Hotel Hua Hin

[Blueskytoday]

Can anyone recommend really nice beach front hotel in
Hua Hin,,,,,Say in the range of 1500 - 1800 Bht per night.
(would be nice if it were somewhat close to the massage place).
Thanks

The beach at Hua Hin is nothing special, and the water is a bit murky from the cr*p that gets washed into it (with consequent jellyfish swarms from time to time..)

Go a few miles along the coast and the sea gets much cleaner. The beach facing hotels at HH are also painfully expensive, and not worth the money IMO.

There is a guesthouse in the heart of the nightlife area called Jings, which is broad-minded and very popular, but they do get booked up in the high season. Not far away is a good value guesthouse called Top Marks, but the management were a bit off-hand and surly the last time I stayed there -maybe they didn't like my choice of company much..

There is also a place called The Shed, which was cheap and friendly, but didn't have en-suite showers..

There's good resources (but not specifically gay) here: http://www.huahinforum.com

[Dick]

Its been a few years since I stayed in Hua Hin but the beach was something to write home about.
I stayed at the Kaban Tamor Beach Resort - not really a resort, more a collection of well kitted out mushroom shaped serviced chalets. http://www.sawadee.com/hotel/huahin/kabantamor/
The rates vary considerably depending on season. Weather wise you're likely to be assured of good weather until the end of April (hottest) and possibly a week or two into May if the Monsoon comes late, but after that it will be wet.

The 'resort' is slap bang on Takiab Beach - famous for the adjacent hill upon which a ruddy great statue of the Bhudda is situated, with a nice little Wat to one side. You can sea, hear, and smell the sea from the window of your chalet. No complaints as regards service, food, etc. They've tacked on massage and spa facilities to the 'resort' since I stayed there. The pictures below show one side of the 'resort' taken from the beach:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/trickydickie/Img_0158.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/trickydickie/Img_0159.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/trickydickie/Img_0157.jpg

Walking from the 'resort' onto the beach and turning right looking towards Bhudda hill, here are pics of the beach:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/trickydickie/Img_0114e.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/trickydickie/Img_0105.jpg

and here are pics turning left, looking/walking towards the centre of town:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/trickydickie/Img_0118.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/trickydickie/Img_0119.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/trickydickie/Img_0111.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/trickydickie/Img_0106.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/trickydickie/Img_0120.jpg

Note the absence of deck chairs and vendors!
There are a few more resorts now along this beach - I highly recommend this beach of firm clean sand that stretches for miles and very gently slopes down to the water. When the tide is in you can wade in up to your neck without any fear of treading on something sharp and nasty; its as warm as your bathwater and pretty clean - that there is nothing much washed up on shore is a testament.

Just to the side of the Bhudda hill there use to be a fishing village, but that's now a collection of condo's. The area has become popular because it is a fantastic beach.

But, hey, what do I know... Smiles is our resident expert on Hua Hin. I'm sure he'll chip in or can point to previous threads that might be helpful.

[Smiles]

Can anyone recommend really nice beach front hotel in
Hua Hin,,,,,Say in the range of 1500 - 1800 Bht per night.
(would be nice if it were somewhat close to the massage place).
Thanks
You'll be very hard-pressed indeed to get a hotel right on the beach for 1500-1800 baht, and during the high season (i.e. right about now) almost impossible.
I booked a friend of ours into a hotel for 1900 baht ( http://www.huahinresort.info/thaiversio ... low_Hotel/ (http://www.huahinresort.info/thaiversion/Chanchay_Bangalow_Hotel/) ) and even that is not actually 'on' the beach but just behind another hotel which is: it's rates are 2000-3000+ baht at this time. http://www.verandalodge.com/

The 2 hotels mentioned by Ta69 are located in the noisiest part of the entertainment zone in Hua Hin ... and are not close to the beach at all.

