Setting: Turtle-filled lagoon. Weaving around a lily-padded lagoon beside Phuket’s longest beach, Anantara Phuket Villas offers a box-ticking blend of home-from-home villas and chic and child-friendly communal spaces. Along with a host of all-in family activities, little ones will love the kids’ club and turtle sanctuary, teens will go mad over the adrenaline-charged pursuits, you can beat a retreat to Anantara Spa, and hubby can tee off at a nearby golf course, ensuring smiles all round.
Rooms: 83 pool villas, including the two-bedroom Similan Suite, which would work a treat for families.
Facilities: Spa, gym, tennis courts, library with books and DVDs, boutique, gardens. In rooms: flatscreen TV, DVD player, preloaded iPod, espresso machine, wine fridge, minibar.
Splashing: There’s no dedicated kids’ pool, but the main pool has several shallow areas. A lifeguard oversees swimmers, young and old, between 9am and 8pm. All rooms come with a small private pool, too, so infants will need watching.
No need to pack: Baby cots, high chairs and buggies.
Time-out
Give the resort staff two hours’ notice and they can organize child-minding for THB250 an hour. On-site adult distractions include cooking classes, meditation and yoga lessons, tennis, windsurfing and kayaking. For all-out indulgence, slip into Anantara Spa, where seven luxe treatment rooms, including a plush spa suite with a pool, offer up a soul-soothing mix of Thai massage, scrubs, body wraps and Ayurvedic therapies. Plus, Smith members get an hour’s unlimited Anantara signature cocktails. We’ll say cheers to that!
To book a child-friendly Smith stay visit www.mrandmrssmith.com or call the expert Travel Team on 800 905 326. What’s more, if you sign up as a Smith member, you can enjoy exclusive offers at more than 850 hand-picked hotels around the world.