Who's the current owner? We're not at Liberty to say...

Phuket Observer believes that Liberty, a cliff-top dwelling on Millionaires’ Mile, may be the most expensive home yet offered in the Phuket luxury home market.

The reported price tag: US$7 million, or around 224 million Thai baht. That’s more than the Thai government announced earlier this month it would spend on the “national reform process” following the Red Shirt protests in Bangkok and elsewhere in April and May this year.

Or put it another way: If you paid cash for this house, in Thai one-thousand-baht notes, the notes, laid end-to-end, would stretch almost 36 kilometres, or the distance from Phuket Town to the Sarasin Bridge.

But then, this is no ordinary two-bed, one-and-a-half-bath home. For a start, it’s on Millionaires’ Mile in Kamala, at the far end facing Patong. Where else? It was designed by architects Arte Charpentier of Paris, whose portfolio also includes Century Avenue, a five-kilometre stretch of stunning buildings in Shanghai (along with the city’s Opera House and the its Police HQ) and the St Lazare Metro station in Paris, along with hotels, office buildings and private residences, and the rest of the Jomchang private development where you’ll find Liberty.

The house has living space totalling 1,213 square metres and sits on just under a rai (1,600 sqm) of clifftop land. It steps down through five levels (not including the swimming platform at the foot of the cliff). And if you don’t like the idea of all those steps, there are elevators connecting each level with the next.

It has five bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms, a huge cinema and entertainment room, equally enormous European and Thai kitchens, a pool (infinity edge, of course) with an outdoor bar, and a private sala overlooking the Andaman Sea.

Please note: the place comes fully equipped with the best appliances but you’ll need to bring your own furniture. For more on this once-in-a-lifetime, not-to-be-missed opportunity, see the Liberty website.

Cast adrift for dinner: the Plum Restaurant.

With Cape Sienna having won two accolades from Tripadvisor recently (the only hotel in Asia to do so), it seemed a good time to visit the place. And since the delightful Riz (it’s easier to say than Tipwarintron Tanaakarachod), former local TV star now doing marketing for the Millionaires’ Mile five-star, offered to throw in supper, any resistance we might have had crumbled immediately.

The first thing to realise about Cape Sienna is that it has – gasp – no beach. But it more than makes up for this with huge views across Kamala Bay and chic minimalist architecture and decor. Less than a year after the hotel opened, its restaurant is near full most nights, especially on Fridays – tapas night.

Fusion doesn't work: Indrajit Saha.

This is a great place to watch the sun dive into the sea. On the evening  the Observer was there, a gleaming gin palace slid across the face of the bay as the sun sank behind it. Sitting in comfort on the classy restaurant terrace with a good cold Mojito to hand, it’s possible to image that this is something the management arranges every night just to add to the sunset experience.

Helping to appreciate the food was Indrajit Saha, Director of Kitchen & Service Operation (ie, “Chef”). For a 35-year-old, he’s been around a bit. A chemistry graduate, he started out with Oberoi in his native India, then joined the opening team for the Anantara in the Maldives as Chef de Cuisine.

From there he want to the Caribbean, working at the Jalousie Plantation on St Lucia, helping to make the transition away from Hilton management. Next was Africa, as exec sous chef at the new Kempinski in Djibouti for a couple of years, before being invited by Cap Sienna GM Frank Dreist, late of the Phuket Pavilions, to join as Big Boss of Food.

Indrajit has some forthright opinions on food, coloured by his background in chemistry. For example: “Fusion doesn’t work,” he says. Shock! Horror! That’s about half the chic restaurants in Phuket. He explains, “Things that work have a logic and a philosophy. For example, what goes with fish?” “Er, lemon and white wine?” “Correct. It’s fish plus sour. There are hundreds of ways to achieve this.”

Not for the faint of heart: The Lamb Trio.

Once we are seated in a sunken area in the middle of a pool – a novelty in itself – he chooses the food for the evening. Plum Signature (the restaurant is called Plum) followed by Lamb Trio, then a simple dessert. All served with a very pleasant Chilean Chardonnay.

The Plum Signature consists of four bites: panfried scallop, softshell crab tempura with sambal, raw prawn marinated in mango and chili, and tuna wrapped in Parma ham with green papaya chutney. Yes. Thank you.

