kiwicouple Posted January 17, 2014 Author Share Posted January 17, 2014 (edited) Like some others, I find it very difficult to understand why the OP's wife would choose Pattaya for a holiday. Even more difficult to understand why she/they would choose that hotel's particular location. Totally agree that Pattaya isn't a good holiday destination for a married middle aged couple, but just going to nearby areas (Jomtien, Na Jomtien, Naklua) would have made it quite different for you. Regarding your breakfasts, wouldn't it have made sense to forfeit the prepaid rubbish-surrounded, stinky, unhygienic and unhealthy offer from the hotel and go and eat somewhere you might have enjoyed? Plenty of places offer nice breakfasts at very small costs considering the whole expense of your holiday. Even more importantly, considering the effect that had on your health. Unfortunate that you had a bad time during a holiday that I'm sure you had been looking forward to, but you made bad choices and it was not because of the lack of available information. I wish next time you have a combination of better luck and specially better preparation. Okay, firstly we are not middle aged (where did I say this???), unless well over 25 means middle aged. Secondly, Pattaya, okay was not the best choice, which is EXACTLY my point, and the point of me writing from the point of view of a married couple! Thirdly, my wife thought that a hotel with a sea view would be a good idea. And why shouldn’t she think that? The hotel had as good a write up as any did thereabouts in Pattaya. Some great comments, some horrendous. It’s a crap shoot really! The breakfasts, yes we did sometimes go elsewhere. And once again, I didn’t post the thread to trash Pattaya, or to say it wouldn’t suit everyone. It is purely from our perspective... As I said in the OP It is my honest account of OUR holiday in Pattaya Edited January 17, 2014 by kiwicouple Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gone Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Your description could be talking about anywhere in Thailand really except for the beach factor. Maybe if your budget would have allowed you to stay in a higher end resort near Northpoint or south near Jomtien/Na Jomtien you might be writing a different story but planting yourself smack in the middle of a sesspool it's no wonder you are writing this. Doesn't sound like you got too adventurous either as in not visiting the attractions surrounding Pattaya. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soihok Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 A good idea to have a look at Trip Advisor before committing to a hotel, or better still don't commit at all. Just get a night or two booked and if you ain't happy go look elsewhere. So Join Trip Advisor and tell the world how shocking the hotel was - please. You will help countless others avoid it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwicouple Posted January 17, 2014 Author Share Posted January 17, 2014 Your description could be talking about anywhere in Thailand really except for the beach factor. Maybe if your budget would have allowed you to stay in a higher end resort near Northpoint or south near Jomtien/Na Jomtien you might be writing a different story but planting yourself smack in the middle of a sesspool it's no wonder you are writing this. Doesn't sound like you got too adventurous either as in not visiting the attractions surrounding Pattaya. We did visit some, but my wife was really quite ill for a time. We did the Temple of Truth, The Gardens, etc... We didnt know it was a cesspool till we got there... our mistake. As i hope I said before, it wasn't all bad, we did enjoy some, in fact we had some great moments. One of the best was watching the city fireworks erupt on New Years eve from our "new" hotel balcony with a bottle of bubbly.... our budget was not an issue really, just a bad choice I guess. Hell our flights cost $12,000+ alone! Never mind, its all lifes experience eh! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwicouple Posted January 17, 2014 Author Share Posted January 17, 2014 A good idea to have a look at Trip Advisor before committing to a hotel, or better still don't commit at all. Just get a night or two booked and if you ain't happy go look elsewhere. So Join Trip Advisor and tell the world how shocking the hotel was - please. You will help countless others avoid it. Yes we did. The hotel wasnt shocking, but it was just mainly the noise from the live band (apart from some food issues and the noise it was okay) Also, couldnt (darnt) just book two days, the place was booked out over Xmas and New Year.... we could have been left without a room! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soihok Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Please add an entry to the web site to comment on your stay, you could help loads of others experience the same. By the way, next time go to stay at this place, satisfaction guaranteed and everyone's a winner. http://www.penthousehotel.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnbarpic Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 well you have had a great response, having had the great fortune through my work I have travelled to many an exotic locations & had a great time. no two places operate the same. by the way leave Africa off your destination list for sure.. Having lived 6 km out side of Pattaya centre with a Farang wife of 27 years & love it, Great people , Great bars, & & Great Restaurants, one mans meat another mans poison. wish you luck on your next destination choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redutedog1 Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 there is MORE TO THAILAND then Pattaya you must have know what Pattaya is about, if not please read the information sheet from your travel agent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fabulousheart Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Kiwi the issues you are talking about are all places in pattaya. Not unique to the choice of hotel ou chose. It can be far worse. You can also rent condos that are lovely n web site and crap once you arrive. Also if there is new construction or isan music near by then forge sleep or peace. There is true quality in pattaya no matter what you pay. You still have to deal with the crapy infrastructure and bad smells. Not to mention hygienic issues with food. No amount of money will fix those vacation issues like the numerous holes six feet deep on sidewalks. Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwicouple Posted January 17, 2014 Author Share Posted January 17, 2014 there is MORE TO THAILAND then Pattaya you must have know what Pattaya is about, if not please read the information sheet from your travel agent We didnt book through a travel agent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bender92 Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Haha… very amusing. I take it by this as you consider us to be “pretentious chinless chattering poncified middle-class…types”? If this is the case, you assume a lot. Going from experience, people who tend to write rambling adjective stuffed rhetoric usually fit right in that pigeon-hole. You have the right to your opinion, as I do to mine. However, my original post wasn’t aimed at you or any “individual” personally. I didn’t set out to be abusive rude or insulting to any individual on the forum, unlike you that is. My “rambling adjective stuffed rhetoric” as you call it, was an honest attempt to recount our holiday time in Pattaya. I wasn’t throwing out curses or personal insults in any way shape or form. If you think I was rambling, don’t bother reading it. Sometimes people like to express themselves clearly, and with form and maybe just a little wit. Some folk even like to read more than just one liners, we don’t all like comics you know. It’s funny how most all of the comments have been good ones, constructive, even questioning. Apart from yours that is, which is nothing more than a sarcastic venomous attack, One that was neither asked for, nor required. Next time try Laos, lovely people. Luang Prabang is great. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwicouple Posted January 17, 2014 Author Share Posted January 17, 2014 Kiwi the issues you are talking about are all places in pattaya. Not unique to the choice of hotel ou chose. It can be far worse. You can also rent condos that are lovely n web site and crap once you arrive. Also if there is new construction or isan music near by then forge sleep or peace. There is true quality in pattaya no matter what you pay. You still have to deal with the crapy infrastructure and bad smells. Not to mention hygienic issues with food. No amount of money will fix those vacation issues like the numerous holes six feet deep on sidewalks. Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand I agree. Crappy infrastructure is quite the norm for many places that we would consider exotic holiday destinations. Sometimes that is part of their charm. Some years ago I was on a remote Island in the Philippines, and all that was available to wash/toilet etc, was a half pail of water each day, and the one light we had went out at around ten pm when the generator stopped. That was quaint. I am not new to travelling abroad. I grew up in the UK, have travelled many places including southern India, China, Philippines etc. I have experienced from gutter to 5+ star hotels. I just suppose that we were expecting a little better than we got here. But also, as I have said many times, my OP is an account of our experience, and not a rant about Pattaya per se. One forum member has taken my comments personally it seems, and has been seen to try and insult me personally. It doesn’t matter really, as my original OP is accurate and truthful, and makes no reference to any one individual or establishment by name. It’s just an account of some of our holiday, and our overview of Pattaya. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwicouple Posted January 17, 2014 Author Share Posted January 17, 2014 Haha… very amusing. I take it by this as you consider us to be “pretentious chinless chattering poncified middle-class…types”? If this is the case, you assume a lot. Going from experience, people who tend to write rambling adjective stuffed rhetoric usually fit right in that pigeon-hole. You have the right to your opinion, as I do to mine. However, my original post wasn’t aimed at you or any “individual” personally. I didn’t set out to be abusive rude or insulting to any individual on the forum, unlike you that is. My “rambling adjective stuffed rhetoric” as you call it, was an honest attempt to recount our holiday time in Pattaya. I wasn’t throwing out curses or personal insults in any way shape or form. If you think I was rambling, don’t bother reading it. Sometimes people like to express themselves clearly, and with form and maybe just a little wit. Some folk even like to read more than just one liners, we don’t all like comics you know. It’s funny how most all of the comments have been good ones, constructive, even questioning. Apart from yours that is, which is nothing more than a sarcastic venomous attack, One that was neither asked for, nor required. Next time try Laos, lovely people. Luang Prabang is great. