SALA Phuket Mai Khao Beach Resort

Design-led beachfront resort of 79 rooms and pool villas on quiet Mai Khao Beach, 20 minutes from the airport.

SALA Phuket Mai Khao Beach Resort is a design-led beachfront hotel on Mai Khao, the long, quiet sweep of sand on Phuket's northwest shore beside Sirinat National Park. The look mixes Sino-Portuguese references, a nod to Old Phuket Town, with clean modern lines, latticed screens and walls of folding glass doors opening onto pool decks. There are 79 rooms in total, and 63 of them are pool villas or suites, which makes it feel more like a private villa compound than a big resort.

All rooms share a few things that set SALA apart: an outdoor bathroom with bathtub and separate shower, a daybed, a Nespresso machine and a Bluetooth sound bar. The 16 Deluxe Balcony rooms (63 sqm) are the only ones without a pool. Garden Pool Villas and SALA Pool Villas are both around 157 to 158 sqm with private pool and sun deck, and the 34 SALA Pool Villas are the resort's core stock. Families and groups can step up to one- and two-bedroom pool villa suites or the single 619 sqm SALA Signature Villa One.

SALA Restaurant sits beside the beach and pool with indoor, alfresco and rooftop seating, serving fresh seafood, international dishes and Thai favourites, with daybeds for lingering over cocktails. SALA Beach Bar covers drinks on the sand, and SALA Bar mixes garden-to-glass cocktails. Floating breakfast in your villa pool, in-villa dining and private beachfront dinners, including the 100 Candles set-up, are offered for special occasions.

The resort has three beachfront pools: a fun pool with bubble beds, a lap pool and a kids' pool. SALA Spa, designed to evoke a Chinese water garden, has five indoor treatment rooms, separate steam rooms for men and women and three beachfront massage stations. There is also a fitness centre, a guest lounge, a gift shop selling handmade products and antiques, and SALA Farm, where guests of all ages can join farm tours, cooking classes and farm-to-table activities. Kayaks, paddleboards, bicycle tours and beach yoga are complimentary, subject to the daily schedule.

Location is the big practical advantage: Phuket International Airport is around 20 minutes away, which makes SALA a good first or last night. The trade-off is distance from everything else. Old Phuket Town, Blue Canyon golf and the Phang Nga Bay piers are reachable, but Patong's nightlife and the busier southern beaches are a long drive, and there is little within walking distance beyond the beach itself.

It suits couples, honeymooners and families who want space, a private pool and a calm beach, and who are happy to stay put. Travellers who want restaurants and bars on the doorstep should look further south.

A tip on the beach: like much of Phuket's west coast, Mai Khao can get rough surf during the southwest monsoon, roughly May to October, so swim only when the flags allow and use the pools on choppy days. Book airport transfers through the resort and reserve beachfront dinners ahead.