Malaiwana - Villa M

Any true sunset connoisseur will tell you that the best are over the ocean, where there are no obstructions to the display. Better yet, find a place high above the water, where the sea reflects and doubles the sun's glory. That is a pretty exact description of Malaiwana Villa M, high on a steep hillside dominating Phuket's delightful Naithon Beach. It's not just at sunset that the view is compelling. Throughout the day, the sky, the wheeling of the sun, breezes that fan and scallop the water, and fishing boats arrowing the surface, create a never-ending and never-repeated pageant.

And this Phuket villa has so much more to offer besides. The enormous infinity-edge pool, for example, constantly draws the eye through its reflections of the blue above, so that diving into it feels like diving into the sky. Around the pool the spacious deck and sun loungers invite indolence with a book, a chilled drink or a snooze. After a work out in the villa's superbly equipped gym, retire into the shade of the lounge with its sink-into sofas and whimsical giant clothes-peg and champagne-cork side tables. Conveniently, there's a bar here too.

About the time the sun is at its sultry zenith, the villa's excellent chef will serve lunch, a feast of all of your culinary whims made real. Congregate around the table in the dining/kitchen pavilion, where glass doors concertina open on three sides to make sure you never miss a moment of the ocean's display. And after the sun has gone down, chill out under a billion stars on the vast, purpose built entertainment terrace. And then, finally, to bed in one of the villa's five super-comfortable bedrooms, to dream of sea and stars.

The crystal-clear waters of the Andaman Sea and the powder-soft sands of Naithon Beach are in full view from every villa and residence at Malaiwana. Just a short walk or downhill drive away from the estate, this pristine one-kilometre-long beach on Phuket's peaceful northwest coast is perfect for sunning, swimming, sno