Villa 1880

Upstairs, in the heart of the old plantation house is the air-conditioned media room. Plush seating in pink velvet wraps around a vintage B&B Italia coffee table set before a 60-inch TV with satellite channels, DVD player and home theatre system. Shelves set into original panels are laden with Asian literature and board games. Antique insect prints line the wall and presiding over this flamboyant space is a stuffed peacock.

Pockets of intimate seating are arranged on the veranda, which runs the length of the upper floor and leads to an enormous rooftop terrace furnished with brightly cushioned casual seating, long benches and a state-of-the-art barbecue.

Within the villa’s spa is a shower and changing area and a treatment room with twin massage beds and a hammam-style sunken bathtub for two opening onto tropical foliage and a water feature.

The villa also has a small studio office, separated from the living area by a koi pond, for those seeking a quiet space to work.

BEDROOMS

Villa 1880’s four bedroom suites and kids’ bunk room feature comfortable beds with King Koil Heaven mattresses and high thread count cotton bedding, elegant 60s-inspired furniture, and thoughtful extras such as easily accessible reading lights and JBL portable speakers. Most have satellite TV, DVD player and sound system, and all have a choice of air-con or ceiling fan and an ensuite bathroom.

Bedroom 1

Reclining on the super-king bed in supreme comfort, encircled by billowing curtains, glimpsing greenery beyond the plantation shutters on each side, you’re in for a 21st century Bedouin tent experience. The master suite is the only bedroom at garden level, its bed resting on a stunning geometric-patterned terrazzo floor. Behind an eye-catching copper-backed room divider is a writing desk and a wall of cane-fronted wardrobes. The ensuite bathroom is equally generous, with twin vanities and double doors leading into a partially covered courtyard garden with statement bathtub and rain.

Bedrooms 2 & 3

These two upper-floor suites lie behind a bank of green plantation shutters lining the ironwood veranda and overlooking a courtyard of dwarf palms. Both feature super-king beds and handsome retro-style furniture. In Bedroom II a cream terrazzo bedhead cum room divider separates the sleeping area from the bathroom, which is fitted with twin granite basins and large shower enclosure. Bedroom III replicates the master suite, with a retractable mosquito net around the bed, a desk and a wall of wardrobes. Its bathroom, which connects to the bunk room bathroom, has an indoor section with twin granite basins and shower, and a courtyard with an alfresco bathtub and shower.

Bedroom 4

A private staircase from the veranda leads to the fourth suite, a ravishingly romantic eyrie lodged under the pitched roof of the original plantation house. A super-king bed sits under whitewashed beams facing a low TV console, flanked by wardrobes and a desk. Behind brilliant blue smoked glass is the bathroom, featuring fish-scale wall tiles designed by the owner, and a basin and vanity set into a vintage Balinese table.

Bunk Room

Located in the original plantation house and specially designed for children up to the age of 12, the children’s suite comprises eight single beds stacked in four rows, each fitted with a reading light and wall organiser, screened by privacy curtains and separated by stepladders. There’s a 43-inch TV, toys, books and fun papier-mâché animal heads lining the wall. The brightly decorated bathroom with bathtub, bidet and twin basins (one set lower for younger kids) connects with guest suite 2, a convenience parents may appreciate. This room also opens onto the media room and the veranda.