Laguna

Laguna Phuket opened in 1987 on the site of an abandoned tin mine, on land then considered too polluted to build on. More than ฿5 billion went into the project in the 1980s⁠—the largest single investment in Phuket at the time. Today there are lagoons, parkland, three kilometres of beach and a golf course.

Inside, it has a life of its own. Free shuttles and lagoon boats run between the hotels, and there are more than 30 restaurants and bars. Under the resort’s rules, a guest at any of the six hotels can sign for charges at all the others: one bill for the whole complex. Canal Village has shops from tailors to antiques, and a BDMS clinic.

Laguna suits families and those who come for golf and spa. The Laguna Phuket Marathon is held here in June, and there is a triathlon of its own.

A hotel villa. Every room at Banyan Tree Phuket is a pool villa, and some villas have two pools. You live in a house of your own, with the spa, the restaurants and the children’s club on site.

A residence. Most of Banyan Group’s projects in Phuket are in Laguna. Prices, owner privileges and rental rules differ from one project to the next, and we check them against the contract before the first payment.

A private house on the lagoon. Quieter than by the beach, with a view of the water⁠—but of the lagoon, not the sea. For each villa we confirm exactly what can be seen from the bedroom and the terrace.

• We compare a hotel villa and a private house on price, service and view, in a single shortlist.
• Golf. Tee times at Laguna Golf Phuket: 18 holes, par 71, layout redesigned in 2015. Lessons with a coach, for you or for the children.
• Children. Hotel children’s clubs by day. For a longer stay there is SILK kindergarten on site, and in Cherngtalay the campus of HeadStart, a British school. How we choose a school is on a page of its own.
• Dinners. A table at Saffron, Banyan Tree’s modern Thai restaurant; a barbecue at the villa; or a chef for the whole stay.
• Spa and health. Treatments at the Banyan Tree spa, appointments at the BDMS clinic in Canal Village.
• The sea. A yacht for longer routes, from a marina on the east coast. More on yachts.
• Buying. Before the first payment, we explain the forms of ownership⁠—a condominium unit freehold within the 49% foreign quota, or a villa on a registered 30-year land lease⁠—and the rental rules of the specific project.