Phuket : Solitude in Villa Zolitude

 

 

4th – 5th August 2011. Written by Xin Li and Vinleon.

Phuket, Thailand.

Nestled on rainforest covered slopes of the surrounding hills overlooking Chalong Bay. Vinleon and I found ourselves free nearing a nirvana of solitude, away from the throngs of tourists or the concrete jungles of Phuket Town as our taxi made its way along a winding road towards the secluded resort, Villa Zolitude.

Upon reaching resort, we were welcomed with the warmest of smiles before we board a shuttle to the reception area uphill, vehicles from the outside were not allowed into the resort to preserve an atmosphere of tranquility for the guests.

It is as though we have set foot onto a peaceful sanctuary for poets or haiku masters. The reception area has a commanding view of Chalong Bay and the surround towns and villages. Against this breath-taking panorama, is the grand reception area topped with a gigantic roof and decorated in Mediterranean-Arabian style with a touch of Thai.

 

 

Vinleon and I were seated at the lounge area, an airy and spacious space with sofas, lounge chairs and ottomans to relax on. A glass of chilled lemongrass tea and cool towel was served promptly after getting seated down. While I was going through the paperwork, Vinleon gets to fiddle the telescope nearby.

After a brief moment of administration, we boarded the resort’s shuttle along road lined with lush greenery to our room (yes the compound is rather big).

Then, we arrived at this exclusive looking structure obscured by the exuberant foliage. In front is two sturdy, heavy looking wooden doors which the receptionist unlocked for us. “Room” is an understatement, the Grand Pool Villa, spanned over two stories with a small private pool at your own disposal.

Vinleon : “The top floor is the main area of the villa. The bed faces the french windows, which overlooks the great view of Chalong. Right behind the bed is a bathtub with drapes surrounding it (oh, by the way, Villa Zolitude's target audience is couples so they adopt an open concept. And no no no! Xinli and I aren't a couple! )”

 

 

Yeap, the villa is more suitable for couples with its open concept, but that there are still separate private shower rooms and toilets if you need privacy.

 

 

Little touches like towels decorated a fresh flower heads add a bit class to the overall mood.

 

 

The toiletries worth mentioning as it was particularly fragrant and refreshing. They were made using natural plant extracts. The villa also provides a citronella based mosquito repellant spray which proved to be rather effective throughout our stay.

As we descend down a flight of polished concrete stairs to the ground floor, we found ourselves at the lounge area complete with a bar area. You could sun tan or have a dip in the private pool. Unfortunately, the pool is not heated, so it can get rather cold. The trees around it provide fair bit privacy but you should expect plenty of fallen leaves too. The best time to swim here is during the late morning when there is plenty of sunlight to heat the pool up.

Showers and a washroom is also available downstairs.

The mini-bar offers a variety of teas, soft drinks and alcohol and best part of it? It is Complimentary.

With a spacious verandah upstairs and lounge area downstairs, it is possible to hold your own barbeque with the resort’s BBQ menu or get your own ingredients and get a set BBQ equipment set up for you for 500 THB.

As its name suggests, the Villa Zolitude is a place of solitude, away from civilization which makes its location both a plus and minus if you are looking to making Villa Zolitude a base for exploring Phuket, be prepared to fork out a bit for taxi fares. While there were shuttle services, I felt that wasn’t enough. The resort, besides swimming, sun tanning, lounging, watching television, eating, spa and massage, lacked other forms of recreation.

The resort’s infinity pool is rather shallow which is fine for me (: and if you are looking to some intellectual exercise, you could head to the Library upstairs to grab a book to read.

At night, blinking lights beneath the resort’s infinity mimic a starry night sky.

And we had a comfortable night at the Villa Zolitude.

Villa Zolitude

Chalong, 53/25 Moo 5 Soi Bann Nai Trok, Chaofa Nok Rd. Muang, Phuket 83130,

Thailand 076-521 333 52 1333