At Baan Tawan Chai there’s a strong focus on a home-away-from home feel, with a combination of western décor and modern facilities, yet touches of traditional Thai in the way of silk scatters and throws, teakwood and rattan furniture and Thai-style garden ornaments and light fittings. Anyone who’s not too neighbourly will fit right in here, as there are no neighbours on either side and you can have the beach all to yourself.
A villa manager, housekeeper and gardener are on hand to ensure all is well kept and guests needs are met, but they’re also sensitively discreet, and will retreat to their own quarters when privacy is preferred. With a choice of a cheerful TV lounge, a cosy living room and a comfortable sala overlooking the sea, there are ample places to relax and unwind. The energetic among the group can do a few laps of the pool, or perhaps take the kayak out into the bay and explore the shoreline – you’ll get further than going by foot as a river blocks the route a few hundred metres to the right, and an outcrop of boulders to the left.
The villa’s four bedrooms all have king-size beds and large ensuite bathrooms, so this is a good fair-share option for groups of couples too. And as the villa is all on one level, it’s also suitable for elderly or stair-averse guests. There’s plenty of space to just lie back and soak up the sun on one of the cushion-covered sun loungers alongside the pool (and there are some more on the beach, which is cleaned regularly by the staff). A well-equipped kitchen, as well as an outside barbecue area allows for easy self-catering and meals can be enjoyed at the eight-seater dining table or at the smaller wooden table near the barbecue. With orchids clinging to trees in the garden, coconuts hanging from palms on the beach, sea birds looking for shell fish when the tide goes out, and a breeze coming off the ocean, one truly gets a feel of tropical living at Baan Tawan Chai.
Baan Tawan Chai’s garden leads to a quiet beach, shared only with a few other villas. It’s not the island’s best beach as the sand is rough and there are quite a few rocks in the water – especially noticeable at low tide. To each side of the villa is open land and coconut groves. The dirt road leading to Baan Tawan Chai services only a few local houses and other holiday villas; there are no restaurants or shops nearby. Walk along the beach to the left and you’ll come to an interesting rocky outcrop after about 300m. A few hundred metres to the right of the villa a river runs out onto the beach, putting an end to your walk, unless you fancy wading across it.
A sliding gate opens to a small landscaped garden and a pathway up to the villa. The blue-tiled swimming pool takes centre stage, beyond which a sala furnished with wood and rattan seating frames the view across the lawn to the quiet beach. Guest accommodation at Baan Tawan Chai is housed in three separate pavilions. In the centre, facing the beach, is the main living pavilion where a fully equipped western kitchen opens onto a dining room with a wooden eight-seater table and a homely sitting room with vaulted ceiling and shelves displaying books and artwork. Just to the right of this pavilion, are the staff quarters and a covered barbecue area with seating. A garden path leads around both sides of the pool to the other two guest pavilions, which house the villa’s four bedrooms and the TV lounge – a bright, cheerful room with comfortable couches and home to the villa’s only TV. Sliding doors at the front of the TV lounge open to the lawn and ocean views.
Each of the villa’s four ensuite bedrooms faces the pool and is similarly furnished, but with an individual colour scheme. All bedrooms have king-size beds dressed in white linen, with scatters and runners accenting the room’s colour theme. The larger master bedroom (the only room looking out to both beach and pool) has a rattan chaise longue and small seating area in front of the sea-facing doors. Bedroom facilities for all rooms include air-conditioning, dressing tables, safes, hairdryers, white cotton dressing gowns and ceiling fans. All four bedrooms enjoy open-to-the-sky bathrooms with indoor and outdoor showers (the master ensuite also has a bath tub). Aromatic jasmine rice body products complete the look.
BEDROOM 1
King
5m x 5m
BEDROOM 2
King
5.5m x 4m
BEDROOM 3
King
4.5m x 4m
BEDROOM 4
King
4.5m x 4m
