Beach Resorts, Hua-Hin and others

Old Oct 27th, 2000, 11:58 PM
  #1  
dan
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Beach Resorts, Hua-Hin and others

Hua Hin

A calm beach area that is approx. 2 1/2 to 3 hours by bus from Bangkok( Southern Bus terminal). Cheap at roughly 128 Baht or approx. $3....air conditioned buses. The southern bus terminal can be reached by taxi...If you're near Bangkok's Skytrain (Siam or National Stadium station) take a taxi from here--approx. 30 minutes.

You can also take a taxi from the airport at 1,750 which is expensive, but saves the hassle. Neverthess, if you take the bus you could enjoy 3 good dinners in Hua-Hin and 3 good dinners elsewhere with the savings.

I've heard Bangkok Airways is planning to fly to Hua-Hin from Bangkok soon.This will be great when flying into Bangkok then onto Hua-Hin. Find out the departure tax for this airline. In the past they have charged a fair amount to some of their other destinations such as Samui.

The King and Queen have a summer palace in Hua-Hin and may be because of this things are better in Hua-Hin than at other places. If you're looking for a more comfortable area which doesn't have a huge presence of prostitution then Hua-Hin is a great place. Or even Cha-am beach which is just north of Hua-Hin.

Hotels

I prefer the Royal Garden Resort Hotel because the rooms are very nice and comfortable. The grounds are definitely royal looking and also very airy. This makes your entire stay extremely relaxing. Furthermore, the friendly staff adds to the already charming atmosphere. American breakfasts are included and are very very good. Highly recommend.

The Sofitel Hotel---Beautiful grounds with a colonial ambience. May be not as relaxing as the Royal Garden, but still very nice. Most expensive.

The Melia Hotel---Very family oriented. The time I stayed there were many German tourists and the American breakfasts seemed more German than American. Neverthess, I paid a very low price off the Internet for the room (check various Internet hotel booking agents for the best price). Hotel is similiar to a Holiday Inn, but slightly better...Not the most relaxing hotel, but clean and fairly comfortable. Try the desserts in the lobby cafe.

FOOD

Seafood is most common here...Try to avoid the restaurants near the water--close to the Melia Hotel and north of it. Fish is pricey on the menus...Better yet walk to Hua-Hin's main street and find similiar open air restaurants that are cheaper....2-3 blocks away from the beach area around the Melia.

If you want western food there are some good Italian restaurants in town. The road between the Sofitel and Melia Hotels going in the opposite direction of the beach has a few good Italian restaurants.


Pattaya Beach

Many visitors come here and realize beforehand that this is mainly a place for men to find sex. Yes, it's sleazy and not very clean. If this is not your style bypass this area and visit either Hua-Hin or Cha-am on the western seaboard as previous mentioned.

Phuket

Phuket is very crowded and touristy....Lots of prostitution here as well. Some people love it and others think it's just to much. And this is why I recommend places like Hua-Hin and Cha-am since they are small and are more relaxing.

Samui

Samui is smaller than Phuket, but very touristy...Some nice resorts are here, but the area of Chaweng is quite dirty. Consider going to islands that are near Samui which are small and cheap to stay.
 
Old Nov 4th, 2000, 11:19 PM
  #2  
james allan
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Dan has it right. Hua Hin is certainly gaining in popularity. Really nice place with excellent standrads in hotels and restaurants. Thailand's best kept secret, so far!
 
Old Nov 9th, 2000, 04:18 AM
  #3  
James
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Recently we stayed at the Royal Garden resort in Hua-Hin and enjoyed it so much. It was a beautiful place to stay and to enjoy the beach---great pool too. When we entered the property I thought right away that this is the kind of place I want to stay at. Staff was very friendly and helpful, I'd think at least 3 nights there would suffice.

I saw the Melia hotel there but didn't think it was that nice--just a big hotel trying to be a luxury property without doing the best job.

Hua-Hin is definitely one of the calmer resorts compared to the very touristy Phuket. And it's true there's a lack of the prostitution scene in Hua-Hin which was a relief to us. I recommend this place highly.
 
Old Jan 13th, 2001, 01:04 PM
  #4  
james allen
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We just enjoyed our second visit to Hua Hin, so soon after the last! If you live in Hong Kong it's about the fastest place to get to for a long-weekend break, as we did. I am surprised there are not more toursist from HKG or even Singapore, guess it's that Hua Hin is still much less well known than other resorts. It is still as clean and charming as ever. Hilton have taken-over the Melia for anyone who's interested. There are more restaurants and cafe's opened up and thankfully they follow in Hua Hin's style of 'quality' that is difficult to find almost anywhere else! Marvelous place, highly recommended for couples and families.
 
Old Feb 8th, 2001, 09:18 PM
  #5  
Craig Leigh
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Hey, what a place! We were passing through and decided to stay to see the parks. Beaches just south of the town near the park with not a single other person, couldn't believe it. Found remote Chinese and Thai temples, great views, took a long tail through the marshes to watch the birds (flying ones). Absolutely no hasslers anywhere in Hua Hin, what a relief. Seafood was good and cheap. Found some great bars too, paid 250 baht a night near the fishing piers over the water. The alley ways down by the piers and beach are just like Italy, weird, but good.
Craig
 

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