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Hua Hin Golf | Sofitel
There are a dozen or so superior hotels of which the dominant is the Sofitel,
the most venerable and one redolent of a by-gone age. Those who can recall
Raffles in its hey day will get the drift. Stylish, serene and so elegant,
it was built in 1923 as a stop-over on the Bangkok-Singapore railway.
Some stop-over!
It is in low profile, set in expansive gardens running down to the beach
and filled with giant topiary in the shape of animals (elephants are big
here...). The original hotel is extant -- what was the lobby is now a
museum of artifacts of the era, doubling as a sitting room opening on
to the gardens where one may take breakfast -- and extensions completed
in 1986 are in seamless sympathy, all polished wood and brass where impeccable
service is the norm.
There's a choice of seven restaurants of disparate style, some al fresco,
one of which is the original railway station. Open air bars abound, among
them one that is swim-in and reached via one of several pools. Two of
these have Jacuzzis and another offers under-water music (presumably for
underwater dancing...!)
There are 214 colonial-style rooms with every luxury and balconies overlooking
the beach and the gardens which after dark are a cascade of fairy lights.
There's a night club for those with energy left at the end of the day
and all is contained within a gated estate where security guards are on
constant patrol.
You'll have gathered from all of this that staying at the Sofitel poses
few challenges to the dedicated hedonist and if he's of the golfing persuasion
the delights border on the Utopian.
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