Luxury Hotels Atlas / The Maison / Banyan Tree
Banyan Tree hotels
Pool-villa roots shape retreats built around regional craft, quiet gardens and Asian spa rituals.
Banyan Tree builds its retreats around privacy, regional craft, and spa rituals that encourage guests to slow down. Founded by Ho Kwon Ping and Claire Chiang in 1994, the Singapore-based brand began by transforming a former tin-mine site on Phuket’s Bang Tao Bay into a resort of private pool villas, establishing a model that still shapes its hotels.
43 Banyan Tree hotels in 17 countries on the Luxury Hotels Atlas (2 not open yet), each placed on the six LHA Tiers.
- Owned by Banyan Group
- Worldwide: Approximately 50+ Banyan Tree-branded hotels and resorts in operation worldwide as of 2025–2026, within a parent-group portfolio of 100 hotels across 13 brands and 24 countries; the brand accounts for roughly half the group's total keys
- On the atlas: 15 Grand Luxury, 24 High Luxury, 4 Core Luxury
History
Ho Kwon Ping and Claire Chiang’s Phuket project began with the restoration of former tin-mine land, making environmental recovery part of the hotel’s founding story. The name recalls Banyan Tree Bay in Hong Kong, where the couple once lived, and the tree’s associations with shelter and community. That original hotel later became the flagship of a wider Singapore-based family of brands.
Timeline
- Early 1980s — Ho Kwon Ping and Claire Chiang purchase a tract of land on Phuket's Bang Tao Bay, later discovering it is a decommissioned and contaminated tin-mine site; environmental remediation begins
- 1987 — Laguna Resorts and Hotels (a Banyan Tree Holdings subsidiary) acquires more than 550 acres of abandoned tin-mine land at Bang Tao Bay; after rehabilitation, Laguna Phuket, Asia's first destination integrated resort, opens.
- 1994 — Banyan Tree Phuket opens as the world's first modern all-private-pool-villa resort and the property where the concept of the standalone tropical spa was invented; Architrave, the group's in-house architecture and design arm, is established simultaneously in Thailand and Singapore
- 1995 — Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru (Maldives) and Banyan Tree Bintan (Indonesia) open, establishing the brand's first island and SE-Asian archipelago footprint.
- 1995 — Banyan Tree Bangkok opens in Thai Wah Plaza's Silom/Sathorn tower, proving the brand's all-suite city-hotel concept.
- 2005 — Banyan Tree Ringha opens in Shangri-La, Yunnan, the brand's first China property, built from re-assembled authentic Tibetan farmhouses
- 2006 — Banyan Tree Holdings Limited raises S$368.7 million through a Singapore Exchange listing; Banyan Tree Lijiang (China) opens as the second China property
- 2009 — Banyan Tree Mayakoba opens in Riviera Maya, Mexico, the brand's Americas debut; 163 all-villa resort integrated into a 595-acre mangrove and canal ecosystem.
- 2010 — Banyan Tree Hangzhou opens within Xixi National Wetland Park; Banyan Tree Samui opens on Koh Samui's Lamai Bay; Banyan Tree Club & Spa Seoul opens in a Namsan Mountain high-rise.
- 2012 — Banyan Tree Lăng Cô opens as the anchor resort of Laguna Lăng Cô, Central Vietnam's largest integrated resort.
- 2015 — Banyan Tree Tamouda Bay opens in Morocco, the brand's first Africa/Mediterranean property.
- 2018 — Banyan Tree Kuala Lumpur opens in the Golden Triangle with a 59th-floor rooftop bar.
- 2020 — Banyan Tree Krabi opens, first major Krabi luxury resort debut in eleven years.
- 2021 — Wave of China openings: Banyan Tree Anji, Banyan Tree Mount Emei, Banyan Tree Tengchong, Banyan Tree Suzhou Shishan, Banyan Tree Zhuhai Phoenix Bay (officially launched); Buahan, a Banyan Tree Escape debuts in Bali with 16 no-walls jungle villas; Banyan Tree Doha at La Cigale Mushaireb opens in Qatar's sustainable smart downtown.
- 2022 — Banyan Tree AlUla opens in October, the brand's first Saudi Arabia resort, anchoring it in one of the world's most significant heritage tourism destinations.
