drron

Looking forward to our stay next week.I hope the mushroom pizza is still on the menu!

Toula

I recently had a 3 day stay at this property and enjoyed every moment of it. Attentive staff who took pride in their work always with a smile, great food and a really good spa. This is one property I fully intend to return to.

nongsom

This place is one of my favorite breakfast from all SPG property in thailand.
Ice cream,ice coffee,egg station with Thai omelet style and a la carte boiled egg.
Sometimes with Thai seafood dish.
Internet speed is improve from 2/2 to 4/4 full speed and fastest ping less than 10 ms

drron

Staying here at present.Last stayed 12 months ago.Since then internet speed is definitely better.The lift to the beach and Latitude bar also greatly appreciated.
Service still top notch.Staff happy and helpful.
Love the position.Sunsets just magic.Happy with the 2 for 1 drinks between 1700-1900.

Dr. HFH

I recently had the opportunity to stay here for four nights. Overall, a lovely hotel. You can have Pattaya, though.

I was with a couple of friends; and we drove from Hua Hin. The drive didn’t take nearly as long as I had anticipated. Got lost driving through Pattaya (it’s a very large city); so one of my friends (who is Thai) called the hotel for directions. Directions were accurate and got us there fairly easily.

Rather than the circular, drive-through driveway/entrance common at hotels, the approach to this hotel is a large, rectangular parking area. I left my friends to deal with getting the bags out of my pickup and went inside to check in. The checkin area is just lovely. It’s a large, square, open-air room with four regular desks, one in each corner and a great view out to the ocean. There’s a check-in person at each desk, and you sit in front of the desk. As I walked in, one of the gentlemen welcomed me to his desk. Looking across the desk behind him I could see the water. Beautiful. A cold drink was provided promptly.

My FD person was meticulous about explaining the hotel in detail. Dining options, multiple pools, how the room structures are set up, rides into town, etc. It actually took a while, but I much appreciated both the level of detail and the pleasant, friendly and not rushed manner in which it was provided. It was actually one of the longest checkin experiences I’ve ever had, but that was fine.

When I finished, I found my friends; but the bags were still in the back of the pickup. They said that it is hotel policy that the bellmen won’t touch your bags until after you check in. It didn’t really matter in my case, I guess, but it definitely strikes me as odd. So if I arrive by taxi, the bags just sit on the driveway where they were unloaded until checkin is completed? There must be more to that story, but I didn’t pursue it. Checkin documents in hand, we returned to the driveway/entrance where the bags were quickly removed from the truck.

The hotel is fairly spread out, and the hill is steep. There was an electric golf cart to take us to the rooms; but we only used it the first time, just after checkin. After that, we preferred to walk. I’m told, however, that the golf cart will come and pick you up promptly if you call. We enjoyed the walks through the hotel. The hotel is full of mature plantings, making it exceptionally pleasant to walk, assuming that you can handle the grade/steps. It’s clear that the plantings are professionally tended.

The hotel is on the side of a hill. I had received a PLT upgrade to a Deluxe Pavilion, having booked a standard room. Each Pavilion is a separate structure of, I believe, four rooms, two on top and two underneath. You have either a half flight of stairs up if you’re in an upper, or a half flight down if you’re in a lower. Because of the steepness of the hillside, however, the “lowers” aren’t subterranean at all. The rooms are large, with lots of dark wood. Very high ceilings, even in the lower rooms. Off each Pavilion room is a good-sized octagonal balcony. These balconies are much nicer than regular hotel balconies. Because they’re octagonal, they’re more comfortable for sitting and can accommodate more furniture comfortably. Typically, I have to work for part of every day (if for no other reason than to prevent my Inbox from becoming overgrown); so I took my laptop out to the comfortable lounge on the balcony and worked out there. No problem with Wifi; it was plenty strong.

Bathrooms were very nice, too. I had a fairly large, separate shower as well as a bathtub. As expected, there was a small, separate room for the toilet, with a door on it which actually closes. (Please take note, W management.) Two sinks, at opposite ends of the bathroom.

There were two restaurants, Elements and Infiniti. Elements is the breakfast restaurant. It’s up in the main part of the hotel. There are plenty of tables both indoors and outdoors. I believe that the outdoor dining area looked a bit larger than the indoor. I don’t know how they effect changes during rainy season; but the outdoor area was lovely. There were nice views out to the water, and you could see fairly far. The atmosphere was very nice, -- a very pleasant place to enjoy break fast with the morning paper, which I did.

