Details:
The Royal city of Hua Hin on the Gulf of Thailand is 185 kilometres south of Bangkok on the west coast of the Gulf of Thailand (safe from tsunamis). Both central Bangkok and Suvarnabhumi airport are just over 2-hours drive. The resort can also be reached by rail, coach, or twice daily flights from Bangkok (45 mins.).

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Hua Hin was originally a small fishing village. With the advent of a railway line from Bangkok and the construction of The Railway Hotel in 1923 (today's Sofitel Central Hua Hin), the town became a popular retreat for the Thai Royal Family, Bangkok's high society, and affluent foreigners.

In 1928, King Rama VII built Klai Kangwon Palace which is still an official royal residence. It is used frequently by members of the royal family and is open to the public for visits.

Hua Hin continued to develop in its own leisurely way, both as an aristocratic resort, and as a fishing port. About ten years ago, Elizabeth Taylor put the area on the map by staying at Chiva-Som Resort and Spa here. Today, the Thai Royal Family continue to holiday at the Summer Palace. Despite its expansive growth and development, Hua Hin has remained a peaceful and relaxed sanctuary. The beach stretches for over 4 km, is rarely overcrowded, and offers clean white sand and crystal blue waters.

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Hua Hin is also recognized as one of Thailand's premier golfing destinations. The first golf course in Thailand was built here in 1924 and there are now 10 international-class golf courses within 40km of the town, including the new Black Mountain course that hosted the town’s first Asian tour event in 2009.

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Hua Hin has a tropical climate with high humidity and occasional rain. It is typically pleasant. Generally, the cool season is from November to February. The hottest months are March thru May. The rainy season begins in June and ends in October; however, since the weather is tropical, the rain outbursts are short and sporadic.

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The Hua Hin Railway Station is Thailand's most beautiful train station. The wooden building used to be a royal pavilion in Sanamchan Palace, Nakhon Pathom province. It was rebuilt at Hua Hin in 1968 to be the royal waiting room.

Hua Hin is a popular place for shopping including contemporary art handicrafts, hand-woven printed cotton, silk weaving, embroidery, basket making, pottery, wood carving, gemstones, and jewelry (including sapphires and rubies). There is also a large shopping mall called Market Village.

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Hua Hin is unlike any other beach resort in Thailand. If you're looking for bright lights and the frantic all-night action of cabarets and discos, you will be disappointed. Most foreign-oriented nightlife is centered on Soi Bintabaht and Soi Selakam, where many typical beer bars are found. There are also the usual discothèques, karaoke bars, live music venues, hotel bars, and even a lady-boy cabaret, the Blue Angel. The pace of nightlife is much slower than in the larger western-oriented towns of Pattaya and Patong, while the proximity to the Royal Palace means that there are no go-go bars.

Hua Hin has three important events; they are:
• Thailand’s International Kite Festival is during March, April and May and features stunt kites, big kites, little kites, high tech kites, traditional Thai kites, and displays of international kites. This festival is held only every other year, the next being in 2010.
• Hua Hin Jazz Festival. June is the time of the year when 'jazz on the beach' happens at the annual Hua Hin Jazz Festival. The popular event attracts world class jazz musicians from Thailand and all over the world.
• Hua Hin Vintage Car Rally. Hoteliers, the Vintage Car Club of Thailand, and the Tourism Authority of Thailand annually sponsor a 'parade' of vintage and classic cars starting at the Sofitel Central in Bangkok and ending in at the Sofitel Central Hua Hin Resort. The cars, with drivers and passengers decked out in 1920's attire, make the 185-km promenade in December of each year. The festivities culminate with a 1920's party at the Sofitel, which appropriately is a Victorian-style structure built in the 1920s.

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Hua Hin is small enough that one can wander for hours without the need of motor transportation. Most hotels are no more than few minutes walk to the beach, the market, or a friendly restaurant; and there are many good restaurants. The town is famed for its fresh seafood which is in abundance at the Night Market, restaurants, and hotel restaurants. Naresdamri Road is a favored place due to its inexpensive restaurants and romantic sea-views. This area is the site of the Hua Hin Fishing Harbor and in the early morning, fresh-out-of-the-water seafood can be snapped up. The best value and tastiest food can frequently be found from the street hawkers; it’s hygienic and safe to eat.

While Thai and Chinese seafood reign here, there are also many restaurants offering everything from pizza and pasta, to tandoori chicken, meat pies, and other popular international dishes, and several ex-pat-owned bars and restaurants also serve a full English breakfast and traditional Sunday lunch.

Enough details? ...I’ve left the best detail for last: the Rest Detail Hotel.

Yes, it’s a strange name, but if the details turn out to be right, I could really get a rest. So often, they aren’t, but we will see.

The new Mercedes picked me up at my home in Bangkok three minutes early. Now that is really rather amazing. You see, Thailand seems to operate on a different clock from most of us. When I ask my students to say what Thai trait irritates tourists more than any other, they always say, “Because we are always late.”

