Waimarie is Maori for “peaceful water”, and the name is entirely apt for this villa where, for most of the year the sea is  flat as glass and as warm as a mother’s hug. This is Lipa Noi Beach, and when you stay at Villa Waimarie you will have it almost to yourself.

The rooms at this glorious Samui villa are secluded in the tropical gardens where guests are woken each day with birdsong from the resident mynahs, sunbirds and bulbuls. As you meander along winding brick paths, inhale the scent of frangipani and delight in the colourful splashes of brilliant tropical flowers.

Then, as you walk through an elegant archway, the sea greets you. Drink in the view. The sand is white and powdery. Next to the shore the sea is pale green, giving way to a band of dark amethyst, then aquamarine stretching to the horizon. Islands reflect the morning sunlight and behind them the mountains of the Thai mainland form a blue-grey graph against the sky.