I'm considering to go to Ranong. I would avoid finding myself in a "small Pattaya ". Ranong doesn't have a great deal to offer tourists, apart from the unspoiled island of Phayam and a few other spots. As for brothels, I doubt the population is big enough to support many. What you read on the web, like the gutter tabloid press, doesn't mean its true..
I'd only recommend going to Ranong if you're using it as a departure point to visit Koh Phayam or Little Ko Chang , which are both beautiful and unspoilt and worth visiting. I didn't see any brothels in Ranong but wasn't looking for any. There is nothing particularly attractive about Ranong but it didn't seem seedy either.
Ranong is a non-touristy capital of Ranong Province and apart from visits to Koh Phayam or Little Ko Chang it is mainly used by ex-pats and long stay visitors as the starting point for their visa run across the estuary of the Chan River to Victoria Point in Myanmar or the Andaman Casino Resort which is in Myanmar waters and also popular for Thailand visa renewals. If you have a hire car there are some interesting trips that you could do in 1 day, as we did on our way home from Ranong to Khao Lak.
Our hotel, the Tinidee , had a huge jacuzzi fed from natural source so we used that and, believe me, cooled to 40C it was HOT! The natural springs are 65C!!! Overlooking the lake is "Bald Hill" a hill that in comparison with all the surrounding and nearby mountains and hills covered in lush vegetation is, well, bald, being just covered in sun baked grass. It has hundreds of steps to its summit which affords, we read, lovely views across Ranong but which we declined to prove for ourselves as it was incredibly hot and exposed even though an elderly monk climbing quite nimbly up the steps nearly shamed us into attempting the climb.
We called at another further down the highway with similar results but nevertheless enjoyed going off road through lush countryside with beautiful flowers in bloom everywhere. This took half a day leaving the rest to travel the km or so to Khao Lak stopping at Phra Phat Beach, a beautiful unspoiled beach popular with Thais for picnics and with one similarly popular local restaurant where we had arguably the best meal we've ever had in Thailand at a ridiculously cheap price.
