Villa Lipa Talay Jed

Jed means “seven”, and this is the most intimate villa in the Lipa Talay estate — a one-bedroom retreat designed squarely for couples and solo travellers who want a private pool, a walled tropical garden, and the white sand of Lipa Noi barely a minute’s walk away. Where its siblings offer two and three bedrooms for families and groups, Jed pares things back to the essentials: one spacious king suite, an en-suite with a soaking tub, and an open-plan living space that opens straight onto the pool terrace — a genuinely private holiday home rather than a hotel room.

Its 120 square metres are arranged around the private pool at the heart of a walled garden of tropical palms and flowering shrubs. A cushioned sala shades reading or an afternoon nap, loungers line the deck, and the air-conditioned bedroom opens onto the terrace through full-height sliders, so bed to morning swim is a matter of seconds. The open-plan kitchen and living area is well set up for self-catering — gas stove, oven, microwave, full fridge-freezer and all the cookware you need — with a comfortable sofa, flat-screen and a dining area, and fibre Wi-Fi throughout.

Lipa Noi is the quiet, west-facing coast where the sunsets happen — a wide, calm, shallow beach of soft white sand, none of the rocks or coral that trouble other Samui shores, the Five Islands silhouetted offshore each evening in one of Southeast Asia’s loveliest sunset views. Nikki Beach and a handful of restaurants are a walk along the sand, Nathon and its seafood night market five minutes by car, and Lipa Noi pier nearby for day trips to Ang Thong. The estate’s multilingual team — English, French, German and Chinese — handle transfers, hire, bookings, excursions, poolside spa and a private chef for Thai seafood dinners, and for more space the two- and three-bedroom siblings can be booked alongside.