Hua Hin beaches
 

Someone posted on another forum that the Hua Hin beaches were not that nice -- broken bottles in the sand and dirty water. Is this true? Are there no private beaches?

Well nowadays you can find most things 'landing' on almost any shores. I've almost found the beaches actually a lot cleaner than many. Some of the main hotels have lovely beaches that are very much on their own, depends on hotel you choose. I'd suggest hotels not bang in the center of town though around Hilton or Grand Sofitel as they are very busy indeed. Perhaps the Regent Hotel but is about $80 a night I think. My own 'personal' bug about beaches is hawker/vendors hassling all the time and this is one thing Hua Hin and Cha Am do 'not' have, neither on the beach or even in town, very upmarket resortsand a change from places where it is non-stop hassle when all you want to do is relax or wander around town, refreshing I would say.. Many of the beaches at hotels are almost like private beaches but not real private in the sense of the word.

Is the beach less crowded at the Royal Garden than the Sofitel? I was considering the Sofitel. The Regent is actually in Cha'Am and *significantly* cheaper than the Sofitel or the Royal Garden so I was wondering what was wrong with it. What's the difference between Hua Hin and Cha'Am?

Hi Debbie, nothing at all wrong with the Regent, fine hotel, if it is much cheaper I'd offer a little more an ask for better room grade, then you get the 'best of both worlds'. I can only 'guess' the Regent is cheaper because it is much larger, i.e many more room than the others, by the way, Royal Garden 'resort' is now the 'Marriot Resort', and Royal Garden Village is now the 'Anantara Resort'. <BR>Cha Am and Hua Hin are technically 20 munites apart, but hotels are very spread-out along the coast between the 2. The Regent is a good example, very much on it's own. Cha Am as a town has nothing of interest whatsoever but the beach-front is busy but not much of a beach, popular at weekends with people from Bangkok. Hua Hin is much larger altogether. Regent (and others) operate a shuttle-van to/from Hua Hin about every hour if I remember right, takes about 12-15 minutes only. Hua Hin is where most people go in evenings for drinks, dining, shopping in night market and entertainment. The Regent is therefore fine, Anantara and Marriot have been updated with health spas and things so pressume that is why more, but the Regent is a good 4-star and neither us or anyone else faulted it. Enjoy!

Thanks James your repsonse was very helpful. I was able to get reservations at the Sofitel which I assume is nice?

Debbie: Yes, the Sofitel IS nice. We did not stay there but went for a drink. Beautiful colonial style building, wonderful gardens with trees cut into animals shapes (elephants, etc.), nice lounges, etc. <BR>You can check it out at: <BR>www.sofitel.com <BR>Enjoy Hua Hin!

I have also head from friends that the Sofitel Hua Hin is one of the loveliest hotels in Thailand, we plan a long-weekend in Hua Hin next month and hope we can stay there.

Thanks everyone for your help and advice. Looking forward to our trip (in December)