Villa Hidden Cove

Villa Hidden Cove feels less like a holiday house than a private resort with the front gate locked behind you. It sits right on the water at Bangrak on Samui’s north coast, a thatched, timber-and-stone retreat wrapped in old shade trees, with orange parasols lined up along a seawall and the main pool spilling towards the sand. Lie on the deck at dusk and the infinity edge, the bay and the sky all seem to run into one another, before the garden lights flicker on beneath the trees.

The house is built for a crowd that likes to be together without being on top of each other. Upstairs, a vast living room with timber floors and walls of glass looks straight out to sea, gathered around a cinema-sized screen, with a long dining table beside it for dinners that run late. There are three pools in all: the oceanfront main pool, a second pool on the lawn by the outdoor lounge and beachside bar, and an onsen-style plunge pool in a private wellness wing with a sauna, a steam room and a fully equipped gym. A games room of arcade machines and pinball, a foosball table and poolside table tennis keep the younger contingent busy. All six bedrooms have their own bathrooms, from airy garden-facing rooms to a four-poster suite and a bedroom with a freestanding bath.

A team of six makes it all run quietly: a villa manager, a private chef and sous chef, two housekeepers and a handyman. Breakfast is served every morning at no extra cost, the chef can take over lunch for little more than the cost of the ingredients, and round-trip airport transfers are included. When you do want company, Fisherman’s Village, with its restaurants, beach bars and Friday-night Walking Street, is about ten minutes away on foot.