Where I Stayed in Hua Hin: Anantara Resort and Spa Hua Hin

As a birthday gift to my aunt who just turned 70, I wanted to give something special to her. Since she loves to travel as I do, I booked a 4-day stay in Anantara Resort and Spa Hua Hin in Thailand for us including my cousin. I also booked a spa treatment for her as part of the gift which she really loved! We all have never been to this seaside town of Thailand so that was a first for all of us. As I was already in Thailand before they came, I met them at Bangkok airport and as soon as we found each other (there was a long queue at the immigration line they said), we started our long journey to Hua Hin via a private transfer that I booked in advance. The journey was uneventful but very very tiring. It took us more than 4 hours to get to Hua Hin, it’s supposed to be only 3 hours they said but the traffic was horrendous. We arrived at the resort and was greeted by a huge number of guests. The guest to staff ratio was 5:2 so we basically waited for a looong time to be checked in. Well actually, I didn’t wait – I figured that since there was no line whatsoever I’d have to approach one of the staff myself to be checked-in and took her about 45 minutes to do so. I can’t blame her though as it’s not really her fault that all of the guests checked-in at the same time. I was too tired to even bother with the refreshments that they gave us just when we finished our check-in procedure, all I wanted was to go to our room and take a quick rest before we ventured out.

We were led to our room which I found quite small. It was a deluxe garden view room with an extra bed. The extra bed probably made the room all the more smaller. They’ve provided a fruit basket which consists of a few pieces of banana, lol. There was a sliding door which leads to our own balcony with sunbeds. The bathroom was small as well and needs renovation. The tiles look dirty and there were molds on the ceiling of our bathroom. It didn’t really bother me much as it’s being cleaned properly anyway everyday. The room was nicely decorated in a typical Thai design – dark wood floors which somehow gives out a very homey ambiance. They do provide a lot of amenities inside your room – hair dryer, dvd player, room slippers, bath robes, umbrellas and the likes but what really caught my attention was the fact that they’ve provided an adaptor inside the room. I have never stayed in a hotel which provides this for you instantly, I usually have to ask from the reception with a deposit amount of course. The bed was very comfortable and they are very generous with their pillows – as previously mentioned, I love pillows!!!! 🙂

On our way to the room – lush garden.

Our twin beds, the extra bed has not been added yet at the time.

The welcome fruit basket. Lol.

Our garden view balcony.

The resort grounds is to die for! It looks like a typical Thai village with the nicely decorated buildings with the pointed corners on their roof which blends perfectly to the environment of the resort. A huge well-maintained lawn, foot bridges, ponds, palm trees, and the beach right in front of you – you’d think that you’ve walked in a film set. The only thing that I didn’t like was the mosquitoes in this resort which is not really their fault. With the ponds and the lush garden that they have – it is inevitable.

Anantara is a beachfront property although the beach isn’t that great. It was too shallow and a little dirty. We actually did not swim at the beach since you’d have to walk far out to the sea if you’d like to go for a swim. We basically just stayed in one of the sunbeds that they have with the view of the sea in front of us.

The resort has two pools, the main one was in the middle of the resort surrounded by a garden and it’s the bigger of the two. It also has a pool bar that you can swim to where my cousin and I played chess, they’ve got mini versions of board games including backgammon and chess. 🙂 Sunbeds was not a problem for us when we were there as there were lots of it surrounding the main pool but we were there during an off season so it might be totally different story during the high season. The other pool was in the lagoon area overlooking a pond, it’s an infinity pool which gives out the idea that you are swimming in a pond. It’s lovely and more remote. It’s best for people who’d love to get a tan as it’s facing the west hence gets most of the afternoon sunshine compared to all the other areas of this resort.

Breakfast is served at Issara Cafe, the buffet spread offers you a wide variety of brunch dishes and they do change their menu everyday. I said brunch because the food served will probably fill you until mid-day. 🙂

Alex the parrot, always there for breakfast entertaining the kid in me. Lol.

The service we’ve received from all the staff of this resort was excellent! I must admit that I was quite disappointed on our first day during check-in but it was immediately gone the same night. The waitress at the bar where I usually spend my evenings to have a glass of bailey’s and of course to use their free wi-fi which is only accessible from the lobby was very accommodating. I’ve spent most of my evenings there and on my last night, she immediately asked me if I’d like to have the “usual”. If that’s not personalized service, then tell me what is. 🙂 The two lovely concierge desk staff – Phung and one other guy who I forgot the name, shame on me! They were both extremely helpful and knowledgeable of the points of interest that we must visit while in Hua Hin. There was no request that they were unable to deliver and no question that’s been left unanswered. I was planning to book a tour for us but unfortunately there was no tour suitable for us that we can join. The guy at the concierge arranged a private car for us to bring us to the places that we’d like to visit and he even added some other points of interest that we may like. It was a great itinerary that he prepared for us and the driver that he provided was also topnotch and very professional. The concierge staff really made our stay a perfect short holiday.

Will I ever go back to this resort? Oh yes definitely! They may have some drawbacks when it comes to the state of their room but it’s not that big of a deal that it will ruin your entire holiday – well at least not for us. The service we’ve received from their staff was far more important for me than anything else. It’s highly recommended if you ever find yourself in Hua Hin.

For more photos, please do visit my Facebook page: Pinay Flying High