Welcome Plaza Hotel, Pattaya

...decide to stay at _The Welcome Plaza Hotel_, or indeed any hotel in Pattaya for that matter, it is advisable to print off the address in thai from a website. The chances are that you will be landing at either the new airport or the older (but impressively) refurbished one in Bangkok. From the latter it is a two hour taxi ride to Pattaya. This includes two obligatory stops: one for the driver to refuel the car and another for him to suddenly dash ...
...my last stay at _The Welcome Plaza_ I knew exactly where it was but had to give directions to the driver. Even at 6pm the roads were bumper to bumper and many of the streets are one way. The delay can obviously be fustrating when you have just had twelve hours on a plane and then all the administrative processes at the airport. At this point it should be mentioned that on no account take a taxi from anyone who is offering their services inside the ... more

YOU'VE GOT TO FIND IT FIRST

If you decide to stay at The Welcome Plaza Hotel, or indeed any hotel in Pattaya for that matter, it is advisable to print off the address in thai from a website. The chances are that you will be landing at either the new airport or the older (but impressively) refurbished one in Bangkok. From the latter it is a two hour taxi ride to Pattaya. This includes two obligatory stops: one for the driver to refuel the car and another for him to suddenly dash off for a piss in a ditch. It seems to be a tradition, or just the effect I have on people. If you are really lucky like me, then there might be a third time; when you get to help him change a tyre while huge trucks thunder past within inches of your backside.. ....all because he didn't pull over to the side of the road when he noticed he had a puncture.

Suicidal mechanics aside, the problem tends to be when you reach the city limits. Rarely do the taxi drivers know where your hotel is and if you do not know either then there is going to be a lot of confusion - particularly if you throw in to the mix that Pattaya is a nightmare to drive around if you do not know the city well. On my last stay at The Welcome Plaza I knew exactly where it was but had to give directions to the driver. Even at 6pm the roads were bumper to bumper and many of the streets are one way. The delay can obviously be fustrating when you have just had twelve hours on a plane and then all the administrative processes at the airport. At this point it should be mentioned that on no account take a taxi from anyone who is offering their services inside the airport building. Its lighter on the pocket to step outside and deal with one of the representatives there. You should be able to get a taxi that will go through the toll roads (the most direct route) for no more than 1,400 bht (including toll fees). If someone says 2,000 bht thats too much.

Even though I was showing my driver the way and mentioning road names, it was apparent that giving directions in this manner was futile as he didn't know Pattaya that well. In fact, in seven trips to this city only the first driver knew the address of my hotel (luckily). As it happened, on my last visit when I stayed at The Welcome Plaza, such was the congestion that as I knew a short cut, I handed over a tip and staggered up a side street dragging my case behind me. In their defence the taxi drivers are all extremely pleasant and if they are unsure then they do at least know where their office in Pattaya is located and will go and ask for guidance. Even in this instance, having the hotel address printed in thai will ease matters as the language barrier can throw even the simplest dialogue in to chaos.

WELCOME

My decision to lug my case the rest of the way to the hotel may have been shrewd in terms of saving time, but not in terms of my fatigue. Halfway up the road a girl kindly offered to 'smoke me'. Thais have a poetic way of desrcibing everything, oral sex included. Replying in pigeon English that it might be better if I were to check in to the hotel before any 'smoking or boom boom' I continued on my way. The tropical heat and humidity never wavers in its intensity even as the skies rapidly darken and an abundance of neon illuminate the city. I was therefore dripping with sweat by the time I staggered to the desk in the hotel. About thirty feet long, the reception cannot be missed as it faces you directly when you cross the marble effect floor from the main entrance. During the day there is often a small army of smartly dressed recruits sat behind their mahogany barrier, usually eager to help any visitor needing their assistance. From about 5pm however, the numbers reduce to maybe two or three people on the desk.

