A resort that’s going to the dogs was one of the features of the Mirabel Resort included in the owner Remy’s talk to the Pattaya City Expats Club on Sunday, September 27. If you like dogs, you’ll love the Mirabel Resort where they are most welcome. They also permit other pets too, including cats, birds, monkeys, rabbits and even pigs. And, oh, yes, they also have people!
Remy is a French national who arrived in Asia in 1977 where he has spent his professional life. He is owner of a company in Bangkok that specializes in purchasing of electronic waste for export to China. Mirabel Resort was his “dream” and has now been open for three years.
Remy from Mirabel Resort describes for his PCEC audience how he built his dream resort and what makes it unique both in design and its features for accommodating guests and their pets of all varieties.
Remy built his dream resort over a period of three-and-a-half years with 10 workers. He tried to make the resort bio-friendly with lots of energy saving devices. The resort is located on the “dark side” of Sukhumvit about two kilometres east on Soi 89. He mentioned that his resort is unique; it has five suites, one apartment, and one standard room for guests, and their pets are more than welcome. He said that now, 90% of his guests bring their dog – sometimes two, three or four dogs each. He claims that there has only ever been one fight among the dogs. He allowed, however, that he asks his guests to keep their dogs on leashes for the first day or so after they arrive.
Member Ren Lexander interviews Remy from Mirabel Resort about his presentation to the PCEC at their Sunday meeting. To view the video, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJ7CShV-PL0.
There are several bio pools which are naturally filtered by plants and sand and oxygenated by waterfalls; no chemical, chlorine, or salt. The dogs are allowed to swim in all of the pools except for one mini-pool. He says that the water remains quite clean despite the swimming dogs. The only problem is that dog hairs can block the filtration drains, which requires continuous cleaning. Although allowing his guests to bring pets may limit his market in Thailand, there are still about one million people which, he figures, are more than enough to meet his needs; especially since he also has guests from other parts of Southeast Asia and from Japan.
Rachada “Toy” Chomjinda from Pattaya Orphanage invites PCEC members and guests to attend their upcoming Charity Concert on October 18 at the Thai Alangkarn Theater which will raise funds for the Orphanage.
He pointed out that each suite has a separate bedroom and its own private or semi-private mini bio pool. There are doors to the bedroom, but no doors to the shower. Further, the rooms are designed and furnished to make them very easy to clean. The suites cost about 2,800 baht a night (double occupancy) plus 300 baht a night for each dog. He didn’t say what rate the pig was charged. The grounds include a plant nursery with about 300 species, each one bearing name tags so guests can wander through it and identify the plants by name.
The resort provides both Thai and farang food, Remy said, but the farang food is not the fancy kind you might get in a French restaurant. However, since he has a penchant for snails, that is one fancy item on the menu. Also, since he likes fondues, it is another that is included and has “real” cheese from France (i.e. the un-pasteurised variety). Remy said that he is expecting a new chef soon, and he plans to have “visiting chefs” come for a day or a week at a time.
Remy explained that the rooms all have good quality Internet, but that the Internet in the lobby is not so hot. There is a reason for this: Remy wants people to play old-fashioned Board games (he even has Monopoly in six languages) or to take diving lessons in the pool.
The PCEC’s speaker from Absolute Health at the previous meeting provided gift vouchers, a 5,000 baht value, for the PCEC to continue awarding as part of a Lucky Draw. Here, the three smiling winners accept their vouchers from Open Forum Coordinator Judith Edmonds.
Remy said that the whole project was a “crazy” idea from the start, including the rather challenging 18-hole mini-golf course. They do welcome outside guests to enjoy their facilities including the restaurant and bar. Remy mentioned that he would be quite happy to organise a mini-golf competition for PCEC members. For details, visit their web site at: http://www.mirabelthai.com/
Remy showed several photos displaying the unique design of the Mirabel Resort. This one is of the restaurant surrounded by one of the Resort’s bio
After the presentation, MC Roy Albiston brought everyone up to date on upcoming events and called on Judith Edmonds to conduct the Open Forum, where questions are asked and answered about Expat living in Thailand, especially Pattaya.
For more information on the PCEC’s many activities, visit their website at www.pcecclub.org.
