For my trip to Cambodia with my Father, I did extensive research into hotels in each city we visited. While I was traveling Southeast Asia for a summer, he was only coming for two weeks and I wanted to make sure it was a special trip. We used 50USD a night as our guideline and that left us with tons of options to sort through. In the end, all three were amazing in their own way and I was seriously impressed with the standard of boutique hotels in Cambodia. If you are looking to splurge or you are lucky enough to travel full time on a healthy budget, I highly recommend:
The River Garden
Siem Reap
I was dying to stay at this hotel in Siem Reap called Viroth’s which was hopelessly chic but only had rooms with one bed, so I went with my second choice, Lonely Planet recommended River Garden.
When we arrived we were a bit disappointed to see that the hotel was under construction, an understandable and unavoidable fact of life for hotels, but still not the greatest thing to arrive to. The lobby was totally under construction and even a bit hard to access. That aside, the room and bathroom were beautiful, as were the grounds and the pool.
I really liked the location of this hotel, being a bit removed and out of town allowed us to see so much more about how local people live, but we were still close enough to town to enjoy the restaurant and nightlife scene. I do recommend this hotel, with previously stated reservations. For some reason I seem to have had a four-day temporary lobotomy as I have no pictures of this hotel! So I scrounged these up on the internet to give you a better idea.
credit: Google
Credit: Trip Advisor
Blue Lime
Phnom Penh
Based on photos and reviews, I didn’t hesitate to book Blue Lime and was not disappointed. The design of the hotel and pool is very sophisticated without losing its charm. The pool, I loved the pool! I found the staff to be very sweet and when they didn’t know the answer to a question they took the time to find it. Breakfast was served poolside and I looked forward to it every morning! Also had free internet and computers in the lobby. And all for less than the equivalent nightly rent on my apartment in NYC. Out of all three hotels we stayed in, Blue Lime really hits the nail on the head. Amazing.
Cement furniture!
Best part: the pool!
Veranda
Kep
We couldn’t afford Knai Bang Chatt, so Veranda seemed like the next best!
It totally lived up to my treehouse dreams and more. Our room was like a Swiss Family Robinson set, with one indoor room and one outdoor room, and an amazing indoor/outdoor bathroom. And the view was breathtaking. One note- if you are out of shape this might not be the place for you. It is high on a hill and when we arrived and were taking a tuk tuk with our luggage, the tuk tuk driver had us get out and walk up the hill with his luggage as he couldn’t manage up with all the weight! And we are not large people! To us it was funny and a good story but if you were out of shape you might not be laughing.
Outdoor bedroom
Porch
The view
The “hallways”
Restaurant at night
