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Samui Properties
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If you should find yourself unwilling to pull your own corks or
unable to cook up a storm in the kitchen facilities available within
the villas, then you can summon the services of your own butler
and enjoy the full restaurant service of the communal facilities
in the privacy and comfort of your own little hideaway. |
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On the hillside above Choeng Mon beach, on Koh Samui's north-eastern tip, a spectacular development of luxury villas is almost complete. The Samui Peninsula Resort and Spa Luxury Villas - 20 in all - are the realisation of a life-long dream of the president and owner, Khun Suthasinee "Ann" Setabandhu. Khun Ann, from Bangkok, fell in love with Koh Samui when she first visited some years ago. Whilst still quite young, she began working on her plan to create what she calls, "the ideal island resort. " The completed villas, with their towering "Thai-style" roofs glistening under the weight of thousands of beautifully hand-made glazed tiles are a most attractive sight from any angle. The villas share the communal facilities of an impressive central reception area, restaurant, large free-form infinity-edge pool, health club and fitness centre and, when completed, a fully-functioning Spa known as the Body & Mind Rejuvenation Centre. Access to the villas is via one of Samui's many attractive lanes, winding, as it does, through some of the many coconut plantations for which the island is so well-known. Koh Samui Airport, arguably the world's prettiest privately run airport, is just minutes away. But don't worry; Bangkok Airways' fleet of planes are so quiet they present no threat to anyone, such as myself, with an acute noise phobia.
The villas themselves are grouped at different levels on the slope rising up from the shore at the southern end of Choeng Mon beach, with an attractive rocky promontory just a stroll away and a magnificent view of the two small Faan islands just offshore. Beyond them is the northern end of Choeng Mon beach and the rocky shores at either end of Tongsai Bay to the north. The villas are grouped around their own central pool, which has ample surrounding wooden decking and sun loungers. The villas are classified as Deluxe Pool, Grand Pool and Royal Pool villas. Each type has a pantry-cum-kitchen area with facilities for basic cooking, though a feast could readily be conjured up by any budding chef. The Deluxe has one bedroom, the Grand one bedroom, a dining area and a living area, while the Royal boasts 2 or 3 bedrooms, 1 or 2 dining rooms (depending on configuration), private terrace and a large bath and Jacuzzi in the bathroom.
Khun Somchai Pantong, the ebullient and thoroughly professional Resident Manager, told me that the overriding concept of the Samui Peninsula Villas was to achieve and maintain a thoroughly "Thai-style" design, not only in architectural splendour but also with the interior design of each villa. This "Thai-style design" is becoming something of an overworked phrase in journals such as this, but is taken to mean the styles from Central Thailand, principally the area around Ayuthaya. The annual monsoon deluges in this area have been responsible for the high elevation and steeply sloping roofs which typify this style. It need hardly be said that the areas around the villas are awash in tropical trees, plants and shrubs, with many of the coconut trees from the original plantation happily still reaching up to the stars. In the immediate proximity of the villas, sandwash walkways decorated, in places, with glazed tiles in the pattern of frangipani leaves, make navigation around this elevated site absolutely no problem.
As for the villas themselves, whilst no two are identical, each has very appealing Maka wood flooring, teak wood panelling in typical Central style, many beautiful benjarong table and standard lamps, in addition to a tasteful amount of hidden lighting. Each villa's decor is to the very highest standards of quality and design. Many of the chair and sofa backs are made from the plant known in Thai as pak dog chawaa. This is found floating down the Chao Phraya river in Central Thailand, and in many canals. When dried and treated it makes very durable, yet soft and attractive, wickerware. The pastel shades of the wickerwork used in these villas is both easy on the eye and complementary to its wooden surround and the surrounding woodwork in general. Thai silk, of course, has found a place here, both in the cushion coverings and also as the material for the drapes. Everything seems very easy on the eye. One slight departure from complete "Thai-style" authenticity is found in the window frames. These, very sensibly, are all made of a russet-coloured aluminium, are of the sliding variety, and both from in and outside the buildings they look not an inch out of place. I'm sure that if the Thais of yesteryear had had the luxury of modern air-conditioning and maintenance-free aluminium frames, they too would have used them enthusiastically. This is one great advantage of the contemporary age; keep the style authentic but use high-quality, modern materials.
The bathrooms in these villas deserve special note. The marble wall tiles are a very striking mix of brown-yellow, white and grey. I've not seen these in any other development. All bathrooms have black granite basin surrounds and other horizontal surfaces, as well as in the outdoor shower of some of the villas. Shower and bath surrounds are of plate glass, with the Royal Pool villa having a large Jacuzzi also. The fittings are all in authentic old-style, in a copper bronze finish; very attractive. All the bathrooms have either a private sea view or look out onto a private terrace. They are functional and fun. If you should find yourself unwilling to pull your own corks or unable to cook up a storm in the kitchen facilities available within the villas, then you can summon the services of your own butler and enjoy the full restaurant service of the communal facilities in the privacy and comfort of your own little hideaway. Khun Ann's dream was to create a tranquil environment of total
relaxation in a place where time stood still. Here is a place where
you can surely gaze at the stars while sleepily contemplating less
hectic times past in those central Thai plains, whilst at the same
time enjoying the comforts that modern man has made so apparently
indispensable. |
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Tropical Living: May 2003, Volume 2 Issue 12 |
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