Olddaddy

The author was Michael J Burchall, and the Book was:
"Boystown, 1982-2008, My Life and the History of Cockpit Bar, Le Bistro Restaurant, and the Story of Boystown Pattaya".
It was more about Boystown than Sunee Plaza - he had the Cockpit Bar in Boystown for many years, and then later Topman in Sunee Plaza, for a much shorter period.
 
 

Yes he did. He was returning to the US for treatment to his kidneys.
Some posters on another forum loathed him, even gloating at his demise. Not that board's finest hour, in  my view. He had made enemies when he owned it.
We'd often breakfast together at Ambiance. He was good company. He had two rooms there on a long-term rental. Penthouse suites, one for him, the other for whoever his plats de jour were. Note the plural.
I knew one of his entourage well, indeed, had been offing him for some years. Whatever other posters said, he was liked by his guys (a big thing for me, much more important than being liked by falang visitors and expats) and this was confirmed by P who knew him by repute and whose judgement I respect.

I have the muscle bear look 🐻, work out in gym everyday but have belly and long beard 

he knows that mice play when cat is away.
When many years ago one of Boyztown bars "Happy something" closed there were comments that Neil the owner was too often absent and boys ruined the place by themselves
 

never hurts to set internal limit of how much you are prepared to to fork out and stick to it. Protect your account and keep in mind that often best boys are spotted on last day or even worse , last night of the  trip. You don't want be money dry when it happens 

Probably retired , doesn't seem far off 

Nahhh....your joking ! 

Well I've never noticed an owner there but it seems he's providing a valuable service. A place for some gays to work (and sleep?) also.
Or maybe some are renting a room somewhere. Or both. 
The cocktails are a plus also.

We need to stop living in the past.

From Pattaya News
A British businessman and ex-pat died after falling on a glass door at his home near Pattaya on Wednesday morning. The door broke and impaled him in the chest area, relevant rescue teams told The Pattaya News.
The tragic accident took place at a luxury one-story house located in a village in Moo 2, Huai Yai sub-district, Banglamung district, Chonburi province. Sawang Boriboon rescue workers and Huay Yai police rushed to the scene at 7:10 AM yesterday, April 3rd, 2024, to find the victim, Mr. Gareth John Wilson, deceased in his bedroom.
Mr. Gareth, 54, had suffered a large laceration to his chest, and was pronounced dead at the scene. He was discovered face-up in only black underwear. Police found at the scene a broken sliding glass door to the bathroom with bloodstains nearby. No signs of a struggle were found. Police believed that Mr. Gareth may have fallen on the glass door by accident, which subsequently broke and impaled him in the chest.
Mr. Gareth’s wife, whose name has been withheld by police in light of the ongoing investigation, told police that the deceased had been out drinking with friends last night. He returned home in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
The wife said her husband was about to enter the bathroom when he appeared to have experienced dizziness and fell on the glass door. The door the broke and impaled Mr. Gareth. However, Gareth was still alive and managed to walk to the bed only to pass away shortly later.
Mr. Gareth’s body has been taken to the Police General Hospital for an autopsy. Police are awaiting the results of the autopsy before they can determine the exact cause of death.

Classrooms is not a gay hotel and few times I shared elevator with guests and their girls but definitely is gay friendly and no eyes are blinked if you are walking even with three boys in tow. How I know? Been there , done that, in fact my only 4some in my entire long life was exactly in their friendly room.

In a few weeks I'm off to Pattaya on my yearly 2 month trip 
I sat in my apartment here in farangland listening to a song I first heard in Pattaya 20 years ago called "Take me to the clouds above "
I first heard it in those Go Go bars in PattayaLand Soi 3 was it where wild west boys is .
Forget the names of the go go bars then , 
I just listened to that song   tonight and it brought back memories of Pattaya back in 2004
Times have changed and i looked over my old diaries to see I was going to Pattaya back then every 3 months for week long trips,  and according to my diary I was very excited weeks before 
Even taking sick leave from my work to go
Fast forward 20 years and I'm not that overly excited,
I could even put it off until later in the year if I wanted ,not that fussed actually 
I don't know if it's me changing ,maybe I'm getting old , or if it's Pattaya .
I do plan to retire there within the next 10 years 
The shine is still there but I miss a lot of the past ,and that's not a good thing because I like change 
In a way it's great not to be overly excited as I was 20 years ago , those days I was counting down , and it was antsy pants until departure day ,antsy antsy pants !
Now I don't care as much 
 

I doubt if DD Inn is suitable for short time now:

DD Inn, not BB Inn. It is more hostel than hotel. Very cheap in any meanings. You'll get what you pay. Located right behind Bamboo bar.
On the beach is located BB House. It is budget, but 2 heads upper than DD Inn. Once at past I made mistake and booked DD Inn. I ran from there at next morning. But I spend many nights in BB house and it is good for money they ask. Directly on the beach, exactly near gay beach, has pool, sea view rooms, but has no breakfast and I think it is good - near are about 3 or 4 small restaurants "next door".

