For the family ... a double-pool villa at the Banyan Tree, Phuket.
Why should parents have all the five-star fun? According to this Phuket resort, they shouldn't, writes Erin O'Dwyer.
THERE'S nothing quite like walking into a luxury hotel room - the big white bed, small jars of fragrant cosmetics and a white-tiled bathroom stocked with fluffy towels. My own personal pleasure comes from childhood: memories of racing my sisters to the best bed night after night on long east-coast road trips.
The hotel rooms were not luxurious then. They were stale, dreary motels with saggy beds and lino floors. Still, turning the key was like stepping into Narnia. Something exciting always lay ahead.
There's something Narnia-like, too, about the two-bedroom pool villa at the Banyan Tree in Phuket. The small child inside me wants to race inside, grab the biggest bed and jump up and down with glee. Instead, I take my time.
I survey the private swimming pool, the open-air sunken bath, the meditation pavilion and the walk-in wardrobe. In such luxurious surroundings, even the white-sand beach is an afterthought.
The Banyan Tree is the ultimate in Thai luxury. Its spacious 68-hectare grounds sprawl between an 18-hole championship golf course and the Andaman Sea. Villas that look like royal Thai salas are done out in opulent timber furnishings; bolts of Thai silk are splashed about for colour. Daily yoga classes are complimentary and there are lessons in everything from batik painting to sailing.
The Phuket resort is the Banyan Tree's flagship property. When it opened in 1994 on Phuket's Bang Tao Bay, it was the first modern resort with a day spa. Since then, of course, the "spa" concept - ancient Eastern therapies with a holistic focus - has become ubiquitous and synonymous with luxury.
The Banyan Tree was the first hotel to open a spa academy and commission hill-tribe artisans for furnishings. It pioneered villas on stilts to protect ecosystems and opened the first hotel marine lab to promote turtle research in the Maldives. Back when corporate social responsibility was just a buzz phrase, the Banyan Tree was doing it.
These days, the Banyan Tree is on to the next big thing: families. In March, the resort unveiled 22 new villas, each with two pools, two bedrooms and a high-tech entertainment room the hotel says is the first of its kind on the luxury market.
The children's room might be the crowd-puller but the double pool villas don't skimp on luxury for mum and dad. The 1700-square-metre villa I perused has an infinity pool and spa set in a private tropical garden that overlooks the resort's lake. The bedrooms have floor-to-ceiling windows and the main bedroom floats on its own pavilion in a secluded plunge pool.
The children have a secret walled garden and electric curtains that can be operated from their twin beds. The entertainment room - which has a luxuriously large daybed so big it could easily sleep six extra kids as well as a massive flat-screen TV for DVD parties - doubles as a workspace for parents.
The resort's French-born marketing manager, Christina Hoff, says the family market is booming. "We get people who came here years ago on their honeymoon or as a couple, who are now coming back with their kids in tow," she says. In response, the resort has two kids' clubs and babysitting on demand. In the family villas, the same butler is on call 24 hours a day. "Your butler will cook breakfast in your room, then he'll be back in the afternoon to make traditional Thai coffee," Hoff says.
"At 6.30pm, he'll be serving cocktails. And if you ring for a buggy, it will be your butler who picks you up."
Unusually for luxury accommodation, the kitchen is fully equipped. It's in a separate room and includes a dishwasher, microwave, oven and plenty of crockery and cutlery.
"We included the kitchen for guests with babies," Hoff says. "They don't have to use it if they don't want to, of course."
The villas are so gorgeous, they are regularly booked out by wedding parties. This year, an Indian couple flew in 800 guests. Wedding planners, personal chefs and entertainers were flown in, too. There were Cirque du Soleil acrobats and US hip-hop artist Kanye West performed.
The Banyan Tree spa remains something to behold. There are 25 treatment rooms, four spa pavilions, a steam room and a sauna. Then there's a 40-metre lap pool, an extensive fitness pavilion and daily Pilates group classes taught by a naturopath.
As part of the hotel's wellness approach, there are 20 different ayurvedic treatments and an in-spa menu of tridoshic food. I opt for a simple facial. Happily, there's no such thing. The experience takes almost two hours and includes two tea ceremonies, a personal consultation and cooling off by the pool.
In less than 24 hours at the Banyan Tree, we've barely had time to sleep. And, as we race to catch our plane, I realise we haven't had time to see the beach. As good an excuse as any to go back.
Trip notes
Where
The Banyan Tree, Bang Tao Bay, Phuket, is in a cluster of seven five-star hotels in the Laguna complex. +66 76 324 374, banyantree.com.
How much
Deluxe two-bedroom pool villas sleep four, from 27,300 baht ($907) a night.
Top marks
Two-bedroom double-pool villas are perfect for families who want to indulge.
Black mark
Older pool villas at the Banyan Tree are in need of a spruce-up. Sliding timber screens give the villa a heavy feel and the kitchenette is dated.
Don't miss
An Asian Blend massage in the spa, where palms and thumbs are applied to improve circulation.
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