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naam Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 come again and don't bring your wife Not worth a response really. interesting to learn that besides the Kiwis i've met some New Zealanders exist who don't possess an ounce of humour 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naam Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 there is MORE TO THAILAND then Pattaya you must have know what Pattaya is about, if not please read the information sheet from your travel agent We didnt book through a travel agent. that goes without saying and that's the reason why you paid NZD 12,000 for two first class tickets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgs2001uk Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Brilliant post by the OP. The mongers and Chang drinkers have a differing outlook of the place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easyride Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Very nicely worded and an accurate description of Pattaya life. Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand Yes, I liked "fed off and bled" - 100% accurate. Can't do a lot about the sewer plant by walking street it's been there for years but those bozos at City Hall are interested in money and most of the voters follow suit. They spent all that money widening Beach Road (and thus increasing traffic and the dangers of trying to cross the road) and now there isn't a proper seat from Walking Street to the Dolphin Roundabout. And how many cars actually stopped at the now defunct pedestrian crossings? All they want is to "fed off and bled" the farang. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zodiac Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 (edited) OP: Enjoyed reading your trip report. As another poster said, seems the crux of where things went wrong for you was the hotel you initially booked into. But of course that booking and that location may well have suited those visitors who come to Pattaya to holiday in what as a city is also known as the world's biggest brothel. For those type of visitors the likes of open sewers and bad breakfasts is the least of their concerns. Thousands of males come to Pattaya to holiday and to enjoy the sexual freedom which is unavailable to them in their own countries. Edited January 17, 2014 by Zodiac Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norrona Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 fair enough OP and yes I can understand your issues.... to be fair though Thailand is an easy place to travel about in and if I was having the horrendous experience with my wife then after a week at the very most I would have moved somewhere else, I know they charged you 3 weeks total on arrival and I would have wiped my mouth of that and moved on.... Krabi is where I preferred to go with the missus...when we were together that is and I lived in Pattaya for 10 years between 1997-2007 so knew exacty what was on that menu.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tolley Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Yes I would have written off the hotel after a week if it was that bad and gone somewhere else. LIfe is too short. Ko Samed is only just down the road. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tolley Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Yes I would have written off the hotel after a week if it was that bad and gone somewhere else. LIfe is too short. Ko Samed is only just down the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suradit69 Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 come again and don't bring your wife Not worth a response really. Valid point though, You wouldn't need to 'wash your eyeballs at 'all the "sleaze" and may be able to check out the one part of Pattaya life which seldom gets bad reviews... I'm greatly pleased and encouraged by this review though; If Pattaya is going to repel the pretentious middle class types who have almost destroyed the raw edge of Benidorm (and some of the more fruitier Med resorts) by inventing some faux media inspired, post-ironic 'revival' in these places, at least Pattaya is one place which will be allowed to retain it's raw edge and not become 'poncified' by the chinless chattering classes. "at least Pattaya is one place which will be allowed to retain it's raw edge and not become 'poncified' by the chinless chattering classes." Wonderful summing up. Pattaya is Pattaya. If you come to Pattaya (and pay Pattaya prices) don't expect the Cote d'Azur. If you want monastery-like peace & quiet and food prepared in hyper-sterile conditions, why in heaven's name would any sensible person come to Pattaya? There are plenty of places, in Thailand or elsewhere, that would seem more appropriate for the anal-retentive traveler. Even in Pattaya there are certainly places to stay that would be more suitable for those who seek a more typical high end resort atmosphere ... assuming you're ready to pony up a bit more than budget class rates. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post anon8 Posted January 18, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted January 18, 2014 Very nicely worded and an accurate description of Pattaya life.Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand Not really. It is a sad tale of middle aged, conservative married couple, who for some strange reason chose Pattaya for vacation spot. You come to Pattaya, you stay on Beach Rd, close to Walking street, you then voluntererely go for a walk on Walking St, and then criticise that its filthy. What did you expect? Why not turn around and leave after you are 10 meters in, after you realise this street is not for you? You complain about the hotel. That has nothing to do with Pattaya, sub par hotels are not exclusive to Pattaya, there are shitty hotels everywhere. May I suggest you book a room at Royal Cliff, or another good, better suited hotel for married, conservative couple. OP's long, boring tale is just a warning to all middle aged Western couples. This town is not for you! And as a good bye, OP posts this sad tale on Pattaya forum, to display his dissatisfaction with our town. OP posted this long dragging story to put down Pattaya, but the only thing he succeeded was to appear clueless. But I think this whole story is made up. Unimaginative, long and boring whine. