Boomtown Cha Am

[PatinBKk]

What is happening in Cha am???...land is selling almost as soon as a sign is put up, construction everywhere with a few rather expensive developments croping up.....people I talk to all have a sense of positiveness as their business are making a good profit....it seems to be exceptionaly busy in the restaurants and bars all the time.....S & P recently opened and whilst in the Tessaban last week was told that Burger King will be opening shortly.....and this is low season..........can anyone explain why, whereas Phuket, Samui, BKK etc are dying a sad death

[BEENTHEREDONETHAT]

Cha Am is starting to be discovered. I found it by accident a couple of years ago. Driving through the main road it is not at all impressive but once you get off the main drag and down toward the beach it is quite nice. The beach is long and clean (Not talking the main city beach now). Several very nice 4 and 5 star resorts have gone in and people that stay in them discover the area.

Selfishly I would like to see it stay just the way it is now, but unfortunately it's just a matter of time until it becomes overbuilt like Phuket, Samui and Pattaya and lets not forget Hua Hin which is having a hard time making the infrastructure keep up with the development.

Being close to BKK (2hrs+ -) and having a lot of thais spend weekends and holidays in Cha Am makes it popularity grow.

Patinbkk nice to hear about Burger King, they should do well.

[lannarebirth]

Cha Am is starting to be discovered. I found it by accident a couple of years ago. Driving through the main road it is not at all impressive but once you get off the main drag and down toward the beach it is quite nice. The beach is long and clean (Not talking the main city beach now). Several very nice 4 and 5 star resorts have gone in and people that stay in them discover the area.

Selfishly I would like to see it stay just the way it is now, but unfortunately it's just a matter of time until it becomes overbuilt like Phuket, Samui and Pattaya and lets not forget Hua Hin which is having a hard time making the infrastructure keep up with the development.

Being close to BKK (2hrs+ -) and having a lot of thais spend weekends and holidays in Cha Am makes it popularity grow.

Patinbkk nice to hear about Burger King, they should do well.

I just spent a week in Cha-Am at what I thought was a very high quality condotel (if a little dated). I was the only occupant of the whole place which I loved. ChaAm was like a ghost town as far as tourists were concerned, but I'm not sure what the normal level is. Anyhow, I like the vibe there loads better than Hua Hin.

[PatinBKk]

Cha Am is starting to be discovered. I found it by accident a couple of years ago. Driving through the main road it is not at all impressive but once you get off the main drag and down toward the beach it is quite nice. The beach is long and clean (Not talking the main city beach now). Several very nice 4 and 5 star resorts have gone in and people that stay in them discover the area.

Selfishly I would like to see it stay just the way it is now, but unfortunately it's just a matter of time until it becomes overbuilt like Phuket, Samui and Pattaya and lets not forget Hua Hin which is having a hard time making the infrastructure keep up with the development.

Being close to BKK (2hrs+ -) and having a lot of thais spend weekends and holidays in Cha Am makes it popularity grow.

Patinbkk nice to hear about Burger King, they should do well.

I just spent a week in Cha-Am at what I thought was a very high quality condotel (if a little dated). I was the only occupant of the whole place which I loved. ChaAm was like a ghost town as far as tourists were concerned, but I'm not sure what the normal level is. Anyhow, I like the vibe there loads better than Hua Hin.

Thats very peculiar becauase any day of the week but especially the weekends you can walk/drive along Cha am beach from anytime in the morning to late evening and it is very busy.......you mention 'Condotel'....that place and many other condos although come under Cha am isnt actually in the main part of Cha am so you were probably based somewhere further along the coast nearer Bang Kwai which is like a ghost town...pleased you enjoyed your stay though

[lannarebirth]

Cha Am is starting to be discovered. I found it by accident a couple of years ago. Driving through the main road it is not at all impressive but once you get off the main drag and down toward the beach it is quite nice. The beach is long and clean (Not talking the main city beach now). Several very nice 4 and 5 star resorts have gone in and people that stay in them discover the area.

Selfishly I would like to see it stay just the way it is now, but unfortunately it's just a matter of time until it becomes overbuilt like Phuket, Samui and Pattaya and lets not forget Hua Hin which is having a hard time making the infrastructure keep up with the development.

Being close to BKK (2hrs+ -) and having a lot of thais spend weekends and holidays in Cha Am makes it popularity grow.

Patinbkk nice to hear about Burger King, they should do well.