On to the Lamb Trio. This is for carnivores; the only greens in sight are a couple of sprigs of spring onion. The trio consists of rack of lamb (never to be called “chops”) and some chunks of  lamb loin plus a sauce – a tajine – a kind of stew that Indrajit discovered in Africa and made from, yes, lamb.

Delicious, but not for the faint of heart – your reviewer ended up with no room for dessert. So bring a hearty appetite, enhance it by lingering over the sunset, then tuck in.

Book a room at Cape Sienna here. The Plum restaurant is open from 8 to 11pm. For reservations, call +66 (0) 7633 7300.

Sea views and infinity-edge pool, naturally - view from one of the villas. - Photo courtesy Andara.

Andara Resort & Villas, the recently opened resort element at the Andara villa development in Kamala, is already drawing rave reviews, despite being a month or so away from its official opening.

One guest, writing on TripAdvisor.com commented, “Wow, this place will blow you away – ultimate in luxury but without the price tag.” Another wrote, “We have stayed in numerous 5 star hotels around the world, but I can truly say this is one of the finest experiences we have ever had.”

So they reckon it’s pretty good, then.

Andara started out as a very high-end villa development near one end of what has come to be known as Millionaires’ Mile because of all the other very high-end villas perched along the hillside. One acquaintance of PhuketObserver.com bought a place at Andara right at the beginning for US$2 million, and says he’s recently been offered $5 million for it.

Now the developer, Hong Kong “taipan” Allan Zeman, has added hotel facilities with full resort amenities (40m swimming pool, beach club, gym, wine cellar, concierge, spa, etc etc), creating a very tasty resort and also generating revenue for villa owners when they’re not staying there themselves. The resort currently consists of 37 apartments and 26 villas, ranging in size up to six bedrooms.

Adding lustre is the highly-respected Silk restaurant, formerly on the top floor of the nearby Surin Plaza shopping centre (also created by the ever-busy Mr Zeman). It has now been moved to Andara.

Bored of all that landward luxury? Get some on the water instead, aboard the yacht Andara. - Photo courtesy Andara.

The GM of the resort is Andrew Whitaker, appointed last September. He moved to Phuket from the Amara Sanctuary on Singapore’s Sentosa Island. His CV includes 12 years in management of upmarket clubs in Asia, and six years at GM level with the luxury Shangri-La hotels chain.

Rack rates range from around $700 a night for a one-bedroom terrace suite up to $4,480 for a six-bedroom villa (fill it with 12 adults and that’s just 373 buck apiece, or a pretty reasonable 11.500 baht a night).

And in case you ever get bored of all this luxury on land, you can experience more on the water, by chartering the resort’s own 85-foot Italian motor yacht called, yes, Andara. US$3,500-4,000 a day, depending on the season, for up to 16 passengers.

For more info and guaranteed best rates click here.

Okay, so you're unlikely to be shooting the tube in Phuket (this shot was taken in Oahu) but there are plenty of challenging waves.

For those who like their exercise wet, mid-June sees the inaugural Thailand Surf Series, from June 12 to 14 in the sea off Kalim Beach. Up to now, Thailand has not been exactly first choice for surfers – Bali holds that crown in Asia – but competitions have been held for several years, with proponents stressing that although Phuket doesn’t have the spectacular waves, there’s still plenty of skill required to get it right.

The series has the backing of Quiksilver, and followed a visit to Phuket by Bali-based Aussie pro surfer Jake “the Snake” Paterson, winner of such events as the 1996 and 2002 WQS Tour, the 1998 Pipeline Masters, and at Jeffrey’s Bay South Africa in 2000 and 2001. In 2003 he won the Rip Curl Cup at Sunset Beach.

There will be two more rounds, the “King of the Jungle” round in mid-August at Kamala Beach and the “Island Crown” round in early September at Kata Beach. The events are open to all. See www.thaisurfseries.com for more information.

For details, see the website here or contact the organiser.

Cool stuff: The pool at the Marriott Courtyard Kamala.

The new Marriott Courtyard in Kamala is offering a special opening deal of 3,333 baht a night, including taxes. The deal, which includes breakfast, continues until October 31.

The hotel, right on the beach, has 180 one-, two- and three-bedroom suites with broadband Internet connection, a large pool, Kids World (for when Mum and Dad plan to spend time in the spa) and excellent international cuisine in the MoMo Café.

To book, call +66 (0) 2 6567707 or email bookmarriott@marriotthotels.com.

There are now three Marriott Courtyards in Phuket. The other two are at Surin Beach and in Patong.