Villa Boonta

Villa Boonta stands right on the sand at Natai Beach, just north of Phuket in Phang Nga, on a long, quiet stretch of shoreline where the turquoise Andaman Sea rolls in under swaying palms. Set in some four thousand square metres of beachfront garden, the villa is a sleek, contemporary home of pale stone, timber and tall glass, with the sea in view from almost every room. It is a calm, roomy base for families and groups of friends who want a true beach house with space to spread out.

Two infinity pools frame the house: an eighteen-metre pool along the main terrace, lined with loungers and shaded daybeds, and a twelve-metre pool beside a garden waterfall, both looking straight out to the beach. The garden opens directly onto the beach, and the terraces are made for long breakfasts and lazy sunsets. Indoors, a vast living room with twin U-shaped sofas and a big smart TV flows into a long dining table and a modern kitchen with an island, while a games room with pool, table tennis and foosball keeps all ages busy, and there is a well-equipped gym.

All six suites have king beds, sitting areas and their own bathrooms with rain showers, and two include a jacuzzi bathtub. Floor-to-ceiling windows open many of them to the pool and the sea, and four have desks for anyone needing to work. For slow afternoons, a private spa room has a jacuzzi, sauna and steam room. A team of four, including a private chef, looks after the villa, with daily continental breakfast included, daily housekeeping and turndown service, and a beachside seafood restaurant is only a short walk away.