Villa Oxavia

After two months there, a few things changed how I felt about the place. We moved into an apartment without a door between the living room and bathroom, and it still hadn’t been fixed after two months. The last cleaning lady started coming into the room when we were out, without cleaning. I saw it myself once from another room. Our entrance door lock broke and stayed that way for over six days, with no explanation or apology from the manager. It felt like more care came from outside than inside after the Italian owners returned to Italy. We paid 35,000 baht per month, even though the regular booking price was 30% lower, so there was no long-stay discount and we actually paid more. At first, though, I loved the atmosphere, the exterior and the friendly Italian owners. We came across Oxavia while exploring the area on a motorbike, then returned to stay for two months. There are apartments, rooms and a bungalow for rent, plus a lovely pool, lots of greenery and birdsong. You can book through booking or directly at the property. The beach is a 15-minute walk at most, or two minutes by bike, and shops and restaurants are only a few minutes away on foot.

There’s plenty of open space and fresh air, with privacy that made it easy to unwind. The host can arrange a scooter rental too, which made it simple to get to the beach and check out local shops.

A nice place away from the crowds around Pa Thong and Bangla Road, down at the bottom of Phuket. The hosts are friendly and very helpful, arranging taxis and a motorbike. The rooms were clean, and it felt like good value. There’s a private pool and jacuzzi too.

The pool was great, but the villa itself is older. It has six bedrooms, and I got it through airbnb. The electricity bill was massive.