Sunny Banks

A hilltop villa with genuine panoramic ocean views and not a single step anywhere is a rare find on Koh Samui, and Sunny Banks is exactly that. Its ten-by-three-metre infinity pool stretches out above the treetops across south-east Samui and the Gulf of Thailand, and the entirely single-level layout makes the villa equally easy for families with toddlers, groups with older guests, or anyone who simply likes everything on one floor.

All four en-suite bedrooms gather around a central open-plan living and dining space that opens straight onto the pool terrace through floor-to-ceiling glass. Each could fairly be called a master — one king, three queens, every one with its own bathroom — and three wake to ocean views while the fourth looks over the garden, the master’s tub set beside a wide window so you can soak and watch the coastline. Outside, a non-slip sand-wash terrace is lined with loungers and daybeds, and the sea breeze at this elevation keeps the pool deck cool even at midday. A full Western kitchen and a secondary summer kitchen stand ready, with a private chef on hand for Thai and international dishes.

Sunny Banks sits south of Lamai, one of Samui’s more easygoing towns — two kilometres from the beach, twenty minutes from the airport, yet up a quiet dead-end road well above the bustle. Lamai offers a real slice of island life: the Sunday walking market, Hua Thanon fishing village, and the Hin Ta and Hin Yai rocks all close by, with Namuang Waterfall ten minutes off and Chaweng fifteen to the north. A guest manager fluent in English, French, German and Chinese runs the property full-time, backed by round-the-clock security, twice-weekly cleaning and linen, and return airport transfers included in every booking.