This is Thailand’s oldest seaside resort and in some ways remains as a regal and charming place to stay. It does not have the sex trade that has smothered Pattaya or the over activity that threatens Phuket. Twenty minutes drive to the north is Cha-am an enjoyable resort not yet as extensive as Hua Hin.
The beaches here may be nice by European standards but they are certainly nothing special in Thailand. Better than Pattaya perhaps but nothing compared to the wonderful white, powdery sand further south.
Still Hua Hin has a couple of major advantages. It’s a great retreat from the snarl and smog of Bangkok. It’s a pleasant two and half hour drive. And the facilities once you get here are second to none. Golfers think they’re in links heaven with seven championship courses within easy reach. And the choice of luxury resorts and spas is only matched by those available in Phuket. I have found several instances where prices for luxury accommodation is lower here than in Phuket.  
Hua Hin was transformed from a sleepy fishing village in the 1920s when a railway station was built followed by a summer palace for King Rama VII. He found it the ideal escape from Bangkok and when he set up here the capital’s high society followed. And it didn’t take long for the nobility to discover nearby Cha-am and subtly develop that area.
The first and only place to stay here in 1923 was the Railway Hotel built by Prince Purachatra, a son of King Rama V, when he was in charge of the State Railway. The hotel was completed after the Southern Railroad was built linking Bangkok with Malaysia.
Bangkok’s elite filled the hotel, an elegant Victorian building with formal gardens, enormous rooms with appropriate décor of the period. And it is still a wonderful place to stay.
With the hotel in great demand, bungalows sprang up along the beaches and other members of the royal family built retreats. A golf course was started which claims to be the first in Thailand, something the Gymkhana Club in Chiang Mai would dispute.

                                                       Elephant Polo
Hua Hin’s biggest annual event has to be elephant polo, a five day extravaganza that is gaining world wide notoriety since its inception in 2000. Held in mid-September there are numerous light hearted matches followed by a serious tournament that brings players from around the world. It’s held at the Pradiphat Pine Forest at Suan Son south of Hua Hin with the headquarters at the Anantara Resort and Spa where a gala dinner is held. In addition to the fun matches there is a parade of elephants and competitors and an exhibition match before the actual tournament begins. The mallets used are two meters long – that varies somewhat according to the height of the elephant - but the ball is the same size as the one used in regular polo. Played according to World Elephant Polo Association rules, the Thai tournament is played with three elephants per team on a pitch one-third the size of a horse polo field. A game is comprised of two seven-minute chukkas. The event raises millions of Baht for the National Elephant Institute which cares for old animals and retired mahouts. There is no charge for watching the tournament.
Before the play commences monks bless the elephants and the players as can be seen in the pictures on the right.
Money is raised from the gala dinner’s charity auction where unusual prizes, like being a hot air balloon pilot or driving the world’s best sports cars, bring in large amounts of money. The finals are normally held on a Sunday, an all day affair that is highlighted with a jazz brunch. Attendees at the event usually include members of the National Elephant Institute's elephant orchestra making a jumbo noise and the paintbrush-wielding elephants, whose artworks regularly sell at the charity auction for up to $800. Tickets for the gala dinner and jazz brunch are available from the Anantara Resort and Spa. The resort has special packages for the tournament week as do other hotels in the area.