PLAY 

Only three hours from metropolitan Bangkok, Hua Hin’s proximity has given rise to a great selection of golf courses. The new Sea Pine Course at the Army Sea Sport Centre II development adds to this already stellar list, with a course that hugs the sea, offering great views of the Gulf of Thailand from the finishing holes. 

As its name alludes, the Thai Army built the course for personnel in all its military branches. “This is a welfare course for the army and their families,” says Colonel Manop Pongpaisal who has been entrusted to manage the operations at the Centre. “This is the top golf course owned by the army, and we are lucky to be located next to the sea,” he adds. 

Sea Pine opened for play last September, and will undoubtedly gain recognition in time to come. It is opened to the public, and green fees, at 1,500 Thai Bahts in the low season, offer great value. Major General Weerayudth Phetbuasak is credited with the highly playable design of the course. Being no stranger to golf design (he also designed the Phokeethra course in Siem Reap), he has strung together 18 holes of varied challenges, taking maximum advantage of the prime real estate on Suan Son Pradiphat Beach that’s part of the 10.5 sq km of land owned by the Thai Army here. 

Given the seaside nature of the course, most of the holes play on relatively flat terrain. Some require you to carry water if playing from the blue or black tees, and the bunker hazards really only come to play if you hit it way off line. Greens are somewhat “friendly”, and a shot hit close can give you a good look at a one-putt. 

The back nine is probably the more scenic of the two, and the last three holes can certainly vie for the best finishing holes in Hua Hin. The par-5 sixteenth arches around a water hazard on the right, and your lay up better be straight and true if you are to find a nice spot from which to hit your approach. The sea frames the backdrop of the 17th’s tee box, and the large green requires careful club selection. You’ll need to be long and strong to par the par-4 18th. At 442 yards from the tips, this is one monster that needs two Herculean shots to reach a green that’s protected by bunkers from all sides. 

Despite its military moniker, the clubhouse at Sea Pine is a resort-like affair with a nicely appointed locker room and restaurant that overlooks the finishing holes and the sea. This is the newest of the thirty or so golf courses owned by the military, which only shows that signing up for duty has its privileges.

Sea Pine Golf Course at Army Sea Sport Center II, +66-32-515470, 

RTAsportcenterII@hotmail.com 

STAY

Travellers come to the sea to enjoy the sense of liberation from the entrapment of cosmopolitan cityscapes. To help with that escapade, it pays to stay at a hotel that evokes the element of a seaside holiday. Few resorts in Hua Hin can match the new Rest Detail Hotel (above) when it comes to providing a beachside respite with all the trappings of a five-star resort. The 56 rooms and suites here all bring out a relaxed chic that is a refreshing change from the bland luxury of many international chains. 

Décor is borrowed a little bit from New York’s Hamptons, or even Massachusetts’ Martha’s Vineyard, with its white banisters, striped upholsteries and louvred windows. But service is pure Thai hospitality, making it a perfect blend of East-meets-West.

Spacious rooms range from the 48 sq m Rest Green offering, to stand alone pavilions in the Beach Village with a private pool shared by a few villas away from the main building. WiFi Internet access is available everywhere you go, and the Rest Gastro restaurant offers an international menu for breakfast and dinner. Make sure you spend some time at The Leaf where you can enjoy a nice afternoon tea, or refreshing pre-dinner aperitif with the gentle breeze blowing and the view of the sea taking you to a more relaxed and serene realm. 

Rest Deta il Hotel 19/119 Hua Hin Soi 19, Tambol Hua Hin, +66-32-547733, www.restdetailhotel.com 

EAT 

You haven’t been to Hua Hin until you’ve had a meal by the sea. Some would say that you’ve never been to Hua Hin until you’ve eaten at Let’s Sea as well. Doing so will certainly kill two birds with one stone. 

Let’s Sea (right) has become an institution here, doing so with its unique eye to design detail, and also offering homeinspired meals that you’re less likely fine in the run-of-themill Thai restaurant. Owner and CEO Srayut Ekahitanonda has managed to combine a family-style outlet with an edgy style that could make for an ideal background to a Vogue fashion shoot. Its location by the sea is only icing on the cake. 

Let’s Sea is a great place to have a drink before hitting the town, but you’ll do well to stay for dinner. “We try to bring back the nostalgic times when families would pack a meal and bring along to the beach,” Says Ekahitanonda, or “A” as he prefers to be called. Indeed, the menu, which includes offthe- beaten track dishes like deep-fried day-dried squid, banana blossom salad with fresh shrimp, and a melt-inyour- mouth, to-die-for pork spare ribs with dry green curry, is worth the detour from the main tourist belt in Hua Hin town. 

And if one meal is not enough, a stay at one of Let’s Sea accommodations can help stretch the experience. The rooms here offer everything you need for a stylish weekend of private indulgence. ♣

Let ’s Sea Hua Hin Al Fresc o Res ort 83/188 Soi Talay 12 Khaotakieb, Hua Hin Road, +66-32-536888, www.letussea.com