Aleenta Resort Cha Am

Throughout Novermber we will be introducing a relatively unknown area of Thailand that is not overwhelmed by the tourist trade. While being only 2 hours from Bangkok, it offers a lovely long beach and some very beautiful resorts including some increasingly popular Pool villas.

The area is Cha Am, not far from Hua Hin, which has a higher profile.

As most tourists who are heading down to this area of Thailand make a beeline for Hua Hin, you can enjoy a truly quiet and peaceful beach holiday here. If exciting nightlife is what you are after, you may like to look at another area, perhaps Phuket or Pattaya. But if want to relax on the beach or by the pool without the hassles and bustle of a typical beach resort town, Cha Am may be what you are looking for.

We will be introducing and reviewing a number of Cha Am hotels, starting with the truly unique Aleenta Resort & Spa and the Veranda Resort and Spa with some of the stunning above mentioned private pool villas.

Grant has a lot of really stunning photos of Thailand and I highly recommend you to check out his work. As if Thailand isn’t beautiful enough, he makes it look even more beautiful.

All photos in this post were taken by and copyright owned by Grant Cameron 2008

Translated as “floating raft”, Loy Kratong celebration is one of the most enchanting experiences for many visitors lucky enough to be in Thailand during the festival.

Loy Kratong is celebrated by releasing small, intricately decorated rafts, made with folded banana leaves, and decorated with flowers, candles and incense sticks, into  lakes, rivers and klongs throughout Thailand. The rafts are released to give blessing and thanks to the goddess of water, Phra Mae Khongkha.

The Thai people believe that the act of freeing the kratong symbolizes the releasing of one’s troubles, worries, bad luck and grudges accumulated throughout the year, and hope for a fresh karmic start. In a romantic twist, couples will send their kratong along a waterway and believe that if the candle stays lit until it is out of sight, their love will last forever.

This video is from 2006, but the concepts and celebration do not change from year to year. TAT (Tourism Authority of Thailand) makes a new Loy Krathong video each year, but I like this one a lot better than the ones from this year and last year.

The night sky will glow throughout Thailand as the celebrations continue with displays of stunning fireworks and hot-air lanterns (khom fai) being released into the sky. Other cultural activities including the “Noppamas Queen Contest” beauty pageants are held during Loy Kratong.

This romantic and traditional festival officially begins on the full moon of the 12th month of the Thai lunar calendar, which is November in the western calendar. Loy Kratong in 2008 runs from November 11-15.

Below are some deals on Chiang Mai hotels that will have you very near the action so you can join in the fun of Loy Kratong.

• Novotel Hotel Chiang Mai, from USD 28.
• Rati Lanna Riverside, from USD 119.
• De Naga Hotels Chiang Mai, from USD 91.
• Puripunn Baby Grand boutique hotel, from USD 139.
• Bodhi Serene, from USD 89.
• Buri Gallery House Hotel, from USD 36.
• Diamond Riverside Hotel, from USD 27.
• U Chiang Mai Hotel, from USD 137.
• Maninarakorn Hotel, from USD 38.
• Royal Princess Hotel, from USD 65.
• Sukhothai Heritage Resort Sukhothai, from USD 71.
• Dusit 72 Hotel, from USD 137.

• Bangkok Boutique Location: Sukhumvit USD 108 62.
• The Grand Ayudhaya Location: Ratchada USD 104 60.
• Queen’s Garden Resort Location: Suvarnabhumi USD 45 25.
• Four Wings Location: Sukhumvit USD 78 45.
• Admiral Premier Location: Sukhumvit USD 137 79.
• Royal Ivory Nana Location: Sukhumvit USD 85 49.
• Windsor Suite Location: Sukhumvit USD 122 70.
• Chaophya Park Location: Sukhumvit USD 85 49.
• Pullman King Power Location: Pratunum/Siam USD 181 104.
• Lebua at State Tower Location: Riverside USD 231 133.

Not surprisingly golf is the fastest growing and most popular sport in the world, a fact most evident in Asia, where the game has developed rapidly in the last decade. For golfing buffs, Asian courses are paradise, especially since many have been designed by stalwarts such as the “Shark” and Jack Nicklaus, are situated in the balmy and breathtaking tropics and are – by European and American standards – very easy on the pocket.

