Maruekhathaiyawan Palace between Cha-Am and Hua Hin was built by King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) as a seaside summer retreat in 1923. Originally, the King had a Palace built on Hat Chao Samran beach, a little more North, but he was unhappy with it and decided to demolish the building and use the teak wood to construct a new Palace facing the sea in Cha-Am district. The location was found convenient because Cha-Am was by then connected to Bangkok by rail and the area was beneficial to health with its forest and fresh sea air. The Palace is built raised from the ground on pillars and entirely made from teak wood. Its very attractive architectural style is completely different from that of other Thai Palaces. The overall design of the Palace was done by the King himself, and it was built to be a very comfortable place with excellent ventilation and niches filled with water in the pillars to keep out ants. Ercole Manfredi, an Italian architect was hired to finish the design. King Rama VI used the Palace, which name is also written as Marukhathaiyawan or Mrigadayavan, as a summer residence for him and other members of the Royal Family until his death in 1925.
