AMATARA, PHUKET, THAILAND
‘
Sah-wah-dee khrap,’ shouts my three-year-old son, Otto, as he jumps on to the golf buggy that’s arrived outside our villa to drive us to the hotel swimming pool. His English vocabulary is good, but I’m surprised to hear him speaking Thai (he’s only just getting over the excitement of the elephant-shaped towels that were on his bed when we arrived). It’s not lost on me that the hotel staff have been so friendly, sweet and attentive with him that he’s picked the greeting up within hours of arriving at Amatara Wellness Resort in Phuket. Tucked away in a quiet area of Cape Panwa, we’re surrounded by water, with the sun rising directly in front of our ocean-facing villa and setting behind us over the bay. Other than early morning birdsong and evening cricket song, we’re completely undisturbed – a total juxtaposition to our work commute and nursery drop-off rat race. We weren’t sure about coming here: a three-hour flight to Greece seemed taxing enough, but the desire to travel as much as possible before Otto starts school trumped the fear, and a frequentflying friend told me to pack a light, large blanket and a zip-lock bag of jigsaws and toys for our six-hour layover in Abu Dhabi, which worked brilliantly.
The word ‘paradise’ shouldn’t be used frivolously, but it’s so very appropriate here. We set our alarm for 5.30am to watch the sunrise – a palette of neon oranges, reds and pinks. Our villa is bigger than our London flat, with a king-size bed leading down to Otto’s vast camp bed and seating area. With temperatures soaring to 37°C, this air-conditioned haven is where we spend the hottest parts of the days. Then, there’s our private infinity pool, which has a backdrop of the ocean and palm and frangipani trees. My husband, Jonny, and Otto spend hours playing in the water, with Otto roaring with laughter each time he’s launched into the air, yet as the hotel is so family-friendly, no one seems to mind the noise, and I can rest easy with my book. There’s a private beach just to our right with water sports and sunloungers – it’s where we get our ‘longtail boat’ to visit Coral Island (life jackets and a makeshift roof for shade included, hurrah!). Before we arrived, the food seemed like a gamble for my pesto pasta-loving son, but he gets to eat pizzas and bolognese, while we feast on curries and exotic fruits. Childcare is available in the form of babysitters and a kids’ club, with painting, swimming and crafting on the menu. But actually, we fall into a happy rhythm together – Otto plays in the shallow pool, while we have a cooking class overlooking him, then I sneak off for a massage, while Otto and Jonny cool down in the room.
We leave feeling happy and rested. Yes, all of us. ALICE MANNING