ASIA-PACIFIC ISSUE: ENCHANTMENTS OF THE FAR EAST : Thailand’s Five-Star ‘Place of Peace’

The sun is falling into the brilliant blue Andaman Sea at a speed that seems to defy gravity. We are seated at a low outdoor dining table, under Thai-style sala --an open-sided pavilion covered by a peaked roof.

As we recline on pillows to watch the sunset, we can reach for a coconut that has been freshly opened, or perhaps a pomello or other exotic local fruit, which were piled high that morning by the unseen hands that minister to our room. Bushel baskets of orchids sway in the gentle breeze. Looking out to the tossing sea, we can imagine that Joseph Conrad could come sailing around the headland at any moment.

It is one of those peaceful moments at the Amanpuri Hotel that creates the illusion of a man-made place blending seamlessly with nature. And that is what you come to the Amanpuri for in the first place.

While Thailand is still best known as a vacation spot for trekkers and tourists on package deals, the Amanpuri Hotel comes as a revelation: a world-class, five-star hotel where privacy is paramount and service is so efficient that it is almost invisible. It is probably Asia’s most luxurious resort.

Many famous Asian hotels have gained a reputation for service, which unfortunately means a stream of visitors to your room carrying everything from fruit baskets to ice buckets, hardly conducive to relaxation. At the Amanpuri, we weren’t disturbed even once.

The Amanpuri (it means “place of peace” in Sanskrit) was the brainchild of Adrian Zecha, a publisher and one of the founders of the Regent Hotel chain. Zecha’s Amanresorts now include hotels in Bali, Kuala Lumpur and Melbourne, Australia.

The Amanpuri has only 40 rooms--all suites--scattered over a hillside on the western side of Phuket, the resort island just off the southern Thai mainland. You know you’re being coddled because despite the small number of rooms, there is a staff of 220.

In two years of traveling through Thailand, my wife and I have been disappointed at the commercialization of the country. While the economic boom is a godsend for Thais, it’s almost impossible to find an escape from the unceasing construction and reverberating traffic, a place where your neighbor is not looking over your shoulder.

The Amanpuri is one of the few exceptions. Although relatively new, the builder preserved trees by offering a reward to the construction workers for not cutting them down. Some of the cottages have little notches cut into their eaves so that a palm tree did not have to be toppled.

The suites are separated by a Snakes and Ladders landscape of paths and staircases, creating an illusion of isolation. For those who choose not to walk, an electric golf cart glides you to your room. Even when the place is full, you have the feeling of being here during the off season because you see so few other guests.

Designed by Paris-based American architect Ed Tuttle, the Amanpuri has none of the office building look common in Southeast Asian hotels. Tuttle blended Thailand’s historic multi-peaked roofs with buildings done in the Japanese manner of sliding doors and partitions.

The suites have sanded teak floors that have the cool feel of the deck of a fine yacht. The dressing areas, as large as the bedrooms, contain a sunken bath tub and a black marble shower. The color scheme is white, black and gray, courtesy of the Jim Thompson Silk Co., Thailand’s famous purveyor of fine silks. Each suite has a king-sized platform bed and a stereo system.

In the morning, we descend an immense stone staircase to the beach as the sun rises behind the headland. Workers have raked the sand into a smooth coverlet. A retainer materializes with a chaise made of teak. Another retainer appears with a Burmese rain drum made of bronze on which to place your lime-juice spritzer--freshly squeezed, of course. If we tire of the beach, we can head for the immense, onyx-tiled “horizon” pool on a terrace overlooking the ocean. Reflected in the water is the graceful arch of the main reception area, suspended atop a building of opaque glass walls.

The hotel has become an “in” destination for the wealthy and powerful, so don’t be surprised if the woman in the next chair is part of the European jet set or a hard-charging corporate executive who comes to Phuket to “veg out.” The hotel is scrupulously private with its guest list, but it has become a favorite of celebrities in search of anonymity as well.

And from the moment we were picked up at the airport, we felt like celebrities as well: while other tourists are being packed in minivans to be taken to Phuket’s big hotels, the Amanpuri’s guests are fetched in black Volvos with white cotton seat covers, with Mozart or Chopin playing on the stereo.

“The hotel was designed for couples who want to escape for a holiday,” says Anthony Lark, the amiable Australian who serves as general manager. He adds that while the hotel does not attempt to dissuade couples from bringing children, there is nothing special for children to do here. Which was all right with us; we were here for a romantic sojourn and had left our baby at home in Bangkok.

And there is plenty of time for romance. About the only distraction at the Amanpuri, apart from two tennis courts, is a wonderful library with hard-cover and paperback best sellers and classical, jazz and rock cassettes to take out on loan. For those who insist on activity, diving equipment is available and windsurfing can be arranged in nearby bays. The hotel also operates a cruise division, for half- or full-day sightseeing voyages.

But you come to Amanpuri to relax. There is no business center and no conferences.

The hotel has two restaurants, with both the head chef, Dan Lentz, and the food and beverage manager, Michael DiLornado, alumni of the Bel-Air Hotel in Los Angeles.

One restaurant specializes in Thai food, with the menu selected by Sasithorn Waichayawanich, an expert on Thai cuisine who has Americanized the dishes by taking a few thousand chilis out of the normal Thai fare and toned down the strong, fermented fish tastes Thais are accustomed to, but which often offends Western palates.

The other restaurant is Italian, a cuisine Lark said was chosen to best complement Thai food. Whether or not this is logical, the food is delicious, featuring homemade pastas and imported veal. During the high-season months in winter, the chef is also imported, from the Cipriani Hotel in Venice.

DiLornado disarmingly greets you in the restaurant, chats to you about food and before you know it, makes a suggestion here, an alteration there. You like spicy food, the regular Thai-style cuisine gets subtly hotter. You like pasta, the tricolor ribbons of fettuccine suddenly pile up on your plate while you hardly notice that he has intervened.

There are Italian restaurants on virtually every street corner in large Asian cities these days, but the Amanpuri’s tiny restaurant offered some of the best cuisine we have had in ages.

For those wanting even more luxury than even the Amanpuri offers, there are spectacular privately owned villas adjacent to the hotel. The villas each have their own black-bottomed pool and separate bedroom pavilions and living room salas with Thai antiques. Each comes staffed by a maid, summoned by bronze gong, and a chef trained in Thai and Western cuisine; full hotel services are included.

But the management says the villas are not being formally marketed for rental at this stage, so you had better call and ask if one is available. And don’t choke when they give you the price.

GUIDEBOOK

Thailand’s Amanpuri Hotel

Getting there: There are seven daily flights from Bangkok to Phuket island (round trip costs about $140), as well as direct flights from Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney and Vienna.

Rates: For all of this luxury and beauty, the tab is extraordinary . . . but so is the value. Suites are $275-$700 per night in the high season, which runs from November to March; $225 to $500 low season. Meals are extra; average cost is about $110 per day for two.

The rooms are identical, but the more expensive are closer to the beach. Despite the steep prices, the hotel is often fully booked well in advance.

Reservations: Contact Amanresort’s Hotel Bora Bora in Los Angeles at (213) 670-0863; outside California, call (800) 421-1490. Local telephone is 311-394. The hotel also is linked with Reservations Systems Inc., which may be reached at (800) 223-1588.