100 Days in Thailand :: Day 19 - The Hilton & Hanging out with Sam

Our 2nd day in Pattaya we moved to The Hilton (as I mentioned yesterday - it was the Chinese New Year so most hotels were only available for one night - if at all!) At this point we have stayed at three different hotels in Pattaya: The Holiday Inn, The Dusit D2, and The Hilton. While they were all beautiful, with delicious restaurants and great service - we have agreed that The Hilton is definitely our favorite!!!

Check out the pictures below to see why!

The Lobby - I was obsessed with this ceiling treatment! Isn't it gorgeous??? Similar to the idea behind the decor at the Dusit D2 - the "theme" for this decor was also ocean/outdoors and there was a lot of asian influence. This ceiling installation was fabric - it looked like something similar to a muslin, but it could've been silk (I couldn't quite get close enough to tell!) It would've been the most beautiful place for some bridal portraits! (good thing I didn't know about this hotel or I might have wanted a location wedding! ;) I also loved the crystal lamps and light fixtures that were everywhere!

BELOW:

Left - Another stunning installation on the ceiling - this crystal was beautiful (and you know how I love sparkly things! ;) 
Right - the walkway from the restaurant. It was beautiful in person but in this picture it kind of looks like a corridor from Star Wars - ha!

 Our bedroom - so comfortable!

 Our bathroom - I was in LOVE with this tub!!! Bathtubs are very hard to come by in this country!

The view from our room of Pattaya Beach!

I really liked this chair and these pillows! 

Brown and blue is my favorite color combination and I loved the linen fabric!

 The restaurant - we both loved these light fixtures (the picture really doesn't do them justice!)

 Loved eating on these couches - I felt a little like I was in the movie Aladdin for some reason...

 All you can eat sushi = AMAZING!!!

 The dessert buffet was just sinful! Check out the chocolate fountain in the back right 

- there was also delicious ice cream and sorbet with lots of toppings!

 Here's another example of tying in nature with your decor and bringing the outdoors and indoors together. 

The couches and pillows look like rocks, and they are actually in the water! With walkways and stone footstools - beautiful! 

And yes - that is the ocean right behind it - the beach was just off the side. A lot of the couches inside looked

similar to this too. I'm a nature-lover so this was right up my alley! I wanted to sit out here all day!

Here's an aerial view of part of the pool area - it was another horizon pool 

but the beds to lay out on resembled rocks in a rock garden!

 

 A shot from inside of the pool - yes, there are trees in the pool!

And these egg-shaped beds you see were my favorite! They were so comfy and filled with lots of pillows. 

The view from the beds is right off the horizon pool to the ocean and there was a great breeze. We napped for hours out here!

I jokingly wrote on facebook during this stay that I believed God was calling me to move into The Hilton for the next 3 months (haha!) I seriously wanted to stay! The truth is though, we never imagined that this would be a part of our trip to Thailand.... staying in 5 star hotels, eating delicious food, and just generally being spoiled! But the past two years in Michigan have been very difficult ones (emotionally, relationally, financially, etc), and I think God knew that we needed some rest and rejuvenation. This trip we are learning just how true it is that God is a good Father who longs to give good gifts to His children! (Matt. 7:11, James 1:17)

Of course I would be remiss not to mention the wonderful man who's made all this possible for us - Rusty's cousin Sam! We just continue to be blown away by his generosity!!! It was a blessing to visit with him again. We enjoyed a dinner together out at McDonald's (because he knows how much we like cheeseburgers) and then he took us to Swensen's for some delicious ice cream! He loves to eat ice cream with me and drink coffee with Rusty ;)

We have enjoyed visiting with him and getting to know him. He really is such a precious person and we have seen how much the Thai people love and respect him here (and how he loves and respects them). We count it a blessing to call him family!

We also got to share a video with him from our project up north, so he could see what was made possible by his donation. Then, we figured out that a neighbor nearby had internet we could "borrow", so we pulled up skype. Now Sam doesn't have a computer, and (though he's very intelligent) he doesn't understand the internet. When we called Rusty's mom & grandmother on the computer he was DELIGHTED! He just couldn't believe that he could talk to them - he only communicates with friends and family through handwritten letters. He looked like a little kid at Christmas during those skype calls! We were so glad we could bless him in return for all he has done for us!