What is further complementary about choosing a golf holiday in Asia is the quality spa options available across the continent, especially in Southeast Asia where quality and cost are not mutually exclusive concepts. For golfers themselves, spa treatments such as massage can provide that perfect balance to sport with further relaxation. But more importantly, for wives and girlfriends who wish to holiday but don’t par–take in the fairways, spa pampering is a welcome alternative

To cater for golf and spa holidaymakers, many courses and golfing resorts have been built across Asia. This month, we have highlighted some of the best courses in the region, along with accommodation options, just to pique your interest!
Laguna Holiday Club Phuket Resort Phuket
Kirimaya Golf Resort & Spa Khao Yai
Springfield Village Golf & Spa Hua Hin / Cha-am

Condé Nast Traveller Magazine recently named the Six Senses the Best hotel in the world! It was voted the best hotel on the Asia and Indian subcontinent, and garnered enough points by readers to push it to the top of the “Best of the Best Top 100“. Referring to the voting readers, Conde Nast Traveller stated:

“Every one of you who stayed there raved about its sophisticated ambience/décor (93.75), environmental friendliness (97.50), lovely location (97) and extensive leisure facilities (96.25)”.

There are three types of villas available at this stunning resort. There are fourteen 140m² Hideaway Villas which feature private gardens, an outdoor shower and plunge bathtub with panoramic views.

The 41 Pool Villas (160m²) all feature 2.5 x 5 meter private swimming pools for extra privacy and indulgence.

Then there are the ten Pool Villa Suites, massive 300 m² villas with 3.5 metre private pools, 2 bathrooms, one with twin vanities, private sundeck with 2 sunbeds and sala with 2 daybeds.

All of the villas have wireless internet connections available, and feature CD/DVD players with speakers throughout the villa, including the bathroom, TV, 24 hour butler room service, fridge minibar and other luxurious amenities.

I have done a lot of traveling in recent years and have always stayed in 5 star hotels whenever I was in Bangkok. Firstly because nice hotels are probably my biggest weakness, and secondly, they are especially affordable in Bangkok. For the same price as a 35m²  room at the Hyatt for example, you can get an 84m² 1 bedroom apartment with fully stocked kitchen, separate dining and lounge rooms and 2 bathrooms!

Executive serviced apartments are ideal for families or anybody who appreciates a little more room than your regular hotel affords. And although they are called apartments, you don’t have to stay long term to enjoy the surroundings. They are essentially hotels with much bigger rooms so you can stay for as little as one night. A lot of people do stay longer than they would in a regular hotel though and most places offer reduced rates for longer stays, with weekly and monthly rates also available, representing a large reduction in the daily rate.

I’ve also used an executive apartment as my base while I was in the country for a number of weeks and remained checked in with all my stuff in the room while I went off for a couple of days exploring the country and staying in other hotels. This may seem to some like needless waste, but the convenience of not having to cart all your  luggage around the country combined with the lower daily rate for longer stays makes it worthwhile.

Apart from bigger rooms, what’s so special about executive serviced apartments?

Executive serviced apartments offer all the services of a hotel (daily cleaning, room service etc) but also many amenities that can make your stay more comfortable and also save you a lot of money. Full service kitchen, grocery shopping, washer and dryer (huge savings just there), dvd player, audio system, iron and ironing board, work stations with high speed internet connection and so on.

I can honestly say that after discovering executive serviced apartments, they are my first choice for accommodation whenever I travel.

One of my favourites is the Mayfair Marriott Executive Apartments in Lang Suan, a lovely and  convenient wide avenue in the heart of Bangkok, minutes walk from Lumpini Park as well as close to Silom, Patpong, Suan Lum night markets, and luxury shopping malls Siam Paragon and Central World.

I will be introducing and reviewing a number of Executive Serviced Apartments in Bangkok over the next few weeks right here. Come back to read about them, or use the big RSS feed button at the top of the page to subscribe to this site’s feed so you won’t even have to come back to this page to read them.

Despite it’s reputation, there are a number of establishments wishing to attract a more affluent crowd (read:families) that are not interested in catering to the “traditional” Pattaya tourist. A lot of hotels in Pattaya, and indeed throughout major cities in Thailand have policies where they charge a “joiner fee”, for bringing unregistered guests back to your room.

This can range from being embarrassing and annoying late at night in the lobby when you get chased to the elevator or even stopped on the way in, to being unpleasantly surprised at checkout with additional fees of up to 1500 Baht being added to your bill.