The breakfast, itself, was OK, but not better. My friends did not have breakfast on our first morning and asked me about it. Interestingly, I couldn’t identify anything in particular which I didn’t like (other than the lack of salmon, but more on that in a minute). I thought that the selection was OK, not great. Same with the quality of what was offered. There was nothing particularly wrong with it, it just didn’t wow me. OTOH, I will be the first to acknowledge that I’ve been spoiled over the years by the hugely expansive breakfast at SGS.

Salmon. My first trip to Thailand was in 2006 and I’ve been a regular since then. This was my very first hotel breakfast in Thailand at which there was no smoked salmon. It wasn’t just a question of having run out on one particular day, either. There wasn’t any salmon at all. During a chat with GM Tomo Kuriyama later in my stay, I mentioned this to him. I ended up not going to breakfast on our last morning there; but my friends did. They reported that smoked salmon had been added. I always give a hotel huge credit when the GM actually listens to the comments and takes action. If you’ve read my review of LM Bangkok, you’ll see what I mean. Same here. Mr. Kuriyama heard my comment, internalized it, and took immediate action. That’s exactly how it should work.

There was no PLT happy hour drink benefit; although I know that it has been mentioned in the thread and Mr. Kuriyama has said here that it’s being considered. While we were there, I believe that there was a two-for-one special on drinks available to all guests. We took advantage of that for wine/drinks with dinner.

The other dining option is Infiniti. It’s down the hill, much closer to the water; though, due to the steepness of the incline, still at least one level above the beach. Actually, I believe that the beach is just below and in front of Infiniti. We ate dinner here most nights; and the food was excellent. The dinner menu is here; and everything we ate was delicious. We tried a little of everything, including Italian food, fish, seafood and meat. We found it both delicious and creative, but not creative in an overthought way. Different tastes were married in some dishes in a way which wouldn’t have occurred to me, with excellent results. Dinner is not cheap, but it is a five star restaurant in a high-end hotel. It clearly isn’t intended to be an economy option. Mr. Kuriyama told us that many locals patronize the restaurant, as well.

On some nights, there was a duo providing a pleasant musical accompaniment to dinner, too. The view looking out over the water from Infiniti was wonderful. I cannot think of how it could have been more pleasant or romantic. Oh, yes. The uniforms on the staff have to go. They reminded me most of the old Howard Johnson’s waitress uniforms. (Yes, I’m old enough to remember.) Some type of elegant black dress (maybe with a sash of color?) would be much more appropriate for the women. I thought that the outfits they were wearing looked rather out of place in a restaurant of this caliber.

As far as I can tell, there are at least two swimming pools. I believe that one is intended for children and the other for adults, or something like that. Although I didn’t visit the beach, I did visit one of the pools (but I don’t know which one). The pools are free-form; one has much more sun than the other. Although they are not heated, the water was warm enough that even I went in, a once-in-a-decade event. I’m sure that it will be in the world press shortly. Please don’t look too closely.

I never went down to the beach, and thus cannot really comment. I’m told that there isn’t much of a beach, but that there is some arrangement to take guests to a nearby island with an excellent beach. I didn’t try this, though.

Without exception, the staff was great. Always smiling, always friendly, always accommodating. There were some, particularly around the pool, who could use some work on their English. Even when dealing with them, however, they couldn’t have been nicer or more friendly. Fortunately, as I mentioned above, one of my friends is Thai, so that smoothed over the rough communication parts.

Slightly OT, but enjoyed a nice chat with drron and Mrs. drron while we were there.

GM Tomo Kuriyama is always out and about the hotel. He generally keeps an eye on things, greets guests at breakfast, dinner, poolside, etc. I think that this kind of omnipresence on the part of senior management is one of the signs of a great hotel. It shows both guests and staff that management cares. In some hotels, the GM doesn’t make the effort to meet guests; and, IMO, it shows. Look at the Trip Advisor comments about SGS, for example. Numerous comments about GM Richard Chapman being around and meeting people. Same here. Mr. Kuriyama meets the guests and is genuinely interested in interacting with them. Moreover, comments to him produce results, as with the salmon at breakfast, above. Contrast with GMs at WGS or LM (both in Bangkok). While I may have physically seen the GMs at those hotels, I am not aware of it, which means that they did not make the effort. Even at Aloft Bangkok, two stays ago, the GM was wandering around the lobby meeting people and came up to me and introduced himself while I was checking in. IMO it’s part of the GM’s job.

