Ishtar2

I'll check out the Sea Me Spring on my next visit, still more expensive than the 1600 baht Balcony Sea View room at Sandy though. Sandy's 7th floor rooms have a nice view for the price. At Sandy the Internet is free, just ask the front desk daily for a 3 hour free login, if you need more time just ask the front desk ladies and they will always give you an additional login. They are cumulative so if you don't use the 3 hours on one day the login works the next day as well. For Breakfast try the Haven next to Sandy or as others have mentioned the Sportsman offers breakfast and it's has A/C. I checked out the new wing at the LK - The Empress. It's on Beach Road and Soi 10 I believe (5 minute walk from Sandy). The newest rooms in the new wing are very nice studios with King beds, safe, etc. No view at all for their discounted price of 2100 baht with Taxes and service the fee goes up to 2500 baht a night. It's not worth the extra baht to me but others might like the place as it is closer to a 4 1/2 star hotel to Sandy's 2 1/2 star in my book.

I stayed at SS for 3 weeks in February in their Seaview Room on 7th floor. The day I arrived they gave me a room that smelled like cigarette smoke so I requested a different room. The reply was they were "sold out" but had a newly renovated room on the 6th floor but instead of the 1600 price (with member card) it would be 1900 a night. After a bit of conversation with the front desk clerks they gave me the 6th floor room for 3 nights at 1600 baht a night. On the 4th night they gave me a Seaview room on the 7th for the agreed upon 1600 baht rate for the remainder of my stay. Now the 6th floor corner room was newly decorated, had a safe and tile floor vs 5 year old carpeting and no safe. The bed was nicer and it was a small upgrade as the furniture was newer and the lights were brighter vs the 15 watt bulbs on the 7th floor though I see no reason to pay 300 baht more for a basic upgrade that the whole Hotel is in need of. I have stayed at Sandy for the past 6 trips and love the location and the staff. The rooms have gone way downhill and I too would love to find an alternative but have yet to do so though I might try a rental at View Talay 6, something to consider.

Between my wingmen and I we had the pleasure of using Ann's services 6 times in the past month. No one reported any problems with her. My Thai Air flight arrived 1 hour early from LAX and I was surprised to see Ann waiting for me as promised in waiting area 3. Needed to top off my 1-2 Sim so a quick stop at the 7-11 at the airport and we were off to Pattaya. For my return to the airport Ann was at my hotel 15 minutes before the set time. Very nice to be able to contact her via email or by phone. Prices are stated earlier in the thread. I highly recommend her car service. Ishtar

Try http://matrix.itasoftware.com/ as a good alternative to Kayak, great layout.

Shilo, thanks for setting this up again this year. Mike

Stayed at the following Pattaya Hotels within the past 30 days. Booked most rooms at agoda.com for best rates unless noted. Prices were from $29.00 to $65.00 USD per night. Renaissance was less expensive to book on Agoda than the FLB rate though Agoda rate changes often. Nova Platinum Hotel- Stayed in building 2. Girl friendly, nice pool, free WIFI, clean, 32 inch flatscreen TVs and in room safes LK Renaissance- Studio room. Girl friendly, decent size rooms, Flat Screens, in room safes, wired internet but free and does include breakfast. Only downside is they only have a tub with a shower wand, not a real shower. Small pool but does the trick. Located in the Soi Dianna/Soi LK Metro area. Secrets Hotel. Book at the Secrets Bar web site. Cheap and as convenient as it gets to Walking street. Under 1000 baht per night with free WiFi and in room safes. Very noisy until 3-4am as you are on top of a bar. Discovery Beach Hotel. Soi 6/1 at Beach road. Says they have a joiner fee but had no problem. You can enter from the ground floor with your lady and bypass the main entrance. Beautiful view of Pattaya Bay, good size rooms, free WiFi, in room safes, breakfast included with a excellent pool.

bangsaenguy, I believe you meant Bangkok Beat, formerly Absolute 7, right?

I used Mr. Dream for my airport pickup in May and received email confirmation as well as a driver with a sign in the designated area at the airport on schedule as promised. No problems with my service.

Stay at the Nova Platinum for 7 days just last month. The pool was very nice with great lounge chairs and the pool bar. Exercise room right off the pool. There is quite a bit of noise with the construction of Building III that is going on behind the pool. As a whole the hotel is a great value.

I'm currently staying at the LK Renaissance in a Deluxe room. From what I understand all the 1 bedrooms face Soi Dianna and that means the Beer Bars are below. The Studio, Deluxe, Superior are in the back of the Hotel. Enjoy your stay, great location.

I stayed at the Metropole last year for a week and am returning next week to the Renaissance for my 3rd stay this year. The Renaissance is newer then the Metropole and I like the rooms better (good Internet speed and large Flat Screen TVs). The pool is small at the Renaissance but does the job.

