Facilities
Room Types
Three-bedroom beachfront villa with cinema room
Villa Cortona is a three-bedroom villa on the hillside at Plai Laem, the north-east tip of Koh Samui, with its own strip of beach below the pool. It is one of four villas in a small development designed by architect Gary Fell, and it sleeps eight, or 10 with the sofa beds. Samui airport is 7.5 km away.
The house and the view
The living space is mostly glass, facing a 180-degree sweep of the Gulf with Koh Phangan on the horizon. The furniture is Italian, from Meridiani, mixed with Thai textiles and pottery. The kitchen has a five-burner hob, oven, dishwasher and a stocked wine fridge, and the dining table seats 10. The three bedrooms have queen or king beds and their own bathrooms with Panpuri toiletries. A fourth room is a cinema with a large TV, Netflix and a PlayStation, and its sofa folds out for two more guests.
Outside, the L-shaped infinity pool runs 13 metres, enough for laps, with a shallow end for children and a bench with jacuzzi jets. Below it, a lawn slopes to a small private beach of sand and rock, with sea kayaks and paddleboards. The four villas share a gym with a power cage, free weights and a treadmill.
What’s included
Breakfast arrives at the villa every morning, Western or Thai (congee or soup). Airport transfers, daily cleaning with turndown, fruit and coffee are part of the rental, and an on-site manager can book a chef for a poolside barbecue, a trainer, or a yoga session.
Insider Tip: Book the babysitter when you book the chef. Babysitting needs 24 hours’ notice and a full-time nanny a week, so a grown-ups’ dinner at Dining on the Hill (400 m away) needs planning before you land.
Who it suits
- Beachfront, with kayaks and paddleboards on your own stretch of shore
- Breakfast and airport transfers included
- Cinema room keeps children busy on rainy afternoons
- 20 minutes from the airport
- Built over several levels on a slope, so hard going with limited mobility
- The beach is part rock, better for kayaking than long swims
- Shared gym and grounds with three neighbouring villas
It works best for a family or two couples who want a beach house with hotel service. For swimming beaches and restaurants, Choeng Mon is a few minutes’ drive, and Wat Plai Laem and the Big Buddha are close by. Fisherman’s Village holds its walking street market on Fridays. More villas and beaches across the island are in our Koh Samui guide.