THE TAB: US$10,000 per night

Courtesy Jorg Sundermann

I know what you're thinking, and the answer is yes, spa treatments are included. The 15,000-square-foot Private Reserve, which lies 500 meters off the main resort island, consists of five buildings and has its own two-boat flotilla for getting back and forth. Treatments are given in the villa's "spa," a couple's treatment room with a sauna and steam room. They're dispensed at the rate of one per person per day, "but we're very flexible about that," says sales and marketing manager Ryosuke Yakuwa.

The rate also includes a bottle of Dom Pérignon on arrival, full board with wine and spirits for up to six people, and a pair of butlers — Mr. and Mrs. Friday in Soneva Gili parlance — to keep the house party going. Because that's what the Private Reserve lends itself to. The U-shaped living room (right) and dining room are the gathering places, and the two suites (each a mini villa) lying to port and starboard are a refuge when the party's over. Each has its own living and dining areas, open-air bathroom, and an aircraft carrier's worth of decks, including a pontoon for sunning and swimming. (There's also a third bedroom, usually taken by children, a nanny, or a bodyguard.) A curved water slide runs from the loggia above the living room to the sea — a great party favor if there ever was one. It was the idea of an eight-year-old who piped up when her parents (frequent guests) were being shown the plans for the complex.

The resort admits that renting the Private Reserve is "very much an emotional thing," though when you consider what's included in the rate and the one-off nature of the place, it's not such a bad deal with six people aboard-especially in low season (May and June), when the price drops to US$8,000. But most people don't do the arithmetic, preferring the tack of an Irish guest who booked it because "in Ireland I live in a castle, and I like my space." — G.W.

949-640-1198, www.sixsenses.com