Trip Review - HK, BKK, Hua Hin
 

First, thank you for all the opinions given to me before my trip.

Most time in HK was spent visiting friends and taking in the main sites - first time visit. Holiday Inn golden mile in Kowloon was a decent place to stay - free upgrade to exec room (however they explained it was one of the smaller exec rooms - and it was). We were given a small booklet of suggested walk routes around HK by tourist board staff at the airport. We took 3 of these walks and they were a great way to see the city. We could have given Macau a skip (being very sick and a rainy day didn't help either). The ferry over was much nicer than expected but Macau itself wasn't very interesting IMO.

The Landmark in BKK (Sukhumvit) was great. Service was excellent and the roof-top pool area was fabulous for a city hotel. We declined the room upgrade (not free) but the standard room was very nice. The location did not bother us as transport was readily available. Since we didn't stay on the river, i don't know what we were missing.

We took BKK canal boats from Sukhumvit toward downtown. This was quite an adventure and much more "local" feeling and adventurous than the boats on the river.

We found BKK to be very little hassle...i was prepared for the worst. Street vendors were much less persistant than I found, for example, in Shanghai and most didn't even bother to call out to tourists. The "helpful" tuk tuk drivers informing us that every temple and other tourist destinations were closed for holidays were easily brushed off with a knowing laugh.

Hua Hin was a nice place to visit. I am so glad that I followed the advice to not stay at the regent in Cha Am. It was clearly not the place for us as we hate to be "trapped" in a resort. From its position, it seems it would be a major chore to leave this place to go into Hua Hin or even Cha Am.

Our package deal allowed us to stay at the Hilton, Marriott or Sofitel for exactly the same cost. We chose Marriott after reading the positive and negative reviews here. There were very few reviews of the Sofitel here or elsewhere on the net so i felt more comfort with the marriott. Boy did we kick ourselves for that decision. The marriott was *OK* but from the start we could tell that it had problems...several upset guests seen complaining within our first 15 minutes there (one said they didn't have hot water since arriving a few days earlier). Our room was not ready when we arrived (not a big deal but the fact that they forgot about us during our 2 hour wait for the room was a big deal). When we finally made it to the room, there was rubbish from the previous guest on the floor (the maid did return to finish her cleaning job within 10 minutes of our arrival without us having to complain, but far from acceptable at that type of hotel). Upon arriving to the hotel, the grounds were very impressive (i'm not a resort person so i don't have a lot to compare it to). Unfortunately, when you look past the lush trees toward the guestroom buildings, the place is severely let down. these buildings are tired and worn. Attention to detail is non-existent at this place. The bedrooms are also much less than expected at a resort of this advertised quality level. fittings were loose in many places and the upkeep and condition was poor.

service was also poor and the staff seemed poorly trained and managed. they stood around where there clearly things to do and the pool staff were constantly fooling around and not at all helpful. cleaning supplies/equipment, beds/cots, carts, etc were left unattended for hours about the property. used pool towels were collected in a huge pile on a sheet at the pool deck. not what one would expect.

the pool area was very small for this type of family resort. being quite closed in by buildings and trees and with its small size, even a few kids in the pool made the area far too loud for adults to enjoy. note that the hotel seemed far from full so i suspect that this situation is unbearable in the high season.

the hotel was well positioned as compared to many, however, the walk into town on the main road is not very pleasant and the beach route i would not do after dark or when dressed for the evening. i realise there are options but sometimes you just don't feel like dealing with taxi or tuk tuk drivers for such a relatively short distance. For myself, i always prefer to walk.

The sofitel would have been the perfect choice as the place feels like a real hotel-much more sophisticated less "cartoonish" (depite the animal topiaries) grounds than the jungle themed marriott. the beach at the sofitel is the best - more interesting with palm trees on the beach and boulders amidst the smooth sand. walking off the grounds puts you immediately in the town or at the little bars/restaurants right on the beach.

the grounds of the sofitel were much quieter and remote feeling than the marriott (despite being closer in town). upon exiting my room on the 6th floor, the traffic and construction noise from the main road was so loud it seemed like i was at a motel on the freeway (however, the terrace was fairly quiet except for the pool noise). sofitel is set back off the main road and much better located IMO.

the pool at the hyatt (which we used to refresh from our long beach walk) is the best of the hotels i saw in this area. too far from town for me though. the hilton has an inferior beach but easily solved by walking 5 min to the south along the beach. hilton in general also seemed to value detail and service more than the marriott. sofitel also had a much more attentive staff and better attention to detail from my view...much better maintained and not worn looking like the marriott.

in fairness, it might not be possible to always book the sofitel for the same price as the marriott and i believe the marriott rack rate is much lower than the sofitel.

Hua Hin itself is a good destination. the beach was ok but not spectacular. i am not a beach snob so it was fine for me.

we chose to get massages in town rather than at any of the hotels as we were able to get one (sometimes two) a day..something we would not do at the hotel spas. the massages were great but i suspect the service is a bit more polished at the expensive spas. for example the masseurs often chat with one another at the local places. and i did have one take a quick call on her mobile. not a major problem for me considering the cost compared to the hotel spas.

Soubds to me like they have 'Management issues' at the Marriott! I am not at all fussy but I often go to hotels and see things that I find at absolutely amazing that their own Management doesn't! Maybe it's my imagination but rarely these days do you see the 'team' doing their daily rounds at hotels, you often would see Manager with a couple of staff and clipboards in hand doing a daily walk around at hotel ( like I think they do on cruise ships ), just comes to mind that I can't remember seeing that kind of 'walk about' which used to be so visual.

I'm suprised that you could get any of those three hotels for the same price. The Sofitel is renowned to be the "grand old hotel" in Hua Hin. I've been to Hua Hin a couple of times, but prefer to stay out of town Once at the Anantara, once at the Hyatt). While Bob likes the Marriott, even he admits that the rooms are mediocre. He's someone who doesn't care about the rooms, but is more interested in the grounds. Others reviewing the Marriott on this board have disliked the rooms as I remember. Sorry you regretted your choice. At least you'll know where to stay next time around.

We stayed at both Landmark and Marriott Hua Hin in August 2004 - you may in fact have read my trip report posted in september last year - a lot of what you have said has mirrored my views.

I see that the Marriott has not improved since our stay then - we complained at the time about various things and received some cash back - we went over the managers head, his name was Lars and was not much use, and my friend contacted the head of Marriott Asia who sorted us out !!

I just noted that huahin.20m.com no longer offer the Marriott Hua Hin although they offer over 40 other Hua Hin/Cha Am places the Marriot is noticeably absent, they still offer the Marriotts in Bangkok and the Marriotts in Pattaya and Phuket, strange this is the 'one' Marriott they no longer offer.

Just a couple of quick comments.

The "walks" in Hong Kong are setup during the last 2 years. Now, there are brochures, and the trails and sightseeing spots pretty well marked with unified signs. It was not always like that.

The "interesting" thing in Macau are hidden behind the highrises and new casinos. A lot of very beautiful and restored churches, as well as forts & museums.

James- I didn't see the JW Marriott in Bangkok listed on huahin.20m either.