The Aqua Pool Bar and Club at the Mercure Hotel Pattaya is the hotel’s new concept food and beverage outlet. In addition to serving East-Meets-West comfort food in a comfortable seaside setting, it offers activities and fun for the whole family.
The Aqua Pool Bar and Club is the all-day dining restaurant at the Mercure Hotel Pattaya.
The space, which overlooks the four-star hotel’s massive, free-form swimming pool, was totally rethought, redecorated, and rebranded in 2017, reopening as a laid-back Aussie-style beachside cafe.
Sand was even brought in to surround the space to create a more authentic vibe.
The idea behind the concept was to create a space that would encourage guests staying at the hotel – which caters to a multinational clientele – to eat on site, and it seems to be paying off.
While the district the hotel is located in is chock-a-block with food and beverage outlets, more hotel guests have been dining or downing beers at Aqua than was originally expected.
Is it the ambience, the food, or the fun?
The Ambience…
The restaurant’s dining room has distressed wooden walls and ceiling in aqua tones with purple, turquoise, magenta, and deep pink accents, giving it the appearance of seaside tuck shop facing the ocean on a beach down under.
The Food …
The restaurant serves an eclectic selection of Western, Asian, Halal, and Indian dishes, and many of the dishes are perfect to be shared.
The menu runs from sandwiches and wraps to foot long and conventional pizzas, pan-Asian noodles, soups and sides, tiffins, and hamburgers.
For those wanting to put their diets on hold, there are Heavy and Happy choices such as traditional English and Aussie style Fish and Chips.
Several fruit smoothies, fresh fruit, and decadent desserts complete the menu.
And if you’ve stuffed yourself to the gills, you can grab a sweet indulgence at Gateau Maison, the club’s very own French bakery.
You can also pick up a bottle of wine to consume on your balcony or a sandwich for a midnight snack on your way out.
As a guest of the hotel for two nights, I was invited for a mouth-watering lunch at the venue.
Dishes were brought to our table by servers dressed in colour-coordinated uniforms, which completed the casual vibe.
My dining companions and I feasted on four mouth-watering dishes, which were perfect for sharing. This is what we shared …
Footlong Specials – the Turkish flatbread with lamb and tomatoes was light and tasty!
Heavey and Happy – given the choice between English and Aussie style fish and chips, we opted for Aussie. It was served with calamari swirls and a delicious tartar sauce.
Sandwiches and Wraps – highly recommended, the Shawarma Wrap is sliced and sauteed chicken or beef with bell pepper and onions was served in pita bread. The wraps were served with a yummy dip. Rumour has it that this is one of the most popular items on the menu.
The Burger Barn – Aqua Three Sliders consisted of beef, chicken, and pork. Succulent, tasty, and juicy, this was my personal favourite. So much so that …
Barbeque Beef Delight – I liked the sliders so much that I returned to the club for dinner to indulge in the mouthwatering Barbeque Delight, which was served with curly fries.
The succulent chips of black Angus beef were doused with a flavourful BBQ sauce and topped with greens, tomato slices, and raw onion rings.
OMG! I can’t believe I ate the whole thing!
Gateau Maison – if you didn’t leave room for dessert, not to worry! Take something from the French bakery to go in case you get peckish later on. There are cakes, pastries, salads, salads, and wines.
The Fun …
There is more to the Aqua Pool Bar and Club than a comfortable indoor space in which to enjoy yummy food, premium beers, and signature cocktails.
There is also outdoor seating, which seemed especially popular with hotel guests (it was delightfully cool by Thai standards during my stay).
There is a pool table, a ping-pong table, a dartboard, tabletop football – the list goes on.
Football, a.k.a. soccer to Americans, is broadcast on a giant screen with a disco soundtrack around the corner.
There are also some quirky props for that all-important selfie!
But what really makes this venue special is the Kid’s Club, which includes an outdoor splash pool and other facilities as well as an indoor space with PS4, Play-Doh, children’s books, card games, board games, and other items to keep the kids entertained.
So Mom and Pop can keep an eye on the little ones while enjoying a frosty beer or a tall cool one in a lovely outdoor setting, with a view of the hotel’s spectacular free-form swimming pool.
From what I was told, it is the largest hotel swimming pool in this part of town!
The Verdict …
I loved the laid-back ambience, and the lighting after dark really added a very attractive layer to the very attractive decor.
As for the food, what can I say? Everything I tried was to die for, and I should have headed straight to the hotel’s fitness room after catching my breath to work off some calories.
As for the fun? Well, I WAS working … I was there, after all, to review the place – even if that did mean wolfing down some VERY yummy food.
But I thought placing the Kid’s Club within view of the venue so that Mom and Dad could keep track of what the young ones were up to was a stroke of genius.
- I’ll give Aqua Pool Bar and Slub an enthusiastic two thumb’s up!
Aqua Pool Bar and Club – Mercure Hotel Pattaya, 484 Moo 10, Pattaya 2nd Road, Soi 15, Pattaya, Chonburi, Thailand. HOTEL WEBSITE
What are tiffins?
Schwarma in pita with hummus, etc. is my favorite food in Israel.
Lunch boxes. I think the term dates back to colonial India.