What about Pattaya beaches?
Pattaya is a city. And as already stated, Pattaya beaches may have their typical tropical coconut trees, but they are not the typical wide and white sand beaches that you will find in some other Thai Beach Resorts (Phuket, Krabi, etc.). If you want to stay in town, the best place to go is Jomtien beach (5 minutes south of downtown Pattaya) where it is quieter and the sand is of better quality. Also, on nearby islands (Kho Chang & Kho Samet) they have beautiful beaches to rival anywhere in the world. In fact, very close to Pattaya is Kho Larn island which you can see across the water from Pattaya Bay. You can visit Kho Larn by boat on a 30 minutes crossing for only 30 bath ($1 USD). Kho Larn has beautiful beaches and the boat trip alone is worth the visit.
You can also go to Phuket by plane, where you have some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. But after Phuket’s beaches, what will you do? Not much. Phuket is a beach place.
It is preferable to go to Phuket by bus, because you will get a mix of beaches and Thai culture. On your way to Phuket, you will follow the Gulf of Thailand sea coast and see many other beautiful beaches. You will sleep and spend one afternoon in Cha-Am, the beach place where rich Thai people are going.