Yes Vinapu 
I have never stayed at the Venue ,may give it a try this trip.
AGATE was good but I feel the ZING is just as good for half the price 
BAAN SOUY is fantastic but very expensive at average 2500b a night 
 

I've just returned after what must be my eightieth (more or less) trip. And I'm pleased to say that there was no loss of enjoyment, though the twenty hours travel is increasingly stressful. As is the "recovery time"....longer now than it was when I was younger.
Of course, a major factor for me is that I have someone I love awaiting me. That reunion is something I look forward to.  We continue to take pleasure from the most mundane activities; walking the beach- this time in Lamai ( Koh Samui) as well as Jomtien- deciding where we're having dinner, me watching P make his devotions in the temple, and so on. Even having a shared breakfast. I'm always conscious that I  smile more and laugh more when I'm with him. 
I sometimes wonder whether I'd still be travelling to Pattaya if I was still playing the bar-scene as I was twenty years ago. Reading posts about bars does cause some nostalgia but, overall I think that what I have now is better, though not without the inherent tribulations  of a long-distance relationship.
Anyway, the good news is that the next trip is only fifteen weeks away. And where to go this time before Jomtien? Krabi? Chiang Mai? Bangkok? Chiang Rai? Decisions, decisions.  I am certainly fortunate, and my determination to spend my last years living as disgracefully as possible undiminished.
And yes, I suppose  I should admit that a particular activity remains fun, just in case the more prurient of our posters were wondering!.  

Is my 1st choice if I stay in Jomtien, for price, location and I like the rooms in the back, quiet.

Ambiance, I still like....mazes don't scare me 😛

Classroom I like also, but my last 2 trips, Ambiance for price and beds/linen/staff....

they have rooms with 2 types of balcony , small and bigger one with stone table and bench.
I always book them through agoda

tell me something I don't know 😁

looks almost like Marriott , ALMOST being key word

all three I guess
wailing over past will not do you any good unless you like bitter taste. However fabulous, past is gone. Better focus on anticipation of new trip. And if you like change , do something different like start your trip in Bangkok.
Every trip to add some spice I try to do some small things bit differently , one trip it will be changing hotel every day, another staying in the same whole trip ( which I don't like), off all boys from the same bar - I call it monodiet trip or have my first offed boys being twink, itself horror of horrors. Then you will wait with anticipation how it will work for you   

Dear Old, It's called hormones my dear. They tone down after a while and sex no longer becomes the biggest driving force in one's life. When that happens you can see the world a little bit more clearly, not being clouded by continual lust and not being driven to take amazing risks which we should have avoided in the first place. Travel becomes even more sweet -- you can enjoy a flash of a smile, a sweet embrace, seeing an old friend and catching up, ... well enjoying life as a more multidimensional experience. For me Pattaya is just as exciting as it was 20+ years ago because, besides sex, I enjoy so many other things -- a 30B mango shake from the night market, a walk to the "end of the earth" (Pratumnak), the cooling off after a tropical rainstorm, ... well just so many things which I would have ignored in the past. Luckily we were young enough to enjoy the hedonistic ways of Pattaya's past. I think if I were young now I would feel cheated out of not having been able to experience Pattaya of the past (Adam and Eve bar, Memory bar, old Twilight, ...) so many things that just don't exist any more. SO I don't know if it is because _I_ changed, or because _Pattaya_ has changed, perhaps both?

In a few weeks I'm off to Pattaya on my yearly 2 month trip 
I sat in my apartment here in farangland listening to a song I first heard in Pattaya 20 years ago called "Take me to the clouds above "
I first heard it in those Go Go bars in PattayaLand Soi 3 was it where wild west boys is .
Forget the names of the go go bars then , 
I just listened to that song   tonight and it brought back memories of Pattaya back in 2004
Times have changed and i looked over my old diaries to see I was going to Pattaya back then every 3 months for week long trips,  and according to my diary I was very excited weeks before 
Even taking sick leave from my work to go
Fast forward 20 years and I'm not that overly excited,
I could even put it off until later in the year if I wanted ,not that fussed actually 
I don't know if it's me changing ,maybe I'm getting old , or if it's Pattaya .
I do plan to retire there within the next 10 years 
The shine is still there but I miss a lot of the past ,and that's not a good thing because I like change 
In a way it's great not to be overly excited as I was 20 years ago , those days I was counting down , and it was antsy pants until departure day ,antsy antsy pants !
Now I don't care as much 
 

In a few weeks I'm off to Pattaya on my yearly 2 month trip 
I sat in my apartment here in farangland listening to a song I first heard in Pattaya 20 years ago called "Take me to the clouds above "
I first heard it in those Go Go bars in PattayaLand Soi 3 was it where wild west boys is .
Forget the names of the go go bars then , 
I just listened to that song   tonight and it brought back memories of Pattaya back in 2004
Times have changed and i looked over my old diaries to see I was going to Pattaya back then every 3 months for week long trips,  and according to my diary I was very excited weeks before 
Even taking sick leave from my work to go
Fast forward 20 years and I'm not that overly excited,
I could even put it off until later in the year if I wanted ,not that fussed actually 
I don't know if it's me changing ,maybe I'm getting old , or if it's Pattaya .
I do plan to retire there within the next 10 years 
The shine is still there but I miss a lot of the past ,and that's not a good thing because I like change 
In a way it's great not to be overly excited as I was 20 years ago , those days I was counting down , and it was antsy pants until departure day ,antsy antsy pants !
Now I don't care as much