"Thank you for picking Poppies," reads the beguiling management message.
Poppies Samui, sister to Poppies Bali, "is the younger, more beautiful sister," said Michael Holehouse. That is a bold claim made by the Poppies Samui general manager, who is understandably partisan. Poppies Samui, Thailand, and Poppies Bali, Indonesia, are both idyllic complexes of resort cottages, each one tucked away behind its own screens of tropical trees, hedges and flowers. Family likeness shows in curving walkways in the gardens, streams and miniature bridges. Poppies Samui, Thai in decorative theme, claims its own stretch of white, powdery sand and expanse of clear, warm sea in the Gulf of Siam. Profligate, it scatters orchids at every turn. Look no further than the foliage of dusky green and dusty pink to know the origins of color schemes for Thai silks.
A genial, available, humorous host, Holehouse says that managing Poppies Samui is retirement for him. He came here from a long career with major corporate hotel giants, his most recent position having been vice president of marketing for the Dusit Hotels and Resorts. "From Bangkok I used to come to these islands a lot," he said. "When the man who was managing retired, I took over Poppies." He has been here more than four years, "retired" in Poppies' relaxed holiday atmosphere, but still putting in "10 hours a day, six days a week." He has still not yet dipped in Poppies' rock-basined swimming pool and Jacuzzi.