Recommendations?

[Marsilius]

As you know, these days it's necessary to book flights and accommodation virtually a year in advance if you want to get exactly what you require. I've already booked my preferred accommodation in Pattaya for four weeks in December 2019/January 2020 but would like to break that month up by using up to a week of it to travel elsewhere.

After the usual delights of Pattaya, the object would be to enjoy a bit of upmarket pampering. I'm hoping that someone can recommend a beachside 5-star hotel, resort or spa with great facilities and food that can be reached by taxi, bus or ferry (Hua Hin?) in a maximum journey of an hour or two from Pattaya. Local boy-bars are not a necessary requirement - though they aren't a deterrent, either. Does anyone have any recommendations based on personal experience?

[Jellybean]

If you are interested in 5 star hotels in Hua Hin, Marsilius, may I suggest the following hotels, the details of which I have taken from Booking.com - https://www.booking.com/city/th/hua-hin.en-gb.html

I have not however stayed at any of them, but over an 8 -10 year period I have eaten in their restaurants, swam in some of their pools or, in the case of the Hilton, used their gym and swimming pool as well as eating in one of their restaurants. If I wanted pampering in 5 star hotels in the centre of Hua Hin I would choose either the Hilton or the Centara.


Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas Hua Hin (5 stars)

This is a Preferred Partner property. It is committed to providing guests with a positive experience thanks to its commendable service and good value. This property may pay Booking.com a bit more to be in this Programme.

Hua Hin Night Market, Hua Hin (500 yards from centre) – Beach nearby.

Featuring 4 outdoor pools in beautifully landscaped grounds, Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villa Hua Hin is a 5-minute walk from the Night Market and Fishing Pier. It has a spa and 4 restaurants.


Hilton Hua Hin Resort & Spa (5 stars)

This is a Preferred Partner property. It is committed to providing guests with a positive experience thanks to its commendable service and good value. This property may pay Booking.com a bit more to be in this Programme.

Hua Hin Night Market, Hua Hin (450 yards from centre) – Beach nearby.

Overlooking the Gulf of Thailand, Hilton Hua Hin offers prime beachfront accommodation with stunning views and access to a first-rate spa. It features a beach-side pool and 5 dining options.

In high demand! Booked 26 times in the last 24 hours.

Another 5 star hotel and resort is the superb Dusit Thani, but it is 9.3 miles from the town centre.


Dusit Thani Hua Hin hotel (5 stars)

This is a Preferred Partner property. It is committed to providing guests with a positive experience thanks to its commendable service and good value. This property may pay Booking.com a bit more to be in this Programme.
Cha Am (9.3 miles from centre)

Overlooking the Gulf of Thailand, Dusit Thani Hua Hin sits on Thailand’s western coast, steps from a private beachfront. It boasts a large outdoor pool, spa and fitness facilities.

In high demand! Booked 4 times in the last 24 hours.


Just 2.5 miles from the town centre is the 5 star Hyatt Regency:


Hyatt Regency Hua Hin hotel (5 stars)

This is a Preferred Partner property. It is committed to providing guests with a positive experience thanks to its commendable service and good value. This property may pay Booking.com a bit more to be in this Programme.

Khao Takiab, Hua Hin (2.5 miles from centre) – Beach nearby.

This luxurious 5-star beachfront property boasts a large lagoon pool set in 12.5 acres of tropical landscapes.

Just south of Hua Hin, in Kao Takiap, 3.7 miles from the town centre is the 4 star Anantasila beach front hotel:



Anantasila Villa by the sea, Hua Hin Beachfront (4 stars)

This is a Preferred Partner property. It is committed to providing guests with a positive experience thanks to its commendable service and good value. This property may pay Booking.com a bit more to be in this Programme.

Khao Takiab, Hua Hin (3.7 miles from centre) – Beach nearby.

A lovely beachfront property just outside Hua Hin Town, Anantasila Villa offers a relaxing getaway with an outdoor pool and sea-facing restaurant. Rooms and villas are nestled amidst tropical gardens....

I hope some of the above recommendations give you food for thought, Marsilius.

[Marsilius]

Many thanks for your suggestions which I will certainly explore further. Personally I am quite taken with the idea of Hua Hin, but my travelling companion is not a particularly good sailor. Do you know whether it is usually a rough crossing from Pattaya?

