Avasara Residence

You reach Avasara Residence over large stepping stones set across a water feature, and the reward is immediate: a living pavilion wrapped in glass, with the whole bay laid out below, from the rooftops of Bophut to the sea and the islands on the horizon. Avasara is one of five private residences on Panacea Retreat, a hillside estate above Bophut on Koh Samui’s north coast, and it pairs the privacy of your own home with a quiet, family-friendly feel. Fisherman’s Village and Bophut Beach are around three kilometres downhill, and the airport about nine.

The pavilion runs almost the full length of the villa beneath a vaulted timber ceiling. At one end, deep rattan sofas and Thai artefacts surround the lounge; at the other, a square table for ten sits beside a kitchen of honey-coloured wood and marble, with stools at a central island, an espresso machine and a built-in wine cooler. A glass-fronted balcony looks down on the garden and the twenty-metre infinity pool, which has a shallow end for children and is lined with red-cushioned loungers, round daybeds and white umbrellas. Beside it, a covered sala holds a dining table, cushioned benches and sunken stools at a poolside bar, with a barbecue for evenings outdoors.

All five bedrooms have king beds, a TV, a coffee machine and an en-suite bathroom with twin stone basins, a rain shower and a terrazzo bathtub, and several look straight out to sea. One bedroom sits on the living level, and the other four line the garden and pool below, where the master suites open directly onto the pool terrace. Breakfast is included every morning, and there are books and board games for slow afternoons.