As I had pre-booked, registering was very straightforward involving the requisite scrutiny of my ugly mug on my passport and a few necessary confirmations regarding details. I was then given the key and told which floor my new home could be found. The hotel has around 269 rooms though this varies in number according to web site and you do not need to be Sherlock Holmes to find which is yours as they follow a numerical order. Well, not quite. The Welcome Plaza is an impressive building even if you just take account of the size. Though it didn't bother me in particular, the fact that there was no offer of a porter to take my case and show me to my room was pretty poor. This is a common courtesy; besides if you didn't know where you are going then you could be wandering the corridors for a while. Personally, if I am honest, I was more than happy to take my own case because I am not one for standing on ceremony but I was still surprised. I can appreciate that for others this would hardly signal a good start to their visit and I am sure had I had more luggage, then assistance would have been offered. Maybe the lad was having a bad night or they were short staffed that evening because on my previous stay here, a porter couldn't wait to get hold of my bags. And if you find innuendo in that, then Pattaya is probably just the place for you.

It seems helpful at this point to mention the attitude of the staff in relation to other hotels in which I have stayed in this crazy city. I have used the Lek Hotel, Fipper Lodge Hotel, Sunshine Hotel and the the Welcome Lodge Hotel (not to be confused with the Plaza). Aside from the issue with the porter, I have always found the folk at the Welcome Plaza both courteous and professional, if a little detached. If you are one for banter then they are more reserved than at other places I have stayed but I have no complaint. However, upon staying at the Lek Hotel on a previous visit, the porter held out his hand for a tip and offered to find me a woman within seconds of placing my case outside the room. I am very broad minded but this had left me unimpressed. I know Pattaya, I love the place and admire its brazen disregard for subtlety even if my visits have not exactly been merely for vacational purposes. I am also fully aware of why alot of men go there but a porter in a supposedly reputable hotel should not be saying this sort of thing to a guest. I think if he'd offered to find me a boy I would have hit him. I didn't want to explain to him that not every fella is a sex tourist and just forced an unconvincing smile while declining his 'kind' offer. It was to be something of an omen with regard to the Lek which probably had the least welcoming ambience of any of the hotels in which I have stayed while in Thailand. With that exception, all the hotel staff are usually typically Thai - full of smiles and most helpful. I have to add that the friendliest staff I have encountered have been at the Flipper Lodge Hotel in Soi 8. Always courteous, the lads on the front doors went out of their way to say hello and they remembered me by name when I passed several years later. A word of advice though, (if they are still there), don't get them on to football or your holiday will have finished before even leaving the hotel. But here comes a little advice that probably applies to the Welcome Plaza or indeed any hotel in Pattaya. Do not pay with a credit card - pre-book and pre-pay online through an intermediary such as Asia Rooms, Expedia, Ebookers and so on. I stopped staying at the Flipper Lodge because I paid the bill with my plastic. Two weeks after my return to England I received a letter from my card company saying £1,800 had been used to buy goods in Taiwan. The girl on reception only had it for two minutes and never left my sight. It was that easy to copy. It was the only time I used the card other than in a cash machine. If it could happen at the reception in Flipper Lodge, it could happen at The Welcome Plaza or any other hotel. I certainly never pay for anything outside the hotel with plastic as you are asking for trouble. Most thais I have met are as honest as the day is long and implicitly trustworthy but you are of course going to get opportunists. Tourists are easy pickings.

THE ROOMS AND ASSOCIATED SERVICES

By the time I reached my room I was starting to get utterly sick of the sight of my case, having hauled it from front door to train station to tube to airport and halfway across the world. It was a great relief to dump it on the stand just inside the door. Although I was situated at the front of the hotel this time, the layout was exactly the same as on my previous stay. As you enter there is large double wardrobe, with sliding doors mounted on the wall to your left and enough room for two people to hang several weeks worth of clothing. It also housed a number of shelves. As on my last visit there were few hangers, however, so I would suggest bringing some with you. Immediately to your right is the bathroom which, surprise, surprise, houses a bath and shower, along with a toliet. The sink runs along one side with a large mirror, over which can be found a fluorescent light. The bathrooms in The Welcome Plaza do not look particularly refined and on first glance actually seem grubby. However this tends to be more a case of decor than hygiene. They are on a par with those at Flipper Lodge and far superior to those at the Lek and the Welcome Lodge.