Overall, I really liked this hotel and would return in a minute. If only it weren’t in Pattaya. As I said, I went into the city a couple of times and didn’t care for it at all. But if you like Pattaya or have to be there for any reason, this is definitely a great place to stay.

jkingsle

Dr. HFH, I agree with your comments about the visibility of the GM being important. Just one point of recent clarification. There is a new GM at the Westin Grande Sukhumvit, Michael Raich. He replaced the previous GM recently (was announced on the Westin Facebbok page just yesterday). He manages the Westin as well as the Sheraton Hua Hin, and the Sheraton Pranburi Villas. I had a very nice interaction with him this morning as he was walking thru the lounge on the 24th floor.

This is only one data point, so time will tell, as I agree the previous manager, Charles Jack was invisible.

whimike

Excellent thorough review HFH. I went to this hotel a few years ago and loved it.

Just to note, I arrived in Mercedes provided by the LMBKK and my bags definitely were removed by the bellmen prior to check-in.

Also, the beach on the island that can be accessed by boat is great, the island is named Koh Lan and the beach is called Sea Beach. Beach lounge chairs were set up and you could order food, including lobsters. The water was awesome, warm like bath water and turquoise blue.

Dr. HFH

I think that you may mean Martin Raich, listed as a GM for Starwood. I wonder if he's related to Amanda Raich, listed as a Starwood Spa Manager.

While a bit OT for the Pattaya thread, this is an arrangement which, IMO, is destined to fail sooner or later. A GM of three geographically diverse properties? Sorry, but I just don't see it. At SGS, Mr. Chapman walks the hotel every day and meets guests nearly every night, even sometimes on his days off. At Pattaya, Mr. Kuriyama, too, is always around the property. That's obviously not going to happen, now, with these three properties; and I think that it's a degradation in service level.

jkingsle

Yes.... You are correct it's Martin.

I tend to agree with you, and even brought that point up to Martin, and he said that while he can't be everywhere all the time, each hotel has a director/manager that represent him when he is not there.

It'll be interesting to see what happens, and if this was a fluke sighting and if the local hotel manager becomes evident in his absence.

snaffled

Staying OT :-)
I think the constantly accessible and visible front of house GM style works in some hotels, and is not needed at others. There are some fantastic GMs who are around all the time, RC being a case in point. But in my experience of staying in, working in, and working closely with hotels, there are any number of equally excellent GMs at hotels that have an amazing service culture and a profitable business that are much more back of house.

I've seen some hotels where it has actually been counter-productive, and meant that decisions tend not to happen unless the GM is directly involved - or where it all tended to fall apart when he/she went on vacation. (None of which applies to SGS, just to be clear)
I've seen others where the GM is excellent at meeting guests and making them feel special, but completely lacking in financial acumen, business planning, staff motivation and development, and other skills necessary in someone who leads a multi million dollar enterprise.

Based on my experiences, I really don't see it necessarily as a consistent sign of a good GM. Of course leaving aside the fact that many people prefer not to constantly work 14 hours a day.

yosithezet

Please return to the topic at hand which is the Sheraton Pattaya.

yosithezet
Co-Moderator, SPG Forum

Curious_George

Was planning a booking a somewhat last second stay at this property on Feb 3-7th but see that it's sold out during the period :/

Any special event going on during that time or does this hotel sell out often?

nongsom

No special event
It bookable

https://www.starwoodhotels.com/prefe...erOfChildren=0

Excellent review Dr. HFH! Every time I visit this property, I don't have luggage problem like you.

I've been to Sheraton Hua Hin and Pranburi several times but I havn't met Martin. All staffs are friendly, Some staffs told me that Martin always walked around the property checking everything whether it was in the right place. Unfortunately, he doesn't communicate with guests. (not his style). Martin has no experience of City hotel management. I hope his role here at WGS will improve this property more or less.

CLEguy

Excellent review, Dr. HFH. I stayed at the property in December of 2013, and couldn't agree more about the quality and attentiveness of the staff, particularly Mr. Kuriyama. The hotel is wonderful, a true oasis in a city that is very much...not.

Toula

Wanted to add during my recent stay I also had a chat with Mr Kuriyama, he was making a point of making himself known to guests in the breakfast area, something I have never experienced before. I think his hands on approach shows thru his staff who all seem happy and pleased to be of service. This is a property I will definitely return to again. Can't add anything about Pattaya as I did not go off property, I was happy to relax within the boundaries of the Sheraton.

I did go to the beach and it is certainly nothing special. The water can be accessed via a set of steps which seemed to be slippery and overall the water did not look inviting.