PHUKET: Swimming pools at Phuket resorts are like breasts. They come in assorted sizes and shapes, and there is no such thing as the perfect pool.

Occasionally, resort managements will become unhappy with the size of their pool. Usually this is because the pool is too small and needs enlarging.

Now, for the first time, we've come across a resort pool that has been made smaller and much perkier. Parts of it have even been uplifted.

The surgery has been quite extensive, extending beyond the central pool, and including a massive facelift.

How does the Outrigger Laguna Phuket Beach Resort shape up after its renovation makeover? Pretty good. Good and pretty.

The entrance through a vaulted timber foyer now has added vitality with handsome corded lights that sway like bright cocoons in the breeze. There's a Chinese motif in the tiled floor, perhaps even a hint of Sino-Portuguese in the ceramic drums posing as tables.

At the centre of this revitalised resort is the pool, uplifted, transformed, and decked in greenery with clever grass terracing. This is not Bali but the effect is charming and conveys a more natural message.

Converting ageing resorts into this century's role models is no easy task but the Outrigger Laguna Phuket Beach Resort scores in every respect and will turn some others as green as the grass.

Curled between Phuket's Bang Tao beach and a large lagoon, this resort's existing solid foundations have been enhanced.

The rooms have always been a slightly different shape, making use of alcoves for day beds that can accommodate kids or those who just enjoy lolling about.

The best of the rooms open straight onto the Andaman Sea, with just a patch of grass separating guests from the sand.

We didn't have the chance to sample the restaurants but there are five of them, plus less pricey places along the beachfront.

This also remains a great place for water sports of all kinds. And the swimming pool slide is one favorite element that hasn't changed.

For those who would rather not move too far, there's a comfortable Club that even has rocking chairs, which may be moving far enough.

As one of seven resorts in the Laguna Phuket precinct, those who enjoy a resort environment can roam on a lagoon ferry or a shuttle cart. Beyond the front gate, the rest of what Phuket has to offer is there to be enjoyed.

Outrigger Laguna Phuket Beach Resort is a candidate for Phuketwan's Phuket Resort of the Year 2013.