A One-Of-A-Kind Stay With The #1 B&B Hua Hin On Trip Advisor: Sea Harmony Eco Lodge
Sea Harmony Eco Lodge is ranked the #1 B&B in Hua Hin by TripAdvisor, and guests were singing praises of this place. Call me skeptic, but I learned to take reviews with a pinch of salt.
Since I was traveling with mom and cousin’s family, I was silently praying, please, please, please let this place lives up to its expectations.
And hell yeah it did. Yeah, baby, yeah! Sea Harmony truly deserves the crown! A short 2 days 1 night stay, which I wished could have last longer.
Bf and I have stayed at many places at Hua Hin, and also Cha-am, and we had pleasant experiences so far. All places are charming in their own way. There is something about Hua Hin and Cha-am, that just radiate awesomeness.
Sea Harmony, is in a league of its own.
What makes Sea Harmony eco-friendly?
They use solar energy, installing solar socket, energy saving lights, compost food scarp, recycle food scarp, recycle and reuse grey-water and blackwater, making fertiliser by earthworms, etc, etc.
By the way, greywater is any household wastewater with the exception of wastewater from toilets, which is known as blackwater. Sources of greywater include, e.g. sinks, showers, baths, clothes washing machines or dish washers.
They also serve organic eggs, and grow their own vegetables!
What makes Sea Harmony outstanding?
I would probably say there are 4 things that makes it so awesome-mosem:
#1 – The hosts / owners – Node and Indy
#2- Their resident French bulldogs – Chaba and Kasha
#3- The house’s ambience
#4 – Eco Cafe’s F&B
#1- The hosts / owners
Node and Indy received so much mentions on reviews, and rightly so. Some people are just born to run B&B, and they are exactly that type. I am glad these people are found in Hua Hin, my all-time-favorite excursion destination from Bangkok.
I was fortunate to experience Node’s hospitality, prior to check in. Needing to clarify on bedding arrangement for child guest, I spoke to Node before booking. “Pud pasa Anglid dai mai ka?” (means Can you speak English?). He speaks fluent English, of course .. oops. He was articulate and super easygoing. He told me that since I was going to book direct, I can sort out the arrangement when I check in. It was a good sign.
He was also the one who checked us in, and was friendly. Yet knowing when to keep his distance.
I only met Indy the next day, during breakfast. There was no introduction proper, but pretty much guessed so. She was extremely accommodating with my mom’s breakfast request: change this, remove this, yada, yada. For that, I am thankful.
Both of them just radiate efficiency, and this is a trait much needed in this country!
I also like it that they have small little thoughtful things around the house, such as beach towel and mosquito repellent.
#2- Their resident French bulldogs
Not a dog lover myself, but Chaba and Kasha made it easy to love them. I was a bit worried that my mom might be put off by them, but no, she loves the dogs too!
Chaba and Kasha are regularly featured on Sea Harmony’s Facebook page. These dogs are superstars in their own way! Should have asked for their autograph.
If you are not a dog lover, fret’ not. Node and Indy and other staff check on the dogs regularly, and will shoo them away (if needed).
Node told me that the dogs will bark when they see faces that they recognize. Sort of like to welcome guests. Cute!
#3- The house’s ambience
Wow. I was thoroughly impressed with the house home. It’s truly a home-away-from-home … If only my home is anything like this. So cosy, and lots of greenery.
There are 5 guestrooms altogether, and all are decorated differently. There is 1 room at the lower deck (Navy room), and 4 rooms at the upper deck: Classic and Cushy (promenade deck), InnWhite (balcony deck room) and Amber (top deck). All rooms come with ensuite bathrooms.
Top Deck Amber: THB 2,700 – the largest room and comes with a private balcony
Balcony Deck InnWhite: THB 2,300
Promenade Deck Classic: THB 2,000
Promenade Deck Cushy: THB 2,000
Lower Deck Navy: THB 1,600
There is a big open living room in the middle of the house, both at the upper and lower floor. We used the one at the upper floor a lot.
We also enjoyed ourselves a lot at the upper floor’s balcony.
I booked Classic and Cushy for my group.
I let my cousin’s family choose their room, and they chose Classic. Why so? Because their little daughter loves Cinderella, and associate the bed in the room as Cinderella’s bed! I bet that was the last thing Node and Indy have in their mind.
Yipee! And I got Cushy room, and it’s my preferred room among the two rooms. No “Cinderella bed” for me, phew! According to Sea Harmony’s website, this room has also inspired a lot of their guests who previously stayed in Cushy Room to renovate their own bedroom by showcasing some objects of their favorite collectible items on their bed wall!
I like InnWhite room, their balcony deck room, but it was not available at time of booking. The room’s door open up to a garden at the front of the room. There is a private entrance from the lower garden, so guests can walk up to the balcony deck garden.
Node told me that Navy (located on ground floor) is the cheapest room, but breakfast is not included. I also like the look and feel of the room. There is also a small living room in front of the room.
#4 – Eco Cafe’s F&B
Food-wise, breakfast was awesome.
Since we only paid for 5 pax, we were only entitled to 5 breakfast set (including a beverage). Since cousin’s 4-year old daughter is a small eater, she shared her parents’ breakfast. But, we ordered one drink for her. That was not charged to us, when I went to settle our bill. I would like to think that they would have just let us walk away with a beverage on the house, but I think that wouldn’t be right. So, we paid for it 🙂
We had their Isaan Breaky, English Breakfast and Continental Breakfast set. I would like to come back for their Typical Thai Breakfast, boiled rice soup (kow dtom).
Guests can choose to dine indoor or outdoor. I love their outdoor garden!
Since they grow their own organic vegetables in Sea Harmony’s backyard, guests can pick organic vegetables from their backyard and let Node and Indy create healthy lunch and dinner menus for them. Jaw-dropping impressive!
Coffee lovers must try their coffee! According to Sea Harmony’s website, Indy and Node traveled around the globe to find the best coffee technique and barista classes. Their coffee has been selected from Chiang Rai, the best area in Thailand for coffee growing. The beans are then and carefully roasted in Hua Hin to produce the high standard 100% Dark Arabica coffee. If you like it, you can buy their coffee beans at 600 baht per kg.
What are the negatives?
Sea Harmony is located at Khao Takiab, and we had to drive pass by Cicada Market to get back to Sea Harmony. The only complaint that I have would be the insane traffic heading in and out of Cicada Market. There was also a temple fair when I was there, and caused major traffic deadlock. Not funny when my lil’ niece was dead tired, and we were in a hurry to send her back.
I also find that the water pressure in the shower weak, but tolerable.
Tips:
#1 Booking direct with Sea Harmony on their website here, gave me a 10% discount. So, do book direct and enjoy the discounted rates, rather than through travel agency or 3rd party booking sites. Their discount code is ECOHARMONY14, and can only be used on SEA Harmony Website for online booking and pay via Paypal. It is valid until 31 December 2016.
#2 They are also listed on Airbnb here. There is a special deal where you can stay at one of their guestrooms, and receive FREE SURPRISE OFFER* According to one guest review on Airbnb, when the guest arrived, she was given three envelopes for “lucky-draw”, and she received one dessert surprise. Not exactly sure how this booking works .. I assumed that they’ll allocate one of the five rooms, according to availability.
If you stay here, do say hi to the Sea Harmony family for me!
SEA Harmony Eco Lodge
8/10 Takiab 6 Takiab Village Nong Kae Hua Hin
Prachubkirikhun 77110
Tel: 085 109 2680
Website: www.seaharmonyhuahin.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/seaharmony