Pattaya First Timer Help

[flashbarryallen]

This board has been invaluable to me over the years on my trips to Bangkok, and now I'm ready to explore Pattaya for the first time. I definitely need help.

So far I've settled on taking the airport bus from swampy to Jomtien, and then I'm stuck after that.

From descriptions people have given, I imagine my "home" bar would end up being BBB as I tend to prefer Moonlight and Tawan when in BKK (though I know there won't really be Tawan types in Pattaya.) 

What are some recommended hotels that would make access to BBB easy for me and any gents I happen to off? I prefer no hassle from front desk. As far as price, I prefer mid range where I could maybe get a junior suite etc for the same price as a standard room in a more upscale place. I would like to avoid anywhere too sketchy, but also not necessary family friendly. For comparison, I'm a big fan of Raya Surawong in BKK 

Also, I'm kind of...pent up...after no BKK for a few years and really wouldn't mind to try a bar where naughtiness happens inside. Where do you suggest? Guys don't need to be the Tawan/Moonlight type in that case. Flirtatious and touchy would do the trick (though I think for me the only true turn off is long hair.) I've read about places from the past such as Golden Cock in BKK that I would have probably enjoyed and would like to know the best Pattaya equivalent. 

While I'm sure there's info on this scattered in previous threads, obviously things are different now. If it's helpful, I'm planning for two weeks in mid June. How would you split up the time between BKK and Pattaya?

 

[vinapu]

Copa is hotel in Boyztown, just across the soi from BBB and fits all your specifications. Considering it's location obviously your boys are welcomed hassle free. May be bit noisy in the evening but not really problem for me over the years. Only disadvantages - no breakfast provided and whole soi will see who are walking in with.

Just above BBB is Ambiance which was closed for  a while but  may be re-opened already, I personally don't like it's maze of corridors .

In the parallel soi , on the corner and just above ABomb and another girlie  bar there is Classrooms hotel with big rooms , most with balconies which is my favorite as it's quieter and has card operated side entry so you and your guests are entering undisturbed. Perhaps 5-10 $ ore than Copa.

All three easily booked through Agoda.

As for touchy bar try Nice Boys which has own thread  on this forum . Is located in Sunee Plaza, 10 minutes walk from Boyztown . Guys are on rough side but not hunks, certainly touchy although last time I visited there in Dec with another member they were more flirtatious with their phones than customers. Small tip lie 20 baht will allow you short inspection and for  a price of boy drink and say 100-200 tip you can prolong inspection easily. Not a place for shy.

as for splitting time between BKK and Pattaya there will be as many opinions as members with some bypassing either city completely, some giving one much more time than another and some splitting their time evenly but since you , like me seem to like more hunky guys, more abound in Bangkok I'd say out of 2 weeks , 1st in Bkk, followed by 4 days in Pattaya and then last 3 days back in Bkk would be my advice. 

Pattaya is cheaper , hotels, drinks and expected tips but during day Bangkok offers much more to do than that " family friendly " destination.

Whatever you decide though , you can't be much wrong. As tourist traffic is still way from normal it's easy now to change mind, cancel reservation in one place and extend it in another, just when booking make sure reservation is cancellable 

Whatever you decide , you are in for a ball, rest assured

[flashbarryallen]

Thanks @vinapu! This helps tremendously. For Classrooms, do you have any preference between King room vs apartment? I think we have similar taste in hotels and men, so I trust your judgment. Only thing that throws me off is the pinup girl poster above the bed I saw in some of the photos. Too bad there isn't a pinup boy photo on the opposite side. 

Just in case I want to splurge a bit and do something like Hard Rock or another resort, is taking a guy back to those places a big no no?

I'm looking forward to Nice Boys for sure. My past trips have been all about Moonlight as it's the most tame to bring friends to. However, I want anything but tame this trip. Once the blood starts flowing away from my brain to other regions, my shyness melts away. I just need to remember to wear my darkest pair of shorts...

The funny thing is that your advice was essentially what I was thinking. I feel like 4 days is enough to get the Pattaya experience. I know it's nothing like it's heyday, but I very much have the mindset of that it only takes one guy. The only thing I'm worried about is that I'll really like it and may not want to head back to BKK, though I know inevitably the lure of Tawan will be hard to ignore. 

 

[Guest]

56 minutes ago, flashbarryallen said:

Thanks @vinapu! This helps tremendously. For Classrooms, do you have any preference between King room vs apartment? I think we have similar taste in hotels and men, so I trust your judgment. Only thing that throws me off is the pinup girl poster above the bed I saw in some of the photos.

I believe the de-luxe apartments with seated balcony are only on the top floor ?     I've only ever stayed on the top floor, as I like to be further from any noise.

