Tatler Asia gets an exclusive first look at Rosewood Phuket’s new Houses, which include a colossal 21,000 square foot beachfront mansion
If you grew up in Asian hubs such as Bangkok, Singapore and Hong Kong, the idea of a weekend dash to Phuket is nothing new.
The island has been a go-to getaway serving up familiar comforts of Thai sala-inspired architecture, pad thai by the pool, and long days spent island hopping. But Phuket is entering a new era of elegance.
Moving away from tourist tropes and traps, the humble island is reclaiming its beauty with properties that were designed with the local environment and culture in mind, while protecting natural landscapes that have long been under threat by mass tourism.
Take, for example, the Rosewood Phuket, where Tatler was granted an exclusive first look at the property’s newest additions—The Coral House and The Palm House, the resort's two most extravagant guest houses to date.
See also: Bali who? Rosewood Hong Kong’s Asaya Lodges offer a luxury wellness retreat in the heart of the city
The Coral House is a two-storey, 9,000 sq ft private oasis that sits just steps away from the beach, with three bedrooms, a lush terrace, swimming pool and spaces designed for entertaining. Meanwhile, The Palm House is a colossal 21,000 sq ft beach house built for families or groups of friends travelling together. It features four bedrooms, two pools (one for each floor, naturally), a private gym, multiple living and communal spaces, a full kitchen with wine cellar and a dining area for up to 12 guests.
“Guests will be impressed by the grandeur and scale of the resort but also feel a very personal connection to it through the sense of romance, sense of place and sense of the unexpected that intermingle in the design,” says Stewart Robertson, director of Melbourne-based Bar Studio, which designed the resort. “Rosewood Phuket redefines all the expected elements of a luxury resort to create something that feels absolutely right in this unique setting.”
Bar Studio—which is behind some of Asia Pacific’s most coveted hotels, including Park Hyatt Niseko and Capella Sydney and the coveted Legacy House restaurant at Rosewood Hong Kong—designed the Phuket property as an all-villa hotel that offers three tiers of accommodation: Pavilions, Villas and Houses. Each is a freestanding structure surrounded by sprawling tropical foliage, with floor-to-ceiling windows for a fully immersive experience of the hillside forest surroundings, and (at least one) private pool.
The most luxurious tier is the Houses, conceived as a self-contained getaway designed in the stately manor style that has become a Rosewood signature.
