Hotel Bars

Best Western Plus Nexen Pattaya hotel review: Following a Happy Hour Asia visit to the very nice seaside Best Western Plus sister property in Hua Hin it was our keen interest to also experience this midscale property in north Pattaya, housing 164 rooms and suites. Let’s get happy in Pattaya by choosing quality accommodation! Its location is at walking distance from the bus station for arrivals from Bangkok and about 1 kilometre only from the area’s new ”centre”, namely Terminal 21, which has become a lively shopping, dining and night time entertainment hub. From there it’s just a few hundred metres  slightly downhill to reach Pattaya beach, where there is also wave breaker to walk out on – a perfect spot to get both good pictures of the beach and the sunset-facing sea.

 

The hotel is situated along a road that has less traffic than many others and with a restaurant terrace facing the street, surrounded be residential buildings and shophouses. There are supermarkets as well in the vicinity.

 

As soon as one enters the hotel lobby the vibe changes into something stylish and helped by the fact that the hotel’s bar – The Exe Bar – is placed in the marble-clad Lobby Lounge – a great place to unwind over drinks after a day out in the heat. Or enjoy drinks outdoors in the adjacent courtyard by the pool, which can be followed by dining at XSO Kitchen! 

 

On a stylish black marble floor, cobalt-blue floor carpets are placed, with leather designer furniture in orange-brown and beige, along with round black-veined tables. At sunset sunrays beam onto the furniture through the lobby windows.

 

Among the cocktails, with a nice happy hour offer to pay for 1 drink and get 2, the signature Singapore Sling is very refreshing and Premium spirits only are used. 

 

Above the black marble bar is a brass latticework, and in the middles of the lobby is a sunken gold leaf ceiling section. Guests can also sit at the leather chrome bar stools, to get a closer look at the bartender action.

 

Facilities-wise, this Best Western Plus also features (aside the pool) a gym (with – aside gym equipment – fitness balls, yoga mats and a soft black flooring cover), and a kids club (’Little Hands’ – a glass-walled playroom).

 

The impressive quality from the lobby encounter, enjoying brisk check in service it should be added, is also representative for the accommodation. Housed in the Corner Suite, Happy Hour Asia gets a pool view (though this hotel has no balconies), in this long room at the end of the wing, with windows both on the east and the west side, and with a floor-to-ceiling mirror in the hall.

 

The bed and wooden headboard are in black with white linen and blue decor pillows. There is also a large bluish canvas behind the bed depicting a foggy forest landscape.

 

The King bed is flanked by chocolate brown wooden bed tables and brass lamps with transparent black lampshades. These lamps also come with a choice of white or warm light dimmer. By the bed there is a beige two-seater sofa (and in smaller room types a blue armchair), with a round, “creamy” black-white veined marble table. From this seating, or the bed, one can view television: a large flat screen is mounted on the opposite wall.

 

The bathroom and its rain shower is separated with a glass wall. Its floor and walls come in a hue of sandy marble, and a brown veined marble counter with a white washbasin. All in all it has a masculine appeal.

 

The air con is quiet to satisfactory level why the seemingly thin duvet is very warm. The accommodation is also furnished with a work desk, cabinets, a mini bar, coffee and tea and an alarm clock.

 

Pool View, City View and Corner Deluxe are the remaining room categories. 

 

Facing the courtyard pool, the l-shaped hotel has a wide and characteristic red-hued concrete outdoor staircase 

 

Due to its bright natural stone tiles the pool gets its attractive light blue hue. It is surrounded by a grey-tiled platform, including outdoor seating for XSO Kitchen, and also flanked by retro red-white stiped classic fold-up beach chairs. There are also two sunken sun beds by the pool fountain. Underwater steps at the pool’s short ends also make it easy to enter the water instead of jumping. When the pool is not busy one can actually swim – though short – laps in it. There is also a small kids pool zone. In addition to some white sun umbrellas there are also plenty of trees to give shade during the often hot sunny days.

 

Garden and restaurant speakers, by the way, play an excellent soundtrack of music selection with variety throughout the day! It’s independent, it’s modern, and it’s varied, and another quality stamp for the Best Western Plus brand

 

Delivering above expectation – and what constitutes our final observation of the resort’s high quality – is also the dining at this property. Enjoying dinner poolside alfresco here also gives a nice resort feel to it, furnished with terrazzo counter tables and grey resort style chairs. Mocktails and cocktails will be brought to the table from adjacent Exe bar, such as Rose lychée soda. The dinner though starts with the second Singapore Sling from the happy hour offer.

 

 

The restaurant is focused on Thai and international cuisine throughout the day and evening, where the plate presentations and taste are truly excellent. Even such a standard Thai dish as Fried rice seafood is nicely presented with the dish as a circle with a round fried egg covering the top, and with lime slices and spring onions on the side.

 

A Caesar salad comes with grilled prawn on a skewer, romaine lettuce and croutons dressed with lemon juice, olive oil and egg. It’s sumptuous. So is the Hawaiian pizza, the most ordinary pizza is well grilled, thinly sliced and has certain irresistible flavours. 

 

For lunch (:11.00 – 15.00), a pumpkin soup as starter comes beautifully presented on a soup plate with creamy egg white on top, a slice of pumpkin and a slice of toasted bred aside.

 

Grilled pork chop with pepper sauce is beautifully presented with a vegetable skewer and with perfectly steamed – still chewy – vegetables on top of mashed potatoes.

 

Special favourites definitely include two other dishes. First, the delicious-looking Tom yam seafood, creamy- and herbal looking, and truly authentic, with coconut milk, mushroom, dried chili, galangal and generously filled with mussles, prawn and squid. Second, the deep fried calamari, served with parsley garnish and dip tartar sauce in a soup spoon place on the soup plate.

 

It’s rounded off with a nice, mulit-layered Panna cotta of sweetened cream and fruit cocktail on top.

 

Indoors it is furnished with grey-patterned floor tiles and vintage style armchairs in light brown or blue-green. There are also some partition walls and a brown leather wall sofa.

 

The breakfast is decent and comes with quality Dilmah tea, different cooking stations for various preferences but also includes lots of salad varieties, pickled mini cucumbers, olives, bread, some cheese, muesli, various yoghurts and warm dishes, such as Spaghetti Aglio e Olio (garlic and olive oil), Grilled tomato with cheese, Chicken clear soup, Stir-fried pork oyster sauce, Stir-fried Chikuwa (Japanese fishcake) with curry powder, butter-fried potatoes, sautéed carrots and more.

 

Based on a more than satisfactory stay it is quite clear that Best Western Plus Nexen Pattaya hotel goes above and beyond to deliver a qualitative stay – be it for business or leisure.