When Andy Goh set out to create a hospitality company that merged seamlessly and sustainably with the environment, he had no idea what a mammoth task it would be. It’s true, the R+ concept sounds incredible on paper: a modular but luxurious hotel concept built in remote and untouched places that give back to farming communities in the region through a circular system. A beautiful and bold idea.
An avid traveller, Goh designed R+ to inhabit far-flung, untouched locations and benefit the local population. It has taken careful planning and cautious action to accomplish this. “Creating luxury in an off-grid location while being responsible for the community and surroundings is challenging,” he says. “We develop these units organically for this reason, proceeding only when the conditions are negotiated and favourable.”
The challenges include erecting a unit in a remote location, ensuring utilities such as water and electricity are available, and obtaining permits since the sites are often in national parks. “Usually, building in national parks is unheard of, but since our construction poses minimal environmental impact, we can comply with regulations,” Goh says.
This is in line with his desire to provide travellers with a new kind of luxury. “It is possible to experience luxury almost anywhere. It is no longer just about the material cost of the build and the fine dining experiences.”
Experiencing luxury in the wilderness with all the safety and comforts of modern life is a new frontier for Goh, whose key objective with R+ is to bring untouched locations to Cambodia, including Koh Rong Island, Ream and Skun near Sihanoukville, as well as Lumo’an in Yilan, Taiwan.
“We want our locations to be places you want to be, places with growth potential, and places far enough from a community yet close enough to be accessible.”
Andy Goh details the destinations he is passionate about
The selection process is personally handled by Goh, who visits each site multiple times a year to get to know the land. “I want to understand what it is like in different months and how it is regarded by the people.” It is important that the project benefits local entities, which include the landowner, the farm and its produce.
“There are no middlemen involved in this process,” he emphasises. “Our goal is to get to know everyone involved. Farmers benefit from a steady source of income, their families are involved in the running of our operations, and guests in turn encourage like-minded people to visit as well.”
In response to changing travel patterns and keeping destinations meaningful and exclusive, R+ only accepts guests by private invitation. Goh says this is due to downsizing some developments and maintaining the quality of the destinations.
“Although we would love to offer more units to the market, they need to have a story to tell and an ecosystem to complete. By being an operator for like-minded developers who share the same values as us, we hope to speed up.”
Among the upcoming destinations he’s eyeing is Malaysia. He intends to also explore the sea for other potential locations. “We want to get our floating units into the sea,” he says. “They make sense in different scenarios amid rising sea levels.”
Art direction: Ed Harland
Photography: Mun Kong
Photography assistant: Melvin Leong
Grooming: Crystal using Goldwell & Wee Ming using Gucci Beauty
