HotelChatter

The owner told us we haven't experienced Nirvana until we've swam in their pool while watching the sun set behind the Gulf of Thailand. While we're not sure it compares to hearing Kurt Cobaine live, the prospect sounded rather pleasant.

The architecture is 1960s French-Colonial, with simple, straight lines, and low-slung, open-air walkways. The rooms vary in style and positioning -- most, though not all, have sea views. When we last visited during low season, most of the place was under construction, with the manager explaining that the whole place gets updated and repainted annually and that there’s plans to add eight additional rooms in 2010.

Guests have access The Sailing Club, next door and owned by Knai Bang Chatt, transports you to summertime on Cape Cod, with its light-blue clapboard building, with a wraparound deck and a proper boat dock. Food specials, with a focus on seafood and crab, are listed on the chalk boards on the walls, and while drinks aren’t cheap, it’s worth grabbing one for the lovely atmosphere, right on the ocean, with a sandy beach that’s kept miraculously clean even in rainy season.

There’s plenty of sport on offer, too, including volleyball, ping pong, and a range of water activities, including sailing, kayaking, and windsurfing.