- 2023 — Mamula Island by Banyan Tree opens in Montenegro's Boka Bay, the brand's first Adriatic property, inside a restored 1853 Austro-Hungarian fortress.
- 2024 — Banyan Group rebrands from "Banyan Tree Group" to reflect its evolution as a multi-brand company; Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto opens, designed by Kengo Kuma & Associates; Banyan Tree Dongguan Songshan Lake opens; Banyan Tree Yangcheng Lake opens
- 2025 — Banyan Tree Zhuhai Phoenix Bay grand opening (November) marks the brand's 20th anniversary in China; Mandai Rainforest Resort by Banyan Tree opens in Singapore (November 26) as the group's 100th property, a symbolic homecoming for the Singapore-founded company
- 2025 — Banyan Tree Connections wellbeing programme launches at four inaugural resorts (Vabbinfaru, Phuket, Mayakoba, Anji), expanding to eight additional properties in April 2026
- 2025 — Banyan Tree Padilla Madrid Residences, the group's first European residential development, launched in Madrid's Salamanca district inside a 1948 architectural landmark
The houses to know
- Banyan Tree Macau, Macau, Macau — 256 all-suite, all-relaxation-pool tower resort, the first Macau hotel to install private pools in every unit.
- Banyan Tree Mayakoba, Playa del Carmen, Mexico — The Americas flagship: 163 canal-access villas deep inside the Mayakoba mangrove ecosystem, where private pools are so large that MICHELIN inspectors compared them to public ones.
- Buahan, a Banyan Tree Escape, Buahan, Indonesia — The hotel is in Buahan, Indonesia.
- Banyan Tree Lăng Cô, Lăng Cô, Vietnam — 89 all-pool villas at the junction of the Trường Sơn mountains and the East Sea; anchor resort of Laguna Lăng Cô, Central Vietnam's largest integrated development.
- Banyan Tree Samui, Koh Samui, Thailand — 88 terraced pool villas on Koh Samui's quieter southeastern coast with a recorded sea-turtle nesting history.
- Banyan Tree Krabi, Krabi, Thailand — First major luxury resort to open on the Andaman coast in eleven years when it debuted in 2020.
- Banyan Tree AlUla, AlUla, Saudi Arabia — The heritage-desert flagship: 47 compressed-earth tented villas designed by Paris-based AW² Architecture & Interiors for the Royal Commission for AlUla.
- Banyan Tree Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates — The hotel is in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
- Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan — Kengo Kuma & Associates designed the Kyoto hotel, which includes a Noh stage.
- Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru, Vabbinfaru, Maldives — The 48-villa Maldivian resort combines beach stays with a marine science facility.
Newest openings
- Mandai Rainforest Resort by Banyan Tree — Singapore — opened November 26, 2025 — The group's 100th property and its first-ever Singapore hotel, located inside Mandai Wildlife Reserve alongside five zoological parks (Singapore Zoo, Night Safari, River Wonders, Bird Paradise, Rainforest Wild Adventure); the grand opening was officiated by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam
- Banyan Tree Zhuhai Phoenix Bay — Zhuhai, China — opened November 2025 — 83 rooms and suites in a Lingnan vernacular coastal design (terracotta roof tiles, oyster-shell walls, sunflower lattice windows); the opening marked the brand's 20th anniversary in China, with China's largest market position at 37 operating hotels at the time
- Banyan Tree Dongguan Songshan Lake — Dongguan, China — opened 2024 — 159 rooms within the Songshan Lake Science and Technology Industrial Park, a 73-square-kilometre master-planned zone home to Huawei's European-village-themed campus.
- Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto — Kyoto, Japan — opened 2024 — 52 rooms designed by Kengo Kuma & Associates with interiors by the late Yukio Hashimoto; features Kyoto's only hotel-based Noh stage (yellow cedar and Kyoto cypress timber skeleton set above a reflecting pool), gender-split onsen baths fed by a private hot-spring, and Ryozen kaiseki restaurant
Opening next
- Banyan Tree Guangzhou Jiulong Lake — Guangzhou, China — expected 2026 — confirmed; Lingnan-inspired ecological resort; will also host the Banyan Tree Connections wellbeing programme from launch
- Banyan Tree Mount Emei — Emeishan, China — expected 2026 — confirmed; adjacent to Baoguo Temple at the foot of a UNESCO World Heritage Sacred Buddhist Mountain
- Mamula Island by Banyan Tree — Boka Bay, Montenegro — reopening 2026 season — confirmed; undergoing design enhancements, refreshed dining concepts, and integrated spa and wellbeing programming ahead of its full 2026 season debut
- Ubuyu, a Banyan Tree Escape — Tanzania — expected 2026 — confirmed; the group's first East Africa property and first safari resort, extending the Banyan Tree Escape sub-brand into the continent
Every Banyan Tree hotel on the atlas
China
- Banyan Tree Ringha — Shangri-La · Grand Luxury
- Banyan Tree Sanya — Sanya · Grand Luxury
- Banyan Tree Anji — Anji · High Luxury
- Banyan Tree Chongqing Beibei — Chongqing · High Luxury
- Banyan Tree Dongguan Songshan Lake — Dongguan · High Luxury
- Banyan Tree Hangzhou — Hangzhou · High Luxury
- Banyan Tree Huangshan — Huangshan · High Luxury
- Banyan Tree Jiuzhaigou — Jiuzhaigou · High Luxury
- Banyan Tree Lijiang — Lijiang · High Luxury
- Banyan Tree Nanjing Garden Expo — Nanjing · High Luxury
- Banyan Tree Shanghai On The Bund — Shanghai · High Luxury
- Banyan Tree Suzhou Shishan — Suzhou · High Luxury
- Banyan Tree Tengchong — Tengchong · High Luxury
- Banyan Tree Tianjin Riverside — Tianjin · High Luxury
- Banyan Tree Yangcheng Lake — Suzhou · High Luxury
- Banyan Tree Yangshuo — Yangshuo · High Luxury
- Banyan Tree Zhuhai Phoenix Bay — Zhuhai · High Luxury
- Banyan Tree Guangzhou Jiulong Lake — Guangzhou · Core Luxury · Opening soon
- Banyan Tree Mount Emei — Emeishan · Core Luxury
Mexico
- Banyan Tree Mayakoba — Playa del Carmen · Grand Luxury
- Banyan Tree Cabo Marqués — Acapulco · High Luxury
- Banyan Tree Puebla — Puebla · High Luxury
- Banyan Tree Veya Valle De Guadalupe — Valle de Guadalupe · Core Luxury
Thailand
- Banyan Tree Bangkok — Sathorn · Grand Luxury
- Banyan Tree Krabi — Krabi · Grand Luxury
- Banyan Tree Phuket — Phuket · Grand Luxury
- Banyan Tree Samui — Koh Samui · Grand Luxury
Indonesia
- Buahan, a Banyan Tree Escape — Buahan · Grand Luxury
- Banyan Tree Bintan — Bintan Island · High Luxury
Japan
- Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto — Kyoto · Grand Luxury
- Banyan Tree Ashinoko Hakone — Hakone · Core Luxury · Opening soon
Macau
- Banyan Tree Macau — Macau · Grand Luxury
Malaysia
- Banyan Tree Kuala Lumpur — Kuala Lumpur · High Luxury
Maldives
- Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru — Vabbinfaru · Grand Luxury
Montenegro
- Mamula Island by Banyan Tree — Boka Bay · Grand Luxury
Morocco
- Banyan Tree Tamouda Bay — Fnideq · High Luxury
Qatar
- Banyan Tree Doha at La Cigale Mushaireb — Doha · High Luxury
Saudi Arabia
- Banyan Tree AlUla — AlUla · Grand Luxury
Singapore
- Mandai Rainforest Resort by Banyan Tree — Singapore · High Luxury
South Korea
- Banyan Tree Club & Spa Seoul — Seoul · High Luxury
Tanzania
- Ubuyu, a Banyan Tree Escape — Ruaha National Park · High Luxury
United Arab Emirates
- Banyan Tree Dubai — Dubai · Grand Luxury
Vietnam
- Banyan Tree Lăng Cô — Lăng Cô · Grand Luxury
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