Hua Hin Hotel Recommendation?
 

There are so many hotels to choose from, I'm getting confused. If I wanted to be in Hua Hin, rather than 30 minutes south or north, which hotel of these has the best beach, food, rooms: Sofitel, Hyatt, Marriott or Wora Bura? (And am I overlooking any resort?)

i can't speak for the others but I've stayed at the Sofitel twice, first in 1998 and again just two months ago. The Sofitel is lovely, on a nice stretch of beach. The rooms are very nice, lots of teak with nice balconies. Ask for a room that faces the sea and one with a large balcony. The food at the restaurants is very good, if a bit pricey for Thailand. I would definitely go back for a third visit.

I agree with Laurie. The Sofitel is very pleasant. It's right in the middle of Hua Hin and everything is walkable. Try their 800 number. That's where we found the best rates.

If you want to be IN town, the Sofitel is the best, in my opinion. If you don't mind (or would prefer) being maybe 5 minutes from town, I'd choose either the Hyatt or the Anantara (the lagoon rooms are stunning). The beach at the Hyatt is very nice and wide. The beach at the Anantara isn't as nice, but the lagoon rooms are really special. We also had excellent food (with lots of choices) at the Anantara.

If you want to be 'right in town' then the Sofitel is a good choice, but it's no biggy being 5 minutes away at the Hyatt Regency, it has a good beach area, large pools. The center of town is really busy these days so being somewhere like the Anantara or Hyatt is not a worry, tuk tuks are easy and cheap and also to both Anantara and Hyatt are local Songthaew ( pick up buses ) that charge about USD 25 cents ( 10 baht ) for the journey.
The Hilton is a huge high rise and beach not as good as further along at the Sofitel.
Some of the nicest restaurants are near the Hyatt. The Wora Bura is superb but it depends when you are stayign as there is some construction going on by the side for at least another few months. South from Hyatt and Wora Bura the area becomes more rural and there is another beach around the 'corner' at Takiab Bay, still within 7-10 minutes of the very centre, but with only a few hotels and vacation homes.
The new very large Hua hin Market Village Mall is almost opposite the Marriott. Out of those I would say the Hyatt beach is best, it comes down to how much you want to spend, there are lots and lots of smaller and boutique places to be found unless you are set on a large resort.

when we were in HH the last time, we took an afternoon to check out all the major players...we were staying at the marriot which we liked quite a bit (the rooms were older style however)...we decided that the next time we went we would like to try the hyatt and we are doing that this time and with jamesA's wonderful suggestions about that area for eating we feel all set...we will have 4 nites there in november.... we also looked at the wora bura, but found them a bit still pricewise and stiff on the emails we exchanged....we decided we would check it out for the future while there, but skip it this year...

i'm thinking the hyatt is about 10 minutes from town if i remember correctly...

i would never stay at the hilton unless they were giving suites away free...

sofitel is lovely from what we cold see and so is anantara...having stayed at other anantara's i am sure you would be happy there, but it is further from town as well and sort of all by itself---well except for the near-by palace of the king...well protected neighborhood however...

its not "still" pricewise, but stiff pricewise

It really depends on what you want. I mean what class of hotekl you are looking for. If you go for the best hotels then it has to be the Chedi, Mandarin Oriental, Four Seasons and D2 Hotels. These are all 5-star hotels. Good hotels for a smaller budget are for example the Touch Star Resort and the Park Chiang Mai. You can get a complete listing at www.excelloz.com

holidaytoday, I think you are confused, none of those hotels are in Hua Hin !

And what does that link you put in know about Hua Hin anyway ?

Thank you--this was exactly the information I was looking for that I couldn't get from a guide book.

If you are into the smaller boutique style places then the Veranda Lodge is just past the Marriott, stylish rooms and suites, some with sea view, right on the beach and nice restaurant ( it was a restaurant first and then they built the small boutique hotel )not to be confused with Veranda resort which is way north of town in Cha Am. The Sheraton ( north of town ) is due to open Jan 2007. the S'Mor Spa and kaban Tamor is another boutique place, down at takiab Bay the best is Anantasila through just 3 star has great beach location ( the beach at the Bay is southerly and does not suffer from the tides that seem to affect the 'main' beach which heads easterly ), maybe a small thing but means a lot if the beach is important. http://www.huahinwhatson.com is a 'local' site that gives you ideas about shopping, restaurants and beach places to stay, Let's Sea Restaurant is just past the Hyatt and the Sasi show also near the Hyatt is well worth it, dinner and show.
http://www.sasi-restaurant.com/Links/photo.htm
Supatra by the Sea is another restaurant about 5 mins past Hyatt,
http://www.supatraresort.com/facilities/restaurant.php

Although the town center is busy for restaurants some of the nicest places to dine are south of the town, so being around Hyatt area you are away from the busy town and also close to some of the best dining.

Stayed at the Sofitel twice, first time in their hotel rooms which are 1st class, 2nd time across the road in their high set bungalows, these are a little older but you get 2 bedrooms, lounge, decks, outdoor furniture etc, we loved it, I must add the beach isnt really good for swimming but the Sofitel has plenty of pools, the beach is nice for walking, eating at the outdoor stalls etc, the night markets in Hua Hin are about 10 minutes walk, all in all I can recommend the Sofitel it is in my opinion the best location for dining, happy hour, shopping etc.
have fun.