You won’t believe this but Bangkok’s traffic is worse than almost anywhere else in the world, and it affects everyone. The traffic is controlled by policemen who sit in glass booths at most major intersections and push the green, yellow, and red buttons that control the lights. After observing for many years, I can sense little evidence that any of them have ever driven in traffic themselves, and inevitably wait for three or more minutes before remembering that a button needs to be pushed. So traffic backs up for hours…and everyone has a perfect excuse (so they think) for being late. Some of us have learned how to adjust our travels and arrive on time, but it is a foreign concept.

So the early arrival of the Mercedes was a clear indication that this might very well turn out to be a really restful holiday on the beach at Hua Hin.

We arrived in less than two hours with nary a lurch or squeal of tires!

Four staff met our car: wais, bows, and smiles; lots of smiles.

Someone scooted off with our luggage, someone else asked me simply to sign my name, Khun Nok—the one with the widest smile—suggested lunch.

A pink Campari and soda, next to the long, greeny-blue, infinity pool whose tiles perfectly match the adjoining ocean, and we were in heaven. The rest is in the details: clean lines, sophisticated design, spots of color like a cobalt blue water glass juxtaposed with an emerald green one. Menus of carefully-paired dishes and drinks, instant service, and always 5-star smiles. We picked crab-claw salads; the basket of warm breads came with several dips—unusual, exciting. Lovely lunch.

Khun Nok gave us a tour of the property. There are 54 accommodations ranging from nice simple rooms called Rest Green to a very grand pavilion. I’ve included a couple of photos but you need to go to the website to appreciate how lovely this resort really is. You also should book through the website to take advantage of their Yield Management Pricing.

Back through the airy lobby, we were shown to one of the best rooms, at the top of the house with an uninterrupted panoramic view of the Gulf of Siam — a “Rest Horizon” room.

The Gulf is protected from the uncertain vagaries of the Indian Ocean and the Andaman Sea (think tsunamis) by the landmass of Thailand as it makes its way down to Malaysia. Land values since Dec 26, 2004 have tripled in Koh Samui and on the other islands in the Gulf, and have made Hua Hin an even more discerning choice than it has always been.

I love the fanciful tiles in our bathroom.

I love even more the proper water pressure, the overhead “rain” shower, as well as the variable spray, handy shower. Don’t you hate it when the bath towel is on a rail on the opposite side of the room? Well, here they have big, shower-door handles that put the towels in arms reach. The rest is in the details!

Almost unnoticed, what with the view, a big, square Jacuzzi burbles on the terrace. Oh yes!

One niggle:
• The cabinetry—expensively custom-made—reminds me of maid’s room furniture…I don’t think everyone is going to get it that is it supposed to be distressed!

But many pluses:
• The bed is as good as any Four Seasons; in fact the over-mattress is better, and the custom linens have a wonderfully-high thread count.
• There are two enormous pillows for watching the sunset; even the standard pillows are overstuffed (maybe a little too much for me). Bring your baby pillow, Gretchen.
• I couldn’t get the iPod to work…one phone call and 3 minutes later, yet another 5-star staff was there and fixed it.
• The next morning as the sun was coming up; I thought I was dreaming about sleeping outside…it was the ceiling. Cute idea!

We dined at the main pool our first evening. Kir Royales (we were in Hua Hin after all), tender fillets of beef, amazingly cheap prices!

We went to bed early; tomorrow was going to be a big day…we were moving to number 507 at the Pool Village, a truly beautiful spot at this fascinating place with all the details!

Breakfast is in Rest Gastro; sunny yellow décor; love the striped fabrics! The buffet is enormous, anything you want is available, and the smiles are ever present.

We moved to the Pool Village. The room was perfect—built-in furnishings of the highest quality, expensive construction, great care in the detailing.

The only thing I wasn’t sure about were the frosted glass walls between the bathroom and the bedroom—turning on the bathroom lights in the middle of the night might wake one’s partner.

Of course, out the sliding glass door is a shaded porch for reading Issy Sharp’s new book on the story of the Four Seasons, or for sipping sundowners; the lush planting ensures privacy.

Beyond the porch is a pool as big as a pond. Each bungalow has its own umbrella’d “dock” with sun beds.

The “pond” has two depths; one slides into water about a foot deep before pushing off to swim in about four feet of water.

Khun Nok had arranged a 90-minute spa treatment for each of us at “Restfully Yours,” the resort’s immaculate spa sanctuary, and we emerged totally rejuvenated.

The fantasy doesn’t stop here. Khun Nok said the team had planned something special for us tonight. They call it Dining by Design. We met on the beach at 8 p.m. Three pavilions had been erected, each festooned with white linen that floated on the sea breeze; two were for decoration, the middle one was for us.

A cook flourished over a stainless bar-b-que, a butler poured the wine, and we sat to a feast of the freshest seafood one can imagine.

The resort’s logo is the famous three monkeys: “hear no evil, see no evil, and speak no evil.” There sure wasn’t any evil at Rest Detail Hotel, quite the opposite; so like “Monkey see, Monkey do,” do what we did—GO! You’ll love it!

All the best,
Uncle Ted

Final detail:
Thai National, Mr. Jakri Rujirat, is the General Manager. A graduate of Lycée Privé Technique de Hôtelier Sainte-Anne, France, Jakri has worked at Four Seasons (Chiang Mai), Chedi, Anantara, Novotel, and Shangri-La. Let him take care of the details...you rest.

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