Passing the bathroom and you are in to the bedroom proper. These are a good size with a mini bar, large television, generous dressing table with mirror, two chairs and a small table all along the left hand side. The bed, flanked by two bedside tables with lamps on each, protrudes from the right hand wall. The wall facing the door is completely filled with a french window which leads to a small balcony stretching the length of the room. The view is unspectacular whether you are at the front or the back of the hotel. But during the day this glass frontage really enhances the appeal of the room, making it feel light and airy; an impression assisted by the plain white paintwork of the other walls. With quick reference to other hotels once more, this is not always the way. Again I have to allude to the Lek and the Welcome Lodge, in which the rooms were particularly gloomy and far smaller. Of course, with the Thai heat and humidity, the decor can only achieve so much in providing a feeling of cool comfort and so air conditioning is essential. A wall mounted switch in the small vestibule offers three levels for the fan. It works very efficiently for after ten minutes on three, you will actually start to feel cold. If thats not enough to flick the switch down to one, then the noise is.

One of the most important features is obviously the bed. Even for a double, these are very large and extremely comfortable. I can sleep anywhere and am quite content to 'rough' it, but I am sure even the most fastidious of guests will enjoy a good night's respite in the beds at this hotel. I have read on other sites that people thought the beds were dirty. I can see their point but, as with the bathroom, this is something of a misnoma and its more a case that the frames are worn and old. The sheets and blankets were spotless and, as with the towels in the bathroom, were changed every day. The chambermaids were also very conscientious in cleaning all the surfaces on a daily basis. I had far better things to do than check, but you could tell. Restocking of bathroom accessories and the mini bar was also done on a daily basis. Presumably, you are not going to spend all day in your room but on one occasion I had to stay there for most of the morning while doing some paperwork and making some necessary phone calls. Subsequently, I noticed that while the maids are very wary of disturbing you, they come in intervals to change the linen and do the cleaning, before returning to then restock the bathroom and mini bar. For approximately half an hour there is a stream of smiling faces parading in and out of your room. They always knock on their first visit however and if you put up a no disturb sign then it is always respected and they will return at a later time. On this point, it is only fair to state that this has been the case with every hotel. Just make sure you lock the bathroom door if you are in the shower of a morning, because the cascading water drowns out the maid's knock at the bedroom door. This happened to me and just as I was climbing out of the shower in she marched with some soap. I try to tell myself to this day that her smile and giggle was due to the fact that this is how thais often express embarassment, rather than her being unimpressed with, and mocking, my equipment.... ...I think the latter is probably more likely.

As I have mentioned, it is highly doubtful that you will be wanting to spend too long in the room as there is so much to see and experience in and around Pattaya. But if you do, then do not rely on the television. There are a large number of channels but the reception can be very poor on the majority of these. At times there is no picture at all. This is a common feature of every hotel I have known in in the city. However, I don't sacrifice all possible comforts for the previous year or two so that I can fly to Thailand just to watch TV. But one thing that is worth a look is the Pattaya News. The resort is far safer than most cities in terms of crime but anything that happens will be on the news bulletin, a programme which doesn't seem to have our censorship when it comes to gore. There is usually something quite amusing aswell such as the tiny eighty five year old who walked in to Pattaya police station with a gun just to inform the desk sargeant that she will be shooting her addict son when he returns home because he is a work shy good for nothing and she is tired of feeding a fifty year old layabout. At which point she apparently put the gun back in her bag of shopping and pottered out the door. As for sport, you will find all major football matches from all over the world playing in any one of dozens of the bars.

