We stayed at the hotel for 10...
We stayed at the hotel for 10 nights and were really very happy. The hotel and the accomodations are really nice.
The pool and gardens are amzing and everything is just arranged beautiful and very clean.
We stayed in one of the lake villas and had a little balcony for our own where we could take tea / coffee in the afternoons and just relax a little bit.
Overall the environment is really quiet and peaceful. Only negative thing is that the rooms are very low soundproof (walls like papers?-I do not know the exact English term). The first nights it was O.K. (we had no neighbours) but then we got very noisy neighbours that got phone calls during the night, slammed their doors at night and woke up at 6.30 in the morning with the phone ringing, which woke us up every day. This was very disturbing if you want to have a relaxing holiday...(but overall its not the Hotel´s fault if follow-travellers are so unmindful / reckless).
Breakfast was O.K. with a variety of choices (European and Asian), with Salads and Fruits for healthy food, but also sweet cakes and bakeries, Ham and eggs and whatever needed. Only thing I regreted was that it was only until 9.30 (again, I like to really sleep out in holidays).
The guest were mostly European during the week, some Asians mostly during the weekends.(Our travel time was march).
The hotel is rather "lonely" which we loved, set aside a bit...but for older people or families with children this could mean though they are dependent to stay at the hotel for dinner. We always took the -free- bikes in the evenings to go around to very nice little local restaurants that really served original Thai food. Conversation was sometimes hard (as they hardy spoke any English in the little restaurants ), but that was no problem. Talking with feat and hand and also they were so nice and the food delicous and cheap. But as I mentioned you had to go with the bikes as walking would take you about 1/2 hour-3/4 hour (bycicle ride approx. 10-15 mins). For lunch you could walk to the nearby food stand (which closed early in the evening) at the beach and which was also very good. Food at the hotel was fine also, but rather expensive for Thailand (but on the other hand-you are in a high class hotel, so thats absolutely O.K. and appropriate). And it was a little bit adapted to the farang taste (thats the feeling I had). But overall very high quality food! And great Barbecues....
At the hotel you could not do so much (other than really enjoying the landscape and relaxing, lying at the beach or pool). But we every day used the free Gym and we also had very good massages at the hotel Spa (which is more expensive again as at the beach but very professional!!! And in a very nice and quiet surrounding! Exactly what you need to relax!!!). You could also rent motorbikes from the reception and go around (e.g. to the nearby national park) or go to Hua Hin with the daily shuttle bus (2 times a day-absolutely O.K.) that took about 3/4 hours.
I have read some of the previous reviews before booking and was a little bit unsure / concerned. But after having been there I just cannot understand the critizism that was raised. We spent a wonderful holiday in nice environment and very relaxing. And what you do is always up to you. I think it is great that the hotel is a bit besides the "big town" and with nothing much around...an if you are a bit flexible, you can always organise your own tours and experience the sourroundings (we e.g. had a tour booked from a trave Agency in Hua Hin and they even picked us up at the hotel-so no problem at all that the hotel is a bit far from Hua Hin). We would go there again in any case!
