The Buddhists say you should not have to travel far to achieve a sense of serenity, but I find getting on a long-haul flight and heading to Thailand definitely helps. I know I have finally left my own crazy kitchen behind when all I can hear is the gentle splash of the ocean lapping the pale sand outside my hotel window - and perhaps the distant sizzle of a wok.

It if sounds like pure indulgence, it is. As far as I am concerned, the Thailand hotels, particularly the Chiva-Som spa in the royal city of Hua Hin, is as close to heaven on earth as a weary traveler can get. Forget the garish tales of lager louts patrolling the nightclubs of the Patpong red light district, Hua Hin is Thailand at its picture-postcard best.

Framed by the sea on one side and the mountains on the other, it has long been a place of inspiration for those seeking peace, tranquility and a chance to recharge the batteries. The Thai royals have been coming here for centuries and it is one of the main reasons that the area has been left unspoilt.
It is the realization of a fantasy image I have had of all the Thailand hotels ever since I was a boy growing up on a farm in rural France. I used to look at an old map of the world stuck on my classroom wall and plot my way around that corner of the globe.

I wondered about the sights and smells there, and even whether they had red cows - it was one big and enchanting mystery. Of course, I didn't get very far - we barely had enough money for me to get to the next village - but dreams were free and I had plenty.

Miraculously, I had a talent for cooking that has lifted me out of that simple existence and beyond my wildest fantasies. It's taken me, along the way, to some of the most glorious places one could possibly wish to visit and allowed me to run my real dream, Le Manoir Aux Quat'Saisons, near Oxford.
But it is all the Thailand hotels, and most specifically its cuisine, that keeps drawing me overseas. I first went there more than 17 years ago, and as soon as I stepped off the plane at Bangkok airport, I felt as if I belonged.
Since then, I have been back more than 20 times. This certainly doesn't make me an expert, but I do feel I have a sense of the place and what might appeal to others.

A direct flight to Bangkok from London takes about 11 hours, and by the time the plane touches down in the intense, damp heat of the capital, you are craving air-con, a cold drink and impeccable service.

For me, the answer is always the Oriental Hotel. It's the perfect place to stay if you want to enjoy the capital for a couple of nights without being worn down by its signature hubbub. The ideal way to start any Thailand hotels experience is a long cocktail sipped on the hotel terrace overlooking the river, while the bell hop discreetly takes your bags.

In the last century, the hotel was famous for attracting celebrated writers such as Noel Coward, Joseph Conrad and Somerset Maugham. A section of the hotel - the authors' wing - is dedicated to them.