Big house for several families, SE Asia

[maudmadrigal]

Hi!
So, we're thinking of doing a halfway meeting holiday with friends from Australia/NZ next year.
The group of us have had very happy holidays with big houses in Europe, and we'd like to do a similar kind of thing. I've been to SE Asia a few times, but that was backpacking, years ago, so I don't have any experience. I guess what we're looking for is a big house, probably near a beach, but with stuff to do close by. Maybe Thai islands or Bali? Group will be between 14-20 people, depending on who actually ends up going - youngest kids will be 10/11. Anybody done anything like this and have any advice/recommendations?
Thank you!

I used to live in Singapore so had lots of holidays in the region....you could see if there are any villas in Bali, Indonesia but avoid Kuta at all costs...it’s the Aussie version of Benidorm lol! You could stay at other beaches (although Thailand has better beaches) but it’s beautiful inland and you could go to the temples at Ubud.

Phuket (an island off the west coast of Thailand) may be a good choice as there should be easy connections from the UK and Australia, especially with Singapore Airlines and possibly JetStar for the Aussies.

Not sure how you would find a large villa (or maybe a complex with seperate villas might suit? You may have to share a pool or many villas have individual ones. We just googled accommodation if we weren’t staying in hotels. Maybe check with the ‘Trailfinders’ travel agency - they have some shops in the UK and Australia but they will have contact info on their website. You may feel more comfortable booking via a reputable travel agency than some dodgy internet site and in these times of Covid and your holiday has to be cancelled, your money is protected....my sister-in-law has just been refunded (without having to wait) for a safari trip in Africa which had to be cancelled.

I would have suggested the Philippines, but flights are not so easy to arrange.

What is essential though is to check the monsoon seasons.....you don’t want to choose a place where it’s going to have massive tropical rainstorms every afternoon!