It
was a late summer holiday for us in 2014, so we decided to splurge a little and
head to Thailand rather than sticking closer to home in Europe. Thanks to the
incredible Megan from Flight Centre Havelock North (New Zealand), we sorted a
fantastic deal at the luxurious Anantara resort in Hua Hin, sandwiched between a night at Bangkok
either end. Not so much independent travel this time, as all organised for us
so we could just chill out.
Bangkok
was hot and hectic, a welcome contrast to the early days of autumn in London.
We didn’t have long there, but spent an evening wandering along the Khao San
Road (enjoying our first massage of the week) and the better part of a day
exploring the Grand Palace and Wat Pho (reclining Buddha). Both were extremely
interesting and beautiful, but hot, hot, hot, and not much shade or refreshment
options – so go prepared!
Taxis
and tuk tuks are cheap so they’re an easy way to get around, but do not
underestimate the amount of traffic! We had to rush a little to meet our
transfer to Hua Hin after a day sightseeing.
Hua
Hin is a peaceful beachside town, the choice of the Royal family for their
holidays. There was lots of excitement while we were there with the Royal
family heading down for a visit and locals lining the streets dressed in yellow
– the royal colour – to welcome them.
The Anantara Hua Hin was like paradise to us, particularly as it wasn’t high season so was
fairly quiet. We’d opted for a slightly more expensive Lagoon Room pool which
came with exclusive access to a smaller secluded pool area, the option to have
breakfast delivered to our room (which we did, pretty much every day, on our
balcony overlooking a picturesque pond), free transport in and out of the town
a few kms down the road, and best of all a daily afternoon tea which was
essentially an hour of all you can eat and drink – so we had our fill of
cocktails and nibbles while chatting to other Lagoon Room guests and making
some new friends.
Days
were spent lazing by one of the pools, but if we’d wanted to we could have
explored the nearby vineyards, temples or golf courses. We did spend an
excellent half day doing a Thai cooking course. We were
collected from the hotel, joined the others on the course (there were only 8 of
us) at the food market and shopped for the ingredients we’d need that day,
learning about some of the different vegetables and things like palm sugar and
fresh coconut milk, before heading to the house where the lesson took place.
After a refreshing drink, we learnt how to make thai red curry paste (and then a pork curry with it),
chicken and cashews (which we've made at home already!), delicious Papaya
salad, then unforgettable mango and sticky rice.
Most
evenings after getting our fill of the boozy ‘afternoon tea’ we got the hotel
shuttle into Hua Hin and got a massage from Thai Thai (a full body Thai massage
for about £5, and no silly businesses) then either wandered the night market
(open every night with stalls selling food and trinkets) or got our fill at one
of the excellent waterfront restaurants. All cheap, cheerful, and delicious. On
our final night, we joined the locals at a kickboxing match. The hotel staff
had recommended the night to go as it was a big match on, visitors from a UK
club v the locals. They were very welcoming of tourists, setting us up at the
best ring-side table and getting us both in the ring to give the fighters
necklaces of marigolds before they began each fight.
A
few more notes on the Anantara:
-
breakfast was standard buffet stuff, plenty of range, not the best hotel
breakfast we've ever had which was one of the reasons we were happy to have it
in our room most of the time. Towards the end of breakfast time (which is when
our alarm would go off!) things weren't replenished and the fresh bars (eg the guys
making omlettes) were closing down well before the time ended. However, the
in-room menu was confusing, and so most days we ended up with two of everything
we ordered (yes, two steaks, two stacks of pancakes, and two fruit salads...).
Since this was included in our room rate already we didn’t mind, but it was
pretty wasteful since we couldn’t eat it all – honest!
-
staff were lovely, polite and accommodating
-
the main pool was impressive, it was one huge pool that included shallow areas
for kids and a really deep area which was nice as most hotel pools don't have
that. It had a standard swim up bar and pool-side service etc, and lots of
loungers and towels
-
there was a kids' club (that we didn't explore!)
- This
hotel isn’t really ideal if you want to spend loads of time sunbathing on the
beach or swimming in the sea. The beach on the resort was pretty stony and only
a small strip. After a rainstorm there were lots of jellyfish too. Good for a
stroll but not if you're a beach lover.
- we
only ate dinner at the Anantara once, pretty good Thai food at close to London
prices (£10 for a main). Beware the Thai mojito complete with chilli!
- the main bar didn't seem to be in use any of
the time we were there which was a shame as they were set up for a live band. This
is probably because it was off-season, but it would have been nice to end each
night with a drink there.
- before our trip we contacted the hotel about
the best way to get from Bangkok to Hua Hin. They recommended a private car but
then we saw they had a 'luxury van' option from their Bangkok hotel so we did
that. Ostensibly it's at a set time but as we were the only ones needing it, we
managed to choose what time we left. It was a big air conditioned mini-van with
nice touches like the day's newspapers and a chilli bin with cold drinks. The
cost was £14pp each way for a 2-3 hr journey, so it good value and allowed
comfort and flexibility that the train wouldn’t have.
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| Relaxed! |
