I’m soaking up the morning sun in the pool when a circular basket holding a picture-perfect breakfast spread is placed in the water and gently nudged in my direction. The floating breakfast is a popular trope of hotels in the Maldives and around the Med, but I’m neither in those locales, nor am I in a hotel. My four friends and I are in Phuket, celebrating our collective 40th birthdays at Villa Amarisa, a member of the Mandarin Oriental exceptional homes collection.
Among its properties are standout holiday homes in Italy, France, Spain, Greece, Croatia, the UK, Indonesia and another in Thailand. Carved into a cliffside of Kamala, often referred to as Phuket’s millionaire mile, Villa Amarisa comprises three floors with a discreet entrance and top-floor lobby filled with art and hand-carved Indian pillars. From there, the glass house unfolds below with stairs and a lift connecting each level.
There are a total of five bedrooms, all with ensuite. I stayed in the ground floor Topaz suite, one of two primary bedrooms, with a sliding door that opens up onto the infinity pool, a wet room on one side of the bathroom and a private terrace with outdoor clawfoot tub on the other. Neighbouring the ground floor suite is a glassed-walled gym.
On the second level is the Coral primary suite. The bed is flanked by gold sculptural lamps and there’s a private section on the terrace that overlooks the pool, again with a claw-foot outdoor tub. The Lapiz suite was the most zen of all the rooms, with a raised Japanese-inspired tatami bed, a wall of framed bird artwork and views of the lush Kamala cliffs.
While we stayed at the villa as a group of friends sans children, it’s perfectly set up for families – the Amethyst suite has twin beds that would be great for kids. All come together on the lower level, where a sweeping open plan entertaining space includes a kitchen (a chef’s kitchen sits behind it), TV area with an extended cream chaise sofa, dining area and an elegant sitting area surrounded by wood paneling and curated art collected from all around the world.
Rare antiques and original artworks are found throughout the space – wandering down the second-floor hallway is reminiscent of an art gallery. My favourite piece was the spectacular 2,000-year-old apsara sculpture, perfectly placed in front of a large picture window overlooking lush greenery. Even the lift feels distinct – an intricate Indian wooden door frames it on the ground floor.
But the biggest masterpiece of all is the 24-metre blue stone infinity pool which, from the right angle, appears to melt into the Andaman Sea and sky. This is where our breakfast drifted towards us, under the shade of a soaring Yang Na Yai tree, and suppers of pomelo salads, freshly prepared lobster and sticky mango rice were served alfresco. The talented private chef Aoy even went to the local market early in the morning to secure a gluten-free soy sauce for one of my friends.