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[ajhl]

Hi

I'm off to Cambodia and Laos for a couple of weeks - whistle stop tours and am looking for some up to date advice on reasonably priced places to stay whilst in Cambodia (I haven't been since 1992).

We are in Siemreab for 3 nights and PP for 1, any and all advice is very welcome.

[starlagurl]

What does reasonably priced mean to you?

Have you checked TripAdvisor yet? There are a lot of really cheap places to stay in Siem Reap:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g297390-...eap-Hotels.html

[Paul]

Hi.

I haven't been in the forums for a while, but Woz is staying at my place at the moment and has me a bit more inspired, plus I am just about to go to Phnom Penh and need a place to stay, so I thought I'd check in here.

NOTHING.

Come on guys and girls please record your recommendations of places you stayed.

I used to like the forums, as there was a good feeling in here of travellers sharing experiences.

I don't want to look at Trip Adviser website - who the f..k are they? Who is paying them? Why would I be interested in what they say?

Anyway, if I stay anywhere good I will try to get back in here and record it.

For Siem Reap, I have stayed in Sydney Angkor Hotel and found it very good - sorry I don't have details of prices on me, but you can google that name and the hotel has a website - so you can get the information directly from the source.

[starlagurl]

It's not really the fact that the people on TripAdvisor are saying anything about anything... just random people put up reviews there, so it's usually pretty helpful.

Personally, I don't read the reviews anyway, I just use that website as a sort of listing of (most) everything that's available. Then, I go with what I can afford, usually ignoring the reviews...

I was just trying to help. So that she doesn't feel all alone...

[Paul]

It's not really the fact that the people on TripAdvisor are saying anything about anything... just random people put up reviews there, so it's usually pretty helpful.

Personally, I don't read the reviews anyway, I just use that website as a sort of listing of (most) everything that's available. Then, I go with what I can afford, usually ignoring the reviews...

I was just trying to help. So that she doesn't feel all alone...

Yeah, I think it is good you were helping - but also think it was a shame that there was nothing else available for her and that she had to be sent to another site.

I think other sites are good. Why should we replicate other info? - but I just felt that there wasn't much of a personal connection in there for her. I don't know if any of you know what I am trying to say (or if I do) so anyway - I will add in some personal info for people travelling to Phnom Penh and looking for accommodation.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was heading to Phnom Penh and had been pretty busy and so had done no research before leaving home.

I had a bit of spending money and so I decided to pick up a Lonely Planet (LP) at the airport. (About US$22).

I have been pretty busy lately and wanted to have a day of comfort and also I wanted to get some work done - so from LP I selected Hotel Castle as it has free internet and sounded nice. (according to LP $50 - 55)

I got a moto driver at the airport (costs $7 to get into town) and told him my plans. He said that if I didn't have a booking Hotel Castle would charge extra (a pretty common thing - so I believed him) and would end up costing me around $65. He suggested Regent Park Hotel (regentpark@online.com.kh) as a similar standard but a bit cheaper. (I think based also on the fact he knew I speak Thai and that the Regent is a bit of a Thai hangout). No free internet, but internet is $1 an hour and so I would probably still end up better off. OK. We went there - nice, but no standard rooms available ($45) and so I had to have a deluxe ($55). Still OK. The rooms are pretty nice - not too extravagant, the lobby and restaurant nice, the staff nice, the location nice. Can recommend it.

But it is too pricey for me to stay there more than 1 day so I searched for another place.

Today I am in Power Boutique Guest House (phanna2005@gmail.com) for $30. They have cheaper rooms, but they were pretty yucky and smelled of cigarette. The $30 room is huge and just as nice as Regent Park, but reception, etc is not the same. I haven't stayed yet, so I can't say much more.


There are much cheaper places also. But I am feeling old and tired and want a bit more comfort than what I did before. So I have chosen these as mid range places.


There are also much more expensive places - although they seem unnecessary (although perhaps in another 10 - 20 years I will change my mind about that - I used to think mid range was too flash)

Oh - so the LP I brought (as with most LP I have brought) - I used it a little, but really not worth it. There is lots of info available for free here (one free publication is http://www.canbypublications.com/).
So maybe borrow LP from the library and photocopy a few pages for research, but don't buy it.
Also look up TravelFish - that site has lots of good info on S.E.Asia and includes reviews and a travellers forum. It is a great S.E.Asia source of info. (http://www.travelfish.org/)

And I should mention I am sitting in Riverside bistro that has free internet (www.riverside-bistro.com)

So I hope that gets you started and gives you a few options.

Phnom Penh is pretty relaxed and people nice and as long as you get here and get yourself sorted for the first day - you can easily find more local info when walking around the town.

See ya

[starlagurl]

Yeah, it does suck, but it's better than nothing.

Thanks soooo much for your detailed overview of Phnom Penh!

[Paul]

Yeah, it does suck, but it's better than nothing.

Agreed

[Paul]

http://www.se-globe.com/index.php?option=c...&Itemid=431

This list of hotels is from the excellent Cambodian publication SE-Globe