a small hotel next to their homes that would provide the generators, boilers, laundry, security, etc needed to provide support services to their homes. He called the hotel Amanpuri, and by the time it opened in late 1987,...