BANGKOK – The most recognized name in hospitality, Hilton Hotels, has joined the Thai marketing cooperative Golf in a Kingdom: The Thai Golf Experience (www.golfinakingdom.com). As new hotel partners, Hilton properties across Thailand – in Bangkok, Pattaya, Hua Hin and Phuket – are now preferred lodging options, along side the country’s top golf courses, in variety of stay-and-play itineraries offered and executed by tour operator Golfasian (www.golfasian.com). “To have Hilton as a partner is another ringing endorsement of what we’re doing with Golf in a Kindgom – that is, make Thai golf holidays easier to book and formulate, while guaranteeing international standards of quality with every course and hotel on each itinerary,” said Mark Siegel, CEO of Bangkok-based Golfasian. “Hilton doesn’t throw in with just anyone, of course. Hilton welcomes guests in more countries than any other full-service hotel brand, 76 countries across six continents, if I’m not mistaken. Their involvement is a feather in our caps, but it is also another incentive for golfers who recognize in Hilton another guarantee of quality.” The four Hilton properties that have joined Golf in a Kingdom include:

• The Hilton Pattaya, located in the heart of this coastal city, overlooking Pattaya Beach, and situated atop the new Central Festival Pattaya Beach complex, with its 200 international-caliber shops, restaurants, cinemas and recreational facilities.
• The Millennium Hilton Bangkok, standing imperiously on the banks of the Chao Praya River, boasting sweeping city views and incomparable access to the varied delights of Thailand’s capital.
• Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa, a stunning resort set on sandy Karon Beach and comprising 75 acres of lush tropical gardens. Karon Beach is the quiet, upscale alternative to raucous Patong Beach just up the coast.
• The Hilton Hua Hin Resort & Spa, a 17-story tower in the center of this royal enclave overlooks the Gulf of Thailand and serves as home to distinctive mix of dining options, including the Hua Hin Brewery Company, a former fisherman’s shack dating from 1923.

“I think it’s instructive for traveling golfers in Europe and North America to recognize that Thailand is equipped with 5-star hotel brands like Hilton, and Marriott, along with world-class golf, superb food, unmatched nightlife and a first-world, modern transportation infrastructure,” said Siegel. “Of course, there is a difference – Thailand is tropically temperate 365 days a year, and golfers can spend a week here for a fraction of what they’d pay in European or North American destinations.” By banding together to form Golf in a Kingdom: The Thai Golf Experience the country’s top courses and hotels have created a cooperative itinerary that matches the most desirable “stay” options with its most desirable “play” options. Those play options include the crème of Southeast Asian resort tracks:

• Banyan Golf Club, also in Hua Hin, voted top new course in Asia by readers of Asian Golf Monthly in 2009
• Chiang Mai Highlands Golf & Spa Resort, recently voted the top course in Southeast Asia by SEA Globe magazine.
• Muang Kaew Golf Club, a lush urban retreat in the heart of Bangkok.
• The Old Course at Siam Country Club in Pattaya, host of the 2010 Honda PTT LPGA
• Siam Country Club’s Plantation Course, host of the same LPGA event in 2009
• Thai Country Club in Bangkok, voted ‘Best Championship Course in Asia’, as voted by Asian Golf Monthly readers in 2008.
• Black Mountain Golf Club, just three years old but already a bona fide “championship” layout, having played host to the Asian Tour’s Black Mountain Masters in 2009.

For more information on ‘Golf in a Kingdom: The Thai Golf Experience‘, or to make golf travel plans in Thailand, visit www.golfinakingdom.com, or send email to info@golfinakingdom.com.