I was in Pattaya once years ago and I had a good time... but that being said I share your sentiment about the beach being nothing special at all and the whole tourist area is just hassle-city. You can't walk or sit anywhere without being constantly bothered by touts. I can speak Thai but that doesn't change very much about the situation since half of the touts aren't even Thai and don't speak Thai themselves.

I had fun because I went there specifically to party and boy did we ever.