Having booked 2 rooms for a family vacation, we arrived in Hua Hin to find that we had been fooled by the classic sneaky sales tactic of "bait and switch". We had booked a nonrefundable room through a travel website based on the photos for the main hotel. After arriving, we were walked across the main highway and up 4 flights of stairs into the "new wing". To use the small rooftop pool, eat breakfast or request anything from the reception desk meant crossing the highway (not good with our young daughter). Climbing the stairs in the humidity and jumping in the door before a new wave of mosquitos entered was a challenge for my parents. That's not even counting the drain that backed up in the unwalled, open space "shower" or the hot water heater that wouldn't work. It was like a bad dream that kept worsening. Our door had a large gap around it that meant every sound from the stairway was heard all night long. We first met the belligerent manager when he was waiting outside the wing demanding payment when we had already given the pre-paid voucher receipts to the staff when checking in. He blamed every problem on us, including the fact that they did not fix the broken water heater during our 2 days of staying. It's possible that the main hotel lives up to it's image on the website - but I wouldn't suggest anyone taking that chance or the chance that you are summarily placed in the wing across the street.

This was my second trip to Hua Hin, and the place I originally tried to book, the extremely well located Thipurai City Hotel, was fully booked. Agoda offerred me several other available choices and this was the only one in my price range located in the main part of Hua Hin town - many places are several miles away along the beach, but quite remote from any other options. The place was quite new, the room was well appointed and clean, and the rate was very attractive (under $60/nt complete). The only negatives were the fact that the hotel is across the very busy main road from the beach. The most popular part of Hua Hin beach is around a 1/2 km walk from the hotel, but crossing the main drag is the main challenge. The only other issue was that the rooftop pool is so tiny as to be a bit of a joke. You would never plan to hang out at this pool - but as the other reviewer noted, it's main use is as a quick cool off dip after walking back from the town or the beach. Internet was reasonably priced, breakfast was good, and the staff was friendly and helpful.

Overall, not a luxury property by any means, but a very pleasant economical place - if it were located on the other side of the main drag, it would be a steal for the price.

We stumbled across the Royal Asia Lodge almost by accident, and we were pleasantly surprised. We had only planned to stay two nights in Hua Hin, and when we decided to stay a third our hotel (Baan Duangkaew) were unfortunately unable to find room for us. So, with check-out imminent, we jumped on the net, booked the first thing that looked half-decent, and arrived on the doorstep of the Royal Asia Lodge about 15 minutes later! Since we'd booked through a last minute discount site, the reception staff hadn't had a chance to register that we were coming, but they bought glasses of icy-cold water to refresh us while we printed out our booking reference on the computer in reception and all was well.
Let me start by saying, this isn't the sort of place to attract rave reviews. There's nothing particularly spectacular or distinctive about it. It didn't have anywhere near the character of the Baan Duangkaew, but to put that into perspective, at around $40(Australian) it was about half the price. Memorable isn't always good (I bet you can remember the worst place you ever stayed) and from that point of view, there's nothing about the Royal Asia Lodge worthy of horror stories to entertain visiting relatives with either.
The Royal Asia seems quite new. The room furnishings were tasteful and modern, with a few decorative accents of Thai silk. The bathroom was also modern and spotless, with a granite vanity and the usual array of complimentary soap and shower caps. Each room has a balcony facing back towards the hills. The only quirky feature of the rooms is that they are wired for sound: turn a knob on the wall and you are instantly surrounded by cheesy pop music! Luckily it is possible to turn it back off!
The hotel is 7 storeys with a petite swimming pool (containing a single built-in spa/swim jet) and a handful of sun loungers on the roof. It wasn't the sort of pool you'd want to hang around all day, but it was perfectly adequate to cool off in after a hot walk back from shopping. It would have seemed more attractive with a few more potted plants around, but there was a view across Hua Hin to the sea. When you're heading up in the lift, be careful because the doors shut quite quickly!
Reception is furnished with attractive wooden tables and chairs, there's a small library of second-hand books, and the two internet terminals were convenient, if slightly overpriced. The breakfast was nothing special, but I generally consider breakfast a bonus if it's included in the room rate. If you don't find it up to scratch, it's easy and cheap enough to eat somewhere else.
Royal Asia Lodge is on a quiet Soi just off the main road, about a 10 minute hike from the night market and waterfront restaurants. It's not near the beach, but in my opinion the beach in Hua Hin is nothing to write home about anyway. Apparently there are nicer beaches a short drive out of town.
If you're on a budget, you want a place with modern facilities and a swimming pool, but think you can do without silk-clad reception staff, an orchid on your pillow and an extravegant buffet breakfast, this could be the hotel for you.