MOM Luang Tridhosyuth Devakul, better known simply as Mom Tri, has pioneered the development of Phuket as a premiere travel destination for both tourists and people wanting to make this alluring island their home.

The Harvard-educated architect and winner of numerous design awards, is also an accomplished artist, a successful entrepreneur, the founder of the IB Prem Tinsulanonda International School in Chiang Mai, and a former Phuket senator.

After finishing his degree at Harvard in 1970, Mom Tri became a professor of architecture at Chulalongkorn University and a partner in an architectural firm.

One of his relatives, Prince Sanid Rangsit, invited him to design a hotel on Kata Beach.
Back then, Phuket was still pristine and mostly undeveloped, and Mom Tri immediately fell in love with the place.

?There were so many beaches, it was fantastic,? he said.

?I enjoyed myself here for years, beachcombing and sharing the beach with the occasional hippie who made the arduous trek through the jungle to Kata.?

Construction of the hotel in Kata was delayed when banks were reluctant to provide funding because there were no international flights into Phuket.

Mom Tri approached Club Med CEO, Gilbert Trigano, who said he would be interested in Phuket only if an airline was to fly here.

Thai International said that they would fly to Phuket, but only if there was a hotel in Phuket.

It was Catch 22.

Mom Tri brought all parties together, they reached an agreement, and as the hotel on Kata Beach became a reality.

Club Med opened in 1985 to become the first of many Phuket projects for Mom Tri.
The young entrepreneur wanted to bring tourism to Phuket, and he went on to build some of Phuket?s most impressive properties.

?When we built Club Med, people said it would be only for a special group,? he said.
?But we also wanted to build a hotel for individual travelers, so we built the Phuket Yacht Club on Nai Harn Beach in 1986.

?Then we thought Phuket should have a hotel for bigger groups, so I built Le M?ridien Phuket Hotel and Resort which had almost 500 rooms, which was way too many for that time.
?People thought I was crazy, but I figured I could fill 250 rooms in the low season, and all of them in the high season,? he said.

Mom Tri bought a large piece of land near Naithon Beach and set about building a golf course and the Trisara Hotel.

After building the luxurious Baan Boran in Chiang Rai in 1988 (now the Anantara Golden Triangle Resort), Mom Tri started another hotel project on Kata Beach in 1989, the now-famous Mom Tri?s Boathouse Inn.

But the Boathouse was born from a different concept.

Mom Tri needed to accommodate the 30-odd aides of Asian and European royalty, who were visiting his house in Kata Noi.

Back then, the Boathouse was only a small restaurant on the beach and Mom Tri extended it by adding extra rooms, which is how Phuket?s first boutique hotel, got its start.
But Mom Tri?s projects weren?t only limited to hotels.

He won an international competition to design the Bangkok United Nations Conference Centre which was opened by H.M. the King and Boutros Boutros-Ghali, the former UN Secretary General.

Mom Tri also designed the Australian and Indian embassies and the prestigious Tridhos City Marina Towers in Bangkok.

He transformed his personal residence overlooking Kata Noi Bay into the luxurious Mom Tri?s Villa Royale and Spa Royale.

?Somebody was going to build something large on the hillside invading my privacy, so I put up a building with a high roof to block it off,? he said.

?Then I wondered what I was going to do with all those rooms.

?I had friends who snored, so I built another wing where they could sleep without disturbing me, but when I got married, I didn?t need such a big place.

?The property had become too big for just our family home.?

Mom Tri kept a small house at the end of the property for his private use, and he renovated and opened six exquisite suites to the public in 2002.

Villa Royale, which comprises 26 suites, was showered with accolades from the travel industry from the day it opened.

Only months after it officially opened, Villa Royale was listed as one of Cond? Nast Traveler?s ?52 best new hotels in the world?.

Mom Tri is also a connoisseur of good food and wine, so his focus on the Boathouse and Villa Royale has always been on exceptional dining and fine wines.

In 1995, the Boathouse won the prestigious Wine Spectator ?Award of Excellence?, and in 2006 it scored another first with the even more distinguished ?Best of Award of Excellence?.

Mom Tri now owns five restaurants in Phuket, including the new Mom Tri?s Oasis, with a tapas bar and seaside restaurant next to the Boathouse, and Mom Tri?s Boathouse Regatta at the Royal Phuket Marina.

Mom Tri said Phuket should be allowed to grow.

?Phuket is as big as Singapore Island, so don?t pass laws that say we can?t build high-rise buildings here,? he said.

?The authorities must allow Phuket to develop as a real business centre for Asia, and compete for business with places like Singapore.

?We also need to make it easy for foreigners to settle here, work here and live here. We don?t have to give the same rights to all of Thailand, but because Phuket is an island, special legislation should be possible,? he said.

?Eventually we will see even more people coming here and buying homes here.?

Mom Tri, who is now in his sixties, isn?t showing any signs of slowing down just yet.
He is currently working on a project in Chiang Mai which includes the Prem Tinsulanonda International School (The Prem Center), which provides holistic IB education.

It will eventually become a truly ?green? and global city which includes facilities such as tennis, golf and cricket academies, an organic farm, a cooking school and apartments for families.

Eighty rai on the perimeter of The Prem Center will be devoted to a residential community and there are plans to include a conference and training centre with hotel-type accommodation, a spa, and wellness centers devoted to yoga and physical, mental and spiritual health.

The project will become a community for living and life-long learning that treads lightly on the earth and is sustainable.

?I chose the name Premburi, which means City of Peace, because if you live there, your objective in life will ultimately be more spiritual than material,? said Mom Tri.