Baan Hinta

Granite boulders tumble straight into the sea below Baan Hinta, and the villa is built right among them, so that in places a great curve of natural rock forms part of the wall. It sits on its own stretch of shore just south of Lamai on Koh Samui’s east coast, a few steps from the sand and about 800 metres from the island’s famous Grandfather and Grandmother Rocks. Lamai Beach is around two and a half kilometres away.

The infinity pool, almost twenty metres long with a shallow end for children, runs along a broad timber deck and seems to empty into the Gulf, with palm trees reflected in its surface. Beside it, a sala with a dining table and a barbecue handles lunch outdoors, and on movie nights a projector and screen drop over the pool. Folding glass walls open the living room to the breeze, and a long dining table seats fourteen beneath warm wooden ceilings. When the sea is calm, kayaks and paddleboards wait on the beach, and there is a table tennis table on the estate.

All five bedrooms face the sea, each with a freestanding bathtub, a rain shower, a double vanity and a TV; two sit at beach level and the rest climb the house towards the pool and living rooms. A villa manager, housekeeper and handymen look after the house, breakfast is included, and a private chef is available to cook. Next door, the sister villa Baan Hinyai can be booked alongside for larger groups.