I just spent a week in Cha-Am at what I thought was a very high quality condotel (if a little dated). I was the only occupant of the whole place which I loved. ChaAm was like a ghost town as far as tourists were concerned, but I'm not sure what the normal level is. Anyhow, I like the vibe there loads better than Hua Hin.

Thats very peculiar becauase any day of the week but especially the weekends you can walk/drive along Cha am beach from anytime in the morning to late evening and it is very busy.......you mention 'Condotel'....that place and many other condos although come under Cha am isnt actually in the main part of Cha am so you were probably based somewhere further along the coast nearer Bang Kwai which is like a ghost town...pleased you enjoyed your stay though

We didn't stay at the Condotel, though my wife's friend had booked us there. My wife found it unacceptable so we stayed at a Ploeng Talay 3 Br unit, which I must say was very nice. That must have been a very high end development in its day. Quality materials throughout; at least in my unit.

Yes, I know it's not in the main part of town. That was its appeal.

[PatinBKk]

That place really isnt Cha am....its miles away and half way to Hua Hin......it is quite there, if thats what you were looking for you made the right choice rather than being in busy main Cha am

[Thefamily]

We used to live in Cha-Am, Banquey and soclialised basically in Cha-Am beach area. We still manage to come up once in a while and visit our friends their. They also say that times are quite, but as mentioned above the Thai's from BKK visit most weekends, so Cha-Am does become very busy then.

If you like to be close to the bars, we would normally stay at the 'Perfect House' on Soi Bus Stop. We found this accommodation, cheap (@500bht per night). It has just been refurbished, the rooms are amazing, with proper duvet covers, very clean and surprisinly not noisy (as first imagined being all the bars surrounding it). You do need a Thai with you though as they do not speak very good English. I would also reccommend that you book if arriving at the weekend, could not get a room on the last visit (a Saturday).

It's the first time I've heard about a Burger King arriving though, Brilliant!!! Due to visit again soon. Does anyone know when and where it will arrive?

Edited August 31, 2009 by Thefamily

[Thighlander]

I'm looking for a cheap condo in Cha'am. I don't think I will find one in HH. I've been through Cha'am a number of times and it looks a little more casual than HH. Any suggestions?

[mark5335]

I'm looking for a cheap condo in Cha'am. I don't think I will find one in HH. I've been through Cha'am a number of times and it looks a little more casual than HH. Any suggestions?

A few km south of Cha-am on the way to Hua Hin is the Springfield Beach Condo. It's a nice peaceful stretch of beach there with a few neighbouring seafood restaurants, and not far from the Verandah Resort and the Holiday Inn Regency hotels. Whilst Spingfield has sold most units in their high-rise condo tower, they still have a few units for sale in their low rise condo building. Of course, the price is much cheaper than Hua Hin which is only 20 min away by car. I like Springfield as the facilities are similar to a hotel resort (pool, tennis, snooker, nice gardens, restaurant, room service etc).

The condo price is about 75,000 baht per sq. metre compared with at least 110,000 for Hua Hin beachfront condo units.

Edited September 10, 2009 by mark5335

[Gary A]

I'm looking for a cheap condo in Cha'am. I don't think I will find one in HH. I've been through Cha'am a number of times and it looks a little more casual than HH. Any suggestions?

I stayed at the Catthaleya Condotel. I was offered a small unit for 700,000 baht. I stayed there for a few nights recently. On the road leading back to it, there is a bar on the right hand side called Nancys. Ask for Nancy and she can give you a lot of details. She speaks good English.

[Thighlander]

Thanks Gary, that is in the ballpark. I've seen some bank REOs in Chiangmai for about 10,000 per sm. There was a unit at the HH Bluewave for 1.3 million last September, that was tempting. Something about that resort atmosphere that bugs me. Maybe it is all the overcharging. 40 THB for 1 ear of corn? 100 thb for somtam? I can eat all day on that kind of money in CNX. The beach is the beach, though.

[IssanCalling]

Thanks Gary, that is in the ballpark. I've seen some bank REOs in Chiangmai for about 10,000 per sm. There was a unit at the HH Bluewave for 1.3 million last September, that was tempting. Something about that resort atmosphere that bugs me. Maybe it is all the overcharging. 40 THB for 1 ear of corn? 100 thb for somtam? I can eat all day on that kind of money in CNX. The beach is the beach, though.