The beach in Hua Hin gets a bit of a bad rap from the poster above (TA69 that is). As a general rule, most beaches on the Gulf side of Thailand are not really 'snorkeling' types of beaches . . . they tend to be wide open and long sandy beaches where the tide comes straight into land in force and stirs up the sand, thus making the water here 'murkier' than that on the west coast of Thailand. The murkiness is not because of " ... crap that get's washed up in it ... "
The jelly fish season is long gone . . . they can be found en masse during August, September and into October, but by November there are very few.

Hua Hin Beach is a 'city' beach, so it get's it's fair share of tourists laying under umbrellas, eating tons of food, and drinking gallons of booze. The beach chair concessionaires do a pretty good job of cleaning up at the end of the day, but still you'll get the odd plastic bottle (or such things) floating in the water.
In general though, the beach is pretty clean, and the sand on Hua Hin Beach is much better than that gritty sand/dirt conncoction you'll find on other beaches: it's white, fine, and an absolute pleasure to stroll on.

I would throw some photos up, but Dick has done an excellent job of that with his. They give a very good 'feel' for what Hua Hin Beach looks like. I must admit that the build-up of new condos and hotels is now much greater now than in Dick's photos, which look a bit more like Hua Hin Beach as I first remember it perhaps 5 or 6 years ago. I wish it were not so, but progress I guess . . .
There are umbrella/chair businesses there (undoubtedly more now than some years ago) do not by any means take up the whole great length of the beach: you can see easily from Dick's photos that there are very long stretches which have no umbrellas at all ... and that's the same today.

[Beachlover]

I was going to be taking someone to Hua Hin a few months ago so I did some research but we ended up going elsewhere instead...

I recall it's really difficult to get affordably-priced beach front places near the centre of town in Hua Hin but if you're willing to go slightly out on the outskirts, you might have a chance.

I think it's worth not being right in the middle of town as there's not that much more to do in Hua Hin than laze around the pool, so you may as well have a nice pool overlooking the beach to laze around and be happy to travel 10-15 mins when you want to go somewhere.

Hua Hin is far more expensive than Pattaya and probably more expensive than Patong Beach/Phuket too. So 2,000 baht is a really slim budget. You might need to up it to get a decent place.

--

If anyone's interested, there's some nice places with private pool suites on the Southern side of town, not too far out. Think, lazing around nude in your own pool with your special other...

The one I looked at staying in was the Cape Nidhra Hotel (http://www.capenidhra.com). Think it was around 7,000 baht/night. I liked this one because it's got awesome facilities overlooking the beach and is still quite near the centre of town, close enough to walk, so you're not too isolated... will go there another time.


(would be nice if it were somewhat close to the massage place).
Massage places in Thailand are like pubs in Ireland...

[krobbie]

When I visited friends in HUa Hin we stayed at a relatively inexpensive hotel which my friend suggested. It was more than adequate (3*) for our needs and in a great part of town. Not the real 'heart' of Hua Hin (commercial) but not far from the beach and other amenities.
The rate has gone up since we were there 3 years ago, actually they seem to have doubled (go figure).

I will say here and now, the beach was very good by Thai standards and mine are very high coming from New Zealand.

If I was going back, this place is where I would be going. It isn't on the beach as that would BHT 2000 to the price, but it is very well situated and the rooms are large.
http://www.agoda.com/asia/thailand/hua_ ... a_hin.html (http://www.agoda.com/asia/thailand/hua_hin_cha_am/citin_loft_hua_hin.html)

[Smiles]

" ... The rate has gone up since we were there 3 years ago, actually they seem to have doubled (go figure)... "
Depends more on what time of year you go Krobbie. I just plugged some dates into Citin Loft (on Agoda) for News Eve (plus a few days) and it came up over 7000 baht a night. (Ridiculous!)
Then plugged in a date in May and the same room was 1300 baht. (About what it's worth).

