End of the road for Golden Cliff House as "pool in the sea" is demolished

Picture: Thairath
Pattaya: -- The man running the Golden Cliff House Hotel in Pratumnak, Pattaya, has said that the hotel will probably close down for good.
The hotel is at the center of the case of the illegal swimming pool built jutting out into the sea at the end of Pratumnak Soi 5.
Yesterday workers were taking sledgehammers to the offending pool, reports Thairath.
It was only a token gesture to show the Pattaya and harbor authorities that the hotel means to comply with the order to tear down the pool within 15 days (not 45 as previously reported).
A contractor with heavy equipment will move in to start the job in earnest on Thursday.
The hotel has also been shut after it was found to be violating the law. It was operating as a hotel when it only had permission to offer monthly rentals.
Wattanan Yimlamai, 64, representing the hotel said that they intended to comply with all requests from the authorities. He said that the demolition of the pool would cost upwards of one million baht.
Exactly how the area would look after was up to the Pattaya authorities. They were waiting to hear from them as to how much work would have to be done.
Wattanan said that the plot now used as a hotel used to be houses. An apartment building was constructed in 1995 or 1996 and along with it the swimming pool at the center of the controversy.
He claimed he never knew that the pool had broken any laws when he took over the running of the building in 2008.
They knew there was no permission to operate as a hotel and his finance department tried to apply for such permission but were knocked back.
He said he didn't know why they were refused.
He said that most of his guests were Europeans with many having transferred money to stay through the tourist season until next April.
He said the hotel had returned everyone's money.
Some 35 staff will be laid off this week and compensated according to the labor law.
Wattanan added that he would probably quit running the place and return it to its original owners.
The hotel has already been shut up by the authorities and sealed off.
Source: Thairath