Sorry Arie CNX

[Blackandwhite]

From what I see during regular visits as in holidays to this area, it is going mad, the area is very sought after, the King has a Palace just up the road in Hua Hin so guess what is good for the kind=g is good for the people. Lots of Thais holiday in this area so our low season is their high season.

[maccaroni man]

Cha Am is starting to be discovered.

I found it by accident a couple of years ago. Driving through the main road it is not at all impressive but once you get off the main drag and down toward the beach it is quite nice. The beach is long and clean (Not talking the main city beach now). Several very nice 4 and 5 star resorts have gone in and people that stay in them discover the area.

Selfishly I would like to see it stay just the way it is now, but unfortunately it's just a matter of time until it becomes overbuilt like Phuket, Samui and Pattaya and lets not forget Hua Hin which is having a hard time making the infrastructure keep up with the development.

Being close to BKK (2hrs+ -) and having a lot of thais spend weekends and holidays in Cha Am makes it popularity grow.

Patinbkk nice to hear about Burger King, they should do well.

actually it was discovered some decade ago. I was thumbing thru some old Observers and back in the 90's almost everything being advertised and promoted was in cha am. If one looks through the jungle, there are many NPL that have been reclaimed by nature. As long as i can rmemeber it has been a favorite for Thais and tourist from Swedan.

dito the good news about BK

[katabeachbum]

I'm looking for a cheap condo in Cha'am. I don't think I will find one in HH. I've been through Cha'am a number of times and it looks a little more casual than HH. Any suggestions?

A few km south of Cha-am on the way to Hua Hin is the Springfield Beach Condo. It's a nice peaceful stretch of beach there with a few neighbouring seafood restaurants, and not far from the Verandah Resort and the Holiday Inn Regency hotels. Whilst Spingfield has sold most units in their high-rise condo tower, they still have a few units for sale in their low rise condo building. Of course, the price is much cheaper than Hua Hin which is only 20 min away by car. I like Springfield as the facilities are similar to a hotel resort (pool, tennis, snooker, nice gardens, restaurant, room service etc).

The condo price is about 75,000 baht per sq. metre compared with at least 110,000 for Hua Hin beachfront condo units.

I v looked at some new condo projects beachfront in Hua Hin at 55-70k /sqm. Decided to buy new house 150 meters from the beach (Naebkehardt road) at 30k/sqm including land. Project just sold out.

[ESB7]

I'm looking for a cheap condo in Cha'am. I don't think I will find one in HH. I've been through Cha'am a number of times and it looks a little more casual than HH. Any suggestions?

I stayed at the Catthaleya Condotel. I was offered a small unit for 700,000 baht. I stayed there for a few nights recently. On the road leading back to it, there is a bar on the right hand side called Nancys. Ask for Nancy and she can give you a lot of details. She speaks good English.

You get what you pay for....this building reminds me of cell Block H and the locals actualy refer to it by this name. The units are tiny, the corridors are dark, the lifts only work from floor 3 upwards, wire mesh is required on the balcony to stop the pigeons nesting although the mesh dosnt stop their droppings from covering almost every balcony and lastly you can actually rent one for the grand sum of 4,000 Baht a month which is why there are so many female students living there.

[lannarebirth]

Anyone know what Ploeng Talay 3 Br units are going for? I stayed there recently and really rather enjoyed it. It was basically deserted, which I found a real bonus.

[Gary A]

I'm looking for a cheap condo in Cha'am. I don't think I will find one in HH. I've been through Cha'am a number of times and it looks a little more casual than HH. Any suggestions?

I stayed at the Catthaleya Condotel. I was offered a small unit for 700,000 baht. I stayed there for a few nights recently. On the road leading back to it, there is a bar on the right hand side called Nancys. Ask for Nancy and she can give you a lot of details. She speaks good English.

You get what you pay for....this building reminds me of cell Block H and the locals actualy refer to it by this name. The units are tiny, the corridors are dark, the lifts only work from floor 3 upwards, wire mesh is required on the balcony to stop the pigeons nesting although the mesh dosnt stop their droppings from covering almost every balcony and lastly you can actually rent one for the grand sum of 4,000 Baht a month which is why there are so many female students living there.

No doubt you have the right place. It's certainly not fancy but the elevator worked properly and the halls were lit quite well. I thought it was quite clever to protect the balconies with fish net. It was no big deal with the room I had because you couldn't go out on the balcony anyways. I agree that the rooms are small, maybe about 28 square meters.