Mercure Rayong Lomtalay Villas & Resort — Hotel in Rayong Province

This be a small resort of sorts for now. On popular weekends, parking will have to be 2000 miles away as the front porch will be already full of parked cars. Not to worry, a golf cart is available to ferry guest so that you won’t have to bake in the inferno climate of Thailand. The pool will be mostly empty in the day even when the resort is at full occupancy. This is because Thais only come out in the gentle hours approaching sunset. They don’t like to grill in the sun like foreigners to become red lobsters. That said, there were mostly locals when we were here, I will say only 15% were of overseas origin. The beach is very well maintained, no rubbish strewn around like the resorts further west. The gradient is gentle and reveals critters during the low tide. Dig in the light brown sand a little and plenty of clams can be found. The waves were gentle in March, the clarity of the sea was the I can see my ugly toe-nails in knee deep water type. Not much of a bustle which I like. Occasionally, cheapo jet skis (more of like a jet ski body with an outboard) whizzed by the beach to decapitate unsuspecting guest in the water.

Mercure is situated alongside the main road, and just next door is a public beach that separates the resort from a row of rustic seafood restaurants. They don’t’ seem to have changed much over the decades. Live seafood in tanks, and to be guaranteed of a good restaurant, just watch out for which has a crowd. The alternative for dining will be in the resort’s lone restaurant in a much trendier setting watching the sunset. This is where breakfast will be served too. On the weekend we were here, there was a seafood BBQ buffet going on. There is a bar on the side of the building for that light after dinner beer chatting deep into the salty night. Breakfast is buffet styled with a good spread of food for a small resort. It was no disappointment. The restaurant had plenty of space to sit all the guests even during the popular hours. There were no unruly guest emptying food like they have never eaten in a thousand years.

Our sleep was plenty comfortable in a Deluxe Villa. We were just one a door away from the pool, and one pool away from the beach. The villa we had is enclosed with a high wall which offers privacy. There is a small garden and a porch with a table and 2 chairs. We sat there to stare at pretty wall. Inside, a large bedroom with a king-sized bed, a separated bathroom area with a shower but no bathtub. Every time we returned from outside, there will be a long queue of mosquitoes waiting to rush in as we opened the glass doors. We spent a good hour killing about 50 mozzies in our room before we hit the bed. Dear Mercure… please do something about this. Rooms here are pet friendly. There were so many people who brought their pets for a stay. Big dogs, small dogs, wet dogs coming back from beach. We even saw someone hugging her Scottish Fold cat on the way to be fed to the dogs. The resort also features a pet corner complete with beach umbrella and some seats. Bags available to scoop the poop.

The location of the resort may not be in the belts of well visited tourist zones. It is in a district called Klaeng at the far east of Rayong province. There is little urbanization here and the beach is more like that of Bang Sean popular with locals. The municipality here tries to boost tourism by organizing a 1km long “Rayong Walking Street” that we happened to chance upon. People could get there by taking the scooter-with-sidecar taxi service soliciting by the roadside front of the resort. We drove. Not sure if this festival will be a monthly thing as the folks here told us it was their first. To sum it up, if you are looking to bask in the essence of locality away from the tourist laden places, like if you are on a long lazy stint in Thailand exploring the eastern seaboard all the way to Koh Kood or Koh Chang, this be one place to just lay back and relax. Also makes a perfect spot to unwind for expats working in the industries...

I recently stayed at Mercure Rayong Lomtalay Villas & Resort, expecting a high-quality experience due to its premium pricing. Unfortunately, my experience was extremely disappointing due to several major issues.

Misleading Location Information I booked this hotel expecting a beachfront stay, but upon arrival, I was informed that my reservation was for a separate site about 500 meters from the beachfront area. This was not clearly communicated during the booking process on Booking.com, where the hotel name and descriptions do not explicitly mention the different sites. The terms "Garden Wing" and "Ocean Wing" make it seem like different sections of the same hotel rather than entirely separate locations. This misleading presentation significantly impacted my stay. If I had known the actual location, I would have chosen a different hotel.

Additionally, I later found multiple online reviews mentioning the same issue. Clearly, this is an ongoing problem that the hotel should address.

