Phnom Penh Guest Friendly Hotels – Bkk112 recommendations

Bangkok 112 Travel

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View from the Sun & Moon hotel rooftop swimming pool, Street 136 bars and the Tonle Sap river visible

This is a guide designed to help ‘Bangkok 112’ Subscribers when booking hotels in Phnom Penh. There are no cookies in the links below, so if you do choose a hotel from this list then please consider clicking from the link below and booking straight through. This will be at no extra cost to you, any commission will go straight back into improving Bangkok 112 YouTube videos and maintaining this website. Thank you for your support and I hope that this information will be of use to you.

I’ve visited Phnom Penh many times now, and have stayed in many different places all the way from cheap backpacker hotels with ‘no sex tourist’ signs to upscale hotels with all the bells and whistles.

All Bkk112 recommended hotels are in convenient locations for the centrally located bars and restaurants. This is because location is the number one priority that I consider when booking a hotel. I never want to be wasting time and money stuck in traffic, so all these places are good for getting around and most importantly getting to the bars and back easily. I’ve stayed at most of the places in this list so have personal experience of being a normal guest at these places.

All the hotels below are ‘guest friendly’ meaning there are no girl joiner fees if you stay alone. Make sure you check 2 in the people staying in the room when booking just to be 100% sure.

NB: Bangkok 112 is independent and none of the info here is from paid reviews. The room costs all came out of my own pocket and am free to say whatever I want.

 

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Hotel locations in relation to the more popular bar streets of Phnom Penh

 

At a glance:

Sundance Inn & Saloon from $21 [wild card]

Dynsey Boutique Hotel from $21

Silver River Hotel from $33

Okay Boutique Hotel from $36 [Bkk112 personal favourite for the price]

Point Boutique Hotel from $38

Lux Hotel from $45

Sun & Moon Urban Hotel from $80 [for affluent travellers only – if you can afford a room, forget the rest and just book this]

NagaWorld Hotel from $88 [wild card 2, a Casino hotel for gamblers only]

Sokha Phnom Penh Hotel from $108

 

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Cheap and cheerful rooms at the Sundance Inn on Street 172

 

Sundance Inn & Saloon, Street 172. [wild card hotel with a lively bar downstairs – Video review]

A 3-star, guest friendly hotel with 12 rooms.

Rooms rates start from just $21 through this agoda link

The rooms here are clean and functional, but are more suited to seasoned budget travellers. There is a small swimming pool at the back, and a lively bar downstairs that’s a fantastic place for meeting fellow travellers.

Overall: This was my number one place that I always used to stay at in Phnom Penh. It’s a cheap and cheerful kind of place that’s a bit rough around the edges, so if you’re a super clean modern hotel kind of person then give this one a miss.

The Sundance Inn is a great place to meet fellow travellers in the bar downstairs, get yourself a draught beer, sit at the bar and you’ll soon be chatting to interesting characters in no time. The food I had here was all good too, and they have specials everyday that are good value. On my most recent Phnom Penh trip the Sundance Inn was fully booked which says a lot, so reserve your room far in advance if possible.

Tips: Don’t stay here if you like going to bed early or are a very light sleeper. The bar downstairs can be busy at any time of the day so be aware there might be some background noise.

Book through this agoda link for the best prices. It might be worth booking a more expensive room as they have more space and windows in.

 

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I had to settle for a twin bed room at Dynsey Boutique hotel, but was more than happy with the room in the end

Dynsey Boutique Hotel, Street 172

A 3-star, guest friendly hotel with 18 rooms.

Room rates start from around $21.

A good value hotel in Phnom Penh, rooms are clean and functional if a little quirky in design. It’s in an excellent location right by the Sundance Inn hotel on Street 172. This hotel has an extra security card to operate the lift which was a reassuring touch and not what you expect from a cheaper hotel.

Overall: I was in a tight spot on a recent Phnom Penh visa run as a hotel I’d booked had fallen through. So I booked a twin room at the Dynsey Boutique hotel at the last minute and was more than happy with everything about this hotel.

The room was clean and a good size, the TV worked, the bed was comfy and I even had nice city views as my room was on a high floor. The WIFI was fast too which was surprising to me for the cheap price of $24.50 that I paid for a room. It was quiet at night too, so maybe if you want to hang out at the nearby Sundance Inn bar then you could stay here and make the very short trek across to the bar.

I recommend the Dynsey Boutique Hotel to budget travellers who are looking to get a good room in Phnom Penh for as little money as possible.

Tip: Book direct through this agoda link for the best prices. Maybe pay a little extra for a room with city view (like I did) if you’re going to be spending time in the room in the daytime.

 

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$40 balcony room at Silver River hotel, an average but reliable choice on Street 172

Silver River Hotel, Street 172.

