The Boutique Hotel Saga Drags On

How many companies does it take to demolish a condemned hotel?

In Pattaya the number could be infinite as far as the ill-fated Boutique hotel is concerned.

The hotel attracted the attention of news agencies in July when people complained that dangerous sheets of metal had fallen from the building as more threatened to free fall onto the streets below, placing pedestrians at risk of injury or even death.

Workers were dispatched to remove the corrugated sheets of metal, which was covering upper floors of the hotel in south Pattaya, not far from the tourist areas of Walking Street and Second Road.

Back in May, contractors Tyranno, were hired by the council to dismantle the 13 storey construction but like previous contractors, they failed to achieve what they were hired to do. The contract was allegedly worth in the region of three million baht.

The tale of the building goes back to 2012, when the Jomtien Holiday Company who own the premises, began extending the property without planning permission. When the authorities discovered what they were up to, they issued orders to halt all work with immediate effect. These instructions were ignored by Managing Director Alongkorn Saewang and the work continued.

Then in 2013, the Engineering Department issued orders to demolish the buildings within 60 days after they condemned the site. Once again, the notice was disregarded and work carried on regardless.

Later that year, officials were investigating sewage problems when they discovered that the work was still on-going at the hotel. Again an order to demolish the structures was issued. However following appeals from the company to carry out the work themselves, the council relented and afforded them 90 days to tear the place down.

Of course they failed to do so.

Finally officials sent in a crew to take the building apart, room by room, much to the delight of local residents.

Let's hope that this time, the demolishing of the dangerous building is complete and Pattaya will be free of the eyesore that is a blight on Soi VC.

Source: Pattaya Mail Content: TPVS