oliver17 10,597 #1 Posted June 16, 2016 During my May 2016 trip, I spent 4 nights at the Sheraton Pranburi Villas outside of Hua Hin. My companion was JJ from CIB. Pranburi is about a 3 hour trip by car from Bangkok on a normal day. Regrettably, JJ and I took the trip on May 20, which turned out to be Vesak day, one of the most important Buddha days of the year. It was also a Friday afternoon, making it a big holiday weekend for Thais and the result was a very slow go to Pranburi which consumed 5 hours in the car. We did wisely use a private car service instead of a grimy and cramped BKK taxi, which made the trip a little easier. The Sheraton Pranburi Villas are located about 20 minutes outside of Hua Hin in the sleeply little town of Pranburi. The hotel offers a scheduled shuttle van service to Hua Hin in the evenings. Taxis are not usually available at the hotel, which is a good thing because Hua-Hin's Phuket-like Taxi cartel charges about 1000 -1200 baht for a trip between the hotel and town. Use the van instead if you want to visit Hua-Hin. As for Pranburi itself, it is within walking distance from the Sheraton or you can simply take one of the mountain bikes that are available for guests to use. Am pleased to report that the mountain bikes are rock solid Treks instead of some cheapo off-brand machine. The property is comprised of 50 detached villas. Each villa has its own private swimming pool. Also available are 2 story villas with multiple bedrooms. The villas all have high walls surrounding them which give you total privacy and seclusion from the surrounding villas. The hotels property is quite large and very quiet. In the back of each villa is a private pool, along with lounge chairs and a cushioned pit for eating or doing whatever comes natural to you or your ladyboy. The villas are large and well appointed. I particularly liked the in-room shower that converts to to a wet sauna with seat. Now, I have seen these gimmicky things before in hotel rooms, and they rarely work as claimed, but the Sheraton's shower / sauna gizmo tuned out to be truth in advertising. They are completely sealed and the water is very hot and generates more than enough steam to sweat out the booze and tension in your body, as good as any wet sauna in a health club. This gets an A+ from me. The villa also has an outdoor shower if you want to bathe outdoors. There is also an outdoor sunken bathtub right outside your bedroom door (seen in 2nd pic, the tiled area in the plants). I didn't use these, but JJ bathed in them every day. The beds are comfortable and the mosquito netting is not for decorative purposes. You can completely open the bedroom's glass walls and sleep in the fresh air if you want. That's when you want to deploy the mosquito netting, because they do come out in the evenings. More room details..... If you get bored with your villa pool, you can stroll over to the hotel's infinity pool. When we there, we were the only guests using the big pool. The Sheraton also has a small restaurant and bar next to the pool. A larger bar and restaurant are located elsewhere on the property. The breakfast buffet is noteworthy, because along with a very nice spread of food, a sushi chef is also on duty to give you a sushi fix if you are in need. Typically for an isolated resort with a captive clientele, the food tends to be on the pricey side . However, the liquor prices are surprisingly very reasonable (80 baht for a Singha , 100 baht for a Heineken ).They do have 24 hour room service (the full menu ), which I found to be commendable on a property with only 50 room units. The gym next to the big pool. To sum up, the Sheraton Pranuburi Villas make for an excellent getaway from your BKK trip. I have been here twice with LBs, and this place has been an enormous hit with both of them. Rates run about 6000 baht per night low season and about 7000 baht per night in high season. This property does have occasional sales, and if you are not a Starwood member, it makes sense to join to get favorable rates here when you book. Thanks for reading my review. Later on, I may post a director's cut of this review as well as pics from my earlier Pranburi trip with the other LB in the advanced section (also have video if I can figure out to post a video), but that is a couple of days away. 10 Boomerang, HilbertSpace, bkkladyboy and 7 others reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Youngone 2,258 #2 Posted June 16, 2016 Looks great, thanks for taking the time to post the review! 6-7K Baht/night for a room/villa with private pool is quite a good deal I reckon, especially when compared to similar properties in Phuket or Samui. 1 oliver17 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cutefarang 100 #3 Posted June 16, 2016 Very nice! I'll have to check them out next time I'm in Hua Hin, I usually pay a lot more than this for a worse room/villa. 1 oliver17 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HilbertSpace 169 #4 Posted June 16, 2016 Thanks for taking the time to post this review. It makes thinking about a trip to Hua Hin. Have never been there. 1 oliver17 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bkkladyboy 447 #5 Posted June 16, 2016 (edited) During my May 2016 trip, I spent 4 nights at the Sheraton Pranburi Villas outside of Hua Hin. .... thanks for taking the time to post this very thorough and excellent report. i really thought i would want to stay there given all the great amenities, etc, but then i saw the rules for the sauna and if i can't take my pets into the sauna with me than i'll have to give the place a pass until they come to their senses. BTW: who the fuck would put a pet in a sauna? Edited June 17, 2016 by bkkladyboy 1 oliver17 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mardhi 1,689 #6 Posted June 17, 2016 Great summary thanks. Couple Q's:- a) Is the resort South of Hua Hin ?