West facing lots are nice because the front of the house facing the road can be mostly walls or louvers for privacy and the rear area which is the pool/lanai/garden will be shaded in the afternoon. The front of the house could also be used a breakfast nook with a garden.

However there is also a benefit of having the pool on the west side of the house because the afternoon sun will heat up the pool for swimming at night.

South is considered to be warmer than the north side.

IMO the orientation doesnt matter much from a design standpoint. However Feng Shui says north facing lots arent ideal but the work around for that is to place the front door perpendicular to the front property line.

Your architect can work around the orientation. You should also consult a Feng Shui early on if you intend to use such a service.

I would only avoid odd shaped lots (for medium to small lot sizes) and tumbok lots. Perimeter lots are sometimes ok, sometimes bad depending on what the road, village, or structure is behind.

Lot topography is another question, flat lots are cheaper to build on but wont offer much of a height limit advantage.