Beyond the Sleaze

Pattaya is like a cranky old-maid auntie: Everyone says she was once beautiful and charming, but we don’t care - to us she’s just an embarrassment. Likewise, we’re told that long ago, before budget airlines and the internet, Pattaya was a favorite Asian holiday spot, a quaint Thai seaside town. But all we see is pollution, vice and bad dress sense.

If you believe the experts, all this is about to change. Pattaya is poised for a renaissance. Located on the north coast of the Gulf of Thailand, it’s about an hour’s drive from Bangkok’s new Suvarnabhumi International Airport (due to open next year), the region’s largest air hub. And with easier access, goes the thinking, will come different kinds of tourists: families, couples, people who don’t drink beer at breakfast. The next thing you know we’ll be swimming in Pattaya Bay again.

We decided to get a head start on the high-end masses and checked out Pattaya now. Our friends didn’t believe us (“You’re going to Pattaya? Eeew!”), and they wouldn’t come with us, but we were optimistic that we could have a fun and relaxing weekend without running into the sort of sleaze that gives the place a bad name. What do we expect from a beach holiday? Sun, sand, sea, shopping, tasty food and beds with 200-thread-count linens that you can lose yourself in.

The arrival of five-star hotels such as the Sheraton and Sofitel is the surest sign Pattaya might be losing its “Sodom by the Sea” label. These resorts are the key to Pattaya’s future, offering a level of luxury and comfort previously unseen there. And once one five-star moves in, others are sure to follow.

Perched cliffside on a headland between Jomtien and Pattaya beaches, the HK$132 million (USD17,004,524) Sheraton Pattaya Resort’s list of facilities and amenities includes 116 rooms and 40 suites decorated in contemporary Thai style, landscaped gardens, three free-form swimming pools (including one with whirlpool jets and lounge music piped through the rocks), a smart two-storey restaurant and lounge with stunning views of the bay, a full-service spa, wi-fi and beds with down pillows and the right thread count.

It’s a luxury tourist bubble: You could spend your entire holiday in the resort and completely ignore Pattaya on your doorstep – or you can do it Sheraton style, by asking staff to organize a jet ski or a round of golf for you. No hassle, one bill.