(i.e you drive through Hua Hin and then on for another 20 minutes) b) Did you by any chance get any pics of the beach by the resort and what was your opinion of it? Looks very nice but maybe bit isolated for many unless you have a vehicle or use the mafia taxis. 1 oliver17 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oliver17 10,597 #7 Posted June 17, 2016 Great summary thanks. Couple Q's:- a) Is the resort South of Hua Hin ?(i.e you drive through Hua Hin and then on for another 20 minutes) b) Did you by any chance get any pics of the beach by the resort and what was your opinion of it? Looks very nice but maybe bit isolated for many unless you have a vehicle or use the mafia taxis. Yes it is south of Hua Hin, about 20 minutes away. The car service drivers have taken different routes to get us there, both through Hua Hin and around it. I don't think any time is saved one way or the other. As said in the review, the hotel does operate a scheduled shuttle van into Hua Hin, but only in the evenings. The drop-offs and pick-ups in town occur at the clock tower with the portraits of the King and Queen. In the vicinity of the clock tower is a pretty good night market, and also numerous restaurants. JJ told me there is also at least one ladyboy bar in Hua Hin (one of her friends works there). We didn't visit, but I did see pics of the place. It looks like they have about 6 or 7 girls available, and as you can guess they aren't quite - I am being kind here - BKK quality ladyboys judging from the pics. The resort is isolated, but during the day there was no incentive to leave and during the night you can take the shuttle into Hua Hin. Pranburi itself has a couple of farang-oriented bars within walking distance, but neither one of them was much fun. The Sheraton at least implies that they are on the beach, but directly across the road is nothing but rocks at the waterfront. There is also a fairly impressive walking trail / bike trail under construction along the waterfront. They had made a lot of progress on the trail since I was last here back in January. It looks like it will be a boardwalk type thing with food and drink available along the route. The first pic below is looking across Sheraton's lawn to the waterfront.The 2nd pic below shows the trail and the waterfront. The figure in the middle is JJ taking (what else?) selfies for facebook. The guy in the water was a fisherman gathering up his nets. Below is a pic of a typical walkway at the Sheraton. Our villa was about a 10 minute stroll from the big restaurant and reception area. There are no motorized vehicles on the paths, the staff uses bicycles to get around. The pics below are from my January 2016 visit here with Sofie. We spent 4 nights there. Sofie generated some interest in another thread here recently http://www.bangkokladyboys.net/forum/index.php?/topic/7289-sophie-maybe/ These pics are about the only ones I have from that trip that are suitable for the regular section. The other pics I took belong in the advanced section, and I will put them there if I don't lose my nerve first. Here, you can also get a closer look at the outdoor sunken bathtub, which was a big hit with both Sofie and JJ. The other pics are from the main restaurant at breakfast. Somebody please tell me what instrument the girl is playing. She provided entertainment every morning during the January visit. I have no idea what the instrument is called, but I hear it all the time in Asian music. 2 Youngone and carbonara69 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
carbonara69 2,139 #8 Posted June 17, 2016 Thanks from me too Oliver to take the time to write and post this great report. Somebody please tell me what instrument the girl is playing. She provided entertainment every morning during the January visit. I have no idea what the instrument is called, but I hear it all the time in Asian music. That's a hammered dulcimer (khim in thai) 2 oliver17 and bkkladyboy reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bkkladyboy 447 #9 Posted June 17, 2016 great shot, nice ink. 1 Boomerang reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mardhi 1,689 #10 Posted June 17, 2016 (edited) So is it fair to say, there is no sandy beach at/outside the resort? If so, that would kill it for me at least. I am not a great beach fan, but when I go to a beach resort, I do expect to see a beach and walk along it for at least an initial 10 minutes !!! (I have a private pool at my house,so a paddling/plunge pool does not cut it for me). Otherwise, a great sounding resort and something to keep in mind for when they create a beach (I don't kid you). Edited June 17, 2016 by mardhi Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
marklan71 24 #11 Posted June 18, 2016 any boinking pix? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
neo24 165 #12 Posted June 28, 2016 Thanks for taking the time to post this review. It makes thinking about a trip to Hua Hin. Have never been there. Just Remember Hua-Hin is a "BYOF" location. (Bring your own fun) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bkkharley 51 #13 Posted July 3, 2016 Did this resort used to be Evason/Six Senses? Pics look similar? If the same, villas are v private - I had a great party weekend there. If, different I need to get down there and try it out 😄 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
picaflor 20 #14 Posted July 4, 2016 Excellent review. Looks like a great place to wash off the grime from Bkk. Thanks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikel 2,475 #15 Posted July 14, 2018 On 6/17/2016 at 6:31 AM, HilbertSpace said: Thanks for taking the time to post this review. It makes thinking about a trip to Hua Hin. Have never been there. Hilbert Space was there? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites