Anantara Mai Khao Phuket Villas

Every villa has a bathtub, and the rooms come with bathrobes, an electric kettle and a hair dryer. The accommodation ranges from pool villas with lagoon or pool views to two-bedroom pool suites and pavilions, plus garden-view villas and the 2-Bedroom Royal Villa By Jim Thompson, which has a lagoon view.

Several villas sleep up to six guests, and the Pool Villa and the Lagoon Pool Villa sleep up to three. Pets are accepted in the pool pavilions and two-bedroom pool suites, subject to a per-night supplement. The two-bedroom pool pavilion and the Two-Bedroom Connecting Double Pool Villa, both with a garden view, sleep up to six.

The resort has an outdoor swimming pool, a spa with a sauna, a steamroom and massage treatments, a yoga room, a fitness centre and a tennis court, and guests can also take up boating, snorkelling and tours through the activities offered on site.

Dining covers Asian, Chinese and Western cuisine, with a seafood restaurant, a poolside bar, a halal restaurant and vegetarian options, and room service is available 24 hours. Food delivery and a breakfast takeaway service are also offered.

Guests can arrange car hire, a shuttle service, bicycles and an airport transfer, and the front desk offers concierge help, currency exchange, luggage storage and laundry service. Free WiFi is available in all rooms.

Mai Khao lies in Thalang District, in a quieter part of Phuket away from the nightlife of Patong, which is 29 km away. The coast here is a long stretch of sand with a slower pace than the island's busier resort areas, and the atmosphere is laid-back. Phuket International Airport is 6.6 km away, so the drive from the airport is a short one. Bangla Road and Jungceylon Shopping Center are in Patong, the island's best-known resort area.

Sai Kaew Beach is a short walk from the property, and the Mai Khao Marine Turtle Foundation, a turtle conservation centre, is about 300 m away. The Tha Chat Chai mangrove forest trail, 2.6 km away, takes walkers through mangrove woodland. Maikhao Beach has the Airplane Viewpoint, where planes pass low over the sand on their approach to Phuket airport.

A good day can start with a morning on the sand at Sai Kaew Beach, then continue to the turtle foundation and a trip to the Sarasin Bridge viewpoint, where the bridge linking Phuket to the mainland comes into view. Splash Jungle Water Park is a water park for a day out, and a trip to Patong makes an evening out for those who want more nightlife.