The Hilton Hua Hin Resort & Spa  - September 2002

We stayed at The Hilton Hua Hin Resort & Spa for 3 nights in the end of September 2002. We came to Hua Hin on a bus from Bangkok and just as we got of the bus it started to rain. And if you have been to Thailand you know that when it rains it pours. So we grabbed the first transportation that we could find and that was a pickup where we could sit in the back. So that is how we arrived at the Hilton in Hua Hin…in an old pickup more or less soaking wet.

Once we got into the reception we saw that this was a nice hotel. A girl was playing on a string instrument and behind her was a big glass façade, which gave us our first view of the pool area and the beach. The lobby itself is huge and there are lots of places to sit down. A friend of ours had already made the hotel reservation for us and I have to say that the welcome at the hotel is the best I have ever got in a hotel. When I got to the counter I was told that we should sit down in the soft sofa in the reception and they would bring the paper work to us. So we sat down and they brought us a cloth so that we could dry our faces and we also got something to drink. One of the hotel staff came over and kneeled next to me while we were doing the paper work and then the same women took us to the room and showed us around. I tell all this because it is a unique experience for me. This is something that I have never experienced when coming to a hotel in Norway.

The room itself…well, I can tell you that we were very impressed when we walked into the room. First of all there was a beautiful dark wooden floor and the walls were painted in light yellow. It was also decorated with taste when it comes to lights and furniture. Apart from the bed there was a small sofa, a chair and a small table, a mini bar, a colour TV with cable and a wardrobe with a safe. Each day we got ½ litre of water for free and I if I’m not mistaken there was an option of making tea and coffee in the room. Our room also had a small balcony with two chairs and a table and we had a great view of the ocean. As usual I found the bed to be way too hard for my liking so I didn’t sleep very well during our stay here.

The bath room was the same great quality as the room: white tiles, a stone sink, a nice shower with glass walls (the shower had one of those cool heads where you can choose if you want pulse or spray :-) and there was a bathtub on the other side of the room. And as usual there were small bottles of shampoo, lotion etc. The bath also included a make up mirror, hairdryer, bathrobes and slipper. As the name of the hotel indicates this is also a spa. My wife and tried it out of course :-) I went for a 1 hour Thai massage while my wife had the same plus deep facial cleansing. It was VERY relaxing to just lie down for an hour while getting pampered :-) The spa is located on the first floor of the hotel and as the rest of the hotel it is decorated with taste.

On the first floor you can also find the fitness room. I didn’t try out the gym (it looked big an impressive) but I did try out the 2 squash courts that they have at the hotel. And it was fun to play there and the staff even asked if they could join in on a game. In the fitness club you can also find an outside tennis court by the way.

On the ground floor we found an AVIS car rent stand. We did rent a car for a day and after the paper work was filled out we got the car right outside the door at the specified time. Next to the front desk there is also a little shopping area by the way. But I’m not sure that the prices on shirts here can compete with the prices outside the hotel :-)

Breakfast was included and it was served on the ground floor of the hotel. When we went there the first morning because it didn’t seem like they had a great selection. But after getting a plate of food I discovered that around the corner there was another room where they served different stuff. In the end we found out that there were 3-4 rooms where different food was on display or being served. I don’t think I want to try and describe all the stuff they had…let me just say that they had everything that I wanted and a lot more. We also had a pre-set dinner included in our stay and we had dinner one night at the hotel. I was not very impressed by the service or the food itself. As I mentioned earlier the pool area is located between the hotel and the beach itself. The pool area is big and there are lots of chairs that you can use for free. You can also order drinks and food in the pool area and they also provide towels. And if you want to take a swim in the gulf of Thailand you can just take a few steps away from the pool and then you are on the beach.

The hotel is located very central so if only took us a few steps to get to the restaurants and bars located on the piers. We had some great seafood during our stay in Hua Hin…and the size of those prawns is just incredible :-)There are a lots of tailors in the area and they all try to drag you into their stores. And I guess there must be a lot of Scandinavians coming this way because a lot of them had no problem guessing where I was from just by my looks. If you want to find an Internet connection in the area then it is no problem. In connection with the hotel there is a coffee shop and I think that if you bought something you could use the Internet for free. There are also standard Internet cafés around.

I’m not sure that I have covered it all but I think that this will have to do. To summarise I can say that this is one of the best hotels that I have ever stayed at :-) So if I can get a softer bed the nest time I go there then things will be just perfect.