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Cambodia
A fantastic find but the taxi driver didn’t know where it was so we drove down Street 240 for some time. Look out for a red and white sign saying BOOKS and also a sign for Naturae which is the healthfood shop and café in the same building where you are served a lovely continental breakfast with freshly squeezed juice. We paid $50 which included a $5 per night discount at their suggestion as our room had suffered a leak from above so there was some discolouration on the ceiling. The design throughout the shop and rooms is funky and modern with bright accent colours. Our room was light and spacious with dark wooden furniture, flatscreen TV, free wifi, kettle and a big walk-in shower in the bathroom. We were delighted with the terrace area which was larger than expected especially the promised plunge pool which was a long deep trough easily big enough for two to stretch out and cool off. It felt like a real oasis after a hot day in the busy city. You can also use the pool in the sister hotel, The Pavilion which is just round the corner. This would be more suitable if you want a full hotel service and perhaps reception staff with better English but the 240 is ideal for a city break. The style of the property epitomises the street it is named after which is full of chic and contemporary boutiques and cafes with a real cosmopolitan feel which we were surprised to find existed in Cambodia.
www.the240.asia/access.htm
83, street 240, Khan Daun Penh, Phnom Penh,
Cambodia
+855 (0) 23 21 84 50
Google map: bit.ly/dOCiSC
My friends and I decided to stay at Frangipani Villa for five nights in early December and we had an enjoyable stay.
The small garden was a beautiful, peaceful and relaxing place to sit, chat, eat, or read.
My room had air conditioning, cable tv, internet connection, coffee and tea.
The restaurant served us bread and scrambled eggs, and we could also ask for fried noodles in the morning with no cost at all.
All staff were so polite to guests.
Frangipani Villa is located in the centre and is very convenient to go to the supermarket or other places such as Russian Market, Royal Place etc.
Overall I found this a great stay and would certainly recommend it to other tourists who would like to stay in Phnom Penh.
www.frangipanihotel.com
#20R, Street 252, Sangkat Chaktomuk, Khan Daun Penh, Phnom Penh 12306, Cambodia
Tel: (855)12 687717 / (855) 23 212 100,
E-mail: frangipani60s@gmail.com
The places by the lake are backpackery, obsessed with drugs and Angkor beer. OK for a chilled-out day drinking and watching the lake, but paper-thin walls and minimal security did not make me feel safe.
I certainly wouldn't recommend it to lone women. If anything goes wrong (and it did with me) you will have absolutely no help whatsoever.
Capitol Guesthouse looks awful from the outside but on the inside it's scrupulously clean, has cable TV, private bathroom, air conditioning, good security (proper walls!) and all for about $8-10.
It also runs buses to Ho Chi Minh City, Siem Reap etc so it's very well located. You'll get off the backpackers trail just that little bit and experience much better levels of comfort, security and hygiene. And it's just round the corner from possibly one of the best and friendliest restaurants in Cambodia - Mama's.
Several locations across Phnom Penh. Well known - ask any moto driver. If you get the bus from HCMC or Siem Reap, chances are you'll be dropped off right outside!
Far and away the best hostel in Phnom Penh. Run and owned by Cambodians, with a relaxed atmosphere, cool bars and happy pizza next door. The clientele were a nice bunch when I was there.
As the name suggests, the best thing about this place is that it is right on the lakeside - I spent many a happy hour swinging in a hammock watching Cambodian lake-life drift by.
Ask any motorcycle taxi guy to take you there. It'll be in your Lonely Planet too.
This place is a mixed bag. It certainly has the best rooms out of the budget guesthouses along Boeng Kak Lake, and undoubtedly the best view of the sunset. A great place for a beer as the sun sets - only rivalled by the FCC. However, you must run the gauntlet of the Scotsman who runs the place (who is mad as a box of frogs) and his pack of growling dogs.
It's not for the faint-hearted, and Brian's mad jabber can get wearing, but it's definitely worth a visit. If only for the sunset.
Down the very end of the muddy track along the side of Boeng Kak Lake, past Same Same Guesthouse etc.
A small oasis of calm with a pleasant pool and lovely staff. Tasteful rooms. Great western breakfasts if you have been travelling a while and fancy a taste of home but good local food too.
#5 street 158
phnom penh
(855)23 223 703
These are free publications with detailed listings of bars, restaurants, guesthouses, shops etc plus useful articles, maps and so forth. They are very handy for tourists and other newcomers to this rapidly changing city, where annually published guidebooks can be out of date almost as soon as they are published.
The guides are available at guesthouses, bars, restaurants and shops.
The Boddhi Tree is a stylish, cosy guesthouse located opposite the Tuol Sleng genocide museum. Despite the location, it is a haven of peace with friendly staff and great food. The menu is unbeatable in Phnom Penh - breakfast, lunch and dinner are cooked fresh from local ingredients, all with a healthy, wholefood twist.
The rooms are all good value, and individually designed. Well worth the prices.
The small atmospheric terrace garden is good in the evenings for a drink or two.
Opposite the Tuol Sleng genocide museum
If you've ever been stuck on the roof of a Cambodian boat with no sunscreen or hat, inhaling toxic exhaust fumes, and enduring this for over six hours, it's advisable to check into a hotel with air conditioning. A word of warning though: don't do what I did and check into the Walkabout Hotel.
Though it's close to a host of popular nightspots and has good amenities, the predatory working girls in the downstairs bar will not leave you alone. Unless you enjoy this sort of harassment, it's best to avoid the bar at all costs.
Corner of Streets 51 and 174
A chilled out and cheap backpackers guesthouse built on a pier over Boeung Kak lake. Angkor beer on tap and hammocks in the lounge upstairs for lazing around in, internet access and food available too.
On Boeung Kak lake. Go to the mosque and continue down the dirt road, it's second to last on the right, the internet cafe out front is the entrance.
Go at sunset, for the view of Wat Phnom from the back terrace, it's magical as the sun sets right behind it.
The food and drink is also some of the best in town.
Right on the waterfront, this thin but tall hotel has great rooms and French cuisine only a couple of blocks from the Royal Palace and National Museum. The prices are a bit high for PP, but the quality is superb. No lift: stairs only. The top-floor suite with garden is wonderful, with a superb view and peace.
www.bougainvillierhotel.com/
# 277G Sisowath Quay,
Phnom Penh 12306, Cambodia
Tel: (855) 23 220 528,
Fax: (855) 23 220 529
E-mail: bougainvillierhotel@bougainvillierhotel.com
A cosy, friendly place on the edge of Boeung Kak Lake, pushed right to the end of a dirt road crammed full of backpacker's bars, restaurants and guesthouses. The perfect place to wind down after a hectic day's motorcycle taxiing, taking in the sunset from the veranda whilst chatting about travel, beer and home with other backpackers who seem to have been housed up here for their whole lives.
On the edge of Boeung Kak lake, to the north of the train station. Follow the path left as you come to the Mosque and keep going until you can't go any further.
Is this your business?Search Been there
