Located in the heart of the popular seaside resort town of Hua Hin, the Marriott is the region’s premiere family holiday destination. The landscape design began as a renovation and expansion of the existing hotel grounds and was instrumental in its transformation to a family holiday resort. The core concept of the landscape was to create a space that reflects old style of Hua Hin, instilling a sense of nostalgia while at the same time adding a contemporary touch. Key to the landscape was developing a robust program that included a variety of exciting spaces catering to multiple age groups and families, including five large swimming pools.
The arrival court is located just off a busy main road and features a large water cascade and mature shade trees, providing a calming sound to drown out nearby traffic as well as a green backdrop to the ballroom. Once through reception, visitors are greeted by sweeping views towards the sea and over the main pool, which forms a complete loop around the function lawn and core facilities. The main pool also connects to ground floor guest room and provides a sense of enclosure and privacy to the central landscape. To accommodate a variety of users, the remaining 4 pools each carry a different theme and program, targeting distinct age groups.
Behind the main lawn, the adult pool is screened off with a large hedge, creating privacy and an inward focused space. The teenage and family pools include a large sun lounger area, a variety of water depths for children of different ages and a series of adventurous and play elements including a large water slide. Towards the beachfront, one of the highlights of the landscape design is the wet playground for children. A large pirate themed treehouse was designed within the shallow pool and fountain and serves as the focal point for family activity.
The softscape approach for Marriott Hua Hin was a simple and contemporary composition utilizing a traditional Thai planting palette. Clipped hedges, topiary and old style fragrant flowers such as Ixora harken back to early days of seaside Hua Hin and invoke a sense of nostalgia amongst guests.