X2 Kui Buri (Hua Hin)
X2 Kui Buri
52 Moo 13,
Ao Noi Sub-district,
Muang District,
Prachuap Khiri Khan 77210
Thailand
When
We visited this hotel in November 2008. X2 Kui Buri is still very new hotel by the reviews I’d read before choosing this particular resort, but by November 2008 I’d have to say it’s matured rather nicely although it’s not quite up to the highest standards set by other Hua Hin resorts such as Evason Hideaway.
What We Liked
We liked the very minimalistic design that was consistent throughout the resort. From the check-in counter, to the walkway leading to our villas and throughout the resort. It gave a clean, sterile, almost too-sterile feeling but it worked. The staff were courteous although not the quickest to snap to attention and satisfy some needs such as delivering our cocktails to our villa and such. But they were very accommodating and professional, humble and apologetic when we asked them to make the drinks stronger which I found refreshing after all.
The all villas/suites have their own semi-private plunge pools, but the large general pool was also nicely situated, which little caches where you could privately have ‘moments’ with your loved one. I don’t mean sexual, but just kind of some cool places to chill out, sit, and not have to have the whole world staring at you.
We enjoyed the close proximity to Kui Buri (I believe that’s the name) downtown beach area. It’s about 10 minutes on a motorbike which you can rent from X2 (they’re cheap and fully automatic! Foreigner proof!). This strip has a road that you can drive along the beach and see a beautiful mountain scape, clear blue water, restaurants and just laid back, non-touristy Thai culture. There’s even an area by one of the hills/mountains near the end of the strip where a large troupe of monkeys live and play. You can buy bananas and fruits to feed them. They’re climbing all over the place, they’ll hop up on your vehicle and hang out. Great fun and an amazing experience.
I’d like to point out the most memorable part of our trip to X2 Kui Buri that we’ll always remember. My wife and I walked to the beach at about 12:00am and all of the lights were pretty much out at this time. The guard who was watching over us, took it upon himself to go get us a beach-wind-proof candle and light it for us so we could sit on the beach lounge chairs and have our romantic time together. He didn’t have to do that, he’s just the security guard. It was a beautiful touch and just this one gesture made our opinion of X2 go up a few notches.
Being so isolated can be good sometimes, and we were pretty much ready for this more laid back, private vacation on the road less traveled (Hua Hin downtown is very touristy, hustly and bustly(sic)).
What Could Be Improved
The plunge pools outside of the villas. While they are sparsely enclosed by thin shrubbery, they are not 100% private. If you want to skinny dip or have some private time with your love one, you won’t find it outside your ‘private pool villa’. Traditionally a ‘private pool villa’ in Thailand includes complete privacy. Sunbathe in the buff if you will, swim free and in the skinny. But this is just not possible at X2 Kui Buri. I spoke with the management and they said they are working on enclosing the villa pools to become fully private soon. Time will tell and when/if we go back I’ll update this post.
There are some safety concerns I noticed that would make an OSHA inspector in the USA have a massive stroke:
- By the diner/restaurant, there’s a beautiful view (of which I might add, that the chef made a special table with candles right on the ledge of the view. This was going above and beyond in response to my request for a ‘very special dinner’ for my wife and I. Thank you Chef!). The alarming issue was that our char legs were within about a foot from going over a ledge with a 6 foot drop into the sand. This was just at our special dinner. When a special table isn’t front and center there, there’s just a deck/walkway that looks like it descends down into stairs so you can walk down to the beach when in fact it is a CLIFF with NO WARNING to anyone. Heaven forbid it was dark, or you were tipsy or both for that matter!
- The large community pool. At night, there is no illumination, at least not at the late hour we were coming back from our private beach walk. So unless you brought a flashlight, and completely sober, there’s a good risk of falling right into it.
About Our Room
The room was a nice, different design. We liked it. It had the minimalist feeling to it, but it worked. A slight drawback was on the sides of the ceiling there are skylights, soft skylights, that are unavoidable and they let light into the room even when you don’t want it.
The only major disappointment in our villa was the lack of a bath tube. Oh, how I love a hot bath. I looked forward to the hot baths I would take and was disappointed when there were none.
Summary
X2 Kui Buri is a beautiful hotel, a new one that has almost reached full maturity in terms of service, facilities and location. The location is ideal if you don’t mind driving 20 minutes or so past downtown Hua Hin in search of the road less travelled, a quiet, relaxing and very chic place to relax. We’d definitely stay there again and the prices are always right.
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