Dateline: February, 2008; Hua Hin, Thailand
A 14–minute read.

It’s the end of the rainy season; the last fell this morning, softly waking me under the white mosquito netting. Then the sun came out and the diamonds on the water of the Gulf of Thailand sparkled through the palms. I’m 30 minutes south of Hua Hin, a 3-hour drive, or a short shuttle flight, southwest from Bangkok.

Hua Hin was Thailand’s first beach resort. Its rail connection to Bangkok, completed in 1911, made the 190-km journey a manageable, seaside excursion. In 1922 and 1923, King Rama VI commissioned a nine-hole golf course, and Prince Purachatra built the colonial-style Railroad Hotel. In 1926, Prince Chulachakrabongse built a royal summer palace called Klai Klangwon (“far from worries”) and the future of the town was ensured.

The Summer Palace

The palace is still used by the Royal Family, and Bangkokians, who wouldn’t be seen dead in seedy Pattaya—well known for its tacky bars and equally tacky tourists, and also an easy drive southeast from the capital—enjoy Hua Hin for this royal connection, the golf courses, the cuisine atop the ocean-side Hilton (the Queen’s favorite Chinese restaurant), and the wonderfully old-fashioned Railroad Hotel now relabeled the Sofitel Central Hotel.

Sofitel Central

But the real draw has always been the five kilometer-long beach that extends north and south from the town. Quite frankly that’s rather strange because, in general, Asians don’t go in the sea nor sun on the beach, but they do like to be in a seaside town and look at the water from an air-conditioned terrace. That’s a good thing because the famous Khwae Yai River (River Kwai) dumps its garbage into the Gulf of Thailand north of Hua Hin and the tides have eliminated much of the beach in many areas.

But the town is often packed, especially on weekends. There are good restaurants like the “Hi-So” (as in high society) Let’s Sea, and a great variety of guest houses and hotels to satisfy most tastes, including some excellent 5-star gems on the remaining beach like the Anantara and the Sofitel Central, and the spa made famous by Elizabeth Taylor et al—Chiva-Som. Finally, other than the extensive night market, there is little night life, and that suits most Thai visitors to Hua Hin just fine.

But, for the likes of me, the answer is to pass it by and head for one of the most delightful and isolated resorts on this part of the Gulf—the Six Senses Hideaway Hua Hin, tucked away in Pranburi, 30 minutes further south.

Reception

There isn’t much beach here either but there is great comfort, equally great food, and even better service!

Six Senses Hideaway Hua Hin is managed by Six Senses Resorts & Spas who have developed and operate unique properties in Maldives, Oman, Thailand, Vietnam, Spain, and Fiji under the brand names Soneva, Six Senses Hideaway, Six Senses Latitude, and Evason; plus Six Senses Spas and Six Senses Destination Spas.

To better understand the company, one needs to understand its brands.

Soneva is a beyond-stars brand of resorts whose ‘Intelligent Luxury’ positioning statement promises luxuries of the highest international standard together with a sensitivity and local feel in design, architecture, and personal service. A Soneva has between forty and seventy-five accommodations. Furnishings and finishes are crafted from renewable or sustainable sources, while ample personal space, exceptional and inspired service, and the fusion of nature with guest experiences reward all the human senses—touch, taste, sound, sight, smell; thus creating a sense beyond—the sixth sense. A good example is the award-winning Soneva Fushi in the Maldives.

Soneva Fushi Retreat

Six Senses Hideaway identifies the private-pool-villa category of the Six Senses brand. Attention to detail and focus on the reality of the destination is the driving force, together with a focused commitment to the environment. Service levels at Six Senses Hideaways are very high, with pool butlers exemplifying the personal attention offered to every guest. Dining and refreshment services cover international and locally-inspired cuisine and a large selection of vintages from around the world. A Six Senses Spa is a key component of a Six Senses Hideaway.

Evason is a five-star category with a greater number of accommodations than Six Senses Hideaways while still maintaining attention to detail and generous proportions. They embrace the philosophy of providing modern luxuries both in accommodation and facilities while taking exceptional care of the environment. This blend of innovative concepts, together with a Six Senses Spa, make them fashionable urban oases and desirable destinations in themselves, supporting the Evason theme—‘Redefining Experiences.’

