Pattaya & Jomtien Beach Thailand

Lek Hotel

284/5 Second Road
South Pattaya
038 425550-2

Quality: 8
Quantity: 9
Value: 9
Atmosphere: 8


FROM the outside, the Lek Hotel seems to live up to its name – it’s rather small.

Walk through its front door though and there’s a smart reception area, and beyond that is the main attraction.

As buffets go, the Lek Hotel’s is enormous. And not only do you get to choose from a wide selection of dishes, you get to do it while sitting next to the hotel’s swimming pool.

It would be easy to drone on about the pleasant atmosphere, the quiet surroundings, and the good service, but it’s the food that counts.

Whereas many buffets tend to offer little more than one pork, beef, and chicken dish, and some stale cake, the Lek Hotel makes sure its food is constantly kept fresh, and that there’s plenty of it.

The salad bar is always a good place to start. Here, you can choose from basic tomato, lettuce, et al, but there’s also a good tuna mix, and some excellent mixed vegetables in a tangy sauce.

For the main course there is quiche, there’s kebab, there’s spaghetti with a good tomato sauce, there’s chicken, beef, fish, and pork, dishes, there’s ribs, there’s potatoes, there’s a weird pineapple-kebab machine. You get the picture.

With all that food hanging around waiting to be picked, it’s a relief to discover that it’s generally fresh and tender. The ribs were especially good, and packed with meat.

If you somehow find room for dessert, and that’s a big ask, then you’ll find a selection of sponge cakes and fruit waiting for you.

There’s very little fuss here, you turn up, choose a table, pick a plate, and begin to gorge. At 160 baht it’s also good value. Buffet breakfasts go for 95 baht, and rooms start at 750 baht.