Minor Reserve Collection Comes to Asia at Phuket's Gardens of Eden. Two in Three Keys Will Be Residences

Minor Reserve Collection, the new luxury collection brand from Minor Hotels, is coming to Asia. Minor has signed a management agreement with Amal Group of Companies for Gardens of Eden Resort Phuket, Minor Reserve Collection, a 310-key resort in Bang Tao due to open in 2031, according to Minor’s signing announcement. Only 100 of the keys are hotel rooms. The other 210 are residences that owners buy and the hotel rents out. For investors, this is a branded-residence deal first and a hotel second.

Key facts

What Minor Reserve Collection is

Minor Reserve Collection is a collection brand, like Marriott’s Luxury Collection or Hilton’s LXR. Each hotel keeps its own name and character, and Minor manages it. Its other signings are:

• Hotel Palace Portorož in Slovenia, relaunching in early 2027
• Dukes London, reopening in the second quarter of 2027
• Aventora Resort Baía Formosa in Brazil, due in 2028

Phuket is the first in Asia. Minor already runs hotels on the island, including Anantara Layan Phuket Resort and Layan Residences on the same stretch of the west coast.

Who is behind the project

Amal Group of Companies is the developer of the Gardens of Eden project. The project was reported in November 2025 to be worth about US$315m, or roughly THB11bn, and backed by DPD Invest, a fund serving mainly Russian and Middle Eastern investors. The same reports said about half of the buyers so far were Russian-speaking. Neither Minor nor Amal confirmed these figures in the signing announcement, and we have not checked them.

Our read

The residences carry the hotel. Two-thirds of the keys belong to buyers, not to the hotel owner. The resort’s rate, occupancy and service levels will depend on how many owners put their units in the rental pool, and for how long.

The brand is a sales tool now. The hotel opens in 2031, but the residences are being sold today. A Minor-managed brand gives buyers a rental story and resale value. That is the main reason the brand is signed five years early.

The buyer base is narrow. If about half of buyers are Russian-speaking, as reported, the project depends on one market’s money. Payment channels and sanctions risk could slow sales.

Bang Tao is crowded at the top. The site is close to Laguna Phuket, and Minor will be competing with its own Layan resort nearby. See our profile of Amanpuri, where half the keys are private villas in a rental pool.

Our view: Minor is pushing branded residences with rental pools across the region; see our report on Anantara’s Ubud residences. In Phuket it earns fees without owning the property. In Bangkok, by contrast, it owns and runs Anantara Siam.

What it means for you

1. Residence buyers

Read the rental-pool terms before you buy. Ask what share of income goes to you, how long you must stay in the pool and who pays for refits.

2. Developers in Phuket

A collection brand lets you keep your own name. That can work better than a hard brand for a large, design-led project.

3. Existing Bang Tao hotels

A 2031 opening is far off. But the residences add supply to the rental market as they are handed over, possibly before the hotel opens.

4. Operators

Hotels with mostly owner-held keys need a strong owner-relations team. Plan for it from the start.

FAQ

What is Minor Reserve Collection?

A new luxury collection brand from Minor Hotels for one-of-a-kind hotels that keep their own names.

Where is the first Minor Reserve Collection in Asia?

Gardens of Eden Resort Phuket, in Bang Tao on Phuket’s west coast.

When will Gardens of Eden Resort Phuket open?

The opening is planned for 2031.

How many rooms will it have?

310 keys: 100 hotel rooms and 210 one-, two- and three-bedroom residences run as part of the resort.

Who is the developer?

Amal Group of Companies.