Villa Ruby Rawai

Villa Ruby Rawai is a snug, single-level pool home tucked into the quiet lanes between Nai Harn and Rawai, at Phuket’s easy-going southern tip. With three bedrooms and room for six, it is an intimate home sized for a small family, two couples or a few close friends who want a private base without rattling around in too much space. Nai Harn Beach is roughly a fifteen-minute stroll away, and the green hills that ring the bay rise right behind the garden.

Everything happens around the eight-metre pool, its deep blue mosaic tiles glinting against a hedge of banana palms and heliconia. Loungers sit on the terrace and on a little sun deck that juts into the water, while a pitched-roof Thai sala at the far end shelters a dining table for long, shaded lunches. Every bedroom and the living room open straight onto the terrace through glass doors, so a morning swim is never more than a few steps away. After dark, soft lights wash the walls and the pool glows a rich, deep blue.

Inside, the open-plan living space flows from a deep, horseshoe-shaped leather sofa to an eight-seat dining table and an open kitchen with a breakfast counter and high stools. Cream walls, dark timber, red rugs and Thai artworks give the rooms a warm, homely feel. Two bedrooms have king beds, one with an extra single that suits parents travelling with a child, and the third is a twin room. Housekeeping is included, and home-cooked Thai meals can be arranged with groceries charged at cost.