To avoid such uneccesary unpleasantries it is always a good idea to come prepared. You could contact the hotel before you arrive and check their policy, however Thai companies are notoriously lax at replying to emails. You could just call them and ask, but how do you ask tactfully?

With this in mind we have compiled a handy list of Pattaya guest friendly hotels which at the time of publishing, were “guest friendly”, meaning they didn’t charge and joiner fee for bringing an unregistered guest back to your room.

Please leave a comment below if you know of any other hotels that would make a good addition to the list or if any of the hotels listed change their policy and start charging extras.

Pattaya guest friendly hotels.

No longer the backpacker homestead it once was in the ’70’s and ’80’s, Samui has matured into an island destination for everyone. With amazing 5-star properties like the stunning beach front New Star Beach Resort and the elegant Centara Grand Beach Resort, plus possibly the most beautiful private airport in the world, the new Samui is quickly becoming a world renowned resort destination.

But don’t worry, there are still the famous full moon parties of Koh Phangan nearby and cheaper hotels aplenty if you feel the need to rough it, though nothing about island life seems rough at all.

Coconut Villa 96 USD	Melati Beach 319 USD	Dara Samui Beach 227 USD	Sarann 125 USD	Samui Cliff View 120 USD	Le Paradis Boutique 264 USD
Chaweng Regent 239 USD	Bo Phut 414 USD	Impiana 97 USD	Punnpreeda Pool Villa 292 USD	The Kala 103 USD	Kirikayan Luxury 548 USD

When you first arrive at the Erawan hotel, probably by taxi, you are swept up the driveway (after the security detail checks the trunk and under your car for bombs (!) ), to be greeted by two large elephants which are the symbol of the nearby Erawan shrine.

When the doors are opened for you, the spectacular lobby will blow you away. It is huge and elegant and really befits the “Grand” in Grand Hyatt. The lobby is 3 storeys high and contains a lot of marble and wood as well as lots of plants and is very pleasant indeed.

To the left is “The Dining Room”, where they serve the breakfast buffet as well as lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch buffets. There is also a lounge area to the right of the lobby where you can meet and greet people and beverages are available.

The 40 sq. m rooms are beautifully appointed and furnished with very comfortable King size beds and comfortable work table with leather reclining work chair by the window. The bathrooms are marble and feature a separate bath and shower. The bathroom is of course fully stocked with luxury amenities as well as bathrobes, slippers, distilled water, bathroom scales and everything else you’d expect from a luxury 5 star hotel.

There were fresh flowers and fruit in the room which was replenished daily. The huge bed was very comfortable and the television had all the satellite TV stations you would want. They will even bring you an iPod docking station of you request it.

Click the image above to see an enlarged version for a clearer view of the rooms and facilities of the Grand Hyatt Erawan.

Although I haven’t stayed in one yet, they also have five 100 sq.m spa cottages located in their i.Sawan  garden. This is what I found out about them:

Each cottage covers 100 m² and consists of a bedroom, living room, spa treatment room, bathroom with oversized tub together with wall mounted TV, rain shower with steam,in-room yoga mat with YogaAway DVD, scrub table for body treatments and private outdoor patio for relaxing and dining. They can be used as a daytime relaxation escape, or for an overnight pampering get-away-from-it-all spa package. Blending contemporary flavours with timeless details, these cottages are a completely unique concept for Bangkok.

They are right by the pool as well, so you could slide straight off the massage table into the pool.

Speaking of the pool, one of my favourite memories of the Grand Hyatt Erawan is sitting by the pool on the teak deck, reading a book and enjoying the Fish and Chips along with one of the tropical fruit drinks from The Breezeway, located by the pool.

The location of the hotel is also very convenient, not only closely located to but connected by covered walkway to many shopping areas and skytrain stations.

There is direct access from the hotel to Erawan Bangkok, a graceful upmarket boutique shopping mall that carries only the most exclusive lifestyle brands. There are also a number of eating establishments on the lower ground floor.

The hotel is also connected by covered walkway to many other shopping malls including Gaysorn, Central World, and Siam Paragon, which also features a new aquarium.

This is one of my favourite hotels in Bangkok, which is just around the block from another of my favourites in Lang Suan, which I will be reviewing next week.

Visit ReserveThaiHotels.com to find out more about, or make a reservation at The Grand Hyatt Erawan hotel Bangkok