The Gems Mining Pool Villas Pattaya — Attraction in Chon Buri Province

We stayed at The Gems Mining Pool Villas as two adults and three teenagers in the ruby red three bedroom villa (first visit). I had read a number of views about The Gems that were incredibly positive and complimentary so we were very much looking forward to our stay.| |Our check-in was oh so disappointing! Being our first visit, the welcome was very underwhelming and process driven unfortunately. It was not a great first impression.| |The location of the villas is about 20 minutes away from Pattaya beach by taxi and about 90 -120 minutes from Bangkok by car. Our room was absolutely beautiful, the decor amazing and the design fantastic. The location of our villa however was unfortunate given it was right next to the freeway! As you would appreciate, we heard traffic throughout our stay including at night! When we first arrived in the villa there was a very odd and strong smell and I had assumed it was durian as we had seen signs around the villas indicating that durian was not allowed in the rooms. I have never actually come across a durian however, I have read that it has quite the odour so I assumed that the previous guest may have had that in the room. We persevered for a couple of nights and on the third day we could not persevere any further. The odour seemed to get stronger and stronger and we could not put up with it any longer. It was incredibly over-powering making us feel sick in the stomach. Our son particularly began to feel rather ill from it. Unfortunately, it was a sulphide smell similar to rotten eggs. I requested the duty manager (Joe) move us to another room which he immediately arranged. He was professional and very apologetic.| |It was so incredibly disappointing that the staff and manager did not check the room before sending us into the room for our four night stay at a premium cost. To put a guest into a room with such a strong foul odour was appalling. This was a health risk in itself. As you would appreciate this put a significant dampener on the remainder of our trip. I had also indicated to the housekeeping team the day before that there was a very strong foul odour in the room. They attended the room and sprayed the room. I then let them know again that there was a recurring issue and again they did the same thing. It was when they had done this twice and the odour had not been removed that I informed the duty manager that we would need to be moved. We had persevered enough. The villa that they moved us into had absolutely no odour whatsoever so this confirmed that there was a very significant plumbing issue that needed urgent attention. The duty manager also confirmed that it was a sulphide odour and that perhaps the house keeping team had become almost immune to it that it was not quite understood. He also indicated the room should not have been sold. We moved into the new villa quite easily. A complimentary afternoon tea set was delivered the following afternoon. | |The Amethyst club which houses the gym, sauna, steam room, onsen (cold and hot pools) was absolutely wonderful and certainly a great escape after the end of a day out. It was beautifully presented, towels on hand and very clean, thank you.| |The electric scooters on site were an absolute hit with our kids. The pools was huge and beautifully designed to cater for all ages. The fountain like mushrooms and water slides would easily cater for all kids (including teenagers)! The ability to call a buggy to get you from A to B was a plus and a novelty, thank you.| |There are two restaurants onsite being the Tram and Castaway (by the pool). On our first night we attempted to have dinner at the Tram however, there was not a person in there so we gave it a miss. For the remainder of our stay we saw perhaps a couple of people in there for dinner so not quite sure what the restaurant has to offer. We had breakfast the following morning in the Tram and found it underwhelming unfortunately given such great reviews. We were disappointed with the breakfast overall each day. We also tried the Castaway for dinner. The food was mediocre and one particular lady was so lovely and eager to please, thank you. This was well received and appreciated.| |The design of the entire hotel is absolutely stunning, no doubt. However, the distinct feeling around the hotel was rather weird. It lacked ambience and soul unfortunately, it was just an odd feeling. The landscaping was absolutely beautiful. The staff were polite however, little engagement on their part. | |Based on many of the previous incredibly positive reviews we were expecting a lot. I would have loved to have added to these positive reviews but unfortunately, the room incident and food significantly disappointed. Suggestion: please management/housekeeping – attend to the due diligence of checking the villas in advance of your guest arriving both for presentation and odours. | |Unfortunately, as much as we would have loved to return, we will not be returning. We...

The Gem Mine Pool Villas (The correct translation) is a 5 star property with 2 star food, privacy and ambiance.

I can’t say enough good things about the grounds, friendly and well trained staff, unique gardening, architectural style and general atmosphere of this property, but the property certainly has its problems.

