Lipa Talay Baan Rim Talay

The name says it all: Baan Rim Talay means “house by the sea”, and this two-bedroom pool villa makes good on the promise with a rare immediacy. Set within the established Lipa Talay estate on Koh Samui’s western shore, it stands roughly a minute’s walk from the soft white sand of Lipa Noi, where the famous Five Islands fall into silhouette each evening as the sun drops behind the Gulf of Thailand.

Where its estate neighbour is known for a long lap pool, Baan Rim Talay charms through intimacy and an unusual ten-by-three-metre polygon pool that gives the terrace a character all its own. Both king suites open straight onto the deck through full-length sliders, each with a roomy en-suite of corner bathtub, rain shower and twin vanities. Indoors, an open plan runs from a well-equipped kitchen through a six-seat dining table to a lounge with satellite TV, Blu-ray and sound bar. This is a villa built for easy, unhurried days rather than for entertaining a crowd.

Lipa Noi keeps the refreshingly uncrowded feel the west coast does so well — calm, shallow water, some of the island’s finest sunsets, and the nearby Thongkrut fishing village serving seafood as fresh as any in the Gulf. Nathon town is five minutes off for supermarkets and the mainland ferry, the livelier sands of Chaweng and Lamai twenty to thirty when you fancy a change. The estate’s multilingual concierge can conjure anything from a private chef or in-villa massage to a boat trip out to Ang Thong Marine Park — or, just as happily, a reason to do nothing at all.