StatusVersion 1.1.0, frozen on 4 October 2026.
On this page
The ranking scores villas out of 100 points, using seven weighted criteria and published rules. Guest ratings carry the most weight (30 points), followed by access, fit for groups, view, pool, privacy and freshness. The weights are an editorial choice made for groups and families booking a whole private villa, and they have been frozen since 4 October 2026.
This page explains the logic. The criteria, weights and points are shown in the tables below, so here we concentrate on how the pieces fit together. For the finished rankings, see The Phangan Edit 12 or the villa catalogue.
The 100 points and why they are weighted this way
The weighting is set for one kind of reader: a family or group renting a whole private villa. It is a judgement by the editors.
Guest ratings carry 30 points, access and groups 15 each, view and pool 12 each, privacy 10, and freshness and design 6.
Each criterion is built from items that can be measured from a public offer page, a guest rating platform or OpenStreetMap. Access, for example, rewards a short drive to Thong Sala, a paved road to the gate, a short walk to the beach and a shop within 5 minutes by car. The groups criterion rewards capacity, bathrooms per bedroom and separate zones. View, pool, privacy and freshness are built from similar items, each earning points when it is present or reaches a threshold.
How the guest rating score works
Guest ratings are worth 30 of the 100 points. Four rules shape them.
- Platforms that count. A platform is used only if its ratings have been read for each compared villa. For now that is Airbnb, the only platform read for every compared villa.
- Bayesian mean with a prior. A villa with few reviews could land at the top or bottom by chance. To prevent that, the mean is pulled towards a prior of 4.70 with a weight of 20. This works like a Bayesian average: it is equivalent to adding 20 extra ratings of 4.70 to the villa’s own ratings. With many reviews the villa’s own mean dominates; with few, the prior does.
- Floor and span. The floor is 4.5 and the span is 0.5. These two numbers convert the adjusted mean into points: rating points = 30 × (adjusted mean − 4.5) / 0.5, kept between 0 and 30.
- Age limit. A rating read more than 6 months before the scoring date counts as missing data.
Missing data
An item without data scores 0 points, for each villa alike. Lists are ordered by that lower figure, and next to it we show the range up to the score the villa would get with the maximum for each missing value. The entry conditions below also limit how much missing data a ranked villa may have: at most 2 criteria. The tables below show how each criterion is scored.
What a villa needs to be ranked
A villa is considered for the ranking only if it meets all of the following:
- a private pool;
- at least 3 bedrooms;
- at least 10 counted guest reviews, read within the last 6 months;
- no more than 2 missing criteria;
- a villa, not a resort;
- an active offer.
Other villas stay in the catalogue without a number in the ranking. Separately, a villa gets its own profile page only when its record is verified, has at least 8 data fields filled in and has guest ratings.
Collections and sets
Villas that pass the entry conditions can appear in collections, each with its own condition:
- Groups: a capacity of at least 8 guests, or a set of neighbouring villas booked together for 8 or more. See villas for groups.
- Families: at least 3 en-suite bedrooms, or separate zones. See family villas.
- Pool villas with a view: a sunset view or an infinity-edge pool. See pool villas with a view.
- 12 or more: at least 12 guests, or a set of neighbouring villas booked together for 12 or more. See villas for 12 or more people.
Neighbouring villas can be ranked as a set. The score of a set is that of its lowest member: the set is ranked at the lower score of its villas. Since version 1.1.0, a villa that enters the groups list only through a set is ranked at the set’s score, as in the comparison for 12 or more guests.
Where the inputs come from
There are three kinds of input:
- Public offer pages, for criteria that can be read from an offer.
- Guest rating platforms, for the rating score described above.
- OpenStreetMap, for two measured values: elevation of 50 m or more, and at most 3 buildings within 100 m. OpenStreetMap is open data built by a community of mappers, published under an open licence that requires credit to OpenStreetMap and its contributors.
The freeze and the changelog
The methodology is frozen. Version 1.0.0 fixed the weights on 4 October 2026, and any later change is dated in the changelog. The current version is 1.1.0, also dated 4 October 2026. It changed two things: guest ratings now count only from platforms read for each compared villa, and a villa that enters the groups list only through a set is ranked at the set’s score. Weights and thresholds are unchanged.
If the rules change, the change is visible and dated.
Why we publish the main parameters
Readers should be able to see what drives a ranking before they trust it. A comparable disclosure exists in German law, which treats the main parameters of a ranking, and their relative weighting compared with other parameters, as material information where a business lets consumers search offers from different traders. Under section 5b(2) of the German UWG, that information must be directly and easily accessible from the display of the results. The guidance on the EU Unfair Commercial Practices Directive lists the transparency of search results and consumer reviews among its topics.
We publish the criteria, weights and points so you can see what drives a score: the ranking follows published criteria. For more on who we are and how the site works, read the editorial note.
Using the ranking
Treat the score as a starting point. If you are still choosing an area, the guide to where to stay compares the parts of the island, and Plan your trip covers the rest of the preparation.
How we checked
We checked the methodology data (version 1.1.0, frozen on 4 October 2026), the text of section 5b UWG, the European Commission page on the directive, the description of the Bayesian average and the OpenStreetMap about page on 4 October 2026.
