- Introduction
- Check-in: British Airways Galleries Lounge, Mumbai
- Check-in: Clipper Lounge First Class, Mumbai
- Airborne: Flight CX 750 (BOM-BKK), Cathay Pacific, Economy
- Millennium Hilton Hotel, Bangkok
- Around Bangkok
- Hilton Hotel, Pattaya
- Around Pattaya
- Radisson Suites, Bangkok
- Check-in: Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge, Bangkok
- Check-in: British Airways/Qantas First Class Lounge, Bangkok
- Check-in: Cathay Pacific First & Business Class Lounge, Bangkok
- Airborne: Flight CX 709 (BKK-BOM), Cathay Pacific, Economy
- Conclusion
After spending two nights in Bangkok, we checked out from the Millennium Hilton, Bangkok and drove to Pattaya. The hotel quoted an exorbitant THB 5,500 or so for a 2 hour long drive, but we were able to look up a cheaper option of THB 1,400 on the internet and picked up a Toyota Innova (chauffer driven) to drive us to Pattaya.
The Hilton Pattaya is a new hotel which opened only in 2010, situated atop a mall on the Pattaya beach. The first 12 floors are occupied by the mall, and the hotel occupies 14th floor and upwards. I could not get a good shot of my own, so I am using one from a local source. The deal with being a new hotel? They tried to be modern, which came with its own positives and negatives and I am not sure if I liked all the modern experiments in layouts, or maybe it is just me.
Exterior Hilton Pattaya (Courtesy Pattaya Times)
I was in touch with the hotel for a while, and like my earlier trip to the Millennium Hilton, Bangkok I had booked two standard King bedrooms. As a Hilton Diamond, the hotel upgraded one of the rooms to a standard suite, the King Ocean Suite, on the 29th floor. The other room was going to be an Executive Room. I requested in advance for the rooms to be on the same floor if possible.
On arrival at the lobby, we were greeted by the bell captain who escorted us to the lobby. I proceeded for check-in to the Hilton HHonors desk and presented my documents. On realising that I am a Hilton Diamond, the staff at the check-in requested me to proceed to the 33rd Floor to check-in at the Executive Lounge. The bell captain accompanied us to the lounge.
The 16th floor lobby
At the lounge, all four of us were offered welcome drinks and cold towels on arrival. I presented the documents and the staff told me that while the suite was ready, the second room was not. I first took my parents to the suite and we walked into a breathtaking view!
The suite had a spacious living room with a balcony stretching out, and a bedroom with another balcony. The living room had an L-shaped couch and a some more seating. The hotel seemed to have erred towards the modern rather than the traditional look of hotels, but seems some convenience was overlooked in this tradeoff. What I could see as a sign of bad design, was the work desk being integrated into the wall next to the television. By their logic, you could not be using your laptop to work and watch TV at the same time. Or was the thought that, “who comes to Pattaya to work anyways?”
Living Room workdesk
Living Room seating
A view from the entrance
In the balcony
There was also a bathroom which was as big as the bedroom itself, which had a wardrobe with an irritating motion-sensor based lighting system that would go up when it would see any movement even far away. Also, while the bathroom was massive and had a separate lav and a shower area and a tub, one could have a little jogging track in the empty area in the midst. Another design flaw with the modern was that there was only one sliding door for the lav and the shower, so if both the occupants would decide to use the facilities at the same time and wanted to shut the door behind, there would be a riot in the room. Have a look at some pictures.
Bathroom Amenities
Bathroom amenities were again from Peter Thomas Roth, however there were much more of them in this hotel room as compared to my stay at the Bangkok hotel the days before. As for welcome amenities, there were none when we checked in but a largish plate of fruit arrived after checking in.
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