Amidst coconut palms and gently rolling slopes, The Surin Phuket elegantly sashays down a varied landscape to rest along the island?s finest white sandy beach at Pansea Bay. Paris-based architect and designer Edward Tuttle, known for his work in tropical locales, teamed up with Bangkok-based designer Jon Vorapot Somton to create a resort that beautifully combines local materials and traditional Thai designs with modern functionality. Elevated walkways link pavilions and public buildings, offering guests unobstructed views of the ocean, whilst the private thatched-roof cottages literally invite the surrounding nature inside through their shuttered doors. A private veranda and secluded sun deck ensconces each cottage beautifully in its own patch of paradise; here, guests can breathe easy in custom- made designs and the earthy colours that reflect the organic aesthetic of Tuttle?s tropical vision or take advantage of discreet, yet always attentive service.

It all stands in contrast to the restaurant?s dramatic lighting and the hotel?s library?s graphic elegance. Lustrous black anthracite makes up the hexagonal pool?s tiling and creates dramatic reflections at night, enhancing the already otherworldly wonder of this tropical retreat ? the ultimate in southeast-Asian seaside serenity.