We have just returned from a wonderful 9 nights stay in the recently opened AKA Guti Kiri in Hua Hin. The AKA have two hotels in the outskirts of Hua Hin, the Guti being the most recent to open.

Firstly the AKA Guti is small. It has approximately 18 villas each with their own infinity pools. Travelling with three small children we were delighted with the set-up. It is the type of venue where you can escape to relax and enjoy the beautiful vista of the mountins while enjoying the peace.

The hotel villas were quite well appointed and you really felt like you were the only guests there.

If peace and quiet isnt your thing the hotel runs a shuttle bus which makes the ten minute trip into Hua Hin approximately every hour.

Overall I would recommend the AKA Guti as a place to get away from the hustle and bustle of daily life. I am looking forward to going again soon.

Looking for somewhere as a balance for Bangkok we settled on AKA Resort near Hau hin. Not in Hau Hin so do not be put off. Close enough for a 10 min drive in the resorts cars.
Ignore the last 2.5 Km of the road, close your eyes and only open them when the car stops (unless you are the driver) the access to the open reception area is between twin pools of calming water. The reception staff hand you an ice cold wipe for you hands and a glass of lemon grass infused fruit drink.
When asking for your “Washer” (voucher) the receptionist is asking for paper confirmation of your booking.
We were driven in a golf buggy to our one bed villa. The high walls around the villas mean we could walk from our bed room to our private pool for a skinny dip. The villas also have a seperate treatment room for those unwilling to walk to the spa.
The downside of the little bit of heaven is the portions in the restaurant bear no relation to the prices. One meal was an espresso cup of soup for one course and five pieces of ravioli for another. The next day my roast veg followed by pasta was more than enough for two people. So ask before you order.

1.Poor maintenance of the villas:wornwoodwork, worn furniture, bathroom fixtures, broken shower head, leaking pipes-and the place is two years old!! and of the landscape (during our stay some gardeners where brought to do some gardening, before the visit of the owners-the place cried for some gardening)
2.Low level bed furnishings (sheets, pillows, mattress- more like of a 2 star hotel- cheap). Low level furniture, uneasy feeling of not finding a place to organize one's stuff, very low nightstands of 25x35 cm. Dark rooms without a lighten spot for shaving and make up or for reading.
3.Very low safety level: my wife strained her leg and her arm and hit her head on a water trap in the entrance to the villa. We had to take her to the hospital, X-ray her foot. She was on crutches for 3 days after this incident. My wife is still in a lot of pain when she walks and she cannot drive, since the straining was in the right foot. Her hand hurts too and we have a head CT scheduled. Not only there is a water trap at the entrance of the villa- the area is not well lit at all. No one warned us of this potential danger. No one turned on the light.
Also the wooden deck around the pool gets too hot to step on it. The pool walls are poorly built, I is easy for anyone to fall and hit its back or head (we were extremely careful after the accident my wife had and therefore we noticed these safety faults).
The pathways between the villas and the public areas are poorly lit, the floor is not even- easy to loose balance and fall. We complained to the resort manager who agreed with us and said that he reported to the owners but that these are not willing to invest in any improvement. So it seems the owners is a bunch of greedy Thais looking to make some money without going the extra mile.
4.In general the 'atmosphere', the 'feeling' is not of a pampering resort. We checked in for five nights and in spite of the accident that occurred to my wife on our first day, we decided to stay in order not to ruin our vacation. But we did not enjoy our stay and our vacation as much as we have enjoyed our stays at many other resorts in Thailand.

We shall never return to the Aka and shall warn our friends not to get close to that establishment.

There are two Akas in Hua Hin by now, the 'old' one (which looks brand new) and the Guti. We stayed at the 'old' one. (Apparently the concepts differ a little and the Guti is a little less private, with several villas sharing a pool).
Everyone has their own villa with a sleeping room, a living room, a bathroom with outside shower and bathtub, a terrace with a large eternity pool, a deck terrace and a spa house with a 2nd bathroom (which can also be used as a second sleeping room). Villa and pool are surrounded by huge fences, so noone can look inside. So this is entirely private, and you can be naked all day if you like. The design is very 'Asian', very clear cut, simple, only natural earthen colours, no pictures at the walls, not cluttering or kitsch. The villa is surrounded by plants and water. So one day we had a frog in the bathroom, another day a very large spider, geckos and the like. If you have issues with insects and reptiles, this might be worrysome to you. We thought it was quite funny! There is no price difference in eating at the (excellent) restaurant or having food delivered to your house, so many guests take eat at their villa. It is a very quiet place and at first we thought we were the only guests, because the public areas were so empty. We enjoyed out stay very much. The spa treatments were very relaxing, everything was very beautiful, the food was excellent, giving you a choice between Thai and mediterranian food.

The only draw back is, that when you drive from the station to the resort you pass by terribly dirty areas, which basically look like huge rubbish disposals, everything looks very poor. When you drive through the entrance suddenly you are in another world. It feels unreal and not very pleasant. You feel like in a gated community with starving people at your doorstep. Nowhere else in Thailand (and we have been to one of the poorest areas), have we seen such dirty land with so much rubbish lying around.