The Premium Suite has a view up second road, but I'd imagine that room gets more road noise from second road.   I think it's room #51

I've stayed in #52 a couple of times and also #55.    #52 used to be directly opposite the wifi router and got very good wifi speeds >>100 mbps, whereas room #55 had a barely useable wifi signal.   I believe that problem showed up after they inserted the lift in between the room and the wifi router.  I expect it's fixed by now, since they were aware of the problem a while ago & they tend to fix things.  

I haven't been there for over 3 years.   However, I like the place & it's a good choice for this area.  For a long stay, I've found more economic accommodation elsewhere. 

[flashbarryallen]

1 hour ago, z909 said:

I believe the de-luxe apartments with seated balcony are only on the top floor ?     I've only ever stayed on the top floor, as I like to be further from any noise.

The Premium Suite has a view up second road, but I'd imagine that room gets more road noise from second road.   I think it's room #51

@z909 Thanks for all the specifics. It's a huge help. I'm actually starting to become more excited about Pattaya than Bangkok now. 

[flashbarryallen]

Could anyone confirm that the guys that are often posted on the BBB Facebook page represent the guys who can be offed? There's one guy with a blonde buzzcut who is definitely doing it for me. 

 

[gerefan]

1 hour ago, flashbarryallen said:

Could anyone confirm that the guys that are often posted on the BBB Facebook page represent the guys who can be offed? There's one guy with a blonde buzzcut who is definitely doing it for me. 
 

I wouldn’t trust any website to have accurate pics of available guys. They can change in an instant!

i don’t see a blonde on the BBB website but there seem to be many BBB websites. See what I mean!! 

 

 

[flashbarryallen]

@gerefan Good point. Guess I'll just have to wait until I arrive.

[orson]

Some recent updates. There's one guy in nice boys that's doesn't look like a street kid. Looks quite innocent like boy next door, more meat in his body. 

Also found a bodybuilder in bbb. Although he is off season and doesn't takes his shirt off. So easily missed, I just got lucky coz he was wearing shorts that night. He looks more of an Indian descent. 

BTW, are Marijuana legal now in Bangkok? I Sawa few stalls selling stuff with mj. 

[orson]

For hotels, try serene or mike's if you're discreet. Not sure about their joiner policy though. Am not sure if Mike hotel used to be the short time rooms that the guys use. 

[flashbarryallen]

6 minutes ago, orson said:

Also found a bodybuilder in bbb. Although he is off season and doesn't takes his shirt off. So easily missed, I just got lucky coz he was wearing shorts that night. He looks more of an Indian descent. 

This is great to know. Any chance you could DM a name and pic if you have? I hope they seriously start to transition away from jeans to at least shorts. 

[orson]

10 minutes ago, flashbarryallen said:

This is great to know. Any chance you could DM a name and pic if you have? I hope they seriously start to transition away from jeans to at least shorts. 

Just look for a guy with a beard. Ask the mamasan if he is absent. They can call him. Do note that he is on his off season 

[vinapu]

10 hours ago, flashbarryallen said:

Thanks @vinapu! This helps tremendously. For Classrooms, do you have any preference between King room vs apartment? I think we have similar taste in hotels and men, so I trust your judgment. Only thing that throws me off is the pinup girl poster above the bed I saw in some of the photos. Too bad there isn't a pinup boy photo on the opposite side. 

.........

The funny thing is that your advice was essentially what I was thinking. I feel like 4 days is enough to get the Pattaya experience. I know it's nothing like it's heyday, but I very much have the mindset of that it only takes one guy. The only thing I'm worried about is that I'll really like it and may not want to head back to BKK, though I know inevitably the lure of Tawan will be hard to ignore. 

 

Z909 already elaborated on the Classrooms and he is one who recommended that hotel to me so follow his narrative. I stay in may different rooms there and was happy with all including one on the 2nd floor just at staircase, no issues with guest, bar girls nor noise.

As for poster on the wall  is easily curable , bring guy with you and you will not even notice those girls ( your guy may though)

I agree , lure of Tawan is strong for me too but BBB provided nice distraction, you will like it. As for extension , easily doable , cancel BKK reservation and extend one in Pattaya , done if you feel so inclined.  I tried Pattaya in the beginning of trip , at the end and in the middle and like mid-trip foray there the most but only once spent more time there than in Bangkok, reason you identified ,  lure of Tawan and now Moonlight too.

Good luck with bearded hunk  at BBB

[vinapu]

6 hours ago, flashbarryallen said:

 I hope they seriously start to transition away from jeans to at least shorts. 

of the guy you like and he will remove both in no time

[spoon]

Ambience penthouse is very spacious too if you want hotel close to BBB. Its on the top floor, with corridor facing the entrance to boyztown. I tried a smaller room there and while the room itself is great, i didnt like the maze there either. The penthouse on the other hand,dont have this issue hehe.

