A great villa for a group getaway

With the help of an easy-to-use booking portal, JACQUI YOUNG finds a perfect group getaway in Phuket.

Planning group travel can be tricky. Some prefer a modern property, others traditional; some are focused on a peaceful getaway, while others want to be amongst the action. A whole host of preferences need to be factored in.

One of the requirements on our recent group trip to Phuket was that we all wanted to be under one roof, while still enjoying ample space in a convenient central location.

HomeAway is a world leader in the holiday rental industry – a place to book villas, apartments and holiday homes with more than two million places to stay, across 190 countries. Together, the website and app make it easy to find and book the ideal rental for any getaway, and often for less than the cost of traditional hotel accommodation.

We used HomeAway recently to book a weekend at the beautiful Baan Surin Sawan Villa in Surin Beach Phuket. Sawan is Thai for “heaven”, a word that perfectly captures this enviable hillside location in the Baan Thai Surin Hill private estate, looking down over some of Phuket’s most desirable west-coast beaches.

The villa provided everything we were looking for. Aside from being an easy commute from the airport, it had plenty of space, with communal living and entertainment rooms, four spacious bedrooms, a modern kitchen and a tropical outdoor pavilion built around an eight-metre infinity pool. This meant we could gather, chill out and chat all evening in complete comfort. The staff were attentive while also allowing us the time we’d been craving to relax and enjoy our long-awaited weekend break.

The booking and rental process of the villa was very easy from start to finish, with the site and app allowing us to search not only by location but also by other important factors such as whether there was a pool or internet available, if the property was a house or villa, and so on. We also loved that the villa manager provided all kinds of info before the stay, which meant we were able to order everything in advance, from our airport transfers, to the drinks and nibbles that would be waiting for us on arrival, and even the group meals to be prepared and cooked by the villa’s personal chef during our stay. In all, we would highly recommend HomeAway to anyone searching for a holiday home rental.

Rates at Baan Surin Sawan Villa start from S$1,194 a night for eight people. homeaway.com.sg

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This article first appeared in the May 2019 edition of Expat Living. You can purchase a copy or subscribe so you never miss an issue!