MASON
If you find yourself staying at MASON, you will find yourself spending your vacation at one seriously cool hotel. Think modern, think stylish, think views and this will go some way to conjuring up an image of this design driven ultra luxe resort. As one of the hand picked members of the prestigious Design Hotels portfolio, it should be no surprise that MASON is a unique and astonishing luxury property. From dawn until dusk the skies will dazzle you with their own natural light show, which further enhances the pure beauty of this simply stunning coastal resort near Pattaya.
Everywhere you look, you will be suitably impressed by the carefully crafted luxury, and million dollar views. During your arrival and your check in, the sleek and elegant open air lobby gives you an idea of what’s to come, and once you’ve entered the Clubhouse area you can’t fail to be amazed by those far reaching ocean vistas. It’s clearly apparent just how much thought and passion has gone into creating MASON, as everywhere you look there are design features and bespoke fixtures that fuse perfectly to deliver one of the finest luxury resorts in Thailand
Wow, simply wow. Our Beachfront Grand Pool Villa was the epitome of seaside luxury living and we absolutely loved it. With the panoramic Gulf of Thailand views being championed by the thoughtful design, we just never missed out. From our entrance staircase to our toilet, and from our bed, bath and lounge we were able to soak up those views. And of course, the expansive deck and private pool with integral jacuzzi provided yet more of those views that will remain in our memory bank for a very long time. It was no surprise to find modern tech at the fore throughout our villa, with a Marshall Bluetooth speaker, TV with smartphone connectivity, zoned AC, wine chiller and a Nespresso coffee machine all combining to enhance our #MASONexperience.
The Vegan Food
Vegan breakfast menu? Check. Our first culinary experience at MASON was positive with a capital P. Our initial glance at the ‘normal’ breakfast menu left us a little concerned as the veggie and vegan options were few and far between, but then our saviour was the MASON team member who presented the vegan breakfast menu. Yes, at MASON they have a vegan breakfast menu packed with Western and Asian dishes which certainly made us smile. Asian options included pomelo and crispy coconut salad, quinoa congee with textured vegetable protein ‘meat’, grilled teriyaki tofu with steamed rice, pickles and miso soup and yakisoba with vegetables and tofu. All of the dishes were cooked to perfection, with the quinoa congee offering that protein and nutrient based breakfast hit, and the tofu teriyaki dish being fresh, flavourful light and healthy. Superb.
The Western vegan breakfast items were equally as exciting. A perfectly cooked chickpea flour omelette was served with tomatoes, spinach and slices of plant based ham, whilst the scrambled tofu was served with tomatoes, spinach and mushrooms. Both were excellent but the chickpea flour omelette was one of the best we’ve ever had. It was impressive to have so many options on the vegan breakfast menu, hats off to MASON for making the effort to cater for vegans and those who choose to enjoy plant based food.
As part of our Wellbeing Package (more about that later), we enjoyed vegan afternoon tea in our villa. A carefully curated selection of plant base delights included plenty of savoury and sweet treats. Fruity fresh spring rolls, mini samosas and tempura bites were followed by vegan scones, vegan truffles and vegan macarons. Served with freshly squeezed juice, afternoon tea in our villa was the perfect way to spend time whilst making the most of those aforementioned views.
We also dined at Zila Street Bar and Bistro during our stay where dishes from an a la carte menu are served all day. There were limited vegan options but we felt confident after our breakfast and afternoon tea that the kitchen team would continue to impress, and they certainly did. The menu featured fresh and fried spring rolls, also a pumpkin and organic green leaf salad which were all vegan. From their ‘Thai Twist Italian’ special menu there was ‘Vegan Potato Gnocchi Tom Yam Hed’, but we were kind of unsure based on the description and the combining of two somewhat opposing dishes. We ordered a simple garden salad, and also laab tofu from the Wellbeing menu. The laab was made with quinoa instead of rice which would be the traditional grain used, this was an excellent alternative and we enjoyed this dish very much. Also from the Wellbeing menu we were served a flavour packed veggie fried rice with mock meat made from textured vegetable protein, and chef prepared an ‘off menu’ dish of tofu satay which we loved and they should add to the menu as the homemade satay sauce is already suitable for vegans. Chef explained that they are currently working on new menus resort wide, and these will feature more vegan dishes, hopefully including the tofu satay as it was very good indeed!
The Thai Vegetarian Festival and New Vegan Menus at MASON
Each year, in September or October, depending on the moon phase, there is a vegetarian festival in Thailand that is traditionally celebrated countrywide by Taoists, and now by anyone who wishes to try more vegan and veggie food than they ever seen! Known also as the Nine Emperor Gods Festival, these nine days are heaven in Thailand for vegans. We’ve enjoyed these nine days multiple times all over the country and previously wrote about our experience at the vegetarian festival in Phuket where the festival is a truly unique experience. The team at MASON celebrate this festival each year and offer special vegan menus for the nine days which are certainly worth checking out, the ‘Tofu Steak with Vegetables, Mushrooms and Gochujang Chilli Paste’ on this years menu sounds very tasty indeed. As already mentioned, over the next few months chef and his team are creating new menus that will be launched resort wide, each featuring more extensive vegan options which is exciting news, we can’t wait to see what culinary delights they come up with…
The Vegan Essentials
We were too busy with sensational spa visits, vegan culinary experiences and drinking up the views to utilise the modern gym, but trust us when we say it boasted the latest machines and yet more of those MASON vistas. We did enjoy a dip in the rooftop infinity pool (yes, there are yet more of those views), but with our own private pool and the ocean just a stones throw away, that’s where we spent most of our time cooling down and chilling out.
MASON produce their own bathroom and spa amenities which are derived from natural sources, free of parabens and most importantly, cruelty free. In our villa they were supplied in refillable ceramic dispensers which removes the reliance on single use plastic. Our water was also in recyclable glass bottles which just has to be the future, and you won’t find any plastic straws as they use straws made in Thailand from sugar cane fibre. The ultra comfy bed was the perfect place for a feather free sleep, as the bedside pillow menu featured latex, buckwheat and memory foam pillows which all presented animal friendly options.
As we touched on earlier on our review, our Wellbeing package included spa experiences, namely a 90 minute relaxing massage and a 90 minute signature Zila massage. We were not surprised that the spa was a sumptuous sanctuary of peace and tranquility, and our treatments delivered everything they promised and more. The luxury of 90 minute treatments as opposed to the standard 60 minutes really makes the difference. Plenty of time to enjoy the skills of the expert therapist, and plenty of time to relax and rejuvenate at MASON spa. The Zila massage used hot oil and a round stone, hued from ancient rocks from nearby Ang Sila and ‘charged’ by the monthly full moon for extra powers. Our therapist was excellent and this was a memorable massage indeed. There were other Wellbeing packages available at MASON, each of them tailored to offer that perfect balance of nutrition and therapy based wellness, a concept that is growing in popularity which we love.
The Vegan Food Quest Verdict
You’ve probably already realised from our review that we loved MASON. In fact, we loved everything about our stay, making it very, very hard to leave. The staff team were welcome and courteous, the views were other worldly, our villa was unparalleled and the vegan food was creative, nutritious and oh so tasty. This is one seriously cool and seriously vegan friendly luxury hotel in Thailand that should certainly be on your list!
We were guests of MASON but please rest assured that their generosity in hosting us didn’t influence our views.
MASON
Sukhumvit Road
Na Jomtien
Sattahip
Chonburi
Telephone: +66 (0) 38 194 699
Email: hello@masonpattaya.com
Cost From: £220 / $260 (August 2022)