Six Senses Spas, a key element of all Six Senses properties, offer a wide range of holistic wellness, rejuvenation, and beauty treatments for ‘Balancing Senses.’ Six Senses Spa therapists take guests on exhilarating sensory journeys through many forms of holistic healing and wellbeing. Spa products are made only from natural ingredients, in harmony with the environment.

Finally, Six Senses Gallery is the retail division of the group, and an outlet is to be found at most Soneva, Six Senses Hideaway, and Evason properties. The galleries offer a range of unique products specifically sourced and created from environmentally friendly materials.

From the very beginning, the company’s core purpose has been to create innovative and enriching experiences in a sustainable environment. From the very beginning, they have combined the yellow sun with the blue sea in innovative and responsible ways; and as everyone knows, yellow and blue make green! And besides winning awards worldwide by providing memorable experiences, they have also turned almost every other resort development and management company green…with envy! (Awards: http://www.sixsenses.com/corporate/awards.php)

I sit up in bed and take in our room. The woodwork, scarred and rustic (is it really recycled?) is the tone of limed oak. Inside, the room feels like Nantucket; outside, it’s pure tropical paradise. The drawers’ handles are bronze stars—I told you this place was award-winning! The décor is all écru—calm, restful. There is no artwork on the walls and no magazines in sight, just pure simplicity and solitude. The bed is in the center of the room; the exposed roof soars.

On the other side of the tall headboard wall are twin basins and clove soap.

Have you ever tried clove soap? I brought some home; besides being green (brown actually, but you know what I mean), its scent transports me back to my pool villa at Six Senses each time I wash my hands—so magic! Opposite the basins is an enclosed toilet with three rolls on the holder, and an enclosed shower whose outside glass wall looks out on a tiled garden and outdoor shower.

Pool Villa

Out the sliding glass doors in front of the bed is a sunken bathtub and across a smooth terrace, the private, infinity pool beyond. Tucked into the corner of this—your own piece of cultivated jungle—is a sala whose roof inside is layered with exotic leaves, and outside is trimmed with bamboo gutters. There are two wide daybeds piled with pillows and a large rustic table for drinks or dinner. Twin sun beds, a large umbrella, and a glass-topped, round dining table and chairs on the wrap-around terrace complete the villa. The whole thing is surrounded by tall, adobe-like walls—perfect.

Pool Villa Sala

As I teach the Resort Development and Management course at Bangkok University International College, I am fascinated by Six Senses. Fairness, integrity, and trust guides their dealings with employees, partners and clients—the Golden Rule. The properties are run by talented and experienced General Managers who are entrepreneurial and bring initiative to their responsibility. In order for this to work, each General Manager is allowed significant freedom and autonomy. Most importantly, everything is done in harmony with the environment and the cultural surroundings. Employees who interact with guests are referred to as hosts, and are encouraged to care for each guest on their own initiative. That’s ‘empowerment,’ and it works! Even more inspiring, each resort contributes financial and human resources to help better the environment and the community in which they operate. Greener and greener!

Anna is our host, and as we open the door to go to breakfast, she is coming down the little lane with our newspaper. We chat as the maid arrives and opens a hidden door in the wall. Inside, immaculate shelves of fluffy, white terry towels, a huge air-conditioning plant, and an 80-gallon hot water heater…all just for our villa. Now that’s intelligent luxury!

A few paces away is The Living Room. It consists of the Guest Relations office, the Library, the Six Senses Gallery, the Wine Cellar, and the Restaurant and Bar. Just beyond, perched on the edge of the sunken sala with dining booths, were two Thai musicians whose traditional instruments turned breakfast into something quite different.

Breakfast is a big buffet augmented by cooks making omelets and stir-frying native dishes. The tables were set with colorful placemats and stainless steel flatware made in Chiang Mai. Tan had an Asian breakfast; I had a ham and cheese omelet. I couldn't see any salt or pepper on the table, so I sprinkled a pinch of what looked like a mixture of salt, pepper, and spice from the little coconut bowl on our table. WRONG! It was filled with sand and ashes—an ASHTRAY!

Who would have thought there’d be an ashtray? That’s not very green in my book.

