We (3 persons) travelled directly from France to Bangkok and on arrival had a driver pick us up to drive us to the Sunset Park Resort, 30 minutes south of Pattaya , on the coast. The drive took 2.5 hours.

Positive points :

- The resort has an excellent location if you don't want to stay in Pattaya but can be reached easily within 30 minutes drive by renting a car or taxi ;
- The grounds are lovely and well kept, nice garden as well ;
- The resort is just by the beach which is almost private, just a few fishermen passing by ;
- We had booked the Executive Spa Villa because it has two large rooms and a nice bathroom including a 2 persons jacuzzi and an outdoor shower. The villa provided also a PC in one of the rooms with internet connection. The villa was right on the beach with a great view and nice sunsets ;
- The services such as room service, laundry and cleaning were excellent ;
- The resort is family oriented and was quiet at this season ;
- 2 swimming pools are located by the beach and one of them has a beach bar, they can also serve lunch, small dishes and drinks by freeform pools. Of course since we were not many guests , we were able to find many free sunloungers ;
- We tried the SPA for massages which we found excellent but pricey ;
- We had diners a few times at the resort, restaurant is also by the beach with great views.
- Large buffet breakfast with a choice of continental, asian, or american breakfasts.

Negative points :

- I emailed the resort to inform them we would need 1 extra bed (since I booked for one tripple villa) and I was replied positively. However, on arrival there were no extra bed installed and I had to call reception a couple of times for it to be done. I also had to request an additional towels set for the same reason.
- The resort is isolated, transport provided by them was expensive.
- The free internet connection of the PC in one of the rooms was so slow that it took me 15 minutes each time I connect to access my Yahoo email box ! The manager came to the villa and try to fix it another way but it was the same result. I think they should remove the PC without commercializing a free internet connection that you cannot use! Also the DVD/CD player of the PC was broken.
- The only restaurant of the resort is unenspirering. The place is almost empty in the evenings, food prices are correct but food taste is average.
- Receptionist should improve their level of english especially the evening team.

I think this resort has lots of potential for families who want to stay close to Bangkok but not in Pattaya althouh Sunset Park resort should provide less expensive transport solutions.
The best solution is to be independant and rent a car in order to travel around the area which offers, also, attractions for families.

We went here for a wedding between a British boy and a Thai girl, and that went very well, with good food and band, and well organised, as far as we could see.

Our room was supposed to have a beach view, but this was through the bushes! It was large and well appointed, but you have a strange shower in a bath at the back open to the skies - but there is a tall fence round it between you and the path to other bungalows.

The food was extremely cheap ( about £3+ for a main course - Italian, European, Chinese or Thai), and really you can't complain at that price, and buffet breakfast had a good range, but service is awkward as few of the staff seem to have any grasp of English - even pointing to the menu still caused problems. Beware the spicy Thai salads, they are really fiery and even my wife, who likes hot things (she puts chillies in spaghetti!), found it too hot.

Drink is a problem, as there is some archaic system for ordering and getting it which takes ages, especially to sign for it, and this applies to the little bar by the pool as well. Wine, of course, as with much of the Far East, will cost you upwards of £20 a bottle. We had been previously to the Oriental in Bangkok, where we paid the same for one night Bed only as it cost us here for 3 nights B & B, so mustn't try to compare too much, but even at reception here, there were problems getting an internet connection and then being able to print out things, once again, due to the lack of English.

We asked about cookery classes as they are all set up for it with a proper kitchen teaching area, but nothing happened. The basically equipped gym never had anyone in that we saw, and we didn't try the spa area (once again due to lack of comprehension), which looked good. Lots of grounds to walk around, but I would be careful of mosquitos if staying on one of the bungalows overlooking the hotel lagoon.

Perhaps we were unlucky because it was out of season here? Or is it that they can't afford the higher calibre staff? Staff tried to be helpful, but were limited.

You have lovely sunsets, but the beach exposes rocks at low tide, they rake the sand nicely every morning, but there is no settlement nearby to walk to, although you can go about a mile eastwards along the empty beach - see if you can spot the elephants giving rides in the Zoo park.. At least you are well away from the fleshpots of Pattaya - some of our fellow wedding guests went, and came back fairly rapidly after what they experienced.