DESTINATIONS WINTER SUN | THAILAND
ABOVE: Reclining Buddha in Hua Hin, Thailand PICTURE:Shutterstock/OlegD
feels like a cross between a glasshouse and an aircraft hangar, is a tribute to Prince Purachatra Jayakara, who established Thailand’s first radio station in the 1930s. Inside, diners sit at tables surrounded by lush foliage and various knick-knacks, ranging from the replica biplane hanging from the ceiling to ancient radios, typewriters and Singer sewing machines. For a nightcap, consider McFarland House at the
Hyatt Regency Hua Hin. You’ll find this bar inside a beautifully restored 19th-century pavilion. For the best sunset views, it’s got to be the Vana Nava Sky Bar, a rooftop watering hole atop the beachfront Holiday Inn Vana Nava Hua Hin. Father Ted’s, a pub on Damnernkasem Road, is where to go for regular performances by the legendary Bangkok Beatles, Thailand’s top Beatles tribute act.
TAKE A BITE Hua Hin’s night market, which fans out from the spot where Decha Nuchit Road and Phetchkasem Road intersect, is a great place to sample local street food, including deliciously fresh squid. Many of Hua Hin’s top restaurants can be found in its resorts. At the Hua Hin Marriott Resort & Spa’s Big Fish restaurant, diners can browse the menu or choose from the mouthwatering display of freshly caught seafood. The setting is spectacular and floor-to-ceiling windows make the most of the resort’s beachfront position. For cheap and cheerful cuisine, we recommend the restaurants lining Petchkasem Road, which runs parallel to the beach. One of its highlights is Rolling Stone Pizza – a tiny blink-and- you’ll-miss-it pizzeria with a wood-fired pizza oven.
44 12 OCTOBER 2023
33One of its highlights is Rolling Stone Pizza – a tiny blink-and-you’ll- miss-it pizzeria with a wood-fired oven
HOT HOTELS Several new hotels have opened in Hua Hin in recent years (such as The Standard’s first Thai property), with more coming, including the Kimpton Hua Hin, due to open in 2024. Until then, beach bums will love the Hua Hin Marriott Resort & Spa, where rooms surround an enormous pool complex. Its lazy river-style layout means there’s plenty of space for swimmers and the most sought-after rooms back onto sections of the pool. Doubles start from £102 per person on a B&B basis. For a history fix, it’s got to be the 251-room Centara
Grand, a storied hotel with a Raffles-like vibe. This hotel, which turns 100 this year, was originally known as the Railway Hotel and was the go-to spot for travellers visiting King Rama VI’s Summer Palace. Its construction was commissioned by the State Railway as part of an effort to upgrade accommodation options in a destination the royal family had fallen in love with. Relics on display include crockery adorned with the logo of Thailand’s State Railway, the original telephone switchboard and photographs of the Killing Fields crew – in the film, the hotel stood in for Cambodia’s Hotel Le Phnom. Doubles start from £103 per person on a room-only basis.
TW BOOK IT
If Only offers a seven-night break for two people, staying at Hua Hin’s Centara Grand on a bed-and-breakfast basis and including airport transfers and return flights from Heathrow to Bangkok with British Airways, from £2,899, departing on November 3.
ifonly.net
travelweekly.co.uk
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