Hua Hin Beach.

The first recorded visitors arrived in late 1911, barely a week after the line from Cha-am opened: Prince Wilhelm of Sweden and Grand Duchess Maria, guests at King Rama VI's coronation, travelling with Prince Chakrabongse and his wife Katya. There were no buildings yet, so they stayed in tents pitched on the beach.

The first residence was built by Prince Naresworarit, who named his house "Saen Samran Sukhawet" on the southern beach of Ban Laem Hin — later split into the Samran and Sukhawet residences — and he called the beach "Hua Hin". Queen Saovabha and Queen Savang Vadhana came to stay regularly, making Hua Hin fashionable with the elite; seaside homes followed, such as Ban Chakrabongse (now the site of the Hilton), Tamnak Diskul and Ban Phlap Pa.

The town grew along the railway. On 1 January 1913 the line opened south of Hua Hin; in 1917 the railway department laid roads and built wooden shophouses for rent in town; and once the southern line linked up with Malaya, Penang and Singapore in 1921, Hua Hin became a stopover for international travellers.

Curiously, King Rama VI never stayed in Hua Hin, even when advised to come for his rheumatism. He felt the town already belonged to the elite and the public, and that a royal residence would create a restricted zone — "I do not wish to disturb their enjoyment," he said. Instead he built a simple wooden residence at Hat Chao Samran in Phetchaburi, first staying there in April 1918; but fresh water ran short, the light railway kept breaking down and flies swarmed, and after a second visit in 1921 he never returned. He later built the Mrigadayavan Palace on the beach at Cha-am, near Hua Hin.

In 1922 King Rama VI ordered a "Hua Hin Hotel" — the Railway Hotel — overseen by Prince Purachatra, head of the railway department, and designed by the railway's Italian architect Alfredo Rigazzi: a two-storey European-style brick and timber building of 14 rooms with a wraparound veranda. It took its first guests in October 1922 and officially opened on 1 January 1923, at about 20 baht a night. Next to it lies the Royal Hua Hin Golf Course, said to be Thailand's first international-standard course; sources give opening dates from 1922 to 1928, and the original clubhouse is still preserved.

Under King Prajadhipok (Rama VII) and Queen Rambai Barni, the royal couple stayed in Hua Hin from around 1926 and built a seaside palace; the foundation stone of the main residence was laid on 21 September 1927. The name "Suan Klai Kangwon" first appears in the court diary on 3 September 1927, said to be inspired by Sans Souci ("without care") in Potsdam, Germany. Around the same time the king had Chatchai Market built under Prince Purachatra, after whom it is named; its seven continuous arches symbolise the seventh reign.

Klai Kangwon was built with King Prajadhipok's own funds as a hot-season residence and given to Queen Rambai Barni. Its first residence, "Piam Suk", is believed to have been designed by the French-trained architect Prince Itthithepsan Kridakara, and the housewarming ceremony was held on 10–11 April 1929.

On 24 June 1932, as the People's Party seized power in Bangkok, King Prajadhipok was at Klai Kangwon. When Phraya Issaradhirajsevi brought the news, the king said, "I knew there would be people plotting a revolt, but I did not think it would come so soon." He called the princes and ministers in Hua Hin to a meeting; meanwhile the warship HTMS Sukhothai arrived with a letter from the People's Party asking him to return as king under a constitution. He accepted, and left for Bangkok at 18:00 on 25 June 1932.

Hua Hin was caught up in politics again the next year. When the Boworadet Rebellion broke out on 11 October 1933, led by Prince Boworadet against the People's Party government, the king stayed neutral, but amid the confusion he left Klai Kangwon on 17 October 1933 for Songkhla, staying about a month before returning to Bangkok on 9 December to open parliament the next day.

Administratively, Hua Hin was once a minor district under Pranburi and became a full district in 1949. It is also the birthplace of Pone Kingpetch (Mana Sidokbuab), born in 1935, who beat Pascual Pérez at Lumpinee Stadium on 16 April 1960 to become Thailand's first world boxing champion; his memorial opened on Hua Hin Beach in 1992 before moving to the front of Pone Kingpetch Park.

The award-winning Hua Hin station building · Photo: Ian Gratton

Hua Hin station has a special building, the Royal Waiting Room. It was originally the royal railway station at Sanam Chandra Palace in Nakhon Pathom, built around 1910 for King Rama VI; after falling out of use it was dismantled and stored. In 1968 the State Railway decided to rebuild it at Hua Hin for King Rama IX's journeys to Klai Kangwon, and it opened on 6 April 1974 under the name "Phlapphla Phra Mongkut Klao". The station itself won the Association of Siamese Architects' conservation award in 1982.

The old Hua Hin station building seen in most photos dates from 1926, when Prince Purachatra headed the railway, and shows Victorian influence; beside it stands a steam locomotive bought from Britain and used during the Second World War. With the double-track railway came a new three-level elevated station, including a basement — said to be Thailand's first elevated station with a pedestrian underpass — while the old building has been preserved.

The Railway Hotel has its own later story. After a new wing in 1928 it was renamed the Hua Hin Hotel; in the 1984 film The Killing Fields it stood in for a hotel in Phnom Penh; it became the Sofitel Central Hua Hin in 1988 and the Centara Grand Beach Resort Hua Hin in 2012. The Royal Hua Hin Golf Course has been managed by Boon Rawd Brewery since 28 February 1985.

The royal connection continued under King Bhumibol (Rama IX), who stayed often at Klai Kangwon and lived in Hua Hin full-time from 2004 to 2006 before returning to Bangkok for health reasons. On Khao Hin Lek Fai stands a 2 m statue of King Prajadhipok holding his hat, begun in 1994, installed in 2000 and officially opened by the King and Queen on 3 April 2021.

In 1958–1959 King Bhumibol and the royal family stayed at Klai Kangwon and visited many districts of Prachuap Khiri Khan. Hua Hin even has a dish born in the palace kitchen: "Khao Phat Klai Kangwon", pineapple fried rice with prawns, crab, shellfish, squid, dried shrimp, cashews and raisins, recorded in the "Banthuek Nuek Aroi" cookbook by Thanphuying Prasansuk Tantivejakul, head of the royal Thai kitchen.

At the southern end of the beach is Khao Takiab, "Chopstick Hill", whose name is tied to Prachuap's folk tale of Ta Mong Lai, in which household objects hurled during a family quarrel became hills and islands. Locals say the hilltop temple was once surrounded by sea until villagers built a causeway and road up to it. A golden standing Buddha more than 16 m tall faces the sea — locals call it "the Buddha calming the ocean" — and 128 steps lead to a Buddha footprint on top. Khao Takiab and Khao Hin Lek Fai are also home to more than 3,000 macaques; the municipality has been sterilizing them since 2017 to reduce conflict with residents.

Today Hua Hin is a major resort town: the district had about 66,000 residents in 2019, visitor numbers grew about 6% a year in 2014–2019, and in 2018 the government announced a 3.5-billion-baht upgrade of Hua Hin Airport. The town suffered several bomb blasts in August 2016 but bounced back as a favourite getaway. For all its modern hotels, the same beach where a Swedish prince once camped more than a century ago is still the heart of the town.