[Jellybean]

Marsilius, please see the post by ChristianPFC dated February 4th, 2017, which I have quoted below, it was taken from the topic: https://sawatdeenetwork.com/v4/showthread.php?18282-Pattaya-Hua-Hin-ferry-to-begin-on-New-Year-s-Day/page8 .

You will note he made a comprehensive report on his blog, which I hope answers some of your questions. He also rather helpfully provided a link to his blog.


With everyone else chickened out, it was left to me to ride and report:

http://christianpfc.blogspot.com/2017/02/ferry-between-pattaya-and-hua-hin.html

A pleasant ride, I wish them success and I will take the ferry again whenever I can combine Pattaya and Hua Hin.

For those interested: Live west under each seat, no Chinese tour groups.

[Marsilius]

Once again, many thanks, Jellybean. You clearly have an encyclopaedic knowledge of past posts!

Any other recommendations from fellow members are, of course, still very welcome...

[christianpfc]

I just (6jan2019) took the ferry for the second time and got slightly seasick on the ride. I never had this before on boat rides, and only once on a very curvy bus ride (Luang Phrabang to Chiang Mai).
Current price is 1250 THB economy and travel time 13:00-15:15. (They advertise 2 hours, but it takes longer.)

[Marsilius]

Thanks, Christian. That's useful information. The ferry company's website isn't too informative, but I've e-mailed them to ask whether the service operates (weather permitting) every day of the year, so that I can book Hua Hin accommodation regardless of date without worrying how to get there.

[gerefan2]

I’m sure you will hear from them in due course, but I did read that they suspended the ferry service for several months last year due to high seas. I cannot remember where I saw this or the dates, sorry. I presume it’s during the wet Season.

[Marsilius]

Well, if Christian got seasick in, presumably, mild sea conditions, I can quite see why suspension in heavier seas would be likely!

[gerefan2]

https://thethaiger.com/thai-life/travel/pattaya-hua-hin-ferry-service-back-again-for-high-season

[christianpfc]

The ferry service was interrupted on Jan 3 and 4 for high seas (Typhoon Pabuk). I checked their website daily, but only on 5 Jan was there a note that the ferry did not operate on 3 and 4 Jan. To make sure they go on 6 Jan, I called them on 5 Jan.

[Marsilius]

Oh, dear... It's the first week in January 2020 that I was hoping to get from Pattaya to Hua Hin. Is early January regular typhoon time?

[gerefan2]

I don’t think it’s a “regular typhoon time” but you can always get out is season weather.

Suppose the answer is to have a standby method of transport available..it’s not that far after all!

[Jellybean]

Welcome to Sawatdee Network, sportsrep. It would appear that you have mistakenly used the red triangle system to make your first post rather than using the correct Reply to Thread method. On your behalf I have moved your post back to this topic.

To make future posts, type your comments in the box at the bottom of the page headed "Quick reply" then click on the box headed Post Quick Reply or if you decide to use the Go Advanced box, then click the Submit Reply box.


Hi everyone, I will be in Jomtien Beach in two weeks for a few weeks. My friend keeps talking to me about all these Cambodian boys especially at the Sun Bar. Any comments, recommendations or suggestions please?

[sportsrep]

Once again, many thanks, Jellybean. You clearly have an encyclopaedic knowledge of past posts!

Any other recommendations from fellow members are, of course, still very welcome...

Hi everyone, I will be arriving at Jomtien Beach next week for a few weeks. My friend keeps talking to me about all the Cambodian boys at the Jomtien Complex especially at the Sun Bar. Would appreciate any comments, recommendations and suggestions relating to this. Thanks!

[kittyboy]

Hi everyone, I will be arriving at Jomtien Beach next week for a few weeks. My friend keeps talking to me about all the Cambodian boys at the Jomtien Complex especially at the Sun Bar. Would appreciate any comments, recommendations and suggestions relating to this. Thanks!

Following up on your post.
I see some longterm residents and others commenting that Cambodian guys doninate the bar trade in jomtien.
My thinking is that is a curious or an interesting detail. Some of the regular poster here often refer to that detail. The home country of a rent boy - to me is absolutely unintetesting as a topic of conversation.
Why do some of the other poster bring up that many of the rent boys in jomtien are Cambodian? Why is it important?
Are Cambodian guys better or worse or just different in the atea of rent boyness?