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anon8 Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 My feelings for Thailand are mixed.. .. The place is dirty/sleazy and rank, with thin veneers of opulence when you walk into the better hotels, restaurants and shopping malls, but that’s Asia for you. I take it you won't be back then? Thank you! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackman Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 My feelings for Thailand are mixed.. .. The place is dirty/sleazy and rank, with thin veneers of opulence when you walk into the better hotels, restaurants and shopping malls, but that’s Asia for you. I take it you won't be back then? Thank you! more room for estonians Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anon8 Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 My feelings for Thailand are mixed.. .. The place is dirty/sleazy and rank, with thin veneers of opulence when you walk into the better hotels, restaurants and shopping malls, but that’s Asia for you. I take it you won't be back then? Thank you! more room for estonians Nah, not just for Estonians, more room for everybody who lives here, and likes it here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irlguy1 Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Seriously I don't mean to be rude but if you did an ounce of research on where you were going you would have known some of what to expect. Would you go to Alaska if you didn't want snow? Your entire rant is just that, a rant. You didn't research and you got what you deserved simple as that. I have been to pattaya heaps of times and sure it can be a bit crude in places but no worse than a night in Ibiza or Amsterdam. Ok so u got a bad hotel, research research research. I have many friends in pattaya both Falang and Thai and the only time I see fake smiles are when they have to be nice to <deleted> that think they deserve the royal treatment from what after all is a third world country. You know damn well why people go to pattaya or at least you should have. Som nom na. I have never in 10 years got sick off Thai food and I eat everywhere from hard rock hotel to a bicycle cart vendor. Maybe your old stuck up stomach is not able to handle traditional food. So go have a coke and a smile and shut the hell up. Lastly even in pattaya they are plenty of family orientated things to do. I will be back with my Thai wife and my two kids later in the year and I will tell you this little fact. In every major city in the world there are at least 2 rats no more than 5 feet away from you at all times. Maybe next time book a holiday home in pontins and enjoy your cocoa and slippers. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackman Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 My feelings for Thailand are mixed.. .. The place is dirty/sleazy and rank, with thin veneers of opulence when you walk into the better hotels, restaurants and shopping malls, but that’s Asia for you. I take it you won't be back then? Thank you! more room for estonians Nah, not just for Estonians, more room for everybody who lives here, and likes it here. i like it enough to stay here but not enough to blind me to the problems that spoil it the problem is Thais do not see it as westerners see it and do not know what they are doing wrong they think its ok and whilst they do, it will never change for the better its a shame, for the cost of the totally unnecessary, politicians golden parachute, 150 million baht pattaya city sign so much could be done to improve it 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackman Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Seriously I don't mean to be rude but if you did an ounce of research on where you were going you would have known some of what to expect. Would you go to Alaska if you didn't want snow? Your entire rant is just that, a rant. You didn't research and you got what you deserved simple as that. I have been to pattaya heaps of times and sure it can be a bit crude in places but no worse than a night in Ibiza or Amsterdam. Ok so u got a bad hotel, research research research. I have many friends in pattaya both Falang and Thai and the only time I see fake smiles are when they have to be nice to <deleted> that think they deserve the royal treatment from what after all is a third world country. You know dam_n well why people go to pattaya or at least you should have. Som nom na. I have never in 10 years got sick off Thai food and I eat everywhere from hard rock hotel to a bicycle cart vendor. Maybe your old stuck up stomach is not able to handle traditional food. So go have a coke and a smile and shut the hell up. Lastly even in pattaya they are plenty of family orientated things to do. I will be back with my Thai wife and my two kids later in the year and I will tell you this little fact. In every major city in the world there are at least 2 rats no more than 5 feet away from you at all times. Maybe next time book a holiday home in pontins and enjoy your cocoa and slippers. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk you ''don't mean to be rude'' yet you were rude and mean 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Naam Posted January 18, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted January 18, 2014 one for the road before we lived in Pattaya we used to spend very often a week in Pattaya to relax after an exhausting Asia trip covering up to five countries. usually i informed some friends who knew the drill and we always had a good laugh. it went like this: by the way, i'm off to spend a week in Pattaya you pig! no, not what you think! wife is with me. you stupid pig! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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