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  Buddha: " Whenever you see things, just see. Whenever you listen, just listen. Whenever you know, just know."Hotel Sofitel - Afternoon Tea at the old Railway Hotel, Hua Hin, now run as the Sofitel Centara Grand Resort & Villas.You don't need an afternoon tea invitation to the Sofitel Centara Grand Resort & Villas,
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We visited the Sofitel, Hua Hin, which is just one of the Sofitel Hotels' chain, for afternoon tea in February 2008 as a casual visitor to 'The Museum', an airy covered
area with verandahs, one overlooking the gardens within the main hotel and another at the other side of the lounge area overlooking the topiary garden. We
chose to sit by the topiary garden just inside the lounge.
The Museum afternoon tea room is exactly what it says it is, a small museum of artifacts from the long history of the Sofitel - originally the Railway Hotel, Hua Hin and the first quality hotel in Hua Hin, that has
occupied this idyllic spot on the beach front for almost a century.
Afternoon tea, is a buffet style, hallmark afternoon tea, a traditional 'colonial' style affair, with an afternoon tea menu consisting of unlimited tea or
coffee presented in china, bite size sandwiches, miniature scones with jam and cream, tiny cakes, delicate mini crepes, fresh fruit cubes and fresh
strawberries and more cream. In fact a typical English afternoon tea.
We were waited on by charming Thai ladies dressed in costumes that come straight out of Thai royal history, from the time of King Rama V, wearing silk Thai trouser-pants and fine lace blouses. This brings an air of history and tradition back to life with afternoon tea etiquette thrown out of the window, unless you really want to eat your sandwiches with a knife and fork - and some did. This is not afternoon tea at Buckingham Palace! But it is the elegant garden afternoon tea of Hua Hin. 
Sofitel's afternoon tea starts at 15.00 and lasts until 17.00, so you have time to try everything if your waistline can stand it! By the end of our visit we
had consumed two pots of beverages each and taken our fill of enough calories not to worry about eating again that day. And the cost of our foray into
history was 480 THB per person, less than £7.50p per head!
We had arrived at about 14.30, which gave us enough time to have a look at the seaside aspect of the hotel and gardens, right down to the Gulf of Siam beach and
after eating we strolled around the topiary garden to see the rest of this historic hotel and grounds.
We found out that the Sofitel, Hua Hin, with its colonial architectural style, nestled in acres of tropical gardens, is right on the beach and is a Hua Hin
resort with three swimming pools. Other features include over 200 rooms and over 40 adjacent villa style apartment rooms, five restaurants, three conference rooms for up to
around 300 people, a fitness centre and spa and extensive onsite recreation.
Along with Raffles’ in Singapore the rich heritage of this Hua Hin Thailand hotel, makes this one of Southeast Asia's most romantic hotel properties. 
We would say that this renowned Hua Hin hotel offers colonial era architecture, refined service, and world-class facilities, the hotel is really pleasant and
has a lovely feel to it. The atmosphere throughout the hotel is very relaxing and peaceful.
Between
Hua Hin town and 
Getting
to the Sofitel Hotel from Bangkok isn't that easy but you can hire a private
plane, about an hour, from Bangkok for around 5000 THB, under £100.00p, 
We can recommend the Sofitel Hotel, Hua Hin for a Thailand honeymoon experience, a romantic anniversary or a birthday getaway, a place to impress your girlfriend and for
mature travelers.
We have reservations over the safety of the sea for safe swimming but the white sandy beach is great. There are hidden rocks below the water line, and if you
catch your body on them you may pay the price of loosing some skin or worse!
Baby sitting service, banquet facilities, billiards, cocktail bar, conference facilities, gymnasium - fitness suite, laundry facilities, lounges,
restaurants, spa, 3 swimming pools, giant chess, table tennis, tennis courts and Wi-Fi wireless internet access, amongst others. 
The Palm Seafood Pavilion - for an array of fresh seafood in a beachfront restaurant. The Palm Seafood Pavilion is claimed to be Hua Hin's premier fine
dining venue, we can recommend 
The Palm Terrace Snack Bar - a brasserie, from 10.00 to 18.00 and a non smoking area.
The Elephant Bar - for original cocktail creations in air-conditioned comfort and listen to your favourite tunes played by a resident pianist, open 10.00 to
01.00
The Museum - Tea corner, afternoon tea party for high-quality tea, coffee and pastries, served in the Museum or outdoors, open 10.00 to 19.00 No need to book afternoon tea for outside guests. 
The Sachmo Club - Offering live entertainment with easy listening music, open 21.00 to 01.00
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