Hotels

[expatgaz]

Iam going to be spending 4 nights in Hua Hin start of April, Iam booked for 2 nights in the Marriot Resort & Spa and 2 nights in the Anantara.Can anyone tell me what these places are like, are they central, what sights are close by etc etc.I'll be driving from Pattaya with the wife & boy, is it an easy drive, how long and best route.

THanks for any comments.

[sua yai]

I stayed at The Anantara (then The Royal Garden Village) in 1989 and it was fantastic. Returned with some guests for a drink last year and it hadn't changed that much, other than being more built up around it. It's not in the centre of town, but only a 10-15 min drive away.

Havn't been to The Marriott. It's central, ie walking distance to the centre of town.

If you're driving in from the Anantara, it can be difficult to park in town, particularly at the weekends. The main temple would be the best bet. 20 Baht I think, but the gates get locked up around 10pmish?

Can't help you with directions from Pattaya.

[think_too_mut]

Iam going to be spending 4 nights in Hua Hin start of April, Iam booked for 2 nights in the Marriot Resort & Spa and 2 nights in the Anantara.Can anyone tell me what these places are like, are they central, what sights are close by etc etc.I'll be driving from Pattaya with the wife & boy, is it an easy drive, how long and best route.

THanks for any comments.

I stayed at the Marriott. The hotel is run and managed the way a 5* world class place is expected to be. Service is prompt, efficient, no slackiness. Free BKK Post at the reception.

The clientele - package family type tourists from Western Europe and Scandinavia, some Japanese and Korean, some Thais. No Eastern Europeans.

However, the building itself was some other hotel before, Marriott acquired it. And it shows.

The rooms are not what Marriott usually provides, they are much smaller. Over past 8 years I have stayed in numerous Marriotts around the world for over 7 months altogether, never seen rooms as small as in Hua Hin.

With the baby cot inside, there was no way to walk around the bed.

The building is a 3-storey, no lifts.

Breakfast is a feast, one of the best varieties and taste I have seen in hotels. In addition to farang food, about 20 thai dishes are available. If paid separatelly, could be 600-800B just to join the breakfast.

The swimming pool is rather small for the hotel's capacity. The original builder must have estimated that at least some % of guests would swim in the sea but nope. Hua Hin has a long beach but hardly anyone (except fully clothed day-tripper Thais) is in the water. So, few hundred people around the tiny pool is a daily occurrence.

The hotel is not central, it's a 1 mile walk to the action.

Internet access - at the reception they would sell access card that did not work for me.

1800 toll free number that I used to connect via dial-up showed up as 50B charge for 8 minutes.

The restaurant in the hotel hardly sees any customers in the evening - it's expensive and once (it was raining heavilly) I tried it and the food was 20US$ for 2 and rubbish.

No wonder there is an exodus towards the city centre around 7pm.

Would I stay there again? For 3600B, yes.

But not for 8-12K baht they charge in high season. For that money I would go further down the road to Hyatt.

Driving from Pattaya? I don't think you have much choice with the routes.

It could easilly be a 5-6 hours drive. From Pattaya to BKK it's a tollway and easy but BKK to Hua Hin the road is full of motorbikes and low speed battered trucks, requres lots of concentration.

Edited January 17, 2006 by think_too_mut

[expatgaz]

thanks, good info.