SUITE DREAMS

After our successful negotiations for the expansive Presidential Suite, the GM asked that we occupy ourselves and check in a few hours later while the Six Senses elves worked their magic. This Koh Samui luxury resort is very particular about presentation so they wanted the guest-ready suite to have all the extra little touches: rolled and stacked towels, little lights that are already burning for late afternoon, perfectly adjusted mosquito nets, gorgeous fresh flowers. 

Hey, at this point I would have waited all day! Not only are we staying in the resort that won Conde Naste’s 2008 “Property of the Year” award, but we are staying in their Presidential Villa. That is a big call so of course they want to deliver - and all the stunning additions really did create a mood and add to its already considerable charm.

The amazing thing about this Koh Samui luxury resort is that once you pass through Villa 33’s two enormous bamboo doors you close them behind you into your own incredible, secret world. It really is five-star Robinson Crusoe: your own compound where ‘paradise’ architecture and a stunning amount of outdoor space integrate beautifully; you are never really ‘inside.’

Pathways lead you to all different levels and you are always perched out on the Koh Samui hillside’s large rocks; the space is quite tiered, so everyone can find their own corner. Three duplex structures, made with timber, reed, thatch and glass, face the Gulf of Thailand so you always look out to sea from your bed. They are cantilevered over edges with really lovely hangover tilted ceilings that create open shaded areas - a really cool design twist that adds visual interest. The large one has a ‘Media room’ upstairs with a pod in the middle that lets the city slicker guests connect up their whizz bang electronic devices.

The glass is floor to ceiling but the top half is a slide-apart window that can disappear at waist height. It brings the outdoors in, but it’s great not having to worry about the safety factor for a younger child. There is beautiful weave work on the vaulted ceiling and the walls are clad in bamboo, giving the building a lightweight, unstructured feel. I love seeing the exposed beams and structure of the gable roof - you see a lot of them in luxury hotels in Africa.

There is an authentic simplicity about the Island Chic décor in soothing neutrals with lots of organic detailing - amazing lights made of rice paper, freestanding hunks of marble as bathroom sinks, cream mosquito nets that drape romantically from suspended bamboos stalks hovering in mid-air. You drop the netting at night so you can leave the windows open to hear gentle ocean surf. 

Fresh, white doonas are soft, simple and inviting. Sheira is never a fan of an over-furnished suite when, as she puts it, the interior decorator doesn’t have a stop button. At Six Senses Hideaway luxury resorts they strike an amazing balance between classy restraint, island looseness and brilliant attention to detail. The way they curl up the towels for you is almost sculptural! 

The indoor and outdoor bathrooms are the stuff of fantasy. Sheira loved lingering in the bubbles of her outdoor bath with water and garden views doing half the job of relaxing her. Everywhere you look you have sensational views of the horizon, even when watching a movie! But it’s not just the interiors that are magical. 

Forget a tacked on balcony - the Six Senses Hideaway Koh Samui gives the out-of-doors a co-starring role! The lower levels of each villa have open terraces and day beds that flow onto a huge raw teak deck that borders a beautiful, long infinity pool.

Part of the thrill of this suite for us: our two eldest boys, Josh and Noah would not revert to teen default position and get stuck in their own room. When that happens (let’s say in a room down a corridor in a hotel or in an adjoining villa) the door gets closed and it is a battle to get them to come out and join us. Here, they had their own room, but the wonderful communal pool bought us all together in a setting that is just such a great place to hang out. 

There are curved deck chairs, with thick oversized mattresses, that point out to sea. The staff dress the furniture every morning when you are having breakfast so it is all welcoming, covered in giant, lovely soft towels, on your return. You can wander up to your own bar and pour yourself a drink (At this level everything is included except for alcohol; you can knock yourself out on the lemon squash). There are outdoor baths, seating cabanas and umpteen places where you can have lunch or chill out with a book like Josh. 

The kids all came together to splash around in the pool. It was amazing to see the devotion of older boys playing with their younger sister considering the 11-year gap. They were having a ball - even 18 yr-old Josh was being a kid. It is a really amazing private pool area, the biggest we have tried so far. So the sarongs came out and we all naturally gravitated to staying still and enjoying the ‘behind closed bamboo’ time… I have visited so many luxury resorts where you just don’t feel an inclination to stop down at your own little pool. Maybe it’s too sterile, or lonely, the pool is just too small or there is an element that is not quite right.  But when fate (and my pushy personality) intervened and we ended up lying on in Presidential Villa deckchairs, the rustic rawness and sheer space cast their spell.

They have built this suite right near “Dining on the Rock” so that high-profile guests can slip in anonymously and drape themselves over a discreet rock in this totally spread out restaurant and stay below-radar. 

The Beach is secondary here at Six Senses Hideaway Koh Samui. This resort is all about creating a magical villa environment with its own private pool that you don’t have to leave (just about all villas get one) and many of them, like ours, are elevated on the hill. The best ones for beach-lovers are 53, 54, 55, 56 and 61. You’ll be nearest spots in the sand where you can lie under giant white linen umbrellas and get your ocean dip. Six Senses Hideaway Koh Samui sits in 20 acres of really gorgeous tropical tree canopy. The villas are scattered on the edges and the heartbeat of the luxury resort is at the highest point on the hill, where the main pool, spa, gym and all-day restaurant.

DINING ON THE HILL are all clustered together. Sheira and I loved the minimal, eco feel of the whole place: it’s “relaxed luxury.” There is a lot of public common deck space and paths that wind between rows of weathered bamboo, shooting out of the ground at angles that are almost like modern sculpture. It’s a motif that is repeated by the really gorgeous main pool area that is surrounded by frangipani and palms. Because there was this major production of making our suite fabulous again every morning we would drift back up there to where the other couples were sunbathing.  

We were the only travelers with kids at this Koh Samui luxury resort but the grown ups did not bat an eyelid because our kids have been raised in sophisticated places and know how to swim without splashing when others are reading. We have respect for fellow travelers and could be as feisty as we liked in our own private area anyway. I commend Six Senses for being open to kids so families don’t miss out. I think bans on children in beautiful resorts are overdoing it; just build an adults-only area ! Youthful spirit is life-affirming. What’s next, banning laughter and puppies? Our kids didn’t ruffle any feathers but even so they aren’t honeymooners so you couldn’t really expect them to last much more than 3 or 4 nights in such a peaceful luxury hotel setting.

Join Jonathan Said and his family on their luxury travel journeys as they share their best restaurants experiences and luxury hotels and resorts holidays around the world. The comprehensive travel tips and ideas include some of the most popular things to see and do at each destination including a local shopping guide, photos, video, music and much more.