Colin

What is the best luxury beach resort that is driveable from Bangkok airport. I am considering the villa at the Sheraton Pattaya for about $700/night or the Paradee for $500/night. I really want a private pool, like the above two options provide.

Do I have other options?

I am flying in to BKK from LAX and do not want to get on another flight. So, no Phuket, Samui, Krabi.

limelight

An altogether better option (IMHO, Pattaya is to be avoided like the plague) - Aleenta at Hua Hin:

http://www.aleenta.com/pranburi/index.html

Very small, very exclusive, very beautiful. Get a Pool Suite or one of the Villas, and you will be exceedingly happy.

It can be full of 'celebrities' of dubious worth (the Beckhams - and, apparently, the official Silliest Entourage Ever - left a few days before I got there), but the rooms and suites are very private, so that doesn't really impinge...

I'm sure they'll send a car to pick you up at the airport, if you want - it's two or three hours' drive from Bangkok.

stephem

I wouldnt recommend Pattaya for what you seem to be looking for either, I've been to the Sheraton and it's a decent cheap getaway from BKK but that's about it. The villas looked nice, but the list of reasons I wouldnt spend that much cash at this place is very, very long. No swimming beach (at least when we were there 11 months ago), it's a compound a nice one but pretty small and limited (there are better places in Thailand where you have expansive grounds or its nice to leave, the tacky "guests" (sorry I dont mind it but not if you are paying that kind of money). I would recemmend Hua Hin if you dont want another flight, I think you can get a car there and get there in about the same time as Pattaya. I've not been there yet, but some of the properties look quite nice.

Peter4

Colin -

I agree with posts above from Limelight and Stephem.
Here are further comments to help you find a luxury beach resort that is driveable from Bangkok.

First, about Pattaya:
The only draw there is the prostitutes.
Everything else is secondary and in support of that major industry.
Indeed, there are good restaurants, cabaret shows, paragliding behind a speed boat, and other contrived entertainments, but those wouldn't be there if it weren't for the main attraction.
The beach and the water are filthy.
There are many pickpockets, street hustlers and other petty scams.
In the central areas of Pattaya, you will be approached again and again by prostitutes (female and semi-female) seeking business.
They are usually polite about it, but it quickly gets tiresome.

Now, on to Hua Hin:
I've been there five times in recent years, and will be going again in two days.
Hua Hin gets my vote for a pleasant, seaside resort, suitable for Westerners and driveable from Bangkok.
There is one major factor in favour of Hua Hin which is rarely mentioned:
The King of Thailand actually lives in Hua Hin, not in the palace in Bangkok as most people expect.
So the authorities in Hua Hin are quite diligent about keeping the area neat and clean and safe.
I like that.

Hua Hin beaches are fairly clean, and, on weekdays, there are no crowds.
There is a wide variety of luxury resorts in the area, some right on the beach, but most are set back perhaps 100-500 meters from the water.
There are many restaurants, and I could go on and on about the delicious seafood.
There is golf and tennis, of course.

But, other than that, be prepared to make your own entertainment.
Hua Hin offers a few tours of sightseeing attractions, but they are nothing special.
There is a night market which can be interesting once, but there is no international-class shopping in Hua Hin.
There will be "lounge entertainment" in the nicer hotels, but there are no shows or other performances, such as you find in Bangkok.
So, when I go to Hua Hin I take a thick novel, or two.

Getting to Hua Hin can be a bit confusing.
Do not try to drive yourself in a rent-a-car, because the road signs will be in Thai language.
Yes, some signs on the expressways have English subtitles, but, if you get off course, it could be difficult to find your way back on track.
Your simplest, easiest, most convenient, option is to arrange with your hotel to have a car and driver meet you on arrival at the airport in Bangkok.
That way the driver will know exactly where to take you in Hua Hin.
An ordinary taxi driver from Bangkok probably won't know his way around Hua Hin.

As an alternative there are "limo" services at BKK airport which will drive you to Hua Hin.
The touts from those limo services accost all visitors right outside the arrivals hall.
However, they will be sure you get a driver who is familiar with Hua Hin.
So, using an airport limo service is a reasonable backup plan for getting to Hua Hin.

You don't say if you are travelling alone or with a companion.
If you are looking for a Thai lady companion, you'll find plenty in Hua Hin who are eager to meet you.
However, girl-friends-for-rent is not the predominant industry there, as it is in Pattaya.

If you have specific questions, you are welcome to send email or private message.

- Peter
.

Tritgr

I fully agree with Peter4 about Hua Hin, having been there several times.

I don't have a problem with taking the limo services that are available at the airport, although I've never had a car from a Hua Hin hotel meet me. The airport limos have always been fine.

The Marriott and Hyatt (better than the Marriott IMO but further from the center) in Hua Hin are OK, but I suggest you check out the Sofitel.

Also, we always eat at seafood restaurants which are on piers that extend out into the water. Not fancy, by any means, but great Thai seafood. Last year, at one of them, one of the Thai princesses and her entourage were there at the same time.

