C Visits an Incredible Landmark -- King Rama VI's Summer Palace

If you are living in the Cha Am — Hua Hin area and want to escape to a place of peace and quiet or you want to show guests that visit you a very interesting place check this out. If you are living in the Cha Am — Hua Hin area and want to escape to a place of peace and quiet or you want to show guests that visit a very interesting place then you need to check out King Rama VI’s summer Palace; The Palace of Love and Hope.
The Maruekhathaiyawan Palace which is located between Cha-Am and Hua Hin was built by King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) as a Royal seaside summer retreat in the year 1923.
The King had a Palace built on Hat Chao Samran beach before Maruekhathaiyawan Palace in Hua Hin, but was unhappy with it and decided to demolish the building. The Maruekhathaiyawan Palace, facing the sea, was built from materials from the dismantled buildings of the old residence at the nearby Chao Samran Beach.
The location was convenient because Cha-Am was back then was connected to Bangkok by the rail system and the area was considered healthy with its forested area and fresh sea air.
The Palace is raised on pillars and entirely made from teak wood. Its very unique architectural style is completely different from that of the other Thai Palaces located in different parts of the country.
The original design of the Palace was done by the King himself, and an Italian architect, Ercole Manfredi was hired to finish the design.
The palace was built to be a very comfortable place with excellent ventilation and niches filled with water in the pillars to keep out ants. King Rama VI used Marukhathaiyawan or Mrigadayavan Palace, as a summer residence for him and other members of the Royal Family until his death in 1925.
Three sections make up the Palace, which is also called The Palace of Love and Hope. These are connected by long covered walkways. Two other longer covered corridors connect the Palace with the beach. One corridor extends from the King’s personal living quarters and one one from the women’s section of the Palace.
King Vajiravudh’s personal living chambers, called Phisarn Sakorn, consists of a bedroom, a bathroom, a dressing room, a study room and a dining area. King Vajiravudh, was a great poet and wrote literature in his study overlooking the sea. He ruled Thailand from 1920 until 1925.
The King’s wife, resided in the Samundra Biman section of the Palace. This section consisted of a number of rooms including a bedroom, living room, a bathroom, a dressing room as well as another corridor leading to a bathing pavilion on the beach.
Another section called the Sewakamart section was used for official functions, housed offices and also contained a theater where dramas were performed.
A very interesting fact is that when the Royal Family would come to stay in Maruekhathaiyawan Palace for the summer, their furniture would be moved there from Bangkok with them.
After King Vajiravudh’s death in 1925, the Palace was left deserted. The current King had it fully restored and you can still see some of the King’s furniture like his sofa and bed and his writing desk with pencils and paper.
Maruekhathaiyawan Summer Palace is located almost halfway between Cha-Am and Hua Hin in Petchaburi province, some 10 kilometers South of Cha-Am and 15 kilometers North of Hua Hin inside the Rama VI army camp.

The Palace can be visited every day except Wednesday from 8 am until 4 pm, Saturday and Sunday until 5 pm. Admission is 60 Thai Baht per person.

The taking of photos upstairs inside the Palace is prohibited. Also please dress appropriately which means no short pants or short skirts and no sleeveless shirts. Sarong, wrap-around clothing is available that you can return upon exiting the Palace.

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