In addition to chaise chairs in the sand, there are various sitting and lounging areas on Baan Bayan's grounds above the beachfront
The long entranceway adds to the sense of openness you feel when you follow the corridor to arrive at the hotel
As you savor your welcome drink in the open lobby space on Baan Bayan’s ground floor, let it launch your constant appreciation of the architecture, décor and staff courtesy that are so very soothingly Thai.
A comfortable lobby area in the main teak house
You are in what’s called a “Golden Teak Style Bungalow House” that not only has won architectural awards for preserving the genre, but also is Hua Hin’s hotel that is closest in design to the Palace the Royal Family first built to enjoy the area -- Maruekhathaiyawan Summer Palace in nearby Cha-Am.
Baan Bayan has a pool near the oceanfront
An anteroom in the Garden room
On the lobby walls you’ll see a photo mural of a very happy Thai famlly circa late 20th Century. These are the current owners shown in years gone by before Baan Bayan became a resort.
Open—all feels open. Even the newer rooms in this 21-room en toto boutique hotel convey this feeling of openness by touches like peaked ceiling accents and most of all by avoiding décor clutter.
Our room also had day beds with prop pillows for an added lounging area
The intermingling of an abstract painting with tasteful traditonal Thai accent decor made for a very congenial and restful space
An alcove of the garden room has a sitting area and TV with both English and Thai stations
What the teak house itself opens to are beautiful trees and grounds that lead you toward the beach.
Baan Bayan's restaurant overlooks both the ocean and an oceanfront pool
Along the way there are many chaise lounge private spots where you could also happily camp for the day if you don’t want to be on the beach per se.
This traditional Thai bungalow design was geared to let you keep cool at the peak hot hours of the day, long before A/C was around. Hot air simply drifts up and away. Also note the cisterns in raised landings near the restaurant where cooling water would also help stabilize temperatures.
One of the rooms in the main teak house hotel
You may find your room so comforting that you’ll temporarily forget the beach. Don’t.
The beach is the attraction in Hua Hin and this is one of the best boutique resorts to let you drift into pampered beachfront laziness. Your 100% relaxed state will also be helped by: two-for-one drinks at the daily Happy Hour; a spa; included breakfast buffet; and most of all the ever smiling staff that you see in the lobby as you walk between beach and room.
Peeking into the spa from any open window
We especially appreciated that Baan Bayan has a working Internet connection at their beachfront too, allowing one to chip away at whatever work pile you may have been unfortunate to bring along, or perhaps just to bring the online world of entertainment and social media to you at the water’s edge.
Manager Khun Tawat Insuwon speaks with great pride of the hotel's award-winning architecture
Baan Bayan’s courteous, stately and gentle-mannered Manager, Khun Tawat Insuwon, seemed to embody the very spirit of the resort.
On one veranda of the main teak house. You see antique wooden saddles on a display table
All of the windows in the rooms in the teak house open to the surrounds
His well-deserved pride in Baan Bayan’s traditional Thai architecture was perhaps only exceeded by his apparently deep satisfaction with his photo collection of the many weddings Baan Bayan has hosted since it opened its doors ten years ago. These are often two ceremony affairs, with vows Western style on the beach followed by Buddhist wedding traditions on one of the teak house’s open verandas.
A Buddhist wedding ceremony on the veranda of the Teak House. Photo courtesy of Baan Bayan
A wedding banquet on the grounds overlooking the beach. Photo courtesy of Baan Bayan
Wedding planners take note, and also Hollywood set designers--Baan Bayan is a special place. Like us, you too may begin to feel its signature comfort as you walk its long approach to the open lobby.
The breakfast buffet includes made to order omelets, French toast, and other egg-based dishes
The salad bar at the breakfast buffet
The breakfast buffet includes both Thai and Western dishes
There are two regular shuttles of the resort van into town—morning and night, that are free of charge and other van transport can also be arranged. Truth to tell, if you are able-bodied you can just as easily walk along the beach to reach just about any point A or B in Hua Hin, perhaps the farthest being an hour’s hike to Monkey Mountain.
The courteous staff are always available in the resort lobby
If you desire an excursion, the resort has a roster of outside activities that you can join. Then again, why leave the beach?
Warning: Baan Bayan has 100% occupancy during much of the winter high season. Book ahead.
For more information visit the Baan Bayan website.
