Our Story · Bophut Hills
The house that lockdown designed
How a six-week trip became six years on Koh Samui, a question became a design brief, and a family home in the Bophut hills became Villa Unity.
It began with eight days.
In February 2020 Richard was at a trade show in Melbourne, doing the job he had spent a year building — opening the Asia-Pacific region for a Swiss company providing live interpretation for international events. A business that existed because people gathered in rooms. He watched the rooms begin to close, flew home to Bangkok, and told his wife Jimlim they should leave the city.
Eight days later they did. A suitcase each, the bikes, their two daughters — the youngest eight weeks old — and a car borrowed from Jimlim’s aunt. Six hours to Chumphon, four more to the pier, then an hour and a half across the water. They had booked an Airbnb for five or six weeks. Then the island closed behind them.
Stuck on Samui with a collapsed industry and nowhere to go, they began asking each other a question that turned out to be a design brief: if we have to be stuck somewhere — what would we want that place to have? The answer became a spa floor, because the gyms were shut. A fifteen-metre pool, because their eldest spent that lockdown living in water. Five levels, so a family plus guests plus grandparents could be together without being on top of each other. Solar and battery, because on an island you learn quickly what dependence feels like. They bought the land in 2021, while the island was still finding its feet.
Seven houses taught them
where to build.
Before Bophut Hills the family lived in seven different houses across Samui, and most of what they learned was about access — too many beautiful places sit at the top of a punishing hill or on the edge of a busy road. Two of those houses were on the beach. Beautiful, until a weather front brings the ceiling fans down, or until you realise that sunset on a Thai beach is a communal hour, and there is no privacy in your own home.
So: a hillside. Connected in every direction, private on every side. They found the plot by driving past a for-sale sign, and two things stopped them. There was an elephant sanctuary next door. And a line of trees along the bottom boundary formed a green wall they knew they would keep — a view over the canopy to the sea, and complete privacy beneath it.
Unity
The name is not a marketing exercise. It was chosen in a year when togetherness was the thing everyone else was missing, and the logo is the family itself. Over the five years it took to build, the name was tested more than they expected. Villa Unity was finished anyway.
This isn’t a property we manage. It’s our home.
— Richard & Jimlim
The owners, and where they go
Richard came to Thailand in 2016, following Jimlim home. They travelled thirty countries together in that first year, married in Bangkok in 2017, and have two daughters, both born here. The family has lived on Koh Samui since March 2020.
We are not a management company, and we do not live somewhere else. When guests are in residence, the house is entirely yours — we hand over the whole estate and stay elsewhere on the island, close enough to help within minutes, never underfoot. Recommendations, introductions, or simply to be left entirely alone: all three are easy.
The details that
stay with you.
Granite cobble at the arrival, travertine on the steps, Sukabumi stone on the water feature, terrazzo through the living level. The spirit house in the garden is carved from marble blessed by monks.
Their eldest daughter, then barely talking, used to point at the elephants and call them Emmy, because she couldn’t say the word. The Haven’s café opened on that field eighteen months before the house was finished; you can walk there before breakfast and watch elephants swimming while you eat.
At six every evening the cicadas start. When they stop, the quiet that follows is the thing you notice. Below the boundary there is a wooded gully with a stream and a small seasonal waterfall.
Villa Unity has never been rented. It opens to its first staying guests in December 2026.
Everything you need to know
For anything not covered here, contact us directly and we’ll reply personally.
Villa Unity has a 5-night minimum stay, rising to a 10-night minimum over peak season (18 December–11 January). We built this home to be lived in — not visited. The waterway, the wellness floor, the elephant sanctuary, the rhythm of the kitchen and pool and rooftop reveal themselves slowly. Stays of 7+ nights receive 10% off nightly rates; 14+ nights, 15%; 28+ nights, 25%. High and Peak stays booked 6+ months ahead receive a 10% early-booking discount. All rates are subject to 17.7% tax and service.
Villa Unity is our family home. During May–June and September–November each year we live here ourselves, so these months aren’t publicly listed. We do occasionally accommodate very special requests, depending on timing — so if your dates fall within these months, please reach out directly rather than assuming it isn’t possible. We’ll always do our best to help.
