This is a review of my 05MAY11 stay at the Walkabout Hotel in Phnom Penh. I was in PNH for a 3-day stay, visiting friends who live and work in the city. I elected to stay one night so that I could also stay at the Paragon Hotel and conduct a follow-up review to that property as well.

Hotel/Location:
The Walkabout is a famous—some say infamous—restaurant, bar and small guesthouse all rolled into one. The restaurant and bar are open 24/7; one of only a handful of such places in town. All drivers will know it by name... Address is not necessary.

The building itself is easily located on the corner of 174 Street and 51 Street. It’s a three-floor complex; the main restaurant/bar on the first/ground floor, a “Balcony Bar” on level two and the guest house rooms on floor three.

To access the third floor you must have a room key which opens a secured door leading to the upper (3rd) floor.

Disclaimer: Phnom Penh is somewhat rife with bars, restaurants and other places that may at times contain local single women/girls looking for men-- and the Walkabout is by far no exception to this reality.

But also to be fair, the hotel itself does in fact post signs that prostitution, drug use/possession and the like are illegal and prohibited on the premises and if detected, the Cambodian Police will be notified. During my stay I never saw or was otherwise impacted by this issue in the least; but it is fair to acknowledge its’ existence.

Some of the other reviews of the Walkabout claim it’s a de-facto brothel--- in my opinion based on what I experience and saw I would not agree with this statement. While I cannot say that some of this activity does not takes place in the bar/restaurant; when it came to the guesthouse part of the Walkabout, there were no signs of such. It was a simple, basic, clean guesthouse room… Nothing more; nothing less.

Lobby/Check-in:
I checked into my basic single (room #3) at about 14:00 having arrived in PNH via bus from Bangkok via Trat & Koh Kong the night before. The check-in process was swift; my passport was copied (as is customary at nearly every hotel in this Kingdom) and a registration card was completed. I was asked if I’d like to see the proposed room first—I declined and accepted it sight-unseen. I paid the posted price of US$10 per night.

My bag was taken up stairs to the room (there is no elevator and only some rather steep steps) to the third floor by a staff member.

My Room:
My room, #3, was very nice. It was an inside room, so no windows to the outside, but rather spacious for being a basic single room.

It was equipped with a twin bed, fresh linens, a light blanket and two firm pillows. There was also a small color cable TV (mostly local Khmer and Thai programming in addition to some English movie channels) and a small refrigerator.

There was also a large rattan open-face clothes dresser where you can store your clothes or hang up items.

The room is ‘basic’. In this case, it meant that there was no in-room telephone. (If you need assistance you walk down to the 24/7 reception.) no in-room safe (there are individual lock boxes at the reception for valuables), no work/writing desk, etc. Wi-fi is available in the rooms, but is a separate daily US$5 charge.

The room is climate controlled via a air-conditioner unit (the compressor is outside of the room and cannot be seen or heard) as well as a classic over-head fan. So at night I used the lowest air-con setting and used the fan for circulation.

Bathroom:
The bathroom was classic “budget-hotel-Asia” style with an electrical hot-water unit mounted to the bathroom itself for showers (what I call Shower On the Wall” or SOW for short).

These SOW units only have as much water pressure as the normal flow you’d get from the sink water faucet, but the unit does heat the water to more than sufficient temperature for a ‘hot’ bath.

Truth be told, given the heat and humidity that is Phnom Penh, I only used lukewarm warm water at best. So while the water pressure was far from what you might expect at more traditional hotels that use a centralized pressurized hot water system, but this was more than ample for showers and the like.
Inside the bathroom itself was a standard western style toilet. The sink/washbasin was outside of the bathroom itself.

I would call the room itself was “basic functional” in terms of amenities and the like’ but what I do think bears mention is that was in the room was very clean, in good repair and well laid out. At no time did I see anything unclean, broken or in disrepair or feel unsafe while on the property.

Hotel facilities and Amenities:
One nice thing is that since the restaurant/bar on the first floor is open 24/7 you can order food or drink at any hour and have it packed ‘take-away’ for consumption in your room if you wish.

SUMMARY: 4/5
You can’t really compare a place like a guesthouse like the walkabout to other traditional hotels, as the Walkabout has none of the traditional hotel amenities, in-room amenities or the like that more traditional hotels will have.

What I did get was a secure, clean, working and functional room for only US$10 per night..

Ratings:
Overall: 4/5 - Only a few minor things hold it back from earning 5/5, but for the price it's very close.

Cleanliness & Value: 5/5.. You can't beat this place in terms of value-- my room at US$10 was a bargain and everything in my room was near spotlessly clean and in excellent repair.

Rooms/Sleep Quality/Service: 4/5.. Only minor deductions for things like limited in-room amenities (but again it's only US$10 a night) and pay-for-use wi-fi. Would have liked some help checking out and arranging for onward transport-- but again, a minor issue at best.

Location: 3/5.. If you're wanting to be on "the strip" which is street 51 with multiple bars and nighttime venues, then this place rate a 4/5 or better, but if you want to get to the riverfront, it's a little far for a walk, but is a short moto ride away, thus the 3/5 rating from me..