The Hyatt Hua Hin is a gem in Thailand; a country full of outstanding, high quality hotels. ^ I only have two regrets ... 1) I will now need to stay longer on future trips to Thailand simply to return to this property and 2) Once the word gets out, I'm sure it will be harded to get the GREAT prepay rates I secured for this reservation.
Before I begin, this review might sound too good but I've written more than my fair share of critical reviews (for another chain) so I am just going to call it as we saw it.
First, transportation to the property from Bangkok is pretty easy. You can book roundtrip limo's (unnecessary luxury), taxi's (pretty good) or shuttle's (just as good and dirt cheap) from either World Travel (offices located in the Business Centers at both Hyatt's in Bangkok and Hua Hin) or the Travel-HuaHin website referenced above by Mad4Miles (reservations with either will get you the same results). I took a shuttle for 550 baht to Hua Hin (pick up at any hotel in Bangkok), we picked up 2 other people in town and arrived 3 hours later (2 brief stops along the way for bathroom breaks), and a private taxi for 1900 baht to get back to Bangkok (this took 4.5 hours since we got back into Bangkok during evening rush hour). I've heard about the train service but was advised it took about 4 - 4.5 hours; I saw a sign by the airport announcing a once-a-day flight to & from Bangkok but passed by too fast to get other details. For a couple, just reserve a private taxi, sit back and relax and you'll be there soon enough for a pretty cheap fare.
Check-in was breeze; you will be greeted with a cool drink and cold towel. I had a Regency Club room and it was in great shape, and had a really large patio with chairs outside the sliding glass door (insect repellent at night is recommended). There is a big sliding door in the bedroom to either open up or close off the soaking tub in the bathroom. Shower has good water pressure. At turndown at night, you'll return to a large "aromatherapy" candle scenting the room. There was no clock in my room but a phone call took care of that. The TV had channels in English (CNN, Fox, CNBC, HBO, etc.), Japanese, French and Thai. In the closet, you'll find a room safe, robe and slippers, extra pillow (5 already on the king size bed), umbrella and an iron.
Rooms on the ground floor have no outdoor patio area; that area is enclosed to provide a larger room with a sitting area. If you need more room, request a room on level 1; if you like to sit outside (with 2 big chairs, a table, a drying stand (for hanging bathing suits, etc) and an overhead fan) request an upper level floor.
The Regency Club comes complete with its own private two-level pool, the staff come around on a regular basis to pass out cold towels or take beverage requests. Free fruits, soft drinks, coffee, etc. available all day. Nice continental breakfast (a few hot choices, plus eggs made to order) served from 6:30 am - 10 am; drinks and appetizers are available from 5 - 7 pm. Staff is very friendly; pool towels are nice and big. Actually, service from the entire staff was outstanding.
The public areas are pristine - it seemed like everything was in sparking new condition. Off of the open-air lobby is a bar (entertainment nightly), a Business Center (Internet access is 500 baht for one hour) and a gift shop. The real attraction at this hotel is the incredible main pool: if you like the pool at the Hyatt Maui, you'll LOVE the pool at Hua Hin. There are two huge open areas of the pool (water aerobics at 10:30 am; pick-up volleyball games in the other), with a nice water slide area, a "beach-pool" area (the beach sand extends into the pool), a long winding grotto area (longer than the winding pool at the Sheraton Laguna in Phuket) and some other dead-end areas that you can make your own. There is one jacuzzi. The staff will jump to get you fresh towels, set up your chair for you, get drinks or food, etc. I've posted some pics of the whole pool & beach area at this web address ...
http://photos.yahoo.com/takingchancesontheroad
The property is right on a big, clean beach. To be honest, there aren't too many beaches I'll swim at in Thailand, but I swam here with no concern. The water temperature was warmer than the water in Hawaii during the summer; it was like bath water. The water in the pool was cooler, but refreshing.
We ate at 3 restaurants on the property; the service & food was good at all 3. You & Mee is the open-air, casual dining choice by the pool (there is also one on the basement level of the Hyatt Bangkok). Very good food; prices at all the restaurants are higher than if you were to eat off of the property but I think the prices ran 50 - 60% cheaper than any of the Hyatt's in Hawaii. The Thai restaurant is also open air and served some of the best (and the hottest - at my request) Thai food we've had in Thailand. Lastly, Figs restaurant is located directly underneath the lobby - we had one very good meal there also. Overall, we had good food at good prices, and no complaints. (Not to forget, the "free" food at the Regency Club was good too).
There is also a nice spa on the property. A 50 minute back massage cost 900 baht. Sure, I could find cheaper, but it was convenient and in a nice setting. It did the trick.
Transportation to Hua Hin is also a piece of cake. The hotel runs hourly shuttles from the lobby to downtown Hua Hin for 50 baht per person (leaves the hotel hourly from 9 am - 9 pm; return trips go from 10:15 am - 10:15 pm). I was advised by a local that if I wanted a cab back to the hotel (rather than waiting for the shuttle) it would cost about 30 - 40 baht total, depending on our negotiation skills. Frankly, we took one trip off the property the whole time we were there. The resort is a destination in itself and we just saw no reason to leave again. Just go shopping in Bangkok since there isn't much to see (or miss) in Hua Hin itself. There is an Avis Rental Car agency in the Business Center and I think they wanted something like 1600 baht for a compact car for a day.
Overall, a very enjoyable experience. If you can find one of the great prepay rates for the Regency Club level, grab it and go!