From the beginning, Six Senses has been committed to sustainable development; specifically protection and regeneration of both the environment and communities in which they operate. Their check list includes:
• Reduce resources consumption and waste generation through responsible waste reducing policies, reusing, recycling and composting programmes;
• Systematic management of energy use and consumption, and to apply, where possible, renewable energy uses;
• Effective management of water resources and waste water;
• Promote awareness of sustainability to hosts, guests, local communities, as well as suppliers/business partners through environmental awareness and capacity development efforts and events;
• Contribute a significant part of revenue to establish a Social and Environmental Responsibility Fund to benefit the local, national, and global community;
• Address the issue of climate change through both energy management, as part of resource management policies, and avoidance of fugitive emission of CFCs;
• Develop action plans as well as regularly monitor social and environmental impacts through regular environmental meetings, monitoring, and updating of Key Sustainability Indicators (KSIs) database;
• Prevent any escape of hazardous substances into the environment and to phase out environmentally damaging products as benign alternatives as practicable;
• Purchase local, environmentally friendly, socially responsible products, especially organic and fair trade products;
• Strictly avoid the use of animal products derived using unnecessarily cruel or environmentally destructive production methods or those derived from any endangered species;
• Engage local communities and actively employ local staff and service providers wherever practicable;
• Integrate social and environmental concerns into planning and decision making processes;

Green Globe, the international certification body that developed environmentally responsible benchmarking for resort construction, accommodation, and operations is developing Sector Benchmarking Indicators (SBI) for spa operation using Six Senses as model. These Sector Benchmarking Indicators for Spa Operations will be the first eco-label for the global spa industry. The many benchmarking indicators, which include all aspects of water usage and energy efficiency, will become the integral part of the Green Globe Sector Benchmarking Indicators for spa operations.

Fully committed to this sponsored programme, every Six Senses Spa will enroll for Green Globe Affiliation, with the aim to be Green Globe Benchmarked by end 2008. With this commitment, Six Senses Spas takes a leading role in the spa industry as an environmentally responsible spa operator.

After breakfast, we wander to the ocean; not much beach here either. However, adjacent to the property is the Evason Hua Hin & Six Senses Spa with beach chairs set along the sea wall and a huge swimming pool filled with blonds—a group from Scandahoovia staying a week. The resort is set amongst 20 acres of beautifully landscaped, tropical gardens filled with lotus ponds and waterways, facing the Gulf.

We stick our heads in the Earth Spa—quite amazing.

Earth Spa

We visit the sleek fitness center, and have a look at The Restaurant and The Other Restaurant.

‘The Restaurant’

Back at our villa, Anna had hooked up the Wi-Fi modem. I checked my mail as Tan did a few laps, then I settled in the sala to read ‘The King Never Smiles, A Biography of Thailand’s Bhumibol Adulyadej.’ I ordered it from Amazon and was surprised it cleared Customs. The King has just turned 80 and is remarkable and revered by all.

As the sky turned almost as purple as my prose, we changed for dinner and went to The Living Room for a drink. The drinks menu lists a Mai Tai with Myers rum. Wow, the only place I can get Myers is at the Duty Free in Singapore’s Changi airport. I told the bartender to hold the Grenadine and put in an extra shot of Myers.

It was white Barcardi! He’d never heard of Myers. Phooey. I made a note to tell the GM not to make promises he couldn’t keep. Hey kids, even paradise isn’t always perfect. There’s no CNN in the villa either.

We walked to ‘The Other Restaurant’ and sat at a table on the edge of a lily pond. Only two other tables were occupied. The waitress brought the menus…encased in steel covers. She said they were so heavy, she could only carry two at a time. I wondered, “Why not aluminum or green-friendly paper?”

‘The Other Restaurant’

We ordered the House red, very drinkable, and enjoyed a tasting of:
Tian of seared ahi tuna with cumin and spiced lentils, roasted artichoke hearts, and marinated mushrooms.
Pink roasted duck breast rolled with goat cheese and coriander with a salad of crispy duck, rocket, and pine nuts drizzled with citrus duck au jus.
Tournedos encrusted with spicy cumin paste served on pont-neuf potatoes with madras sauce and balsamic reduction.
Carpaccio of snow fish with red pepper salsa, wasabi drizzle, white truffle oil, and caramelized mango. All absolutely marvelous!

