Golfing Trip

[smokie36]

Hi I have some friends looking to come over for a holiday for three weeks beginning early Feb 2012.

They would like to spend the first week to ten days playing golf. They want to base themselves close by a few different courses so I'm looking for a few suggestions for...

1. A reasonably priced place to stay that's close to a few courses.

2. Suggestions for good well priced courses for them to play as they are regular players and appreciate a challenging course while watching the pennies naturally.

3. Its likely they will want some other entertainment in the evenings so any other suggestions welcome. They are in their 40s/50's and no wives accompanying so....

[hhfarang]

I would guess that they would want to stay in the center of Hua Hin for the convenience of the nightlife, but there is only one course actually in the center of town, Royal Hua Hin. There are two others at the south end and north end or town Sea Pines Military course and Palm Hills plus Banyan in the south west part of town is not too far. The others; Majestic, Lakview, Springfield, Black Mountain, and Eagle Milford are 30 to 45 minutes from downtown and all, with the exception of Eagle Milford will be expensive that time of year (3000b to 5000b depending on the course and whether you walk or need an electric cart). You also have the additional cost of transport to/from the courses.

Hua Hin has some great courses, but the pricing is high just like most other tourist destinations.

[smokie36]

Thanks for that hhfarang. Can anyone suggest a few places to stay?

Maybe a link or two would be helpful as well.

Cheers!

[hhfarang]

Upscale or on the cheaper side. There are so many in every range of budget I would have to know what you are looking for.

[smokie36]

Upscale or on the cheaper side. There are so many in every range of budget I would have to know what you are looking for.

Looking at between 1500-2500 Baht a night.

Edited August 27, 2011 by smokie36

[hhfarang]

Living here in my own home I haven't used any hotels, but right in the middle of your price range if booked through an online hotel booking web site is the Sirin Hotel. It's perfectly located in the center of downtown and gets good reviews. It's on the main road running from the train station to Hua Hin Beach and only a short walk to the beach. It's about a kilometer from Royal Hua Hin Golf course and directly in the middle of an area full of restaurants and bars. We eat in their restaurant a lot and their food is very good and very reasonably priced (we eat Thai food there but they have western food too). It's just a couple of blocks from the main nightlife area that mostly consists of two streets full of beer bars and massage parlors. I don't think I am allowed to post them here but just google Sirin Hotel Hua Hin and go to some of the bigger booking sites to see the location, photos, and read some of the reviews.

[smokie36]

Thanks for the info!

[roly]

About the golf itself, I was just talking to a guy today who reckons he's a bit of a golf expert, and he was absolutely impressed by the Sea Pines course by the way....also reckoned the Royal one near the town centre was good (but old). He didn't think the actual holes at Black Mountain were that good.

Anyway just some input for you. He also said that at the Sea Pines course there are often military guys playing and you have to wait a long time for them, and can't exactly hurry them along.... LOL

[roly]

Oh and about the accommodation, I think the Fresh Inn (I think it's called) opposite the Hilton is around 1,500 to 2,000 and supposed to be very nice indeed.

Another alternative might be the Golf Villa hotel in Soi 41 (my street). It looks great from the outside and has good facilities, I'm sure they can also help with golf and arrangements like that....only thing is to get to town takes about <5 minutes by motorbike or they have some tuk-tuks which are probably free if you are staying there. They have a website too, http://www.huahingolfvilla.com/

I've stayed in loads of hotels around town (but not these two) but more budget ones so I can't give you personal accounts of those. Otherwise, one mid range I do know of that is good on Poonsuk Road opposite City Beach and around the corner from the Sirin hotel is Baan Pa-Ploy. I recall the rooms were nice. Start at around 1000 in low season, they probably have nice deluxe rooms too.

Cheers.

[smokie36]

Thanks for the info Roly!

[hhfarang]

Roly's golf tips are good. Everyone wants to play Black Mountain as it is famous here because it is an Asian tour stop, but I personally think it's overrated and over priced. If you have lots of time to play all the courses and plenty of holiday money to burn, it's probably worth a round as it is widely considered to be the premier course here. The Sea Pines Military course (opened last year, just off the main highway a bit south of Hua Hin) is currently probably in the best condition of any course in the area. Fairways and greens perfect as of last week! Beautiful course along the beach. Royal Hua Hin is old and sometimes not kept in top condition, but it is the St. Andrews of Thailand as it is the first course ever built in the country (opened in 1924, I think). Play it for a bit of history if no other reason. Also highly recommended is Springfield (3 nines) which has always been one of the best facilities in the area.