The television may be somewhat temperamental, but the mini bar is reliably well stocked. Bottled beers such as Heineken Export, Chang and Singha stand side by side with bottled water, fruit juices and Lipo (an energy drink). Obviously never drink from a tap. For snacks there are oriels, nuts, chocolate and crisps. These are restocked daily. As one would expect however, the prices are dear compared to the shops and the majority of bars. For the beer , these average between 60 and 85 bht from the mini bar - thats approximately £1.20 - £1.50 which by UK standards is naturally quite reasonable. However you can get a double sized bottle from a '7/11', the thai equivalent to a co-op, for about 40 bht. Conveniently, these shops are plentiful around Pattaya and there is one straight across the road from the Welcome Plaza. Resting on the dressing table is a menu for room service. What unfolds is a list of standard fare from various types of sandwich to hot meals including chicken with salad and chips through to curries. The menu is not particularly extensive, with approximately twenty or so choices. For Thailand, the prices are expensive, for the UK again very competitive. But unless you really have bunkered down for the night, you are far better getting food from outside the hotel. Pattaya is genuinely 24 hour and even though it quietens down after about 3am there are still bars open and food outlets to be found which are still serving. This is a good alternative to the room service, for negotiation with the hotel's telephone operator can be very awkward due to their unusually limited English and my even more basic Thai. In addition to this, the food from room service is pretty poor fare by Thai standards. A better alternative for snacks would be from one of the street vendors which are perfectly safe and very cheap. The Welcome Plaza staff have no problem with you getting your room key laden with bags of dried squid, sausage and chicken feet whatever time of day or night.

So the rooms are generally better in most respects than any other I have used in Pattaya. There will be more luxuriant offerings but I always stay in low to mid-budget hotels and The Welcome Plaza certainly punches its weight within its class. It has to be noted that within the confines of the Plaza itself my choice of accommodation is standard. There are more rooms of a higher grade on offer. A dear old friend - who has now thankfully retired from dancing A Go Go - has had the dubious pleasure during her 'career' of seeing the ceilings of a room in just about every hotel in Pattaya and The Welcome Plaza is one of her favourites! A strange recommendation maybe, but hopefully worth mentioning!

A final note is that while a number of indoor bars and restaurants are following their western counterparts by introducing a smoking ban, you can smoke in the hotel room. I did not do so myself, instead using the balcony and I smelled no residue of cigarette smoke when entering my room on that first night.

THE FACILITIES

In Pattaya there are two things that I ideally want from the hotel, aside from those to be found in the room itself. One is a swimming pool and the other, while not so important, is an internet service. If you have tried ringing your Thai friends on their mobiles then you'll understand the need to access e-mail.

SWIMMING

With regard to the pool, it is located through a wall of glass doors directly opposite the main entrance. Again it may be useful to compare this to other hotels in Pattaya that I have experienced. The Welcome Plaza is FAR superior in this respect. If you are booking online it is very hard to judge the size of pool from the photos available on individual hotel pages. The Lek, The Sunshine and The Flipper Lodge all have pools which are smaller than the photograph would suggest. The biggest culprit being The Sunshine Hotel. To be fair, The Welcome Lodge has a decent sized pool but it plays second fiddle to that of the Plaza. Situated in the grounds at the back, it is generous in size and though the loungers are taken by mid morning there is a covered area where you can sit and sample a beer or snack served poolside. Prices are very reasonable by Thai and UK standards. I have never known all the seating to be taken and the pool has never struck me as crowded. An added bonus is that there is also some greenery which just makes the experience all the more pleasurable. Graduating from a shallow children's area to the depths where the adults dive, the water is very clean as you would expect and the perfect temperature. There is also no need to bring a towel from your room as there are plenty supplied in the bar area. Tucked neatly in a corner by the shallow end are enclosed toilet and showering facilities. At the other hotels mentioned, we did not really want to sit by the pool for too long but at The Welcome Plaza its a very relaxing way to spend a couple of hours in the tropical sunshine. You will get bugged on the beach by traders so it is most convenient to have somewhere you can just unwind without interruption and this is a big plus for this hotel.

LIFTS & ACCESS FOR THE DISABLED

If you head back in to the hotel after your swim you will see stairs on your left and two lifts on your right. These lifts are not that big and all it takes is a couple of beefy types with bags and you may aswell wait for the other one. As one of my friends once put it at the site of a couple of white, hairy whales in shorts "We use other lift, no room with fat farang [westerner]". Considering her English is self taught, her command of the language is admirable. Her ability to whisper, however, needs more work. On a serious note I think there may just be enough room for wheelchair users but it would be tight. On that same issue, I do not recall a wheelchair ramp on the steps leading to the main entrance. I could well be mistaken and there is the consolation anyway that there is always at least one uniformed usher in attendance, who is most helpful. If you are a wheelchair user, you will find that all the facilities in the room are at a convenient height, including the television.

