We stayed in this hotel in October 2007 (not in Dec.2010). The location is very nice. The hotel sits on top of a rocky hill with a superb view of the Gulf of Thailand. It's part of a large development with private houses and several condominiums buildings. The development must have been one of the top resorts in the 60 and 70's. The modern architecture was quite advanced in those days (see pictures) and the development deserves to be visited for its landscaping (roads and paths are pretty steep so you need to be in shape).
This place must have been booming during the Vietnam war because of its proximity to Pattaya and the Sattahip naval base.
The hotel was almost empty except for half-a-dozen thai customers.
This resort had seen better days and showed a total lack of maintenance, tropical humid climate not helping. I am surprised that this place is still in business in 2011. Beside the fantastic view, a decent food and a nice staff who tried his best, the accommodations were very poor (decor, furniture, equipment and cleanliness were not worth the cheap price paid).
As we were driving from Bangkok to Cambodia, we found that the eastern coast is overall disappointing in terms of hospitality. It's a low budget clientele: the area is mostly favored by young thais. It can't be compared with the western side of the Gulf of Thailand from Hua Hin to Phuket. One can imagine what the Shangri-La Hotel and Resort could do with such a piece of real estate...