This hotel has plenty going for it. Great location while still being quiet, well designed and thought out, comfortable rooms, good facilities and not too big like a generic resort. But something felt off and I would put it down to the lack of warmth. I found the service to be lacking. Extremely inflexible and somewhat cold. My experience throughout the hotel (including the reservation process) did not make me feel welcomed at all. Staff in the restaurant and the bell boys were more busy playing with their phones than looking out for guests. I understand the hotel wasn’t busy but playing with phones while on duty really looks lazy and unprofessional. Front desk was extremely inflexible and severely lacking in warmth. Low empowerment by the staff who would say “my manager say no” or “I have a boss and my manager is very strict”

The hotel has a 24 hour stay policy for the weekdays meaning you can check out the same time that you had checked in. They refused to honour it and tried to get out of it using technicalities. No follow up on the matter whatsoever despite the hotel being fairly empty.

I tried using the pool one time and was told by the staff it was closed for a photography session. When I finally got a sun bed in the corner and out of their way, I was met with dirty glares from the photographers and staff which made my 20 mins in the sun most uncomfortable. When the photography started getting close to me, I decided to get out of their way and leave. 4 of them just glared at me as I walked not. No smile, no thank you - just annoyed looks following me as I walked past them.

Housekeeping is atrocious. Nothing was replenished and my room had hair everywhere. I mean clumps of long hair and dust everywhere. I even showed it to the team. Not much remorse shown. Mainly blank looks. The next day, I thought they would have done a better job but it was even worse. They simply made the bed and nothing else. I was out all day with the “make up the room” sign hanging on the door. When I returned at 4pm, they hadn’t done my room. I could see that the few rooms they were tending to had checked out which seemed like poor planning. That was why I had to go down to the pool which had the the photography session! The hotel tried to give this impression that it is clean and disinfected (for these unfortunate covid-19 times). I do not believe it. Based on the looks of the staff and housekeeping, there is no way they are adhering to cleaning standards.

This hotel was good value so I would cut it some slack. However the points I mentioned above don’t cost anything. It is just about the attitude. Their smiles and wais were felt fake. Many staff were very engrossed with their phones and overall not caring much about their guests. Showing a warm welcome, treating guests with care, compassion and grace is all free. It is just a matter of understanding that showing some grace to a guest is a privilege and not duty.

I would have brought this all up with someone in charge but I couldn’t tell who it was and frankly, I was not in the mood to get riled up with their defensive and lackadaisical reaction.

Would definitely go back again if their attitude changes.

pattaya during covid is very special. the beaches are empty and clean (almost) and the hotels provide nice promotions. one could think the service level would be according to the prices the hotels offer and my experiences have been mixed. but the amber hotel in pattaya is an example of how to make guests cone back. the amber hotel provided excellent service, friendly staff, clean rooms and a good ambiance dispite covid and all restrictions. congratulations to the management and i will definitely will be back to the amber hotel when i come to pattaya again.