INTERNET AND BUSINESS

The Welcome Plaza boasts conference room facilities which may well house internet services aswell, though it may be unlikely as this is a facility that is normally advertised. I never viewed these areas and to be fair, the hotels that offer such internet usage usually have them in the foyer, as in the case of the Flipper Lodge. It is not the end of the world but a shame. Luckily, the service is available close by. If you walk out to the road at the front of the Welcome, turn right and after twenty yards you will see a chemist. This has four or five internet pcs which are all fast and I have never paid more than 30 baht, with half an hour being my longest stint in any one session. Incidentally, the lady in there is very professional if you need any over the counter medication. As with the '7/11's, internet cafes are plentiful, though a friend has just told me that due to the global recession, these shops are amongst the first businesses to close.

TAXI HOME

If you backtrack from this chemist to the hotel you will also find a lady with a table offering excursions and taxi services. These booths and kiosks are again scattered around Pattaya but as she is virtually on the Plaza's doorstep, it would be wise to use her should you want to book your taxi back to the airport. I would not use the hotel reception to do this, you will pay more. With heavy heart, I ordered a taxi for the following morning from the lady on the street corner. This cost me 800bht. Previously, I ordered one from the hotel for the same journey and it was 1,500 bht. With no difference in the punctuality of the cars nor the service, the gulf in price speaks for itself. If you consider that 800 bht is approximately £12 or £13 for a two hour journey, this is a bargain. Of course you can use any kiosk, but one nearer the hotel seems sensible as you can just point to where you are staying.

RESTAURANT

I cannot comment on this unfortunately as I never made use of this facility, despite the fact an American breakfast was complimentary when I booked online. I was usually coming in when this was served which during my stay was between 7am and 10am. Neither did I use the restaurant for lunch or dinner which are understandably not included in the price of the room. To be honest, there are so many wonderful and cheap places to eat that it seems pointless. Even if the hotel's offerings are of a high standard, you will want to sample the cooking available in the city. With idyllic places to eat both amongst the bustle and in more secluded locations, to use the hotel could be to waste part of your trip and miss out out on an experience.

CHILD FRIENDLY

Personally, I would not even consider bringing a child to Pattaya for a holiday, full stop. Though only the ignorant think of the city (and Thailand for that matter) as purely sex and ladyboys, there are far more suitable places to take the children. Mixed with the exhuberence are some fairly depressing sights which for younger and more sensitive eyes are quite distressing. I have feelings of melancholy with regard to the city - unless you are a monster you cannot help it - and I am not easily shocked. That said, should you decide to visit with children then The Welcome Plaza does have some arrangements for the little ones such as the pool and a small playground area. I would not describe the hotel as overtly child friendly however.

PARKING

Should you take your life in to your hands and hire a car or moped, there is ample parking space here. I have never seen any at the other hotels mentioned.

LAUNDRY

There was a laundry service available when I stayed there which I haven't seen advertised on any websites. I didn't use the one at the hotel but was advised by another guest that it was very cheap.

SAFE

Personal effects can be left in a safe for which you need to speak to reception. I took the cunningly slaphappy approach of leaving mine wrapped in a pair of boxers (clean ones by the way) in my locked suitcase.

