Intercontinental Hua Hin Resort: A Review from May 2012

TotallyOz · May 31, 2012

First, let me say that the Intercontinental brand is one of my favorites. I keep their top tier status for a reason; they treat me well.

I have seen the hotel in Hua Hin for a while but never been able to stay here for an extended period of time. The boys and I wanted to get away from the hustle and craziness of Bangkok for a few days so we made our way to Hua Hin.

The hotel is fabulous! It is simply amazing. I can't recommend it enough. The pool is incredible. The service is top notch. The daily breakfast buffet is amazing. The restaurants are great and the management is hands on and easy to work with.

We checked into one of their pool suites and the view of the pool and the ocean was right in front of us. We had an oversized balconies that had a full day bed on it where the boys were able to play games, smoke and watch the activities outside.

The hotel is directly on the beach and it is very private and they will even server you food on the beach and take care of you if you wander away from the hotel.

There is a lot to see in Hua Hin and we were able to eat at some great restaurants downtown. The ride to the downtown costs us 100 baht each way via Tuk Tuk. While we did eat out every dinner, we at the hotel for Breakfast and Lunch each day. Normally lunch was served to us at the pool. We became very friendly with the pool bartenders and the boys loved chatting with them.

The price for most rooms at the hotel start at around 6,000 baht per night. You can go up from there. Lunches for the 3 of us normally was around 1800 baht but that was for the drinks and beer we had pool side as well.

If you have a 3rd person in the room, they charge an extra 2,000 baht per night but bring to your room a roll away bed and they include breakfast in that rate. As it is impossible to just sneak someone in and out of this small intimate hotel, I paid for the extra rate for the extra boy that stayed with us.

If you want relaxation, this hotel is amazing. If you want good service, this hotel is great. It is a bit on the pricey side but it is a true little piece of paradise. IMHO

http://www.ichotelsg...ocations/huahin

Rogie · May 31, 2012

small intimate hotel,

That's my preference too, if I decided to stay in a hotel. The photos are really good, and the pool looks a winner. As I mentioned in another thread, next time I visit Hua Hin I will book a holiday rental. They are good value, all the decent ones have their own pool, and you'd get more privacy.

Smiles · June 2, 2012

" ... The hotel is directly on the beach and it is very private and they will even server you food on the beach and take care of you if you wander away from the hotel ... "

The beach in front of the Intercontinental is not private. It's a public beach and the lower classes can quite easily mingle with the upper .... at least on the beach.

Wander a little along the beach and you'll find many umbrella stands which will feed you well ~ and far more tastily ~ at a tenth of the price of the Intercontinental, and more fun as well.

Besides the dozen or so Thai boys which Michael seems to have in tow, the only other Thai folks in the hotel will be those servicing your every need.

Too bad. Hua Hin has much more to experience than just another one of these farang-centric over-priced infinity-pooled so-called 'resorts'. I mean ... heaven forbid one should actually 'wander away' from one's hotel. Do they provide sniffer dogs to round you up and herd you back just in case you get lost in some sand dune?

TotallyOz · June 3, 2012

I guess you have a bad taste in your mouth for someone who chooses to book a hotel that you would not book. Sad. IMHO, it is to each his own. It sounds like you may have a bug up your ass about the Intercontinental. Or, maybe it is just me, not sure.

The comment on the beach being very private was that at no time did anyone bother us while we were there. No salesmen trying to sell anything, just peaceful quite relaxation. It was what I wanted and I was happy to get it. We did wander from the Hotel in each direction along the beach for at least a mile or two each day and mingle with others. We chose to eat at the Intercontinental as it was great food at price that I was willing to pay. Others may not choose to pay and can wander where they wish.

We had 3 very nice dinners in the downtown area. Each were good and we had a great experience in Hua Hin. The last night we ate a seafood restaurant off of the pier area and it was fantastic. It was 90 percent Thais that night. We were with some Thai friends that live in Hua Hin each night and we enjoy wandering out and eating, shopping and spending time in the city. We also enjoyed going to one of the temples.

There is nothing wrong with being will to pay for a nice experience and one that it paid for mostly by Farangs. I had a great time in Hua Hin and am considering going back there for a considerable about of time. There is nothing wrong with a hotel that services your every need. I find it wonderful and I certainly won't apologize for having the ability to stay in the place I want to stay. My other hotels in Hua Hin were Chiva Som and the Holiday Inn near Cha Am. The nerve of me staying in places that other foreigners stay! Wait. I am a foreigner and I don't have a house in Hua Hin and I need to stay in a hotel. Damn it! I forgot all that for a minute.

