More than once recognized by Tatler as Asia’s Most Influential Person, Allan Zeman is a name that hardly needs an introduction. The father of Hong Kong’s famed Lan Kwai Fong entertainment district is as easily recognized on the streets of Phuket as he is in Central – two islands he now calls home.

Zeman belongs to that unofficial club of founding fathers of Phuket’s luxury lifestyle – those who came for a tropical holiday and stayed to redefine it.

A Canadian by birth, Allan began working at the age of ten and made his first million dollars by nineteen – before he was even legally old enough to buy champagne to celebrate. Initially an importer of ladies’ fashion from Hong Kong, he soon moved to the island and spotted an opportunity in the underdeveloped quarter that would become Lan Kwai Fong. In 1983, he opened his first restaurant and nightclub there – today, it’s Hong Kong’s legendary nightlife district.

Today, the Lan Kwai Fong Group, founded by Zeman, has grown into a vast business empire, encompassing dozens of restaurants, bars, and clubs, as well as commercial real estate holdings in Hong Kong and beyond.

In Lan Kwai Fong itself, the legendary visionary owns more than half the district’s properties – thousands of square meters of real estate that became synonymous with luxury largely thanks to his efforts. Beyond that, Allan Zeman famously revitalized the city’s Ocean Park theme park.

“I look at things not for what they are, but for what they could be,” Zeman later told Forbes.

Sitting down with RL in his stunning Phuket home, Allan explains how that same vision gave rise to Andara, one of Phuket’s most iconic resorts since its launch in 2010 – followed by Aquella in 2019, and Sudara in 2024.

Identified by Allan with the same instinct he honed in Hong Kong.

“I see things differently. While most people see the same thing, some – like Jack Ma or Steve Jobs – see something else,” Allan tells RL.

That eye for potential led him to the land where his Phuket home now stands. Back in the early 2000s, the owner wasn’t interested in selling and raised the price fivefold as a way to say no. But Allan, ever the visionary, wasn’t deterred. Even without a specific plan in mind.

“The owner said the plot was eight rai. I didn’t even know what a rai was! A rai? That was a whiskey to me – a Scotch or a rye,” he laughs.

Having bought the land – “My wife wanted to kill me!” – Allan worked with a fellow architect to design his dream home in Kamala, perched just across the bay from Amanpuri, where he initially considered buying a villa.

“It was just intuition,” he says now. “I was thinking location-wise – and it turned out even better than I imagined.”

When asked about the golden rules of property success, Zeman doesn’t hesitate to begin with “Location, location, location.” It’s a mantra reflected in the Andara story and echoed in the bold move to develop a golf-centered estate in yet to become known Thai Muang.

“Choose a place where you think you can add value. If you add value, you make a profit – and you do that by really creating something,” Zeman says.

“In the end, land is land. All land is just land. What you put on it – what you create – that’s what makes it special. People appreciate things that are special,” he concludes.