Hotel & Tours Group

Today, Thailand's revered king, Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest-reigning monarch, turns 80. To say that the Thais worship the man is an understatement. His picture hangs in almost every house, restaurant, bar, café, office and shop in the country. He enjoys the kind of popularity that British royalty can only dream about.

So, where is King Bhumibol likely to hold his birthday celebrations? He'll probably spend some time in Hua Hin. "Our King loves to come to Hua Hin. In fact, he almost lives here these days," says Narongchai "Andy" Suparat, the guest activity manager at the Six Senses Hideaway Resort.

Yet, King Bhumibol isn't the first Thai monarch to choose Hua Hin as his preferred getaway. Located about 160 miles south of Bangkok and set along a gorgeous sweeping beach looking out at the Gulf of Thailand, Hua Hin has been drawing royalty for almost a hundred years. "In the 1920s King Rama VII had a railway line built here from Bangkok," says Andy. "He even constructed a massive palace. (Wang Klai Kang Won Palace [map])"

The royal court, associated hangers-on and Bangkok's elite followed Rama VII south. With dozens of grand villas being built, along with attractions such as Thailand's first golf course and one of Asia's most famous luxury stopovers – the still surviving Railway Station Hotel (Sofitel Centara Grand Resort & Villas) – the great and the good of Thailand descended on Hua Hin in their droves. They, much like the present monarch, are still coming, but these days a whole other industry has been built around Hua Hin's attractions – upmarket, international tourism.

Outside of Phuket and Bangkok, Hua Hin has the biggest collection of top-rated hotels in Thailand. Sheratons, Marriotts, Hyatts, Anantaras and Six Senses sit alongside what the cognoscenti regard as Thailand's cutest and best-preserved resort town. "We've managed to keep many of the 1920s buildings," says Andy as we take in Hua Hin's antique, wooden railway station (map), rows of frangipani-adorned white-clapboard villas and the distinctive town centre. "Most other Thai resort towns have just built new structures," says Andy, "but we wanted to maintain a more relaxed and traditional atmosphere."