"Born to be a star" by Britney Spears is the tagline of a
pamphlet publicising the Hard Rock Hotel Pattaya due to
open in the last quarter of this year. A "star" is
precisely what the hotel aims to be, with its plans to rock
Pattaya with features and concept not seen before in the
destination. It will be the first Hard Rock Hotel in
Thailand and the second in Asia, after Bali. The Hard Rock
Hotel in Pattaya also marks the first major (hotel)
development in Pattaya in the past 15 years, says resident
manager, Andrew Khoo Beng Kee. The 320-room hotel boasts of
other "firsts" in both form and concept. Its Beach Club
Pool is Pattaya's largest free form pool. A sand island by
the main pool provides a private haven for children to
build sandcastles and play volleyball. There is also a
sunbathing pool, with 15 centimetres of water to lay in and
get a great tan. On the eastern part of the pool are 11
cabanas for rental for half or full day. Musicians,
jugglers and tight ropewalkers provide daylong
entertainment around the pool. A three-tiered sundeck
transforms into a stage at night for shows. "The whole idea
is to make the pool an area of unified activities for the
family, a concept not seen in Pattaya before," says Khoo.
The e Bar (the Thai name stands for "crazy bitch") features
a unique Cupboard Bar. During the day it serves as a cyber
café serving only coffee and tea. At night it opens into a
cupboard with coffee, cocktails and spirits and beers. "We
break away from the bar tradition of having a live band but
instead incorporate Internet facilities and PC games. From
experience we found out that holidaymakers still want to
keep in touch with the world," says Khoo. The Starz Diner
is an all-day diner decorated circa 1950s modern retro
style with music of that era. It is the first in Pattaya to
feature an open kitchen which dishes up Japanese,
Thai/Chinese and Californian/Italian cuisine. But beyond
the aesthetics and new concepts, Hard Rock Hotel Pattaya is
seen as the stimulus for the resort city to move away from
its unsavoury image of sex and girlie bars. "Pattaya is the
number one destination in Thailand for Thais, local
expatriates and foreign visitors but its image has taken a
battering. Beginning this year the Tourism Authority of
Thailand and the local provincial government have embarked
on a campaign to market Pattaya as a family holiday
destination. The presence of a Hard Rock hotel will enhance
this image. We'll also act as a catalyst for this change
(in image)," says Khoo. Pattaya has the ingredients to be
an ideal family playground - its easy access from Bangkok
which is one-and-a-half hour drive away on the new highway,
its 19 golf courses which charge less than 500 baht
(US$11.80) for green fees and seafood, not to mention the
sun, sand and sea. It is also becoming a clean city with a
new sewage plant to discharge waste and new zoning rules
and regulations to control the development of new
buildings. "We are seeing a revival of Pattaya. The recent
rebranding of the Royal Garden Hotel into a Marriott also
signifies the changes taking place and a sign that people
want such changes. Eventually Pattaya will shed its image
as a cheap tourist destination. This in turn will generate
even more interest and draw in investments," said Khoo.
Hard Rock Hotel Pattaya will open all its rooms, facilities
and F&B outlets "at one go", as Khoo puts it. Published
rates start at 3,870 baht (US$101) + 17% (10% service
charge and 7% VAT). Special introductory rates will be
announced soon. He forecasts an average room occupancy of
65 percent for its first year of operation. Target markets
are the family and conference and corporate markets from
Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Germany, Great Britain,
Australia and New Zealand.