Hua Hin Hills Vineyard hosts region's first hot air ballooning festival (Thailand)
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Hua Hin Hills Vineyard hosts region's first hot air ballooning festival (Thailand)
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Category: Asia Pacific - Thailand - Gourmet restaurants
- Gourmet restaurants
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2011-01-25
Thai vineyard the primary setting for special event during harvest
Hot air balloon rides are always extraordinary, but they're that much better when you have arrived in a limo, and touch-down is marked by champagne toasts and live jazz.
From Feb. 12 through Mar. 6, Hua Hin Hills Vineyard, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and Stafford Edison International Classic Events will team to host the inaugural Hua Hin Hot Air Ballooning Festival, a three-week celebration of the finer things in life.
The adventure begins daily at 6 a.m., when participating guests are collected from their respective hotels and driven approximately 45 minutes via private limo to Hua Hin Hills Vineyard, a 480-acre plantation that produces grapes for Siam Winery’s most acclaimed label: Monsoon Valley.
That's followed by a one-hour flight in a hot air balloon over the Hua Hin Hills Vineyard estate and the exotic, rolling countryside that surrounds it.
Once back on the ground, a sparkling wine breakfast is served in a party tent set among the grape vines while a traditional jazz band performs. The morning-long activity concludes with a return limousine ride.
Each guest also receives an in-flight souvenir photograph and a "Certificate of Grand Voyage". The special package is priced at US $500 or THB 15,000 per person.
"Given February and March is when our harvest is taking place, the timing for such an event couldn't be better," said Kim Wachtveitl, Siam Winery's director of business development. "We will encourage festival-goers to participate at our planned harvest activities."
Hua Hin Hills Vineyard is located two-and-a-half hours south of Bangkok by car, along a country road that winds through pineapple plantations and quintessential Thai farming villages.
Set on a former elephant corral, the estate is renowned for its panoramic views — of a vineyard hemmed on three sides by a lush range and of visitors touring the grounds by pachyderm — and a bistro whose wine menu features all Siam Winery varietals including Monsoon Valley Cuvée de Siam, a gold-medal winner at the 2010 AWC International Wine Challenge in Austria.
Hua Hin Hills Vineyard is a member of "It's in Hua Hin," a cooperative launched last year in an effort to promote the world-class accommodations and activities available in and around Hua Hin, a popular retreat among Thai sovereigns for almost a century. Other members of the elite group include:
• Anantara Hua Hin, a quintessential beachfront resort that earlier this year made Travel + Leisure (US) magazine's annual compendium of the "World's 500 Best Hotels".
• Banyan Golf Club, featuring an 18-hole gem readers of Asian Golf Monthly voted the best course to open in Asia in 2009.
• Banyan Resort, a cluster of stylish, residential-style villas set in a quiet enclave between Banyan GC and downtown Hua Hin.
• Hilton Hua Hin Resort & Spa, renown for its central location, spacious Thai-style accommodation, panoramic sea views and 17-floor tower, the tallest in the region.
• Hua Hin Hills Vineyard, an elephant-corral-turned-grape plantation that is responsible for Siam Winery's award-winning Monsoon Valley series.
• Hua Hin Marriott Resort & Spa, whose ample use of earth tones — right down to each room's décor and throughout the outdoor spa — makes for a pleasing feeling of environmental respect.
• Hyatt Regency Hua Hin, owner of the longest stretch of sand in the region and The Barai, awarded "Best Resort Spa" at the 2009 Spa Asia Crystal Awards Asia Pacific.
• InterContinental Hua Hin Resort, a year-old retreat that has quickly distinguished itself as the hotel of choice for those seeking a helping of chic and a side of colonial charm.
• Sheraton Hua Hin Resort & Spa, one of the newest 5-star properties in the area and already one of the most popular, thanks to its ultra-modern design, 4,000-square-meter pool and impressive kids facilities.
• Sofitel Centara Grand Resort & Villas, which debuted on New Year's Day 1923 as the first hotel in Hua Hin and is still as grand as ever.
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