June 3, 2012

I realise that Smiles is looking at the overall Hua Hin experience and I'd find his comments useful if I was planning a trip. But whilst it is good to have two opinions, its wrong, in my view, to imply criticism of any poster merely because his economic circumstances and what he enjoys doing may be different from one's own.

I've stayed in a lot of great hotels during my career - but mostly because my employers have paid for them! I have also stayed in a lot of guesthouses and B&Bs - and increasingly that will be the case as I start to do less work and the world economy continues to crumble. Wherever I stay, sometimes I want to be adventurous, as you may have noted in my various trip reports; other times I just want to crash for a few days and do little. Others will be different. Each to his own, as Michael said. I don't see anything wrong in that.

Rogie · June 3, 2012

Travellers to Hua Hin are lucky, there is a diverse range of places to stay, owing to it lying on the coast. It was supposedly one of those 'sleepy fishing villages' long long ago so its transformation is entirely due to an influx of outsiders. Many Thai towns and I am thinking of in the Isarn in the main, have a few decent hotels but nothing approaching the style and appeal of the Intercontinental.

I wonder if anybody has stayed at the Sofitel Central Hua Hin Hotel, formerly known as the Hua Hin Railway Hotel? This place has an interesting history and must have been built some time after 1922 when the railway reached Hua Hin.

Bob · June 3, 2012

I wonder if anybody has stayed at the Sofitel Central Hua Hin Hotel, formerly known as the Hua Hin Railway Hotel? This place has an interesting history and must have been built some time after 1922 when the railway reached Hua Hin.

I haven't stayed there before but have been in the place a couple of times. A beautiful place and I'd recommend anybody traveling to Hua Hin take a look at the interior. And I had lunch there once on the front lawn near the ocean and the food was very good and, I'd add, not too expensive (I don't remember the cost but think it was only a few hundred baht).

I took several photos of the place when I was there once but, since I don't belong to a photo site anymore, I can't post them. But, if somebody wants to see a few, PM me and I can figure out something.

As a matter of trivia, immediately in front of the Sofitel are the big rocks in the ocean. "Hua Hin" litterally means "head (as in chief or leading versus your noggin) rock" and that's apparently how the town was named.

Rogie · June 3, 2012

As a matter of trivia, immediately in front of the Sofitel are the big rocks in the ocean. "Hua Hin" litterally means "head (as in chief or leading versus your noggin) rock" and that's apparently how the town was named.

Thanks for the trivia Bob, and whilst it may seem pretty trivial to name a place after a local landmark, that has a nice simplicity to it, and there's nothing wrong with that. It's a bit of a contrast to Bangkok, whose full name in Thai starts with Krungthep . . . and goes on and on. We have a place in north Wales which has the longest place name in Britain and is abbreviated to Llanfair P G . . . , by all except a few folk adept at tonguetwisters!

I asked about the Central Hua Hin Hotel which another poster told us has ditched 'Sofitel' in favour of a new name, but I forget what that is, and to be quite honest I don't really care who owns it, it's the history that appeals to me. The long-serving Lonely Planet author Joe Cummings wrote about it at length in the LP Thailand 5th Edition (1995) where he recalled he'd first stayed there in 1977. Up until some time in the 80's before it was bought and refurbished by a chain it still had a lingering oldie-worldie ambience, probably what we'd call 'colonial' if it'd been Hong Kong or Singapore, but of course Thailand wasn't a colony so we can't use that well worn cliche.

June 4, 2012

The Hua Hun Sofitel has indeed changed its name and it is now managed by the Centara Group. Another piece of trivia. It features in the 1986 movie "The Killing Fields". when it was used as a substitute for, I believe, the famed Caravelle Hotel in Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City where most of the foreign correspondents stayed at that time.

khaolakguy · June 5, 2012

The old Railway Hotel was indeed used as a location for The Killing Fields. In fact the production built the swimming pool there, so that it matched the Hotel Le Royal in Phnom Penh, given the film was set in Cambodia.

June 6, 2012

Thanks for correcting my rather stupid error!