Noise - We stayed in a pool villa, which all back up into the access road right in between them. The villas were extremely noisy from the access road traffic, expect continuous vehicle noise throughout the day and every 5-10 minutes a loud car or motorcycle would race through so enjoying the pool was out of the question. Even with the doors closed and music playing, you can clearly hear traffic all day long from inside the villa.

The fence height from the road to the balcony of the villa is only about waist-height, exposing you to all your neighboring villas/their conversations and eyes, etc. with any pool villa property, privacy is essential - there is zero privacy for the villa properties here. They could fix this privacy problem with some bamboo or a fence extension which would also help with the noise.

After a rough night of sleep from the road noise, We were woken up at 7am by a loud motorcycle driving down the golf cart path on the other side of the villa, twice.

Food - we ordered several items off the menu, all were insulting for a resort of this quality - the meat and cheese board had a cheap mixture of of oily white and yellow cheddar cheese, brie and some sandwich slices of Swiss. Meats were macro quality pepparoni, sausage and a tiny portion of prosciutto. The whole plate probably had 100 grams of actual meat and cheese on it For approx 800b. Bad value.

Shrimp fried rice was 380b, inedible, shrimp wasn’t fresh and the rice was mushy.

Margarita pizza was burnt, crust was made from croissant dough or something, completely hard and flat. sauce was flavorless and cheese was oily. All 1500 baht worth of food went in the garbage.

Other issues included low water pressure, shower heater kept turning off midway through a shower (they use point heaters here instead of a central boiler), we were told there was a microwave in the room when booking and found out that wasn’t the case when we checked in.

We had issues streaming a movie and participating in a zoom meeting to the tv also due to a slow wireless internet connection so we used our mobile hotspots. Sink drains were slow/took a few minutes to drain out after a shave. You can hear the house style water pump running when showering and using the sink. Also the automatic curtain opened and closed several times during our stay without us pushing the button (we think it got the signal from another room to open/close) they can fix this by programming the remotes to run on different frequencies but it hasn’t been done yet.

If you choose to stay here be sure to request a villa away from the road or just a jacuzzi room and I suggest eating outside of the resort until the F&B situation improves here. You won’t regret your stay, it really is a magical property that just needs a few adjustments before they can call themselves a 5...

I was recently presented with the opportunity of staying at one of Pattaya’s best-kept secrets, the Gems Mining Pool Villas.

The location is rather unusual being just at the end of the Bangkok-Pattaya motorway but if you live in Bangkok, this makes a lot of sense. However, if you are looking for a luxurious hotel close to the beach, shopping or bars, the Gems Mining will probably not be your first choice.

The imposing walls around the property will be your first sight, however as you enter, you will find that the entire resort is looking inwards towards lush tropical gardens and secluded villas. Everything is larger than life at the Gems Mining including the impressive reception where we were checked in efficiently by the very friendly staff.

You are then whisked away by buggy through the twisting alleyways to your villa. Forget your normal mindset for a villa, these are different and almost secretive, hiding their charms & facilities behind massive, steel-plated doors.

Much of the resort is in a South African/Mining/Safari style and once you enter your Emerald Villa your eyes will hardly believe what you are seeing. It is vast, with 100 square meters. Everything is larger than life. The fully equipped bathroom is probably the largest that I have ever reviewed. The bed/living room featured a massive (and very comfortable) bed, seating area, smart flatscreen TV and door to the terrace. The secret is when the sliding doors are opened to reveal your own, 3x7 meter private pool.

The quality in the Gems Mining is excellent, with large soft towels both for swimming and bath. High thread-count cotton sheets, soft down feather pillows and all the extras that one expects including a coffee machine and kettle.

With the amazing pool, couples and families will hardly leave their rooms, you have so much space and comfort in addition to your own private pool.

If you do venture out you can swim in their massive Mediterranean-themed pools, swim-up pool bar and the charming Castaway Café. The property also offers a fully equipped gym, Onsen, Steam bath & sauna in addition to a Kids Club.

Breakfast was served in the most impressive Tram Restaurant where the African/Safari theme prevails. The buffet is vast with an extensive choice to suit every breakfast taste. The numerous staff are extremely friendly and will assist at any time.

The Gems Mining is a unique property with a variety of accommodation options to accommodate even large family groups. Prices are actually quite reasonable when one considers the 100 sq meter room plus your own 3 x 7-meter private swimming pool! Additionally, they have many very competitive offers for mid-week accommodation. Highly...