Exclusive use of all five levels and every facility — infinity pool, complete spa floor, fitness studio, gym, outdoor yoga, cinema, entertainment bar, rooftop deck, all outdoor spaces and grounds. Villa manager, daily housekeeping and gardening staff are included. Private chef, massage therapists, personal trainers, airport transfers, boat trips and grocery pre-stocking are arranged separately.
Villa Unity is rented as a complete estate only — all five bedrooms, all five levels, all facilities. There are no partial rentals. This is how it was designed to be experienced: a single, cohesive private home for your group, up to 10 guests across 5 en-suite bedrooms.
The Samui Elephant Haven is a short 150-metre walk from the villa entrance. They operate half-day ethical encounter sessions (no riding, no performance) and a café where you can dine while watching the elephants. We recommend booking directly with the sanctuary; fees apply. That proximity — a short walk from the gate — is part of what makes the setting special.
Yes. We work with trusted private chefs for daily service — from breakfast using the villa’s own herb garden to full dinner for ten. The main kitchen is complemented by a dedicated chef kitchen, both professional-grade, with dining for ten. Chef fees and food costs are charged separately. Please enquire and we’ll discuss your requirements.
We accept all major currencies (USD, GBP, EUR, AUD, SGD, THB and others), standard bank transfers, and cryptocurrency including Bitcoin. A 30% deposit secures your dates, with the balance due 60 days prior to arrival. If you have a preference, tell us and we’ll accommodate it.
Cancellations 60 or more days before arrival receive a full deposit refund. Within 60 days, we’ll always do our best to accommodate a date change or rebooking where circumstances allow. Peak-season bookings (December–January) carry specific terms discussed at enquiry. We recommend comprehensive travel insurance for all bookings at this level.
Villa Unity runs entirely on solar power with battery backup — meaning zero power interruptions, a material distinction on Koh Samui. 1-gigabit fibre broadband is available throughout, and Loxone smart-home automation manages climate, blinds, lighting and humidity across all spaces from a single interface.
Yes — the five-level architecture creates natural separation between adult and children’s spaces. A dedicated kids study and playroom sits on the living level, with a sunken trampoline in the gardens, and the grounds are secure. The infinity pool has a shallow area and jacuzzi but is unsupervised; constant adult supervision is recommended. Pool floats and a life ring are available, a pool fence can be discussed, and a cot and high chair arranged in advance.
Very much so. The cinema and office doubles as a presentation and meeting space, and the rooftop deck is ideal for open-air strategy sessions. 1-gigabit fibre broadband and smart-home AV throughout. The catering capability removes all logistical friction, and the complete privacy of the estate means the work — and the rest — both happen at the highest quality.
Bophut Hills, north Koh Samui. Samui Airport is approximately 7km (15 minutes by car). Fisherman’s Village — the heart of the local town — and Bophut Beach are five minutes away (2km). Direct flights serve Koh Samui from Bangkok (45 min), Singapore (1.5 hrs) and other regional hubs. For direct bookings, complimentary airport transfer is included.
The name was chosen in 2020, a year when togetherness was the thing most people were missing — and the logo is the family who built it. Over the five years of the build, the name was tested more than they expected. Villa Unity was finished anyway.
Architecture by James Atkinson of Fractal Architecture and Design, Koh Samui. Interiors by Julius Kanand, formerly a project director at Gensler in China — Villa Unity was his first project in Thailand. The design brief came from the owners, written during the 2020 lockdown; the land was bought in 2021 and the house took five years to complete.
Yes — Villa Unity was built as the owners' family home, and they live in it between stays. When guests are in residence the estate is entirely theirs: the family hands over the whole house and stays elsewhere on the island, close enough to help within minutes, and as present or as invisible as guests would like.
No. Villa Unity has never been rented — it opens to its first staying guests in December 2026, booked directly with the owners. Founding-season stays (December 2026 – August 2027) include return airport transfers, a private daily chef and a $100 spa-floor credit on top of the published rate.