Villa Leelawadee

Villa Leelawadee crowns a hilltop above Ao Po on Phuket’s quiet north-east coast, and the view is the reason people come back. From almost every room the eye runs out across turquoise water to the limestone islands of Phang Nga Bay, a scene that changes colour from morning to evening. The house is modern and bright, with white walls, timber ceilings and broad windows, set in some two thousand square metres of lawns and gardens, far from the busy west-coast beaches.

The villa’s signature is a striking twenty-seven-metre infinity pool that runs from the heart of the house straight towards the bay, flanked by lawns and sun loungers. At one end, an open pavilion with a table tennis table and high stools looks back along the water, and there is a basketball hoop for anyone with energy to spare. Inside, the living room has deep sofas facing the view, the dining table seats the whole group beside tall windows, and a sleek European-style kitchen is ready for the villa’s chef, with a barbecue and outdoor table on the terrace for seafood evenings above the bay.

Five bedrooms are spread across two levels. Two master suites, one upstairs with sweeping views and one on the ground floor with an Italian-styled bathroom and private terrace, are joined by three interconnecting twin rooms that work beautifully for children or friends. The bathrooms include a freestanding tub set in the open with the bay as its backdrop. Housekeeping, round-the-clock security and return airport transfers are part of the stay, and the marina at Ao Po, where boat trips into Phang Nga Bay depart, is just down the hill.