Villa Amankara

Villa Amankara is set high in the gated Katamanda estate, on the green hillside above Kata Noi, with the whole bay spread out below. From the pool terrace you look across the treetops to turquoise water and the curve of the headland, and the beach itself is only about five minutes away on foot. It is a big, beautifully run home of around eleven hundred square metres, designed so that three generations or several families can share a holiday and still find a quiet corner of their own.

Life revolves around a fourteen-metre pool that runs along the front of the house, lined with nine sun loungers and shaded spots for an afternoon nap, with a separate shallow pool for little ones. Beside it, an open-air lounge and a ten-seat table catch the breeze for sunset dinners. Inside, the main living room has high timber-beamed ceilings and walls of glass facing the sea, the formal dining room seats fourteen, and a professional kitchen is the domain of the villa’s private chef. A games room with a pool table and table tennis, a well-equipped gym and a lift between the levels round things off.

The real indulgence is the spa room, with two massage beds, an open-air rain shower and its own plunge pool looking out to sea. The master suite has a wide terrace over the water, two walk-in wardrobes and a bathroom with a deep soaking tub, while the five guest rooms open to balconies over the ocean, hillside or garden, and some interconnect for families. A team of five, including a villa manager, chef and housekeepers, looks after the house, with daily housekeeping and turndown each evening.