If Lebua had been the ultimate luxury in hotel experiences, then the place Luke found for us on Airbnb was the house equivalent.

We were picked up by a driver at the ferry pier then driven quite a long way down the east side of Samui and then turned off the main road and up, up, up some hills, where the landscape changed from hustle and bustle madness to quiet luxury and secluded villas peeking between palms.

Our property seemed to occupy almost the highest point on the hill and we were greeted by Joy, one half of the couple who maintained the property. She and her husband Sa lived in a small unit near the gate and were there to clean, tidy, cook and help us with whatever we wanted.

The house was on multiple levels and we walked into the kitchen and lounge and were greeted with views of ocean and green hills and, inside, a large number of balloons and a ‘cake’ for my birthday! Luke had asked if they could do something birthday-ish and it was lovely!

 We quickly sorted out rooms and then the property manager arrived. He took our deposit then said goodbye as he was off to Dubai the next day. We learned that the people who owned our villa also owned all the surrounding ones. It’s hard to imagine having that kind of wealth.

The house had five bedrooms, each with it’s own bathroom. A pool room and gym were also included, but the best part was the infinity pool that looked out over the ocean. We spent many hours each day lazing around it. Bliss! And all for $150 Australian (each) a night. This also included a deluxe continental breakfast laid out at our chosen time by Joy, who then made our beds, did our laundry and generally tidied up after us. It did feel strange having that level of service but I daresay I’d get used to it if could afford it all the time!

On the first afternoon we discovered the only drawback to the place – it was definitely too far to walk and a taxi down to the supermarket and back was $40. Not so bad split between 6 of us though, and so we headed to Tesco and stocked up on food and drinks so we could stay home if we liked and just relax.

That night Luke organised for Joy and Sa to cook us dinner and they provided a beautiful Thai spread with about 10 different dishes. That was the night of my actual birthday and I could not imagine a more beautiful place to spend it. After dinner we made some drinks then jumped in the pool and Luke and I had a late night swim together. It was just delightful and I felt very fortunate to experience this lifestyle – if only for a week!