What a fully staffed villa in Phuket includes

"Fully staffed" is used loosely in Phuket. At some villas it means a maid who comes in the morning. At ours it means a team that runs the house around your group from 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM, every day of your stay. This is what that looks like in practice.

The team

Every villa has a private chef, a villa manager, housekeeping and service staff. The villa manager is your single point of contact before and during the stay: airport transfers, menus, massages, boat days, restaurant tables, a doctor if someone needs one. You never have to work out who to ask.

The chef cooks 3 meals a day if you want them, in the villa, shaped around your group. Breakfast preparation is included every morning. For lunch and dinner you tell the chef or the villa manager what you feel like, and the team sources fresh ingredients from the local market, Villa Market or Central Food Hall. Thai home cooking, Western dishes, a seafood barbecue on the lawn, children's meals at 6 and the adults at 8: it is all the same to the kitchen.

Housekeeping is daily, with evening turn-down, and the service staff set and clear the table, keep the pool deck tidy and serve drinks.

What the rate includes

The nightly rate covers the villa and the team: private chef, villa manager and concierge, housekeeping and service staff, daily breakfast preparation, in-villa dining service and table setup, and 1 private airport transfer on arrival for guests on the same flight. At Villa Chanjar and Villa Daran it also includes access to the Andara Resort facilities and a shuttle to Kamala Beach.

What you pay for separately

Food and drinks. Everything the team buys for your group is charged at cost plus a 20% shopping fee, settled with the villa team. A family of 10 eating 3 meals a day in the villa typically spends far less than the same group would in restaurants, and nobody has to drive anywhere.

On request, and priced per villa page: in-villa massage from THB 1,000 per hour, a van and driver at THB 3,500 for 8 hours, additional airport transfers at THB 1,500, babysitting at THB 500 per hour, yacht charters, golf and tours.

Staff hours and privacy

The team is on duty daily from 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM. If you would like them to stay on for a late dinner, an overtime charge of THB 300 per staff member per hour applies. Outside those hours the villa is yours, and staff quarters at every villa are separate from the guest areas, so the service happens around you rather than through you.

If you are comparing villas, ask one question: who is in the house, and from when until when? At Villa Cascade the answer is a team of 4; at Villa Talaefun it is 5. Both answers are on the villa page, next to the rate.