To make matters worse, my friend had a package delivered to the hotel before our arrival, using the official hotel address from their website. When we arrived, the reception could not locate the package despite the tracking status showing "delivered." We later found out that it had been sent to an address associated with the hotel's owner rather than the actual hotel. The staff provided no assistance in resolving the issue, and we had to track it ourselves. It was eventually delivered the next day.

Poor Parking Facilities The parking situation is highly inconvenient. There is only one access route to the reception and guest rooms, meaning that guests returning late must park far from the entrance and walk a long distance. No shuttle service is provided between the parking area and reception. Additionally, there is no shading in the parking area, so cars parked for a long time become extremely hot.

Poor Extra Bed Service We booked a room for three guests and requested an extra bed during the reservation process. However, when we checked in at nearly 6 PM, the extra bed had not been set up. We had to call the reception to request it, and even then, no extra amenities such as towels or drinking water were provided for the third guest until another request.

Pool Access Issues We booked a pool access room expecting a convenient swimming experience. However, we were assigned a room with access to a much smaller pool, only 0.9 meters deep, making it unsuitable for proper swimming.

Additionally, no pool towels were provided in the room. When we called reception, they told us to retrieve towels from the public pool area, which is highly inconvenient for a pool access room. The balcony also lacked any designated space to hang wet clothes, a basic necessity for a poolside room.

We also inquired about the pool’s operation hours at check-in and were told it closed at 8 PM, including pool access from our room. However, we noticed other guests using the pool as late as 10 PM or beyond. This suggests misinformation from the reception.

Additional Issues Wi-Fi access expired immediately upon check-out, which was unnecessary and inconvenient. The reception staff was generally unhelpful in most situations. We experienced both water and electricity shortages during our stay. The water outage happened just before we left, so it didn’t impact us much. The electricity was out between 10:30–11:30 PM, and when we called reception at 11 PM, they could not provide any information about when it would be restored. While power outages may be beyond the hotel's control, better communication from staff would have been appreciated.

I cannot recommend this hotel based on my experience. If you are considering staying here, be aware of these issues...

This place could be my favorite hotel but it unfortunately failed to do so. Still staying here but already made up my mind to write a review. First the positive: There is a great vibe, I love the overall aesthetic of the common area and rooms & the location is perfect with a small beach near the pool. You can really get into vacation mode with a cold drink and enjoy the setting. The happy hour is a great deal and the prices at the bar are reasonable compared to similar hotels. But there are some flaws that I don't understand. I usually don't have a problem with one or two of the following issues, nothing is perfect, but overall it summed up being too much: We rented two rooms and within two days both had a technical problem. One was completely without power and in the other one the lights could not be turned off completely. Staff came very fast to fix it in both cases, but it seems to be a general issue. My wife went here before a few months ago and the bathroom was flooded after a shower and she had to call a technician as well. The shower door opens only to the inside and leaves barely enough space to exit the shower. On the first day I pulled the shower door over my toe and scratched it bad enough, so I couldn't go swimming anymore. On day two I then got a splinter on the same foot at the pool area because the wood is very old and needs replacement. I could have been more careful but by thinking through the design and details (such as selecting more durable wood or letting the shower doors open to both sides) the visitor experience could have been better. The staff is wonderful but the pool bar is understaffed. Two people are not enough when the place is booked out like now. There is never anyone walking around and taking orders at the tables around the pool or clearing tables, drinks have to be ordered at the bar (but there's a 10% service charge that really isn't justified). In the evening we ordered a drink and waited ages to be served (actually I had to go inside to call the staff) and then again very long for the drinks. I really don't blame the staff though, they are very nice and helpful. Then there are not enough shady places around the pool and pool bar, in a country like Thailand every sunbed and table should have an optional umbrella. There are already not enough seating options around the pool when the place is fully booked. If then a few tables can't be used at all due to being fully exposed to the sun it really limits your options of spending the day at a comfortable place near the pool. Also fans could be provided in the evening to help against the mosquitoes (again, usually pretty standard to have in Thailand). The breakfast is OK overall (especially the Thai food is cooked well) but missing plant based milk, I find that mandatory in 2024 for an international chain. Hope the management can improve a few points because the hotel has...