Villa Emerald

Villa Emerald sits on a hillside above Nai Harn, in Phuket’s relaxed far south, with wide views over green hills and valleys from almost every terrace. It is a generous two-storey home of around 800 square metres, built around a big blue pool and finished with Asian artworks, Thai silks and Chinese antiques. With eight bedrooms and room for up to eighteen guests, it suits extended families and groups of friends who want to share a holiday without anyone feeling squeezed.

Outside, the ten-by-five-metre infinity pool runs along the front of the house, lined with sun loungers and set against tropical planting and the hills beyond. A shaded sala by the water holds a round dining table for long lunches, while the covered terrace has a twelve-seat dining table looking straight over the pool and a lounge of circular rattan chairs for slow afternoons. After dark, the lit pool and pavilions make the whole garden glow, and the barbecue comes into its own.

Indoors there are two separate living rooms, a sleek Western-style kitchen and a games room with a full-size billiard table and some fitness equipment, so teenagers and adults can each claim their own space. The master suite upstairs has a four-poster king bed, an oval bathtub and a private balcony, with a twin room close by for young children. Downstairs, a second four-poster king and a queen room open straight onto the pool terrace. Housekeeping is included, a chef can cook lunch and dinner, and the beach at Nai Harn is only a couple of kilometres away.