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Where Distress Yields Tranquility
In a veranda beside lotus ponds and gardens, the dining room is
awash with morning sunlight. Traditional Thai music plays in the
background as birds chirp about the flowers and tropical plants.
There are shades of orange and yellow, pink and blue, a dozen hues
of green. The buffet is as luscious as the gardens with all one
might expect from a five-star boutique resort, fresh seasonal fruit,
pastries, a Thai rice soup section, a pancake and waffle station,
omelets made to order, freshly squeezed juices, champagne. The Anantara
Resort & Spa serves up as fine a morning as you will find anywhere,
but the birdcage motif is what sets it apart, providing the unique
charm that we seek when visiting new places. Where else will you
find over one hundred wooden birdcages, each painted in a deliberate
distressed finish that succeeds in making them look three hundred
years old-without the dust, mold and odour of bird droppings? Chatujak,
Bangkok's famous Weekend Market, surely has as many cages in its
live animal stands, but you wouldn't want to eat breakfast there
and you wouldn't find this trendy design feature. Besides, the cacophony
of all those birds cackling and crying out could easily drive you
insane. Thankfully, the Anantara has seen fit to dispense with such
annoyances.
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Once you see the birdcages, you can't help but notice that the
ceilings are also decorated in the same distressed finish. I'm reminded
of ancient whaling cottages, weathered and abandoned, on Cape Cod.
The effect is almost eerie, for the surfaces look as though they
are cracked, peeling and older than the sun, but there is an unmistakable
freshness to them. Somehow, the artisans have left their mark, their
wink to the viewer that says things are not as they may seem. While
it might appear that the paint is chipping and peeling, revealing
the colour choices of previous generations of gentry, you can rest
assured that pieces will not fall off into your maple syrup or muesli.
The Anantara, a member of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World,
was extensively renovated in 2001 and is today a monument to the
creativity of Mathar 'Lek' Bunnag, landscape architect Bill Bensley,
Chulatat Kittibuttra and interior designer Kathleen Heinecke, among
others. The boutique is laid out to feel like an elegant Thai-style
village, nestled between the Gulf of Thailand and its own private
lagoon and waterways. It has the feel of a vibrant museum in which
one not only admires the artwork but actually inhabits the piece.
As you move from the Angkor-esque sandstone statues, both of bas
relief and full figure, to the neo-antique al fresco chambers, you
feel like a vital component in a living installation sculpture.
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The hotel is divided into two sections, each with its own mood.
You enter the first by walking through the living room lobby, the
sundries shop and the museum-like Sala Thai cafe and lounge of the
main hotel building. It's easy to detour in any of these spaces;
on our first afternoon, we eased into the comfort of Sala Thai and
enjoyed a plate of zesty stir-fried beef with basil and chilies
at a table fashioned from an antique compartmentalized drawer, each
part filled with rice and various dried spices. An ancient rice
mill and various agricultural tools long ago passed over for the
efficiency of combustion engines stand like monuments to a more
simple time. Traditional Thai music kept time as we enjoyed a nice
view of the resort's older section, a series of multi-room villas
set in Bill Bensley's signature gardens around the freeform, Angkor-inspired
swimming pool and alongside the beach.
The newer section of the resort feels less like a beach destination
than a visit to ancient, central Thailand, where commerce and transportation
operated along the klongs, or canals, and lagoons. Water flows around
the separate villas of stunning traditional Thai architecture, housing
a total of 38 exclusive rooms featuring high ceilings and cozy verandas
with enough space to encourage dining en suite. Deep terrazzo bathtubs
are the focal points of the lavish bathrooms, which open to bedrooms
tastefully ornamented with Thai artifacts. At scheduled times, Bangkok's
famous floating market is recreated on the klongs and lagoons, further
enhancing the sense of traditional culture and sensibilities.
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The breathtaking Mandara Spa has also been sculpted from the lagoon
setting. A walkway imprinted with sandstone leaves and lizards connects
the spa suites, all lined alongside the lotus-dappled water's surface.
Guests enter through towering wooden doorways set in an ochre-coloured
wall of fortress-like stature. The six spa suites each have a courtyard
with dual outdoor waterfall showers and some have deep terrazzo
bathtubs for two. Sliding glass doors lead into the air-conditioned
treatment room, which can, of course, be left open to the natural
breezes if the weather is not too hot. Additionally, four double
suites are available for couples who like to savour their treatments
together.
At the far end of the lagoon area, past the spa, an intimate infinite-edged
pool looks out across the last of the lakes, where the enclosing
walls hang with flowers, and water issues forth through bamboo fountains.
This lost world charm is present throughout the resort, beginning
at the entrance. Roadside, a wall of lively elephant figures, captured
in fossil-like detail, welcomes guests. The drive winds through
a guarded gate into a lush tropical zone that leaves the outside
world in a different galaxy and time. More elephant bas relief greets
you to the lobby. The pachyderm theme is not merely an homage to
the animal's storied position in Thai history, it is a large part
of the Anantara's identity. The resort is a major contributor to
the National Elephant Institute, on the front lines of the war to
save the species in the face of habitat destruction and the malevolent
trade of ivory. The new Anantara Golden Triangle has its own elephant
camp where guests can learn to drive the great beasts.
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Since 2001, the King's Cup Elephant Polo Tournament has been put
on by the Anantara here in Hua Hin, drawing teams from Asia and
beyond. This past September, the Mercedes Benz team repeated as
champion and the previous winner was a team fielded by Chivas Regal.
Not only does the tournament provide a terrific, unique, and somewhat
eccentric venue to generate support for elephant charities, the
sport highlights the synergy of beast and man while dispelling myths
that the animal is slow, lumbering, and ungainly. This event is
undoubtedly the most sensational time to visit the Anantara and
packages are available for the occasion.
Hua Hin itself is a charming beachside get-away less than 200 kilometres
south of Bangkok. The permanent residence of King Bhumiphol, the
town has retained much of its traditional character. A number of
seafood restaurants line the wharf and a bustling night market serves
up authentic good value dishes. Don't miss the coconut custard steamed
in its shell. While the beaches are not up to the standards of Phuket
and Samui, they are virtually free of jet-skis and para-sailing
outfits. Many people are happy to forego whiter sands for Hua Hin's
peace and quiet. Additionally, Hua Hin is a golfer's delight, with
five championship courses including Thailand's oldest, the Royal
Hua Hin, and the Jack Nicklaus Springfield Royal Country Club, which
Australian Golf Digest named one on Thailand's top five courses
in 2002.
Hua Hin is without doubt one of the more refined, most traditional
and most Thai of the kingdom's numerous beach destinations. Anantara
exemplifies these qualities. In the words of William E. Heinecke,
CEO of her parent company, Royal Garden Resorts, "Anantara
has a tremendous feeling of peace with niches of surprise at every
turn."
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