Hua Hin Hotels in Cha Am

A resort with 40 acres and 400 guestrooms doesn't readily fit into the concept of "boutique" accommodations, of the sort that are popping up all over Cha-am and Hua Hin, but there's good reason the Regent Cha-am Beach Resort and Spa is so popular.

This place has two unusually big swimming pools, great for families, as are the Family Room suites on offer, which have small patios where you can keep an eye on the kids while admiring the garden.

And last year the Regent Cha-am opened a Pet Resort, so no one in the family is going to be left out.

But as big as they are, both pools become crowded in the afternoon and deckchairs become scarce, and if you opt for the sea instead (where there are no deckchairs for sunbathing), watch out for jellyfish.

The beach itself is a little steeper than the ones in Hua Hin, though the sand is nice. The water offshore isn't exactly crystalline.

It's not all family-oriented. The Regent Cha-am has its own convention centre with nearly a dozen meeting rooms, and they don't sit idle. Many Thai firms book the rooms, so expect to see seminar groups mixing business and pleasure.

Beyond the Family Room are many other types of accommodation spread among the Main, Regent Chalet and Regency wings - the last with its Anavana Villas. Rooms in the Main Wing are cheapest, and that's where the conventioneers mostly stay.

The room decor is nothing to write home about, although the Regent Cha-am tries harder in its Anavana Villas. Most of these are by the sea with their own small patios. A good effort, but comparable to many a stylish resort in Hua Hin.

It's best to just take it easy. Get up late, but be at the Bua Chompoo Restaurant for breakfast before 10.30am, when the buffet closes. Guests typically head into Hua Hin town, less than 10 minutes away by car, then return for a late afternoon swim, then it's back to Hua Hin for dinner.

There's a shuttle bus four times a day, which is well worth the Bt140-per-head fare. It's fun wandering around Hua Hin's night market and picking out somewhere to eat. The last bus back to the resort leaves at 10pm.

The restaurants at the resort are nice, and surprisingly inexpensive, but there are many celebrated restaurants nearby, so the tendency is to dine further afield.

All in all a good place for a holiday, the resort now boasts the Ayatana Wellness Spa offering both body and facial treatments. Golfers will be speedily set up with tee times at any of six links in the area, and for those with something extra special in mind, traditional Thai weddings can be arranged by the seaside.

There are tennis courts, table tennis, squash, basketball, beach volleyball and mini-golf, all for a fee, and Thai cooking classes every day at 1pm.