Twinpalms Phuket

Chilled spa hotel with contemporary tropical styling - a short hop by designer flip-flop from happening Surin Beach

Since it opened in 2005, this Swedish-owned resort has been heralded as the hip place to stay: a monochromatic design revolution with clean lines and isosceles roofs. The open, airy lobby, with its high-flown ceilings and glossy floors, sets the style and marks the transition from town to tranquillity. Shady, stream-lined walkways lead to the restaurant, library, spa and fitness room, while the navy swimming pool and ‘lagoons’ glisten between emerald and white gardens. New, extravagantly equipped duplex residences set back from the immaculately kept gardens offer an alternative to the original (still stylish) rooms housed in the wooden-shuttered buildings around the pool.

Surin Beach has become decidedly upmarket in recent years, emerging as the top choice when it comes to public beaches on Phuket. Here resides Twinpalm’s outpost: Catch Beach Restaurant and sundeck. People-watch from canopied daybeds during the day, or sip pre-dinner cocktails on the deck by the light of purple neon and a witchy pit fire. It’s so flattering to the new season’s colours.

Highs

• Stunning pool with flickering shade from the towering palms
• Pampering massages will immediately revive you after a long-haul and get you in holiday mood
• Ex-pats and a smart clientele create a vibe that’s both elite and buzzy
• Five minutes’ walk from hip Surin Beach with its fresh fish restaurants, tailors, bars and massage salas
• Great choice of accommodation: stylish rooms, suites, duplexes and penthouse all offer something special, whether an atrium shower-room or a rooftop pool
• Though the hotel’s large by i-escape standards (there are 76 rooms and suites, and a further 21 residences), there’s a secluded, boutique feel

Lows

• Staff are lovely but aren’t equipped to deal with anything out of the ordinary
• The competitive sport of chair-bagging is rife at the pool - when we stayed, by 10am they’d all been ‘claimed’ by absentee breakfasters (although staff do unreserve chairs if kept empty too long)
• Top-whack extras soon add up – for example the shuttle-bus service into Patong
• Some of the most luxurious residences have the least inspiring views
• Vegetarians might need to go off-menu at the restaurant after a day or so and the beach barbecues simply won’t appeal