A 3-star, guest friendly hotel with 58 rooms.

Room rates start from around $33.

A reliable hotel in a great location near many cheap bars and restaurants on street 172. Rooms are functional and tick a lot of boxes. There is a decent restaurant in the lobby, which serves cheap happy hour draught beers.

Overall: Silver River is a ‘go to’ hotel for many repeat Phnom Penh visitors as it is good value, clean and very convenient. Definitely a reliable choice for staying in Phnom Penh. I had a pleasant stay here, but I found the hotel to be average in almost every way. Not a bad thing really as you could do a lot worse for the same money.

Tips: I paid $40 for a balcony room and didn’t really think it was worth the extra money for the balcony as the room was relatively small. Book through this agoda link for the best prices.

 

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Picture on the wall at Silver River hotel, I couldn’t include this in a YouTube video due to the nudity 😉

Okay Boutique Hotel, Street 19 (close to Street 172) – Video review

A 4-star, guest friendly hotel with 60 rooms.

Room rates start from around $36

A well located hotel, just around the corner from the street 172 cheap bars and restaurants. Clean spacious rooms, with elaborate wooden decor. Excellent reviews online as this hotel really has the wow factor plus it has a nice rooftop pool and restaurant on the 14th floor.

Overall: Okay Boutique is one of my favourite hotels in Phnom Penh, I really enjoyed staying there. It’s a great hotel to book if you’re bored of typical generic hotels. The rooms really have a lot of character, from intricate woodwork on the cornicing and skirting boards, to the Cambodian style bathrooms. The balcony views from higher floors are great, as is the rooftop pool and restaurant. There are plenty of tuk tuk guys close by the hotel too, so the riverfront is just a short $1 or 2 ride away depending on your negotiating skills 🙂

Tips: Definitely request a high floor when booking if you like nice views. Book through this agoda link for better prices.

 

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Okay Boutique hotel is a great choice, request a room on a high floor for some great views

 

Point Boutique Hotel, Street 130.

A 3-star, guest friendly hotel with 38 rooms.

Rooms rates start from around $38

A newish hotel (opened 2016), nice rooms for the money and it’s in an amazing location for the riverfront and the main hostess bar areas of Phnom Penh. The rooftop bar on the 12 floor has stunning views over the riverside.

Overall:Point Boutique Hotel is a very good hotel for the money and in an almost perfect location. It gets full booked often, I tried to book a room there but unfortunately they were fully booked which says a lot. Very good online reviews, in particular guests liked the location and rooftop bar.

Tips: It’s better pay a bit extra and book a room with a window, unless you’re only using the room for sleeping. Book through this agoda link for the best prices.

 

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Point Boutique hotel on the right, great views from the 12th floor as it towers over neighbouring properties

 

Lux Riverside Hotel and Apartment, Street 136

A 4-star, guest friendly hotel with 60 rooms.

Room rates start from around $45.

Excellent hotel in a fantastic location right on the riverfront. Good sized rooms, that are clean and functional.

Overall: A very solid choice for a hotel in Phnom Penh if you’re staying for the nightlife. Many repeat business and solo travellers always stay here as the rooms are ok for the money and the location is unbeatable for the girlie bars on 136 street. You could do a lot worse than this hotel when staying in Phnom Penh.

Tips: Book direct through this agoda link for the best prices.

 

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Sun & Moon Urban hotel, very popular with affluent travellers. No riff raff here…

Sun & Moon Urban Hotel, Street 136. [best hotel for affluent travellers]

A 4-star, guest friendly hotel with 80 rooms.

Rooms start from around $80.

The Sun & Moon hotel is a very modern, unique hotel in an excellent location near the riverfront and Street 136 girlie bars. Modern, clean rooms with high ceilings, mood lighting and first class fixtures and fittings (eg. aircon which can be set to half a degree). The hotel facilities are excellent, with a rooftop pool and bar/restaurant on the 9th floor with panoramic city views. Great gym and a really good spa facilities for guests to unwind.

Overall: The Sun & Moon hotel is a trendy, aspirational hotel that’s very popular with affluent visitors and gets fully booked often. Looking at the many glowing online reviews it seems that many people will now only stay at the Sun & Moon hotel when visiting Phnom Penh which speaks volumes. It kind of reminded me of the Siam@Siam Design hotel in Pattaya; as the rooms all had trendy designs and the rooftop pool, spa, fitness centre and bars/restaurants were all exceptional.

The only thing that let this place down for me was the relatively small size of some of the deluxe rooms (24 sq m, some are 28 sq m). This gave me a poor first impression just after checking in. But this wasn’t a deal breaker as for me as everything ‘just worked’ in the room, and using the extensive hotel facilities was a really good experience. I would definitely stay here again in a heartbeat…

 

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Sun & Moon deluxe room, this one is 28 sq m

 

All the hostess girls know and like the Sun & Moon hotel, so you’ll do yourself no harm by booking a room here.

