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| Dara Reang Sey Hotel, Phnom Penh |
~ My flight from Athens, Greece, got me into Phnom Penh, Cambodia (by way of a transit stop in Bangkok, Thailand), at 6:00am local time early in February 2011. The haze that hung over the country as the plane approached Phnom Penh, provided plenty of warning for the heat and humidity that assailed me as I left the plane at the modest Phnom Penh International Airport.
After passing quickly through Customs, and paying twenty
American dollars cash for a Cambodian visa, I was ready to begin my month long
visit.
Thankfully, the driver sent to pick me up from the airport
(for a $10 fee), was ready and waiting, and in no time at all he was weaving
his way through Phnom Penh’s teeming streets towards the first of my five
nights at the Dara Reang Sey Hotel.
Phnom Penh was chaotic. There were few traffic lights, lots
of uniformed police, military, and other official types standing around, but
few of them seemed to be doing much of anything―other than keeping a watchful
eye on the passing river of tuk-tuks, bicycles, trucks and buses, vans and
pedestrians, and the multitude of motorcycle riders. What few automobiles I
could see, appeared to belong mostly to international non-government agencies
of one type or other.
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| Large, comfortable bed in air-conditioned room. |
I had booked a ‘Superior Single Room’ at the hotel, at the
princely sum of US$26.67 per night. This included taxes and service charges,
although breakfast would cost me an average of three dollars extra per day.
While many new international hotels are appearing on the
skyline around Phnom Penh, the majority of the city’s hotels are for the most
part, ‘housed’ in old, generally run-down looking buildings that may not seem
like much at first glance, but which turn out to be quite well appointed given
the general poverty that surrounds them.
The Dara Reang Sey Hotel is no exception. My nightly room
fee of $26.67 is more than most Cambodians make in a month, so I had no reason
to complain as I settled into my accommodations. While writing this entry, I
thought it wise to check current prices at the hotel, and to my amazement,
there has been no change in pricing since my stay there more than two years
ago.
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| Bathroom was clean and well stocked |
The Dara Reang Sey offers rooms in two categories: Standard,
and Superior Rooms. Standard rooms range in price from $20/night (single
occupancy), to $40/night for three people. Superior rooms range in price from
$26.67/night (single), to $43/night for three guests.
Room amenities across all categories appear to be exactly
the same, namely, air conditioning, mini-bar, telephone, Cable-TV, and
bathroom. However, you should check specifically that these facilities and room rates are correct.
Under the Facilities section of the hotel website
they write:
“There are 3 triple rooms, 33
double rooms and 7 single rooms all with air conditioning and 6 fan rooms,
most of the rooms have a bathroom with hot shower, cable TV, mini bar and
some with balcony Prices range from US$15-$35 all with air-conditioning room.”
The bold emphasis in the above quote is mine. I suspect some
things have been ‘lost in translation’, which may account for the discrepancy in prices and facilities, so again you are advised to check with
the hotel when making your booking.
The hotel does not have WiFi, or even wired Internet access
in the rooms, but access to the Internet was free via computers located
near the reception area. Numerous Internet cafés can be found near the hotel,
and these all seem to charge a very modest $1.00 per hour.
Restaurant
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| Image courtesy of hotel website |
The hotel has its own restaurant, which is open daily from
6:00 am to 10:00 pm. The restaurant serves inexpensive Khmer, Chinese,
Vegetarian, Western and Thai dishes. I ate breakfast here each morning, and
rarely paid more than $3-$4 for a very generous meal.
The restaurant is at street level and has plenty of seating
arranged on the sidewalk, from where you can watch the unfolding tapestry of
street life in Phnom Penh. One of the drawbacks of sitting this close to the
public however, are the beggars that will inevitably approach you while you are
relaxing or eating. These unwelcome approaches are not confined to this hotel
of course, but are a daily fact of life for western visitors wherever they may
be in Cambodia―which is, after all, one of the poorest countries in South-East
Asia.
Most of my evening meals were also taken here and I can
certainly vouch for the ‘inexpensive’ claim. One of my journal entries notes: Dinner tonight was chicken salad, beef and noodle stir
fry, two Heineken beers, a bowl of free peanuts, and some papaya fruit slices –
all for just $10.00.
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| Modest facilities in my Dara Reang Sey hotel room |
I rarely spent more than $10-$12 for an evening meal, and
often spent less. As for the chicken salad and fresh fruit slices: I know, I
know, don’t eat fresh fruit or salads while travelling in Asia―let alone other
strange and exotic meals.
To heck with that, though. Sometimes you just have to
throw caution to the wind and immerse yourself as much as possible in the local
culture, and if you do end up suffering from the local equivalent of Delhi
Belly or Montezuma’s Revenge (which I did), put it down to experience―and have
another fried grasshopper!
Finally, most of the staff at the hotel spoke English, with
their proficiency ranging from basic to very good. All staff worked hard to
ensure that my stay at the hotel was pleasant, safe and incident free―which it
was, and I will conclude by stating that I would have no hesitation staying at the
Dara Reang Sey Hotel again.
Note: There are two Dara Reang Sey hotels in Cambodia, with
information about both available from the same website. The one reviewed here
is in Phnom Penh, and the other is in Seam Reap. To book either of the hotels,
select ‘Seam Reap’ or ‘Phnom Penh’ from the drop down menu under the Hotel
label on the website’s main page.
More Information
Dara Reang Sey
Hotel, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Online: http://www.darareangsey.com
Skype: dara.reangsey.hotel.pp
Email: booking @ darareangsey.com