I booked my room for the LK Renaissance in September for my stay in November and December. I received a response within 24 hours from the LK each time I emailed them. On the whole I'm happy with my past stays at both the Metropole and the Renaissance. They do have some quirky policies but have always taken care of me.

I've flown Cathay Pacific a few times from LAX stopping in Hong Kong then on to BKK. The service was ok but in economy nothing to write home about except the price was excellent.

Had a good steak at Beefeater's on my last visit as well. I was surprised by the taste of the beef and will go back again when I return to Pattaya. My lady had a Thai dish which she enjoyed. The service staff was very attentive.

Yes, a trip to Jade for some BBQ and a short time with Meow is in order. Look forward to buying you a drink(s) at 3Som Bar and catching up with you.

Jason, Good luck with your new venture and I'll be sure to drop in for a visit when I'm back in Pattaya in 10 days. Mike

Martin, Any talk of having an FLB rate for the LK Renaissance? I was hoping to get the promo Sept. pricing for a stay in early October but the rates emailed back to me are the normal Rack rate. Appreciate your help in getting the LK Metropole to offer us a discounted FLB rate and I've used it 2 separate times in the past year. thanks....

I just returned from the LK Metropole and had my deposit credited towards my bill upon checking out. No hassles and the front desk personnel were great. No problems or additional charges for bringing in 1 or 2 girls at a time, only smiles from the front desk. IDs were only taken when the girls went directly to the desk otherwise the girls were not asked.

Not a good story but in consideration of how many thousands of transactions occur everyday in Pattaya I still believe using ATM and Credit Cards offer very low risk. Travelers checks are a hassle and you get charged almost everywhere a fee to use them. Taking to much cash is just as risky for theft. I use my ATM daily as well as a Credit Card at times for travels in Thailand, Hong Kong, Macau and other destinations but monitor them frequently on the Internet for any unauthorized usage. My bank does not charge me a fee for my ATM and my Credit Card is the same way and gives excellent exchange rates. I do realize that most banks charge a 1% or other fee for using an ATM.

The ADSL took a minute to set up. There is a network cable (3 foot only) in the room attached to the ADSL modem, plug it in and start your browser. A browser page will come up and you enter your ID/Password in that you get from the front desk. Can't get simpler than that. The Hotel is girl friendly, never a hassle. See my review under Hotels.

I've been at the LK for the past 4 nights. The hotel has met all my expectations from what I read on the forum. I booked the room before I knew of the FLB rate. Once I informed reservations (Emili) she reduced my rate and my buddies rate as well and confirmed it via email. The email response from Emili with any questions I posed to her was excellent. I had no problem checking in and everyone did their best to make it a simple process The rooms are nice for Pattaya standards. The FLB rate for the studio is 2000 baht per night going up to 2400 on 12/1. The rooms have ADSL internet (extra fee) which works fine and in room electronic safes. The safe is big enough to hold my laptop. Breakfast is included with the room and they will deliver it to your room. You be the judge on the food, after the first days breakfast I passed on the other days. The pool is nice but I would appreciate a few more umbrellas to help shade the sun. No problem bringing the girls back to the Hotel. Half the time the girls went straight up to the room with me and the other times they were asked for their IDs at the front desk. Never a hassle and only smiles from the staff. The Hotel is nice, not as fancy as the pictures make you believe on their website but very comfortable and a good value for the buck. Before getting to Pattaya I was at the Landmark in BKK. I love the Landmark and their incredible service. I was upgraded to the executive floor which includes a buffet American Breakfast daily and happy hour for 2 1/2 hours daily in the evening. The happy hour includes free hard liquor, beer and wine and large assortment of food on the 27th floor. Free Internet Wi-fi is available in the Executive lounge and the lobby. A new Executive lounge will be opening shortly. The daily rate was $99.00 per night plus taxes. Booked it through my companies AMEX travel account. Rooms have Internet access available for 650 baht per 24 hour period and in room safes. It's a five minute walk from Nana Plaza to the hotel. Minutes from the Eden Club and numerous massage facilities. Soi Cowboy is a 5 minute cab ride depending on the traffic. Girl friendly and the front desk never asked for the Girls ID. There is a very nice pool as well.

CSM, Picoman and Braveheart thanks for the welcome to the forum. I'll be in Pattaya November 27th leaving on December 2nd after spending 3 nights in BKK. I'm still looking for the "right" Hotel in Pattaya. Sounds like the Areca is the way to go but I need Internet access in the room not just the Lobby. Any thoughts? Ishtar2

CSM, Thanks for the post, just booked my flight on Cathay Pacific and saved me a bundle. First time going to BKK then to Pattaya and this forum is great.