Muerz

MODERATOR'S NOTE: This thread begins with a discussion of the old Marriott Hua Hin, which was bulldozed in 2014 and replaced with a new hotel. Discussions of the new hotel begin around post #58 in this thread.

Bruce
Moderator
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Any information available on this one? How does it compare to the other chain hotels there? How about pools and food? Any comparison with the other Marriott resorts in Thailand?

Muerz

lorribarnes

Last September we were in Hua Hin and visited the Marriott. It is a lovely property with wonderfull gardens and grounds. It is on a small beach. The hotel is very Thai authentic. We stayed at the Hilton on an award but the grounds were MUCH nicer at the Marriott. The Hilton treated us like Kings. Have fun. Lorri

Sweet Willie

two things.

Hua Hin is much closer to Bangkok, this area in the Gulf of Thailand is not always the cleanest water.

Try a search in FT Marriott section, for the JW Marriott in Phuket, now that is a resort!.

verstein

I second Sweet Willie the Phuket JW is a 5* resort all the way!

Phil

Phuket gets all the attention as Thailand's premium seaside resort. But if you are travelling in Thailand, Hua Hin and the Marriott there are worth staying at as well. Located on the AndamanSea (Gulf of Thailand), Marriott's Hua Hin resort is set in beautiful gardens, and is directly on the beach, quite near the king's summer palace. Having just returned from there, I found the value extraordinary for this luxury resort..... where rooms went for as little as $70. There are many outstanding Thai seafood restaurants in Hua Hin, most notably Char Li, which you might wish to experience as well.

Sanguan

Hua Hin is also my fav. Only 2 hrs drive from BKK.

Sweet Willie

yes the rooms are cheap, but the ocean/beach is not as clean/pristine as in the Phuket areas.

[This message has been edited by Sweet Willie (edited 08-24-2002).]

liege168

Has anyone stayed at the JW in Hua Hin, Thailand? The pictures look nice. Is the location close to "downtown"? Do they shuttle back and forth from BKK? Are the rooms with seaview worth the extra money? Any other experince is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Richard1148

We didn't stay at the Marriott in Hua Hin but did recently stay at the Hyatt and can answer a few questions. The Marriott is about a 10-15 minute walk to downtown (much closer than the Hyatt). It takes 2.5 to 3 hours to get to Hua Hin from BKK. I don't think that the Marriott would have any type of shuttle, but there are several car service agencies in BKK that will take you there for approx $50 depending on the type of car you want. You can also book ahead online, which is what we did. We used Ken Diamond Tours. We had the same driver both ways - he was on time and a good driver.

Phil

I have stayed in the Marriott Hua Hin. It is an excellent hotel, set in particularly beautiful gardens and pools.Our room was spacious. Service, as one might except, is first rate. We enjoyed all the hotel facilities; the restaurant offered semi-open air dining. Hua Hin itself has some excellent seafood restaurants which are well worth searching out. The King's summer palace is very close to the Marriott.

This Marriott is a gem, and an exceptional value.

liege168

Thanks for the input. Looks like it's a good choice.

LH738

What about the beach?
Sand? Rocks? Clean?

What about the water?
Sand? Rocks? Seagrass?

ORDLEO

I have stayed at Marriott Hua Hin Resort and Spa last month but did not have good experience . Because I had very good experience at Marriott Phuket Resort and Spa earlier this year so I had high expectation with this hotel (from the hotel's website photos, room looked similar to Phuket's). I booked 2 nights using Marriott's website with Visa promotion (free breakfast). Upon arrival, I received welcome drink. I showed my Marriott Silver card and was escorted to a room at 3rd floor end at the main building. The room has no view whatsoever (not even the pool). I think you will need to be on 5th floor or higher to get some ocean view. When I was escorted by the hostess to my room, the bathroom was still being repaired by 2 workers. It took another 15 minutes or so for them to finish. The guest room size is decent but has little furniture so it looked empty. The bathroom is very very small. TV is also small and with very limited channels. Internet access cost 100 Baht for 33 minutes at the bar and is not available in guest rooms.

The buffet breakfast was decent with good selection of Western and Asian food. The service was not great as I had to wait a while for someone to notice my request for coffee.

Since I had just stayed at Hyatt Hua Hin for 2 nights before coming to this hotel so I found comparatively that this hotel has much less to offer. The rooms are older and the swimming pool is smaller and not exotic like Hyatt's. The whole hotel compound feels cramped. I was very disappointed with the facility and quality of this hotel so within one hour of arrival I went to the front desk and asked to cancel my 2nd night there. The desk personnel were hesitant but after asked her manager, she told me that it will be Ok. So I told her to cancel it and used the Internet PC at the bar to book another night at the Hyatt for about US$10 more a night.

For going to downtown, I think on the hotel's website it advertised a free shuttle bus to downtown but when asked about this, I was told they don't have it. I had to take Tuktuk to downtown (about 40 baht). I have not seen any "regular" taxi while in Hua Hin so you will need to get a TukTuk to go to downtown and back (make sure you negotiate price before you hop on).

The beach area of this hotel is also small in comparison. Most guests stay in the swimming pool rather than the ocean. The beach is clean, sandy and not grassy.

Overall, this Marriott property is far below the facility, quality and service of the Marriott Phuket and Hyatt Hua Hin. Not recommended since there are better options.

LH738

ORDLEO, thanks for your detailled report. I also considered to split my stay (4 nights Hyatt, 2 nights Marriott).

ORDLEO

If this is the case then try to stay at Marriott first then Hyatt so that you will be less likely to be disappointed.