The resort for the whole family

One of the favourite getaways for families living in Bangkok, the Hyatt Regency Hua Hin is a mere 40-minute flight away and under three hours by car, and the surroundings are just this side of paradise, including a 250-metre stretch of white sandy beach.

The hotel, which recently celebrated its 14th anniversary, was built for family holidays, from the lush landscaped garden with its elephant fountain to the interconnecting 22-metre freeform pools with a seven-metre high waterslide. There’s also a beachside pool for toddlers, and the Camp Hyatt for young children, recently given a Bt2-million revamp. 

The Hyatt Regency Hua Hin comprises clusters of low-rise accommodations in three different styles – 213 rooms in all. The Hyatt Guestroom is the standard type, the Regency Club Room affords extra privacy and exclusivity, and the Barai Suite is where you get pampered all day long. Large families can book connecting rooms, so there’s no excuse for not taking along the grandparents or treating the nanny to a holiday.

Management says nearly 40 per cent of the guests arrive in families with one or more child, and the hotel staff is keen to provide services that kids, the elderly and the whole clan can enjoy. 

Camp Hyatt treats the young ones, ages four to 12, to a range of supervised cultural and educational activities so that their parents can enjoy the other facilities knowing their kids are safe and having fun. 

Among the camp games are coconut bowling, T-shirt painting, Thai boxing classes, sand-castle building, beach football and the fine arts of making candles, cupcakes and balloon animals. Children can be enrolled for half days or a full day with lunch included.

The whirl of giddy action at Camp Hyatt centres on the colourful playroom. (Children under three must have a parent in tow.) There are 150 square metres of play space, including the Aquatic room full of toys and the Space room for older kids. The indoor games run from Play Station to dominoes and jigsaw puzzles. 

For the guestrooms, housekeepers will install baby cots and extra blankets on request and a babysitting service is available. The English-speaking babysitter has to be booked a day in advance. The room TV has the Cartoon Network channel. 

Dining with tykes becomes convenient with booster seats and high chairs and a child’s menu at every restaurant, even for breakfast. Children under six eat for free when with the parents, including the buffet, and kids from six to 12 are charged half-price for the buffet. 

Camp Hyatt is perhaps too childish for teenagers, but teen daughters are welcome to enjoy the spa with their mums. The Barai Spa has special treatments designed for teenagers age 14 and up so they too can discover the ultimate relaxation of body, mind and spirit. They can have a body treatment, a facial or a manicure while their mothers indulge in results-oriented sessions for rejuvenation and invigoration. 

Teenage sons and fathers can share in the challenge of water sports – or enjoy a round of golf. There are more than seven golf courses nearby, the closest just a 10-minute drive away. 

And, for the whole family, adventures can be arranged such as viewing elephant in the wild and visiting a national park or a floating market. Another popular choice is the cooking class, for which the chef takes participants to the market to choose the ingredients they’ll use in preparing Thai specialities.

 

AT A GLANCE

 High point: Family-friendly environment

Low point: Dark at night when walking from restaurant to room.

Pay for it: Camp Hyatt Bt900-plus per child per half day and Bt1,200 per full day; babysitting is Bt150-plus per hour

Find it: 91 Hua Hin, Khao Takiab Road, Prachuab Kiri Khan, Thailand 77110

Call it: +66 3252 1234 

Browse it: www.HuaHin.Regency.Hyatt.com

Email: [email protected]