Dont forget to pay jomtien and dongtan beach a visit. Who knows u might find someone u like there as well. I know i did lol.

And the massage places are also a good hunting ground. There are few around tukcom area, as well as jomtien and boyztown.

[Londoner]

The Ambiance penthouse rooms were always our favourites. They were redecorated and refurnished about three years ago. They all had nice sofas, decent bathrooms and were very spacious. No problem with visitors, naturally.

The top floor of Copa was similar. I preferred Ambiance because it maintained  a 24 hour reception; Copa was more like an apartment block.

  I  stayed at Ambiance about sixty times over twenty years making friends with many of the staff....who were charming.

We only moved to Jomtien because the new(ish) bars were too noisy for us during the night and early morning.   We were sad to go.

 

[flashbarryallen]

All your help has been invaluable. I've settled on staying at Classroom during my visit to Pattaya, but it's still good to hear about the other hotels 

One thing I'm still not clear on is if bringing guys back to resorts such as Hard Rock is a big no no or it's just business as normal?

I've also settled on a week in Pattaya. I figure several visits to each of the main bars that are open will give me the best understanding of Pattaya life. And even if it doesn't work out for me (which would be surprising... I'm pretty easy to please), I'm looking forward to a change of pace from Bangkok. 

 

[Guest]

11 minutes ago, flashbarryallen said:

One thing I'm still not clear on is if bringing guys back to resorts such as Hard Rock is a big no no or it's just business as normal?

If you don't get a reply, this may mean that no active board participants have stayed there. 

So just e-mail the hotel to ask them directly.

[vinapu]

8 hours ago, flashbarryallen said:

I've also settled on a week in Pattaya. I figure several visits to each of the main bars that are open will give me the best understanding of Pattaya life. And even if it doesn't work out for me (which would be surprising... I'm pretty easy to please), I'm looking forward to a change of pace from Bangkok. 

 

it will, with 4 bars opened in Boyztown now, you will find consolators easily. 

If you bored during day take trips to NongNooch (spelling) tropical gardens and Sanctuary of Truth, climb Pratamnak hill to see Big Buddha and panorama from there and take day trip to Koh Larn island 

[Mateo_37]

Just a side question to the topic .

Is there any (gay or gay-friendly) dance club/disco opened in Pattaya already?

I remember NAB from long ago, but anybody got updated news maybe?

Thanks.

😁

[gerefan]

Silipline Isaan (Sp) on a Third Road was open when I left about 6 weeks ago.

[aussie_]

4 hours ago, Mateo_37 said:

Just a side question to the topic .

Is there any (gay or gay-friendly) dance club/disco opened in Pattaya already?

I remember NAB from long ago, but anybody got updated news maybe?

Thanks.

😁

Dragon Man Club at North Pattaya has re-opened

https://www.facebook.com/Dragonmanclub

[Patanawet]

On 5/12/2022 at 10:10 PM, orson said:

For hotels, try serene or mike's if you're discreet. Not sure about their joiner policy though. Am not sure if Mike hotel used to be the short time rooms that the guys use. 

Ye gods, Serene?
I last heard of Serene from a waiter at the bar.
He told me that as the rooms were falling into dis-repair, other rooms were being cannibalised to compensate.
Now, this was a few years ago and the situation may have changed since then. Maybe a recent stayer can report?
It surely is handy for BoyzTown.

[Guest]

14 minutes ago, Patanawet said:

Ye gods, Serene?
I last heard of Serene from a waiter at the bar.
He told me that as the rooms were falling into dis-repair, other rooms were being cannibalised to compensate.
Now, this was a few years ago and the situation may have changed since then. Maybe a recent stayer can report?
It surely is handy for BoyzTown.

1   At present, I don't think there's any reason to risk booking an unsuitable hotel for your entire stay.   There should be many hotels with vacancies, so you could just book a hotel for one or two nights and look for alternatives to book at short notice.

2  Boyztown is not what it was.   From Dec~February, I rarely visited Boyztown.  Jomtien was far more lively.   Obviously it all depends on what the individual prefers, but anyone thinking of staying there should consider whether or not Boyztown has anything to justify staying there.   I would be looking for Toy Boys or Cupidol to reopen, although apparently the latter is permanently closed.

[colmx]

1 hour ago, z909 said:

 I would be looking for Toy Boys or Cupidol to reopen, although apparently the latter is permanently closed.

Quite a few of the Cupidol and Toyboys boys are now working as freelancers in Pikky bar on Boystown, also some to be found in JoJo and home bar in Jomtien