LIFE'S A BEACH

Tatler Asia gets an exclusive first look at Rosewood Phuket's new Houses, which include a colossal 21,000 square foot beachfront mansion

- Coco Marett

If you grew up in Asian hubs such as Bangkok, Singapore and Hong Kong, the idea of a weekend dash to Phuket is nothing new. The island-also known as the Pearl of the Andaman-has long been a go-to getaway, serving up familiar comforts of Thai sala-inspired architecture, pad thai by the pool, and leisurely days spent island hopping.

But Phuket is entering a new era of elegance. Moving away from tourist tropes and traps, the humble island is reclaiming its beauty with properties designed with the local environment and culture in mind, while protecting natural landscapes that have long been under threat by mass tourism. Take, for example, the Rosewood Phuketwhere Tatler was granted an exclusive first look at the property's newest additions.

"Guests will be impressed by the grandeur and scale of the resort but also feel a very personal connection to it through the sense of romance, sense of place and sense of the unexpected that intermingle in the design," says Stewart Robertson, director of Melbourne-based Bar Studio, which designed the resort. "Rosewood Phuket redefines all the expected elements of a luxury resort to create something that feels absolutely right in this unique setting."

Bar Studio-which is behind some of Asia Pacific's most coveted hotels, including Rosewood Hong Kong, Park Hyatt Niseko and Capella Sydneydesigned the Phuket property as an all-villa hotel that offers three tiers of accommodation: Pavilions, Villas and Houses. Each is a freestanding beach home surrounded by sprawling tropical foliage, with floor-to-ceiling windows offering a fully immersive experience of the hillside forest surroundings and (at least one) private pool.