We decided to escape Bangkok for a day or two but didn't have time to drive far away. We were keen to get away from the madding crowd, and although Pattaya was not the ideal choice for that, we figured at least there was some sea. What we found was a pleasant resort and a good escape.

Unique Qualities: The grounds of the hotel are quite extensive and include 4 tennis courts. The hotel is rather organic in shape, and is filled with pockets and strips of well tended gardens. Quiet pools, waterfeatures and attractive foliage abound. There are tables and chairs scattered around in nooks so you can just sit out and have some time to contemplate, or wander the paths discovering bonsais, frangipannis and fat lazy fish. Even the ashtrays (I am not a smoker myself) were aesthetically pleasing, being large urns with sand in the top, that are stamped every day with the logo of the hotel. A nice touch.

The rooms were decent... evaporative cooling rather than air conditioning, and the room smelt a bit damp and mildewy, but the bed was quite good, in house movies great, and the room service food was excellent. The hotel and area seems to be particularly popular with Germans, and there were german foods available on some of the menus.

There are two swimming pools, one beachside, and one in the centre of the resort. Sadly like all hotels, both close quite early in the evenings, but I snuck in and had a quick midnight dip one night - don't tell anyone!

The beachside barbequeue was good, a buffet with both Thai and Italian choices, and some seafood which they will cook for you fresh. There is also a chinese restaurant where I had an excellent Peking duck meal.

They have some pleasant live music, and the musicians seemed delighted that we actually noticed them and clapped after some of the songs.

I very much enjoyed the picturesque surroundings of the hotel grounds, and its location at the far end of the Pattaya main beach meant it was far more quiet and pleasant than the rest of Pattaya. After venturing in to town once, we stayed away for the rest of our stay.