Blue Tree Phuket’s Lifestyle Village is a holistic concept that combines fun, family, relaxation, health, culture and community activities all together in one attractive area
By: Sandrine Martin
Since we bought a home in Phuket a couple of years ago, our eldest son announced that he wanted to become a judo champion. I set about Googling for a suitable school close to the Layan area where we live. Top of the search result list came DOJO at the Lifestyle Village, which is the retail part of Blue Tree Phuket, where they promise ‘a world of vibrant living, serenity and luxury’.
Upon inspection, DOJO ticked all the boxes for Sam, so we duly signed up. What really impressed me about our visit though was the environment where DOJO is located. It is just one of over 50 artisan style businesses located in what I now understand to be the Lifestyle Village, a cosmopolitan shopping and dining district located in Cherngtalay, central west Phuket.
To call it a shopping mall isn’t doing the Lifestyle Village justice, it’s more a re-creation of a traditional, pedestrianised town centre of 30 years ago, complete with a clock tower and full of attractive shops and cafés, with a vibrant local community vibe.
The buildings are terraced and mostly on 3 levels, colourfully painted and designed in a modern rendition of Phuket’s Sino-Portuguese colonial architectural style. With plenty of car parking on the periphery, the central pedestrian area of the high street is pleasantly spacious, with towering palms, brick planters and shaded park benches to relax on.
To give you a flavour of what you can do at the Lifestyle Village, I have split the activities into 4 categories.
FOOD & RESTAURANTS
Breakfast, lunch and dinner are all well catered for in the Lifestyle Village. To start the day I would recommend a hearty breakfast at Bartels, which you’ll find underneath the clock tower at the front of the Village; sourdough open sandwiches are a speciality.
For ‘elevenses’, as we say in English for mid-morning refreshments, try Mango Yellow Café, particularly if mangoes are in season, as they are now.
If you have built up an appetite at the gym in the morning, and are in need of a carb’ boost, head to Mousse Restaurant and Bakery. They offer a wide selection of pasta dishes and all-day breakfast items.
A mid-afternoon coffee can be had at many places in the Village, but I particularly like Nakita’s Coffee Corner for its homely atmosphere and comfy seating. Alternatively, a drip-coffee experience at Chao Doi, where the focus is on arabica beans.
Throughout the Lifestyle Village you will encounter a number of small food trucks serving beverages and snacks; for a Greek vibe checkout Tiny Taverna , and if you fancy something Thai, Shrimp Shrimp is delightful.
For a more substantial dinner head into Sim Sim , where they promote themselves as offering ‘oriental food specialities’. Don’t be fooled into thinking ‘oriental’ is confined to the far east here, they offer plates from many countries, east of Istanbul! I crave for their Angus lamb lula-kebab .
SHOPS & SERVICES
When it comes to shopping ‘artisan’ is the appropriate word, no cookie-cutter global brands here, rather local entrepreneurs, with unique products that are well worth supporting, particularly if you are looking for one-of-a-kind gift ideas. Island Magic is a wonderful place, and for a bit of self-indulgence I love the garments at Camilie & Dalaya.
Everything to do with improving your self-esteem is catered for in the Village. There are beauty salons, gents’ barbers, manicure, pedicure and massages of course, we are in Thailand! I have become a regular at the SHE Salon now.
Other, less vanity orientated services are provided for. The Thai Immigration Services office is a total God-send, allowing you to complete your visa reporting and other official duties without needing to make the trek down to Phuket Town, which can lose you the best part of the day.
WELLNESS
Eating is the most important part of wellness, that’s what I believe! Such is the holistic nature of the Lifestyle Village, healthy food is everywhere you look. If you are into other, more strenuous, aspects of wellness, including DOJO as already mentioned, are in abundance. Yoga Republic is a Phuket success story, but for some serious workout activity you’ll find Optimise, U TIME and The Carve House, which offers something called ‘the lagree method’, which A-listers in Hollywood are apparently addicted to.
There is even a well equipped health clinic here. Called the Family Health Care Centre you can get support for anything from an ingrown toenail, vaccinations, and right up to full-on physiotherapy. If you are looking for a traditional ‘General Practitioner’ service for the whole family, with qualified doctors in situ, this is the place to come.
LEARNING
The developers of Blue Tree must be very family orientated people, because the options for the improvement of your kids are on every horizon here. I’m not going to cover the activities taking place in the water park area, that is a complete article on its own, but I want to highlight some activities in the Lifestyle Village. The Adventure Village is a supervised indoor play area for toddlers, right up to junior teenagers, freeing you up to enjoy some uninterrupted dining.
Why not try an active and fun Zumba course? Taking place on the stage, where one-off concerts and festivals are held, there is plenty of room for even the most enthusiastic Zumba dancer to show their moves.
KGA caught my eye. It’s an abbreviation of Karpenko Gymnastic Academy, which is the brainchild of Russian rhythmic gymnastics superstar Victoria Karpenko. They have programmes for 3-year old starters right up to elite level adults.
CONCLUSION
Having discovered the Lifestyle Village through Sam’s passion for the martial arts, I now realise I have developed a passion for the Lifestyle Village itself. It offers me so many options, I can happily spend the whole day here, without needing to drive around the island to complete my chores. It’s a paradise for digital nomads, so I find myself catching up with emails and online projects, while the kids are being entertained by Blue Tree’s excellent staff and their Lifestyle Village retail partners.
