Stayed at Welcom Plaza Hotel which is on Pttay 2nd Road about 4 blocks up from Walking Street. Great location for both daytime and nit time activities. Very close to The Penthouse Hotel and the BJ bars on Soi Post Office. Although it is also close to the soi with all the boy/gay bars and I did see some guys in the hotel prancing around the pool with thier Thai boyfriends. Really Gross! If you are looking to save money on transpotation costs or save a few hundred baht from riding the baht mobiles this is the place to stay since everything you could possibly need is within walking distance and easy to get to. Price is about 22.00 US per night and I stayed 6 nights for $132.00 US and it includes free breakfast. The breakfast was not as good as Sunshine Vista where I stay on my last trip but I did save over $100.00 US for the same stay. $100.00 goes a good ways in Pattaya. Every little bit helps.
They have hi speed internet in the lobby and is only $180 baht for 60 minutes. Very friendly staff. The only negative about this place is the outlets are wired for 220 volts instead of 110 v. You will need to bring a power converter or you can buy one down the street at the CD shop for about $450 baht. The receptionist will tell you where to find one if you don't already have one. The beds are a little hard but I'm used to sleeping on a Temper Pedic bed so anything else feels like a brick to me.
A neat trick I learned is that you book online (Agoda) and reserve for 2 people double occupany which is only like $5.00 US mor than a single room and there is no charge for guests. I even got double breakfast coupons and used them for me and my girl every morning during my stay. Otherwise if you book a single room they will charge you 300 Baht per guest per night.

What do you use a power converter for ? Everything I bring to SEA that I need electricity for has an AC adapter with dual voltage capability .

Has to be the only budget hotel that still charges a guest fee. 180 baht for an hour of internet is extremely high. That's over $5US for an hour...if you spend extensive time on the net then suddenly a $22 a night hotel quickly can become a $32 a night hotel or even more. Many places still offer free internet.

I stayed at Welcome Plaza several years ago and would also recommend it. Had a room on the top floor and enjoyed a nice bay view. The location's great, and the mad dash across 2nd Road really gets the adrenalin flowing!

Your right the in house internet rate comes out to 3 baht per minute compared to 1 or 1.5 in most internet cafes around the corner. I didn't catch that the first time. I was too busy thinking about which chick I was going to bf that night. Every saved Baht helps. If you do enough home work before you go and know all the trick and ways to save you can probably save enough in 1 trip for an extra bar fine or blow job before you leave to come home.

I needed the converter for my shaver. Did not want to take the chance of frying it!

Newbie to Club Hombre here Planning on staying at WP about 30 days in Jan and Feb 2008. I am looking to anyone stayed there recently for feedback. I have stayed there in the past and found it really nice for the price 750/850 Baht.

Also anyone in Pattaya that time I'll buy the first beer, will make contacts as time gets closer. Good Luck see you all in the Land of Smiles.

The beds are a little hard to get used to but hey, I'm used to sleeping on a Tempurpedic bed. Anything else is like concrete!!!

Welcome Plaza is one of the first Pattaya hotels I ever stayed in over 20 years ago .

Funny thing is I thought it was an old run down dump then . Nothing worked consistently . The aircon broke down frequently, the showers were crap with water that varied from cold to OMG scalding and back again, and the beds uncomfortable.

Can't imagine what it might be like now .

OK you win it is a dump. I moved out Bugs lots in numbers and in kinds reported it twice and left.

I will never set foot in those rooms again I hope.Moved to Pasadena Lodge on Soi LK Metro Hasdly perfect but cheaper and nicer and cleaner.

OK Gerry