Another business in Day Night closes it's doors

[painai2]

I went by Renoir's (located in the Flamingo Hotel)--it's been shuttered close. I was informed by Paitoon, who works the front desk at the hotel, that the restaurant is closed permanently. Also, he said the Flamingo Hotel will be closing Aug. 6 and he will be Unemployed. Paitoon said the hotel has been sold, but had no other information as to what will be done with the hotel and the restaurant. I've enjoyed many a fine meal at the restaurant and used to stay at the hotel when on vacation from the states. Both will be missed.

[Narakmak]

Oh, sorry to hear about that. Joop the Dutchman owner (if I remember his name) is a real gem of a man. He did confide in me it was hard to turn a buck there. The food at Renoirs wasn't exactly fine though, OK would be a better description, but the hotel was always good value and a fun location. Too bad!

[Geezer]

I know it is a matter of taste, but for me the ambiance of Renoir's was the best in Pattaya, along with Au Bon Coin. The lighting was perfect down to the last photon. I found the service good, but the menu was not at all to my taste. I think the preparation left a lot to be desired.

If someone could find a chef of the quality of CherryтАЩs I think the place would be a gold mine.

[Narakmak]

Oh, I agree it (was) a nice space indeed. And the price was right, but a gourmet treat, not exactly.

[ChrisUK]

I'm so sad to hear of the closure of the Renoir restaurant. It was the choice of many I know for those special occasions where the ambiance was conducive to conversation with pleasant, quiet background music.

The food was good, healthy and adequate for me, although more staff might have given quicker service. The special daily set menus, posted the previous day, gave good alternatives at a reasonable price.

I do hope the new owner realises the potential of this establishment and re-opens it along similar lines.

[jolyjacktar]

So sad to see this place close. I stayed many times there

[Alaan]

Even though most businesses in pattaya are having tough time of it.. i'm still very surprised to see the Flamingo close. I agree with most of the posters here that Renoirs had a classy quiet ambiance and the food while not being stunning, was for me, above average.. and to have a tasty 4 course meal for under Bt200 in a nice atmosphere was well worth the money.

I feel a bit sad in that for 7 years i stayed there 3-4 times per year and therefore had many very good memories for me.... and a couple of dodgy ones as well! and on my last visit in June/july it was the first time i had stayed in pattaya and not resided at the flamingo.... so now i feel a bit guilty as well for not supporting it.But i had planned to stay for most of my time in Khon Kaen in July and it wasn't till i got to thailand that the plan was turned on its head and we decided to set up camp in pattaya for 19 days while we travelled about... so most of the time the room was just used as a storage facility.. therefore i felt a full service hotel room was not required and booked in at the Mosaik instead for about half the cost for the full service flamingo.

I did however still eat there when i did stay in pattaya..and spoke to Jaap the manager a few times while playing pool and having a few pre- evening-out drinks.. so i will definitely miss it as i enjoyed the ambiance of My Thai lounge as well and i always intended to go back and stay at the flamingo if i was actually staying in pattaya and not travelling about elsewhere..

The long term staff were excellent too, and i hope the hotel does re-open/stay open in some form with them onboard..as many of them were very loyal to the hotel..i always used to stay in suite 305/306 on the top floor and many a time after a long night at the disco or karaoke when i didn't surface.. they would close the connecting suite door and quietly clean the living area and bathroom in [305], leave fresh towels and water for me as i slept/cavorted in the sleeping room[306] and make sure my laundry was there waiting for me...

I will be interested in any progress or further information if anyone has updates.

DELETED

The soup tasted as if they had washed last nights dishes in itOther people's dietary habits never cease to amaze me. We now have a poster who's an expert in what the dishwater from last night's dishes tastes like. It adds an entirely new dimension to the question "I wonder what the poor people are doing"

De managers' name is Jaap and he heard about one week ago, that the owner has planned to close the entire venue: Flamingo, Renoir and Mai Thai, due to (possible) financial losses.
Jaap will probably find his way in another resort kind a thing, south of Pattaya, but the German owner has ordered to close immediately.
Whether the venue is sold? In- and outside information doesn't condirm that. Probably not, otherwise the venue would stay open.

BUT the venue is for sale: THB 40,000,000 and everything is yours.

[catawampuscat]

The fine dining society often got together at Renoirs and for this diner at least, it was hit and miss.
More recently, most miss and I found the food average to just under average and rarely tasty especially in
the last few months. Soup was also OK sometimes and nothing special many other times..
The rest of the fine dining society were far less critical and enjoyed the air-conditioning and the sappy old time music played
softly. It was also a secret meeting place for the barmy army at times.. :blackeye:

There were times over the years, when Renoir was consistently good but it all depends on the chef and sometimes the service
was awful as staff changes were frequent, no doubt due to the nature of low paying menial jobs in places like Pattaya. The cute
waiters often found greener pastures taking care of one of the patrons in private rather than serving food.
Renoir was congenial to groups of diners as they could have conversations in relative peace and quiet in a comfortable a/c dining room
and it was a multi course meal for small money. Even a little romantic in an old time sort of way but now just a memory and so it goes.. :cat:

[Lunchtime O'Booze]

The soup tasted as if they had washed last nights dishes in itOther people's dietary habits never cease to amaze me. We now have a poster who's an expert in what the dishwater from last night's dishes tastes like. It adds an entirely new dimension to the question "I wonder what the poor people are doing"

the poor-such as me-are living in Pattaya.

The real point here is not about the staff or whether the food is OK or not. The Flamingo Hotel has been a pillar of gay life in pattaya for a long long time. It is discrete, not overtly 'gay', and provided good quality accomodation for a reasonable price. I regard it as a cornerstone business for Pattaya's role as a gay tourist resort. When something like this is shut down and sold it tells you much more about business levels than the shutting down of one bar amongst many.
The tragedy is that we wont really know until 2009 the true impact of the reduction of business. Many many regular visitors take the precaution of buying air tickets as far ahead as possible. Many current visitors are using tickets purchased several months ago whilst the price was manageable. Try booking a flight now from Europe to Thailand and the increase is massive.

[bing]

Many years ago I stayed at the Flamingo. No elevator (English read lift), but I was a bit younger and it did not bother me. I did have a grouch about billing, I had sent an international money order for $100.00 to Jaap, the manager, he emailed the reception of it. When I arrived they gave the money order back to me and said it was too much trouble to cash it. So I brought it back to the states with me and got a refund. The Renoir restaurant was always a bit costly for breakfast, but it was a nice quiet place to start the day and over the years I have had enjoyable meals there. Last year several guys from the beach gathered there for a group dinner. I think all eight of us thought it was an outstanding evening.