Kettering Northants QC

Chiva Som, near Hua Hin, is supposed to be very nice - Health spa meets Luxury Thai Hotel.

A notch down near Hua Hin
The Sofitel (In Hua Hin)
Anantara
Dusit
Hyatt

gleff

The Sheraton Pattaya is really quite removed from Pattaya proper. I spent 3 nights there and never went into town except that I had the hotel car take me to the Hard Rock Hotel to pick up a shirt for thezipper on the way back to Bangkok. I would never have known (with my own eyes) what Pattaya was like except for this. The resort truly is a different world.

Now, I did see two likely 'guests' of hotel guests during the three days I was there... a young Thai woman with a 50s-ish European man down at the pool (he was actually ignoring her, doing business on his phone the whole time, and there was clearly a language barrier) and a young Thai guy with a late 60s American man at breakfast one day.

So the 'trappings' of Pattaya aren't 100% walled off from the Sheraton. But that was the entire extent of what I saw at the resort.

Now, it's true that the water isn't all that blue, and the beachfront is limited. But I found the hotel service to be outstanding and the spa to be excellent as well. Restaurants on property were very good as well.

For me it was about a place that could be accessed by car from BKK, and it fit the bill. Though admittedly I was there on points (booked when it was SPG cat 2) and upgraded. Platinum recognition is good.

Peter4

I am in Hua Hin now -- my fifth visit here in the past few years.
Any of those resorts suggested above by Kettering Northants QC would be 5-star.
The locals tell me that Chiva Som is 7-star, but I have no first-hand experience.

I will say again, Hua Hin is the best choice for Colin's OP request for, "the best luxury beach resort that is driveable from Bangkok airport."

Weather here now is magnificent: tropical balmy, but not hot and not humid.
This evening has the soft, warm, air that is very soothing.
It provided the perfect atmosphere for our seafood dinner on a deck overlooking the Gulf of Thailand (complete with candle light).

November is "shoulder" season here, so no crowds at all.
Most visitors are middle-age Europeans; including a few families with children.
Hua Hin is popular with Scandinavians and Germans, based on the restaurants I see and the languages I hear.

Hua Hin is the second most expensive resort in Thailand --after Phuket -- so it attracts visitors who are able to afford higher quality accomodations and service.
While there are a few guest houses here, Hua Hin is really not oriented to budget travellers/backpackers.

If any specific questions, you are welcome to send me email or private message.

- Peter
.

jpdx

We spent a week in Hua Hin in September (two nights at the Sofitel, two at the Chiva Som, and three at the Evason Hideaway). The Sofitel has quite a bit of historic charm (the former Hua Hin Railway hotel), but it's not a resort, and the beach is a bit lame. The Chiva Som is quite luxurious, and I'd assume that most regulars of this forum would prefer this place, but it just wasn't our cup of tea. At the Evason, we had an oceanview deluxe pool villa, and it was quite magnificent. The spa (Six Senses) was outstanding, and the service was impeccable. The Evason is about 30 mins south of Hua Hin, so it's not ideal if you want/have to be close to the city. As for getting to Hua Hin, I don't enjoy Thai traffic, so we flew; about 40 mins on SGA Air.

tcswede

I can also second the recommendation on Hua Hin,
we have gone twice this year - 1st time Hilton and 2nd Hyatt - both times to play golf - there are 5 fantastic courses - all different and very challenging.
We aranged all transportation through a Golf Tour operator - from pick up in BKK and back - including tee times every day and the tarnsportation to the courses. Hotels we arranged ourself.
Can also second the piers for Seafood in the harbour - went there every night.

Cheers

Thomas

eutow

I usually go to Chiva-Som twice a year, and like it a lot. The resort is lovely, and the staff charming. Some of the rooms and parts of the spa are showing their age a bit, but management has been regularly making improvements. Although it is a health resort, and so the food options are all pretty healthy, they are not draconian, and if you get bored with the food (I never have!), it is easy enough to go into town for something unhealthy . When I'm there I don't usually feel like leaving the resort. They run free activity classes all day in case you're interested, but it is just as easy to laze around and enjoy the environment.

francophile

Is it true that the Chiva-Som has a three night minumum? Their web site does not list rates for less than three nights.

http://www.chivasom.com/content/retr...troduction.htm

eutow

I don't believe so - it looked to me like the rates quoted were for these specific listed packages. If you go to the reservation request page here it doesn't specify a 3 day minimum, and I am sure if you emailed them they would quote for a shorter time (except perhaps around Christmas and New Year).

That said, if your aim is to visit it for health benefits, I would suggest that you try to go for more than 3 days - it takes a while to start to destress. I prefer to go for 7 nights, and if I can't make the time, then certainly for 5. If you just want to visit a nice resort, then of course even a couple of nights is OK. Let me know if you have other questions.

nycfly

How is the beach at The Six Senses/ Evason in Hua Hin? From all the resorts stated...Evason, Sofitel, Anantara, Chiva Som, Hyatt, Interconti, which has the best beach?

nvoi

there is no big difference in the beach for these properties - go with a hotel in pranburee instead, e.g. the x2 resort or aleenta.