[latintopxxx]

arent they all the same, wasnt cambodia part of thailand before the french (or was it the english) took it off them. whats the diff?? who cares?

[billyhouston]

arent they all the same, wasnt cambodia part of thailand before the french (or was it the english) took it off them. whats the diff?? who cares?

The last time somebody said that (2003), the Thai Embassy and Thai businesses in Phnom Penh were burned by Cambodian rioters.

[sportsrep]

any other comments, suggestions on the Cambodian boys please?

[colmx]

Most Thai guys on the bar scene these days are undefined or bordering on overweight (in fact looking at the next generation in my BFs village earlier this month, they will soon be described as obese)

The average Cambodian has a hard body, the same as Thai guys used to have 10+ years ago, so I presume that's why people are interested in them

I also find that most Cambodians tend to have better English than their Thai counterparts

[gerefan2]

Most Thai guys on the bar scene these days are undefined or bordering on overweight

Some of the boys in Winner bar and Cupidol look as if they need to eat in McDonalds for a month or two!

[sglad]

After the usual delights of Pattaya, the object would be to enjoy a bit of upmarket pampering. I'm hoping that someone can recommend a beachside 5-star hotel, resort or spa with great facilities and food that can be reached by taxi, bus or ferry (Hua Hin?) in a maximum journey of an hour or two from Pattaya. Local boy-bars are not a necessary requirement - though they aren't a deterrent, either. Does anyone have any recommendations based on personal experience?

Must it be beachside, Marsilius? How about flying up to Chiang Mai for a week? December/January is a great time to go up north and you can stay at the Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi. It's under an hour from Utapao. As it is you'll already be spending three weeks in Pattaya. How about some cool fresh air and being among the living for a change?

[dinagam]

Forget Chiangmai. The water in the swimming pool is too cold this time of the year.
It's better to swim in the sea.
Utapao and Chiangmai? Is there any connection?

[Eddie]

Direct flights from Utapao Airport to Chiang Mai.

[Eddie]

Some of the boys in Winner bar and Cupidol look as if they need to eat in McDonalds for a month or two!

I guess more meat in between their buns can't hurt.

[sglad]

Forget Chiangmai. The water in the swimming pool is too cold this time of the year.
It's better to swim in the sea.
Utapao and Chiangmai? Is there any connection?

I flew from Chiang Mai to Utapao two years ago on Air Asia. It was very cheap, around 3,000 Baht return maybe?

Don't they have heated pools at these luxury hotels?

[gerefan2]

Must it be beachside, Marsilius? How about flying up to Chiang Mai for a week?

And suffer some of the worst air quality in Asia? 166 thingys, as opposed to 130 for Pattaya.

According to the website recommended by Taveller Jim in his thread. Back to Singapore my young friend.

https://www.airvisual.com/thailand/chiang-mai/payap

[latintopxxx]

not there for the air silly boy

[Marsilius]

I have, as a result of the very useful advice offered, now decided against Hua Hin. I have instead booked a four nights stay in the Marriott Hotel and Spa in Rayong - an easy journey from Pattaya and, by all accounts, entirely fulfilling my original requirements.

[sglad]

And suffer some of the worst air quality in Asia? 166 thingys, as opposed to 130 for Pattaya.

According to the website recommended by Taveller Jim in his thread. Back to Singapore my young friend.

https://www.airvisual.com/thailand/chiang-mai/payap

The air quality may be poor this year but we don't know what it's going to be like next year, which is when the the OP intends to take his holiday. I don't recall it being this bad in January last year and it wasn't bad when I was there in January 2017.

[christianpfc]

Why do some of the other poster bring up that many of the rent boys in jomtien are Cambodian? Why is it important?
Are Cambodian guys better or worse or just different in the atea of rent boyness?
My personal observation, and that of many others as expressed on the forums or on personal discussion, is that Cambodian boys are in better shape (or rather the shape I'm looking for) and better in bed. And better English and better space-time coordination.

[gerefan2]

The air quality may be poor this year but we don't know what it's going to be like next year, which is when the the OP intends to take his holiday. I don't recall it being this bad in January last year and it wasn't bad when I was there in January 2017.

When I went about 10 years ago you could not see Chang Mai (or the bottom of the hill)from the Kings Palace (only a few km away and 3000 ft lower).

So,it hasn’t changed much!

[dinagam]

Just a matter of perception. How unscientific and antedeluvian.