I’d recommend this place if you want to wow a lady (definitely make use of the blue mood lighting), or maybe if you want to treat yourself for a few days as the facilities are all excellent. Personally, it was so convenient to have a soak in the massive, hot jacuzzi after a day of running around the city. Having a swim at sunset in the infinity pool was great too with the nice views over the river.

Tips: Book a room direct through this agoda link for the best prices (NB: The hotel policy is guest friendly, but you must tick 2 for guests staying when making your booking).

 

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NagaWorld, the new hotel tower is the gold one on the right. Only stay here if you like gambling it up…

NagaWorld Hotel & Entertainment Complex [wild card 2, recommended for gamblers only]

A 5-star, guest friendly hotel and casino with 714 rooms (it’s a massive hotel resort!).

Room rates start from around $88

A huge, sprawling hotel complex with a new wing recently opened in 2017. NagaWorld is the place to stay if you’re looking to ‘gamble it up’ in Phnom Penh. They have all the usual table games; blackjack, slots, roulette, poker, bars, nightclubs and other things you find in Casino hotel resorts like enormous buffet selections and high end dining options. They even have extensive shopping areas so many people visit here for the shopping and not the gambling.

Overall: The location of NagaWorld is a bit away from the riverside tourist area of Phnom Penh (it’s the only hotel not on the Bkk112 map at the top of this page), so you’d only stay here if you’re looking to gamble. Very attractive Cambodian freelancer ladies can be found here, especially at the ‘Darling Darling’ nightclub where they hunt for high rollers who have money to burn. These freelancers are much more expensive than the typical $50 hostess ladies of Phnom Penh, so you could blow a fortune on one if you were so inclined.

Tips: Book a room direct through this agoda link for the best prices. It costs around $3 for a one way tuk tuk ride from Nagaworld to the riverside girlie bar areas of Phnom Penh.

 

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5 star luxury at an affordable price, but it’s on the wrong side of the river meaning many 5km trips to the riverfront bars & restaurants

 

Sokha Phnom Penh Hotel from $108

A 5-star, guest friendly hotel with 549 rooms (it’s a huge hotel!).

5-star luxury hotel, massive rooms (smallest is 52 sq m), stunning river views, relatively affordable room rates, great facilities, this place should be number one for most people in this price bracket. Unfortunately, there is one big negative about this hotel and it’s the location. Sokha Hotel is located across the Tonle Sap river meaning many 5km journeys to and from the central Phnom Penh city will be needed if you’re staying here which isn’t ideal for most travellers.

Maybe it’s a perfect place if you’re getting shacked up with a nice girl for a long weekend, but be aware you will have to do a bit of ‘to and fro’ with travelling around staying here.

Tips: Book a room through this agoda link for the best prices.

 

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View from the Sun & Moon rooftop bar around sunset

 

Also Consider if your chosen hotel is fully booked:

Queen Wood Hotel, Street 136. A 3-star, guest friendly hotel with 40 rooms. Room rates start from around $23 – seasoned travellers only.

Queen Wood hotel was in the main Bkk112 recommended list as the price is great and it has an excellent location for the bars on 136 street. But unfortunately it’s been pulled as of late 2017 as there were many complaints regarding the lack of cleanliness. So I’ll keep this hotel as one to watch, as if they ‘clean up their act’ then Queen Wood hotel is an excellent choice for well seasoned budget travellers. They are in an excellent location on 136 street and even have a small rooftop swimming pool and bar. But definitely check the latest agoda and tripadvisor reviews for comments about cleanliness before booking a room here.

 

Harmony Hotel, Street 148. A 4-star, guest friendly hotel with 51 rooms. Room rates start from around $59.

A very good 4 star hotel in a great central location. Good rooms, and great hotel facilities including a majestic rooftop pool.

There are a few niggles about Harmony Hotel: the service constantly comes up in reviews as being poor, there is only one slow lift, there is a smelly fish market next door and the breakage policy is total overkill with a $50 deposit being required per room. If these things aren’t deal breakers for you then it’s a solid $60 hotel in the area. [the fish market and bad service reviews stopped me from staying on a recent visit]

 

 

Summary:

Thank you for reading this article, hopefully the info here will help Bkk112 subscribers when choosing their hotels in Phnom Penh. I would appreciate your comments or feedback and I plan to revise and improve this list to keep it as up to date as possible.

agoda.com

booking.com

Once again if you are considering booking a hotel anywhere in the world through booking.com or agoda then consider using the links above (at no extra cost to yourself) as it would really help the YouTube channel and the running of this website. Thanks once again and I hope you have a great trip to Phnom Penh.