August 21, 2012

Thanks for the review and photos, Michael... I wonder if it was refurbished recently. Looks stunning. Hope you post more reviews like these.

Is the IC Hua Hin popular with Thais? I noticed one of my ex-BFs went there with his family for a holiday looking at his photos. And my current BF's Dad says we should all go down to Hua Hin for a weekend together sometime and mentions this hotel too.

I guess you have a bad taste in your mouth for someone who chooses to book a hotel that you would not book. Sad. IMHO, it is to each his own. It sounds like you may have a bug up your ass about the Intercontinental. Or, maybe it is just me, not sure...

...There is nothing wrong with being will to pay for a nice experience and one that it paid for mostly by Farangs. I had a great time in Hua Hin and am considering going back there for a considerable about of time. There is nothing wrong with a hotel that services your every need. I find it wonderful and I certainly won't apologize for having the ability to stay in the place I want to stay. My other hotels in Hua Hin were Chiva Som and the Holiday Inn near Cha Am. The nerve me staying in places that other foreigners stay! Wait. I am a foreigner and I don't have a house in Hua Hin and I need to stay in a hotel. Damn it! I forgot all that for a minute.

Heh... well said. This does seem to be unfortunate occurrence across the boards. Some people really get a bug up their arse seeing others post about places they wouldn't choose to stay.

Bit sad really. The reality is you have a gorgeous place and a wonderful experience and nothing wrong with it whatsoever, but someone decides they're going to poke holes in it because they resent the people who stay there.

TotallyOz · August 12, 2013

Another recent stay at this hotel confirms that it is one of my favorite hotels in Thailand. The staff is incredible. The pool is the best I have seen and the service is amazing. I highly recommend this place.

Bob · August 12, 2013

As noted above, the beach, although public and not private, is rather beautiful there and quite often you'll see many kite boarders flying up and down the coast doing some rather amazing kite boarding tricks. I watched part of the World Cup Kite Boarding contest in 2010 which was held near the Intercontinetal Hua Hin Hotel and, although I'm not a kite boarder myself, just watching was very colorful and amazing. I'd add a couple of photos....but the option isn't working (I select a photo and then the board uploader says I haven't selected anything).

Rogie · August 12, 2013

I'd add a couple of photos....but the option isn't working (I select a photo and then the board uploader says I haven't selected anything).

Me too, can't upload a photo.

Just in case there's any difference, I tried uploading direct from my photo folder on my PC, rather than via a photo-hosting site.

NB. Post added to comments and suggestions forum.

TotallyOz · December 30, 2014

Review from December 2015 of Intercontinental Hotel in Hua Hin

I have stayed at this hotel many times over the years and I love the service and the attention to detail. The staff is excellent and the Executive Lounge is very nice and had nice offernings at night.

The hotel is still very laid back and easy to rest. I had 2 boys with me for the 10 nights and they both love this hotel. In fact, when I called then to tell then I wanted to spend Xmas in Thailand I asked them which city they wanted to go and what hotel and they both wanted this hotel. I think they like the day beds outside.

The hotel upgraded us to a nice pool terrace and it is like a private pool that is surrounded by shrubs. It is not a big pool but it is easy to get in and relax morning or night in privacy. They also gave us all the VIP room for free which was very nice as the 3rd person does not usually get access for free but they were very kind to upgrade us to the nicer room and VIP room access for all 3 of us.

I only left the hotel a few times over the 10 days as I was there to rest and relax. I love going to the pool at lunch and swimming all day. The boys went out once a day for shopping or to get some Thai food. The rest of the meals we had in the hotel.

I have to say that this hotel is still one of my favorite hotels in all of Thailand. I love the rooms, the staff and the service. On top of our room charges, we spent about 4k baht per day on food and drinks. I think most of that was beer as the boys like Heiniken and Corona. The 5-7 PM Happy Hour offers 2 for 1 and they took advantage fo this often.

The breakfast was amazing and we really enjoyed the variety of food offering and we normally at at one of the tables in the photos below that are inside the water. It is a fun way to start the day and when the manager saw we were awake and heading to breakfast, he tried to reserve one for us.

The beach area in front of the hotel is still very quiet and relaxing. Just down the beach is another area that is full of chairs and jet skis and wind surfers. You can have the best of both worlds.

I felt truly catered to in this hotel and I loved the experience. I highly recommend this hotel to anyone visiting in Hua Hin.