......This is the moment when Ocean’s Edge ‘wow’ factor passed test with first client

You only have to look at the body language and the expression on Marilyn Houston’s face (above) to see that two years of planning by husband Eric and the team behind Ocean’s Edge had paid off, writes John Davids.
She had been well and truly “wowed” by what she saw when she viewed the double-unit ground floor apartment for the first time. Her husband had bought it and kept most of the details secret.
“I knew Eric was buying a condo. I knew it was in Pattaya. I knew it had at least three bedrooms,” said American-born Marilyn. “But, that’s all I knew. The reality came as a total surprise.
“Oh, and I had also told Eric that I didn’t want the condo to be on the 19th floor somewhere as I’m not good with heights.” It wasn’t!
She added: “I was shocked when I saw it. It’s so big. I said ‘this is the lobby, where is my apartment?’ I wasn’t expecting so much modern hi-tech equipment and the Thai antiques are great. It’s a great mixture.”
Retired airline pilot Eric was understandably pleased with his wife’s reaction. “It was all worth it just for that picture,” he said.
Eric, who is from Northern Ireland, was first to buy at the development and was a regular visitor during construction. “I’ve watched it mature,” he said. “So seeing the final version didn’t hold quite the same surprise for me. Even so, my first impression was to remark on the sheer size of the apartment. Yes, I had seen the size of the base slab, but that still didn’t give a good clue to how big the living area would really be.”
Eric had opted to put two of the 32 units together to give four bedrooms and a living space of 340 sqm and. The result? “Quite spectacular,” said Eric, who was also full of praise for the Saraan Lifestyle Development team. “When you know you have a good team working for you, you know you don’t have to constantly interfere. All queries were dealt with promptly and there’s never been an instance of them saying ‘this isn’t what we agreed’. I’ve been very impressed.”
He added: “I said I wanted Thai modern design – and that’s exactly what we’ve got. My brief was that I wanted to be able to walk in and start enjoying the place. It’s fully equipped right down to the bed linen and cutlery.”
Eric and Marilyn plan to visit their new Pattaya home for three months each year “to get away from the winter cold”. While chatting to them I got the impression that the three months might easily become more. Ω
Footnote: I’ve been writing about Ocean’s Edge in this magazine for a little over two years now. The first article was part of a series called the Wow Factor. Indeed, Eric was kind enough to say that this article alerted him to the Ocean’s Edge project. For my part it was nice to see the “wows” become a reality.