Life in Thailand: Thailand: Pattaya, Jomtien, and Private Beaches

Royal Cliff Hotel and Resorts in Pattaya, Thailand

My trip to Pattaya was peaceful, relaxing, quiet, and undisturbed.... the Thai word that sums these feelings up would be "sabai, sabai." Roughly equivalent to the "Lion King's" Swahili phrase "hakuna matata." I was able to spend the day at the beach along the ocean, and at night go for a relaxing swim in one of many pools. The general mood? Tranquil. The food? Exquisite. The atmosphere? Wonderful (can't beat dining literally at ocean's edge!!!). I love giving this description of my vacation, because people familiar with the area typically stare at me in confusion and bewilderment.

Pattaya, Thailand, is a place that revels in its infamy as a hotspot for crazy nightlife, LOUD dusk-till-dawn parties, go-go bars, and general red light district activity. Against this backdrop, many of my friends and acquaintances urged me to actually avoid this area as a vacation destination.. the logic makes sense, but then after talking to many of my Thai friends, I decided to take the plunge feet-first and see what this beach-town was like!!

For those unfamiliar with the geography of Thailand, Pattaya is located to the south and slight east of Bangkok on the gulf of Thailand (the ocean). A map zeroing in on Pattaya can be seen here. The good hotels in Pattaya were slim picking at the time of booking - I found to my dismay that many filled up quickly - the Sheraton Pattaya Resort was fully booked, as was the recently-constructed Hilton Pattaya Hotel. As if in mockery, the booking site showed how the last hotel rooms had been snatched up just hours before. Quickly scanning TripAdvisor, Agoda, and several other trusted hotel sites, I happened upon an establishment referred to as Royal Cliff Hotel Group in Pattaya. After reading some favorable reviews, this became the hotel of choice. And the adventure was on!!

The Royal Cliff ended up being the perfect selection for the trip, a complex of three hotels located on a massive property slightly to the north of Pattaya town, and slightly to the south of a popular local beachtown situated on Jomtien beach. But I diverge, planning to focus this blog post on the resort... following this up with several subsequent post describing Pattaya town and Jomtien beach.

The resort has the Beach Terrace, Beach Hotel, Grand Hotel, as well as another hotel called the "Royal Wing Suites and Spa." It also hosts a large conference center, twelve restaurants ranging from "casual" to "fine" dining, and four bars. It also has five swimming pools, tennis courts, private beaches, spas, post office, and many other amenities to make the guest's stay enjoyable. A miniature city located along the ocean, and a pleasant vacation destination in and of itself. The resort was spacious enough that part of the last day after check-out was spent merely exploring the available facilities.

[Legend: Left to right, or top to bottom (mobile)] 1. Entrance and drive at the center of the hotel complex, as viewed from the conference facilities 2. One of the many lounges located around the hotel 3. One of the five (!) pools located on within the resort 4. View of the ocean and one of the three private beaches 5. View along the main private beach towards the hotels

The hotel room was on the top floor and faced the ocean, presenting a spectacular view of the sunset. In the morning, the sun slowly cast its rays over the ocean and waves absorbed and sparkled as time progressed towards noon. Lazing around in the heat of Thailand can be therapeutic in some ways! The time spent with friends at the resort was fun and good for relaxing and unwinding. Escaping from the Concrete Jungle (i.e. the city) is really great and it helps to just breathe the good salt air!

Sunset over Koh Larn, an island off the coast of Pattaya in Thailand

Monday, October 29, 2012

Thailand: Pattaya, Jomtien, and Private Beaches