It's a beautiful, unobstructed view from the 17th floor restaurant of Hua Hin's beach-front Hilton Hotel; a sparkling azure sea laps lazily against a stretch of coastline, dotted for now, at least, with a handful of high-rise hotels and condominiums.
Yet this imposing property is now one of eight five-star resorts and dozens of present and future condos threatening to turn the royal resort of Hua Hin into the kingdom's latest tainted seaside paradise.
Hua Hin, less than three hours by car -- and now 35 minutes by plane -- southwest of Bangkok, has long been considered the refined refuge of the Thai and expatriate elite -- Thailand's answer to Deauville, the glamourous French seaside resort northwest of Paris.
Since the mid-1990s it has branded itself as a relaxation mecca, with world-class spas such as Chiva-som raising the sleepy town's profile.
It received a stellar boost to its pedigree two years ago, however, when it was announced that aging and revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit were taking up permanent residence in the town's Klai Kangwon Palace.
"If the king has moved down here, it must be special," boasted Niphan Chonlawit, Hua Hin's district chief, in an interview at his headquarters in the middle of pristine farmland several kilometres from the coast.
Property prices have soared, once-empty condos have filled, with more in the cards, and politicians rub shoulders on the weekends with military officers, business barons and high society doyennes and debutantes.
Diplomats and VIPs visit the monarch and return home spreading the word of Hua Hin's charms.
The town's royal blessing could prove to be a strain, Niphan concedes. The resort received 300,000 visitors last year, compared with the millions of local and foreign tourists who venture to the flashy resort islands of Phuket and Samui and the garish seaside destination Pattaya.
Numbers are steadily rising, however -- at 4 percent per year says Niphan, but up to 21 percent according to some well-informed hotel managers.
That's putting pressure on the resort and bringing the same over-development concerns, including a growing water shortage and a controversial sex trade, that now plague Thailand's top tourist draws.
"There is a government policy to control the development of Hua Hin," Niphan stressed. "It's already under control."
He points to laws on the books since 2000 which forbid any future high-rise construction within 50m of the beach, which stretches for some 15km. The municipality has taken developers to court, he said, over construction plans on Khao Takiap beach a few kilometers south of Hua Hin, where half a dozen condiminiums already crowd the coastline.
Just north of Khao Takiap, the latest newcomer is the Hyatt Regency, whose public relations staff were quick to point out the beach-front resort's low-rise "contemporary Thai" design.
Marc Cherrier, resident manager of Sofitel Central Hua Hin, believes authorities are aware of the need to maintain a traditional atmosphere.
"The Thai government understands they don't want to fall into the same trap as Phuket and Samui," Cherrier says.
Cherrier's hotel pre-dates the kingdom's manic island tourism boom of the 1980s.
Once named the Railway Hotel, the sublimely restored colonial-style property is the oldest resort in Thailand.
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