The next evening we ate in one of the sunken salas at The Living Room. Neat.

Sunken Sala

I ordered a Martini on the rocks...one olive, no rocks, same bartender. (There’s a good bartending school opposite Pantip Plaza in BKK; send him!)

It’s a pretty wonderful experience to stay in a luxurious resort where the only niggles are one inexperienced, but very friendly, bartender, and the lack of CNN. Most people come here to get away from the world...I’d get rid of the whole TV!

This is a place of special attention. Just one example is the bedding. The linens are lovely and the bed is perhaps the most comfortable ever! But I don’t know how it compares to the ones at The Seiyo, my favorite haunt in Tokyo...

From The Wall Street Journal last week:
“Guests at Hotel Seiyo Ginza in Tokyo can experience the ‘deepest and soundest sleep’ on Japan’s most expensive bed: Sealy’s $13,360 ‘Edinburgh’ mattress in a premier suite with four types of posture pillows at $1820 a night.”

Speaking of pillows, Six Senses Hideaway has a MENU of pillow choices.

Speaking of choices: George Lane, an old friend, was dating Miriam Rothschild some sixty-five years ago. He called at her home, Waddesdon Manor (with 124 bedrooms).

Waddesdon Manor

The butler showed him into the library and asked he’d like coffee or tea.
George said, “Tea.”
The butler asked, “English breakfast, Darjeeling, or Lapsang souchong?”
George said, “English Breakfast.”
The butler asked, “Milk or lemon?”
George said, “Milk.”
The butler asked, “Guernsey, jersey, or shorthorn?”
Too astonished to answer, George said, “Yes!”

From the Pillow Menu at Six Senses Hideaway:
“We are pleased to offer a range of pillows to assist in ensuring you a good night’s sleep. Specially we offer a selection of buckwheat pillows. For centuries people in the Orient have used buckwheat hulls in pillows to prevent and relieve pain, improve sleep, and soothe sore muscles.*

There were tickable boxes in front of each of the following:

Buckwheat comfort roll – relieves pain, headaches & tension

Buckwheat crescent pillow – supports the head, relieving stress on the neck

Buckwheat miracle pillow – forms itself to your contours, wake up revitalized & refreshed

Buckwheat rejuvenator deluxe – snap fasteners mean that you adjust this pillow to what best fits you

Air pillow – offers head & neck alignment

Butterfly pillow – hour glass shape ensures the neck remains in the correct position

Body pillow – This pillow between your knees will align your back

Isotonic pillow – temperature sensitive, incredible comfort

Linear gravity pillow – assists providing an overall feeling of better health through better breathing and better posture

Snore reduction pillow – need we say anymore (sic) …

Water base/mediflow pillow – adjusts to changes in sleeping position while supporting the head and neck

Feather pillow – the old favourites are sometimes the best.

Tick the pillow you require and leave this on your bed. We will bring your pillow when we tidy up in the evening.”

On the other side were 18 other options from Additional pillows to a Yoga mat...George would have said, “Yes!”

Speaking of ticking, isn’t the cloth that is used to cover pillows called ‘ticking?’ (Not these pillows!)

There was no knife on the menu...many years ago I had a Jamaican butler in my first home in London. He often complained about a sore back and used to put a knife under his mattress “to kill the pain.” If only I had known about Buckwheat...at least Eddie Murphy would have made him laugh!

Eddie Murphy as “Buckwheat”

*I Googled Buckwheat Pillows: “Traditional pillows don't work because they have ‘reverse technology’ providing too much filling in the middle where you actually need less and not enough filling at the edge where you need more to support your neck. No wonder you can't get comfortable when you try to sleep!”

You don’t need to try to sleep at Six Senses Hideaway Hua Hin...it is so beautiful, brilliantly engineered, and gloriously comfortable that one simply shakes one's head, closes one's eyes, and surrenders on cloud nine in seventh heaven. On top of that, being in Thailand, one is cosseted by the most caring people in the universe.

Go, it’s the greenest! Website

All the best,

Uncle Ted

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