On the other hand: You can rent our extra bedroom at 800 baht a night any old time. Includes a cold toast breakfast. What a deal! :love4:

[PeterUK]

On the other hand: You can rent our extra bedroom at 800 baht a night any old time. Includes a cold toast breakfast. What a deal! :love4:

Don't be modest - and a cold hole-in-a-bucket shower.

[quiet1]

While Citin is fairly new and seems to have nice rooms, I think they built the building backwards: The rooms all face away from the beach, no? It's tall enough that most rooms could have nice "ocean views."

(PS: I realize it's not an ocean, but a gulf.)

The only hotel I've stayed at in Hua Hin is the Marriott. It is ocean-front, but much more expensive than the price range desired by the OP. I had zero complaints there and found the breakfast selection especially good.

I have observed many jellyfish in even late December in Hua Hin. More than enough to keep this long-time ocean swimmer out of the water! As for the water cleanliness, the horses on the beach don't seem to be toilet-trained, so that tends to increase the E. coli count. :pukeleft:

I'm reluctant to make another recommendation on this forum, but I would choose to stay in Cha am rather than Hua Hin. You are still close enough to visit Hua Hin if you want to see what is there.

[Dick]

I'm reluctant to make another recommendation on this forum, but I would choose to stay in Cha am rather than Hua Hin. You are still close enough to visit Hua Hin if you want to see what is there.

Cha-Am would be the last place on my list for a beach holiday. My very first visit to LOS was a three centre package that included 5 nights at the Regent Hotel Resort in Cha-Am. The beach was no bigger than Pattaya with the tide out and the 'resort' itself was no different to any other in Europe - full of straight Western couples full of arrogance. It was a picture to observe the looks of disgust on the Thai staff trying hard to maintain a smile when these guests dressed only in bathing costume dripped into the lobby/reception area from poolside to complain loudly about something petty. From my observations most of the beach front hotels were this type of resort catering to the mass market. I've never returned to Cha-Am since.

In fact I was so pissed off with the place that I got on a bus to Bangkok one morning, went to Lumpini Stadium to watch some Muay Thai, then on to Soi Cowboy for a little entertainment. Took a meter taxi back to the resort to catch up with the group I was with and to collect my belongings for the flight back home in the early hours - much to the surprise and delight of the cab driver, lol.

[krobbie]

... On the other hand: You can rent our extra bedroom at 800 baht a night any old time. Includes a cold toast breakfast. What a deal! :love4:

Done!

Yes, I get that the time of year is the great leveler but generally speaking the prices are higher in Hua Hin because it is a pretty area, despite all the Europeans splayed along the beach on their way to becoming brown as a leather couch.

One of the most enjoyable holidays I have spent anywhere in Thailand.

[krobbie]

Cha-Am would be the last place on my list for a beach holiday...

Totally agree Dick. Hideous.

I disagree with your comments about Cha am.

If you were at the Regent - you weren't in Cha am Beach - so you're not actually talking correctly about Cha am. You're just talking about a stand a lone resort, which isn't actually close to anything - it's part way between Cha am and Hua Hin.

Cha am is Hua Hin several years ago - still very Thai and quaint and it has it's own charm and personality. It's very good value for one thing and very laid back and relaxed. If you have a Thai partner, they will absolutely love it - it's the Thai's fav resort.

You need to take another look at Cha am proper - not judge it on a resort hotel which could be anywhere.

If you want somewhere special to stay which is a couple of hours drive from BKK check out Baan Talay Samran. It's ona beach ust north of Cha am and it's a very relaxed and beautiful complex of private houses and condos available to rent via various websites. The condos are particularly great value as they big two bed, two bath, large living area and kitchen, plus a big balcony. The complex has 4 swimming pools, maid service, restaurant, shop etc. Wonderful quieet retreat - and very gay friendly. I've been with my partner many times and it's a lovely escape and a great change from the normal resorts. You can easily drive into Cha am Beach or Hua Hin (or get a taxi).

You won't find go go bars in Cha am but you will find a delightful laid back traditional Thai experience and excellent value.