LOCATION

One of the major advantages of The Welcome Plaza is its locale. Pattaya is wonderful, because Pattaya is crazy. The Welcome is on what is called 2nd Road which runs parallel to the noisier Beach Road. The latter is maybe two hundred yards away as the crow flies and right on the beach, as the name suggests. Connecting the two are numerous 'sois' or side roads and to get to the sea will take you no more than ten minutes walk, should you survive the traffic. 2nd Road is generally far more relaxing as you are not going to be hustled with the regularity of the beachfront, not that it is what you would can tranquil. The Welcome Plaza is set back though, so walking through the car park at the front to get to the entrance, the beat of the bars and the noise of the mopeds and pick ups gradually drift in to the distance. By the time you are in the lobby, the hum and the buzz of the city has dissipated completley. The same cannot be said of the Lek, the Sunshine or Flipper Lodge. They are nearer the beach and they are in the heart of some of the noisiest streets in the city. I love these 'sois' but, whatever the time of day, you will walk out to an often chaotic, bustling scenario which doesn't suit everybody. Certainly not all of the time.

The Welcome is also well placed if you need to shop. If you turn right and cross the road this time, you will come to a large shopping centre fifty yards on your left. You cannot miss it because there is a plane sticking out of the roof. Inside there are several floors with banking facilities, shops, chemists and numerous eateries. Its also a shortcut to Beach Road. Incidentally, if you want something quick to eat and do not want MacDonalds I would suggest going to the top floor. Turn left after the escalator and you will find a semi self service eaterie with a huge choice of food and drink which is very cheap. I had a coconut cream and chicken soup there which ranks amongst the most pleasuable meals I have ever experienced. Within the shopping mall there is also a cinema (1st floor) but I suggest going to 'Big C' as there are wider choices. The last named is also much cheaper for clothes shopping. To get there just hail one of the street taxis on 2nd Road and look out for a large green sign on the right after about fifteen minutes drive. It will cost you 20bht in the taxi or half an hour and six pints of sweat if you walk. I am trying to keep this relevant to the Welcome Plaza and not a review of Pattaya, but despite its comparative distance the 'Big C' deserves a mention.

In closer proximity to the hotel and on the same side of 2nd Road there is another (much newer) complex that also offers shopping, eateries and a cinema. Again turning right from the hotel entrance, walk for about five or ten minutes and you cannot miss it. If, however, you want to visit the famous Walking Street turn left from the Plaza and then right down Soi Pattayaland to Beach Road. Another left turn and follow Beach Road till it opens in to Walking Street. Even Stevie Wonder couldn't miss it. From room to your destination is no more than fifteen minutes walk, twenty near misses with oncoming mopeds and two dozen romantic propositions.

Finally just two more points relevant to the Plaza. One of the finest eateries I have ever frequented lies ten minutes walk from the Hotel. Again you need to turn right from where the entrance meets the road and keep walking till you see a very small lane branching off once more to your right. About twenty yards down lies 'Ruen Thai'; a beautiful outdoor restaurant with traditional thai dancing, wonderful food and relaxed ambience all at most reasonable prices. The thais I know all love it though its beyond their budget so a treat, but their fondness for the venue has proved a good barometer to its quality. The second point is that you can hire taxis for the day from the corner where the shopping mall with the airplane lies. Being so near to the hotel this is most handy. It cost us about 800 bht for a group to hire one of these to have at our disposal, enabling us to visit places like 'Nong Nooch' and 'Crocodile Farm', both of which lie outside of Pattaya.

COST AND USEFUL SITES

I paid approximately 900bht for my room which is about £15 a night and included breakfast. I imagine in the UK, the same room would have cost at least fourfold. It is a mid range hotel which is let down by its presentation in certain areas but provides a very comfortable stay in close proximity to many of the attractions in Pattaya. Even those places of interest which are further afield are easily accessible from businesses very close to the Hotel's location.

Costs fluctuate between high and low season, the type of room and which site you use to book, so obviously there is no point me quoting a price list. It is most definitley worth shopping around, though one constant is that prices rise steeply in Thailand over New Year. Financially, for the average holiday maker The Welcome Plaza is more or less on a par with the other hotels mentioned in this review.

But for an up to date reference on cost here are some useful sites:

www.welcome.co.th/wplaza.htm
www.asiarooms.com
www.ebookers.com
www.hotels2thailand.com

To view this hotel objectively, you really need to remind yourself what you would pay in the UK or Europe. With this in mind, it is easier to forgive any minor niggles that may prevail.

© OnTheChin 2009 

...less