While we love exploring Thailand from top to toe, Hua Hin has a special place in our hearts. Thanks to its diverse geographic location that sees it offering sandy beaches alongside inland attractions like stunning waterfalls and world-class golf courses, it’s understandable that it’s also beloved by the Thai royal family. So when we were invited to stay at Aleenta Hua Hin, we jumped at the chance.

While this stay was complimentary, all thoughts and opinions are our own.

Review of Aleenta Hua Hin

Aleenta’s tranquil Hua Hin property is located in Pranburi District, around 40 minutes south of Hua Hin proper. It’s divided into two sections, the main hotel and the Frangipani Wing. The former contains the gorgeous Ocean View and Beachfront Pool Residences, plus a small swimming pool and the hotel’s main restaurant. The latter is home to the luxurious Beachfront Frangipani Residences, the onsite Farmer’s Market and Aleenta’s cute beach café and bakery. It’s just 300m from the main property and you can walk between them along the sand.

The hotel’s quiet location, simple white buildings and lush gardens are the perfect place to escape for a few days, and since there are no TVs in the rooms, reading or taking part in cooking classes and wine tastings is encouraged. Their sustainable practices are also impressive – they were the first hotel in Asia to be entirely free of single-use plastic, organise regular beach clean-ups, and help several charities including turtle conservation and a local school.

The room

Aleenta Hua Hin ocean view room
Guests who enjoy reading and relaxing will be in heaven here

Our Ocean View Residence, titled Vanilla 3 (all of the rooms are named after flowers and spices), delivered a panoramic view over the water, as promised. Complete with a private balcony, plus a spacious bedroom and bathroom furnished with clean white linens, a strong selection of books to read, drinks, snacks, and a bed beautifully decorated with a flower arrangement. The sheets are 400-thread-count Egyptian cotton, in the wardrobe hangs loosely fitting pyjamas, and beside the bed is a pre-loaded iPod and an iPad with information about the resort – no expense has been spared at Aleenta.

Aleenta manages all of this luxury while remaining incredibly connected to the community. The flower arrangements are made using their in-house orchid garden and the furniture is all crafted by local artisans. Larger residences have private sunken pools and small gardens right on the beachfront, while those in the Frangipani wing lead directly into the large pool.

Drinking and dining

Using fresh, locally grown ingredients is essential to Aleenta’s dining concepts. They live by the term ‘locavore’, which refers to people who eat only locally grown food – all ingredients used at the hotel are sourced from within 30km, with 90% coming from their own farm. More impressively, Aleenta’s chefs are all experts in low-carbon cooking techniques, and much of the cooking and baking uses solar ovens.

In the main hotel is the cosy Aleenta Restaurant, where my favourite meal of the day, a delicious three-tiered breakfast tower with a plethora of fruits and pastries, is served daily. The wooden shutters can be thrown open for ocean views during the remainder of the day when they serve a mix of Thai and International dishes. Wellness is always an option here: plant-based, low-sugar, and keto dishes can all be found on the menu, although Western comfort foods such as pizza and burgers are also available.

Just a short way down the road, you’ll find Aleenta’s Bakery and Beachside Cafe. The sweet little bakery counter serves fresh coffee and a selection of sweet treats every day, while the cafe is perfect for enjoying a cocktail or a freshly blended smoothie to the sound of crashing waves.

Wellness and retreats

Aleenta Hua Hin swimming pool
The property offers two swimming pools and a number of villas with private pools

Both wings of the property have pools, a smaller half-moon one overlooking the main wing, with decking where movie nights are regularly hosted, and a larger one perched right on the beachfront in the Frangipani Wing. However, the Ayurah Spa is the main focus of wellness here, offering treatments focusing on the mind, body and nutrition. Classic Thai massages, reflexology and scrubs are available as standard, plus there’s an array of classes such as yoga, Pilates, meditation and Tai Chi for getting active and centred.

So extensive are the combinations of options here that Aleenta offers their own retreats – choose from the five-day ‘Stress & Burnout Prevention Retreat’ or the 3-day ‘Pause & Restore’, which both include accommodation, nutritious food, treatments, classes and a wellness consultation.

Excursions and activities

Curious to know more about where the food I was eating was grown, I was excited to find out that at Aleenta guests can visit their organic farm, which has an array of vegetables, herbs and free-range chickens. This is far from the only activity on offer, however. The in-depth Thai cooking class allows you to travel to the local market with Aleenta’s chef to pick out super-fresh ingredients, before using them to create classic dishes. There are bicycles parked at the hotel for guests to use, and you’ll receive route maps, maintenance kits and pocket WiFi if you’re keen to explore further afield.

Alternative outdoor activities also include kitesurfing and hiking, or if you’ve truly come to relax, perhaps a visit to a nearby Thai vineyard might appeal – complete with three tastings, tapas and a complimentary bottle of sparkling wine. If that weren’t enough, sunset canapes, visits to the local wildlife sanctuary and cocktail-making are also at your fingertips.

My favourite new Aleenta concept is their Work from Host programme, which is like a retreat for digital nomads. Nutritious breakfasts, meditation and reflexology are combined with wake-up and start working calls, plus office supplies and twice-daily juice deliveries for a dreamy WFH set up by the beach.

Find out more about Aleenta Hua Hin

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