Weights
| Criterion | How it scores | Max. points |
|---|---|---|
| Guest ratings | formula below | 30 |
| Access | 15 | |
| Drive to Thong Sala | 10 min or less: 5; 20 min or less: 3 | 5 |
| Paved road to the gate | yes: 4 | 4 |
| Beach on foot | 10 min or less: 4; 20 min or less: 2 | 4 |
| Shop within 5 minutes by car | 5 min or less: 2 | 2 |
| Groups | 15 | |
| Capacity | 10 guests or more: 6; 8 guests or more: 5; 6 guests or more: 3 | 6 |
| Bathrooms per bedroom | 1 or more: 5; 0.75 or more: 2 | 5 |
| Separate zones | yes: 4 | 4 |
| View | 12 | |
| Sea view | yes: 6 | 6 |
| Sunset view | yes: 3 | 3 |
| Elevation 50 m or more (OSM) | 50 m or more: 3 | 3 |
| Pool | 12 | |
| Private pool | yes: 6 | 6 |
| Infinity edge | yes: 3 | 3 |
| Length 12 m or more | 12 m or more: 2 | 2 |
| Saltwater | yes: 1 | 1 |
| Privacy | 10 | |
| Exclusive use | yes: 5 | 5 |
| No facilities shared with other guests | yes: 3 | 3 |
| At most 3 buildings within 100 m (OSM) | 3 or less: 2 | 2 |
| Freshness and design | 6 | |
| Opened or renovated within 5 years | 5 years or less: 3 | 3 |
| Architecture publication | yes: 3 | 3 |
| Total | 100 |
An item without data scores 0 points, for each villa alike. Lists are ordered by that lower figure. Next to it we show the range up to the score the villa would get with the maximum for each missing value.
Why these weights
Editorial weighting for groups and families booking a whole private villa. Guest ratings carry the most weight; then access, fit for groups, view, pool, privacy and freshness. Every criterion is measurable from public offer pages, guest rating platforms or OpenStreetMap. The weights are an editorial choice, frozen in version 1.0.0 on 4 October 2026; every later change is dated in the changelog below.
Guest ratings
R is the average guest rating weighted by the number of reviews, over the counted platforms: Airbnb. Each rating is converted to a 5 point scale (a 10 point scale is halved). Ratings from other platforms are neither counted nor shown on the villa profiles until they have been read for each villa we compare.
So that a handful of reviews cannot decide the order, R is pulled towards a starting value: R* = (n × R + 20 × 4.7) / (n + 20), where n is the number of counted reviews. Points = 30 × (R* - 4.5) / 0.5, between 0 and 30.
A rating read more than 6 months before the scoring date counts as no data.
Order and ties
Lists are ordered by points, the lower figure of the range. On equal points, the villa with more counted reviews comes first. No villa is placed by hand, and no place can be bought.
Entry conditions
A villa gets a number in the ranking when it meets all of these conditions:
- a private pool
- at least 3 bedrooms
- at least 10 counted guest reviews, read within the last 6 months
- no more than 2 criteria without any data
- a villa, not a resort (resorts are in the catalogue for comparison only)
- an active offer
The other villas stay in the catalogue with their points, without a number.
Lists by topic
Each list filters on data first, then orders by points. Only villas that meet the entry conditions get a number. The comparison for larger groups also shows options with incomplete data, without a number.
- Villas for groups: at least 8 guests, or a set of neighbouring villas booked together for 8 or more
- Family villas: at least 3 en-suite bedrooms, or separate zones (bedrooms in at least 2 buildings or on 2 levels with their own entrance)
- Pool villas with a view: a sunset view or an infinity-edge pool
- Comparison for 12 or more guests: villas for at least 12 guests and sets of neighbouring villas booked together for 12 or more
Neighbouring villas booked together
Booking neighbouring villas together is a filter for the group list and the comparison, never a source of points. A set counts only when each of its villas is in the catalogue and names the same set. Its guest number is the smallest combined maximum its villas state. A set is scored at its lowest-scored villa, at both ends of the range. A villa with room for fewer than 8 guests on its own, which enters the group list only through its set, is ranked there at the set's score.
Where to stay boxes
Area pages show the 3 villas with the most points in that area. Topic pages (groups, families, children) show the first 3 of the matching list. Data pages (weather, full moon, ferries, getting here) link to the catalogue and name no villa. Only villas that meet the entry conditions appear, and none is placed by hand.
Villa profiles
A villa gets its own profile page when its record has been verified against public sources, has at least 8 data fields filled in and has guest ratings. Each other villa is a row in the catalogue. Browse the villa catalogue
Changelog
Version 1.1.0,
Guest ratings count only from platforms read for every compared villa; for now that is Airbnb, because Google and Booking ratings had been read for two villas only. A villa that enters the groups list only through a set of neighbouring villas is ranked at the set's score, the lower score of its villas, as in the comparison for 12 or more guests. Weights and thresholds are unchanged.
Version 1.0.0,
Weights frozen as an editorial choice. Every later change is listed here with its date.
Version 0.1.0,
Draft with the starting weights from the execution plan.