Seaside Symphony Pool Villa Pattaya

This one's for groups. It's a private pool villa inside the Sea Breeze Villa Pattaya complex off Sukhumvit Road, and the whole thing is built around the pool as a social space rather than a place to do quiet lengths before breakfast. Birthdays, stag and hen trips, a big family taking over a house for a week: that's the crowd it suits. If you want hotel anonymity, a lobby and someone to sort your laundry, book a hotel instead.

The exclusive beach access is the part I'd weigh most heavily. Beach space in Pattaya is shared and busy almost everywhere, so having your own way down to the sand is a genuine advantage rather than a brochure line. Between that and the pool, you could easily spend a full day without getting in a car, then head into town in the evening when Pattaya wakes up properly.