Pearl@HuaHin

I have not stayed at this hotel and am just leaving a comment in regards to the laundry service that this hotel offers: The (male) owner is quite unfriendly and rigid. I had the same experience today as I did 1yr ago, so now I am deciding to write about it. Today is my last in Hua Hin and I am quite busy running errands and kindly requested that the front desk please change my (small) load of laundry from the washer to the dryer so that I can have a bit of extra time to enjoy the city. I offered to pay extra for the time it would take for them to do this… Around 45 seconds from the office to the washer/dryer and back. To note: the washing/drying area is 5 feet from the reception. But the owner completely rebuffed me, with “no sir cannot, cannot” to which my kindly response was “why” and all the owner would say was “no, cannot, cannot” about 5 times. Also to note, the owner does in fact speak English fluently. Support businesses that are flexible and happy to 1. have customers and 2. be helpful. Will not come back for a third time.

This room was cheap and when things are cheap, you should probably expect to have compromise on some things. One thing I can never compromise on, however, is hygiene! When I arrived at this hotel (after a very long and tiring journey) I was greeted by a security guard and a woman, who were both at the front desk. I was frustrated to learn that the swimming pool would not available for me to use, as you had to book a Pearl Villa apartment to gain access to the pool, yet the ad for the room had images of the pool in the gallery selection - note to self, check next time, before booking. The guard and the woman working found my frustration amusing - this did nothing to ease my mood and tainted my immediate impression of the hotel. When I was shown to my room, I discovered that the bed sheets and pillows had very obvious yellow staining on them and even some kind of grit or sand. It was as though they hadn’t even been changed from the previous guest. I addressed this immediately and, after a short discussion between the security guard and -presumably his boss- was shown to another room, on the floor below. This room was only marginally better and cleaner than the previous one. Marginally. From this point on, things improved slightly. Fresh water every day, plus linen changes when requested (I didn’t opt to have my room tidied everyday because it isn’t necessary to do so and it’s kinder on the environment, in a number of ways). On the times that the room was cleaned, the bathroom was barely touched, if at all. The lady who I interacted with from day 2 onwards was much more helpful than the previous staff (from the night of my arrival) and she helped me figure out the washing machines, situated just outside the hotel reception area (one of the machines had taken my baht, but not registered it, so she gave me another 10 baht to use, which I later gave back to her). I sleep with ear plugs, however for those that don’t, I have sympathy for, due to the noise level from the nearby bars, for the rooms situated toward the rear of the hotel. This wasn’t an issue for me, but worth mentioning if you’re sensitive to noise - probably better to ask for a room that is front facing. Some positives: - spacious room - refrigerator - desk - wardrobe - 20 baht laundry machines - manned front desk - good location Negatives: - not clean enough for my standards - staff inconsistency/showed little respect or understanding - holes in the bug mesh/grill in the bathroom (I fixed this, temporarily, with plasters) Probably wouldn’t recommend this place to others, that said, it IS very cheap and you do get what you pay for. 2 stars for the misleading pics of pool, low standards of hygiene and lack of respect from the staff on the night of my arrival.