We stayed here for 3 nights in January for $75. A taxi from the airport desk to the hotel cost $7. Our driver wasn’t sure exactly where the hotel was but we drove through town & then onto National Road no.6. The hotel is situated a speedy 7 mins drive down the road to Phnom Penh, after the market (Psa Leu I think) on the left hand side. Look out for the prominent Smiling Hotel on the right hand side & it's just past here.
We arrived at about 7.30am and assuming we would not be able to check in, were pleasantly surprised when we were greeted by the hotel manager with a refreshing drink, cold flannel and a key to our room! The hotel is in 2 buildings, separated by the pool in the middle. Our room was in the front block on the corner of the 2nd floor, overlooking the road and a small building site next door. We were immediately worried about the noise but amazingly, we weren’t disturbed at all & I am a light sleeper! The room was huge and nicely decorated with comfy traditional Khmer furniture and had a big tv and tea & coffee making facilities. Storage space was a little lacking but we were living out of our bags so this wasn’t a problem. The bathroom was nice (with bath) & toiletries/hairdryer. The pool area is great - we’d deliberately stayed here rather than in town as it was more spacious & had a nice looking pool – the photos did not disappoint! There were only a handful of sunbeds (16 at most) but it was also never particularly busy. There was only one time when all the beds were taken & when 2 guests came down, the pool boy grabbed the extra sunbed cushions & laid these out on the floor. As is the norm in Siem Reap – the hotel clientele is in the main Korean – but that’s also good as they tend to go out on their big tour buses early on & don’t come back until late. Facility wise - there’s a free internet terminal in the lobby. There was supposed to be a spa but we never found it.
The hotel’s restaurant serves breakfast , lunch & dinner but we only ever had breakfast, preferring to eat dinner in town. Breakfast was reasonable (choice of cooked eggs, lost of asian hot dishes, streaky bacon, potatoes, fruit, pastries & breads). We tended to eat quite late (9 onwards) and were always the only people eating so there were only a couple of bits of everything left but if you look like you want to eat something the staff bring extra portions from the kitchen!
The location is absolutely fine – yes it is a bit out of town but you get more for your money here and we became quite fond of our slightly hazy tuk-tuk rides home each night! Tuk-tuk drivers wait outside the hotel at all times & although they start off at inflated prices into town ($4/5 each way!) the norm is $2 each way. We tended to get dropped off in town after our days out & get a tuk-tuk back at night. We were travelling on to Phnom Penh afterwards & the manager kindly booked bus tickets for us & these were added to our bill.
I would definitely stay here again and would recommend it as a comfy base with great facilities.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC