LBN Asian Hotel — Hotel in Kampong Cham

AVOID AT ALL COSTS. We initially booked 2 nights stay at this hotel and decided to book a third shortly after arriving. On the first night, we smelled cigarette smoke in our room. We checked the hallway and balcony and there was no smell, only in our room. We realised it was coming from the air vent and that it had to be from another guest smoking inside their room and flowing through the vent into ours and other rooms. We assumed that smoke must’ve been potentially from someone smoking near the air vent outside or on their balcony and that perhaps some rooms in the hotel were smoker-friendly, so we decided not to raise it as the smell ceased for the rest of the night.

The following night we got no sleep. The cigarette smell started from around 7pm, and again at 8pm, 10pm, midnight and we were woken up at 4am to the smell again which at this point had left our room like a smoker’s lounge. We had to sleep with masks on. The following morning we raised it at reception and told them we had smelled it from the first night and checked the hallway and balcony and there was no cigarette smoke detectable from either location aside from inside our rooms, therefore it had to be from the shared air vent because another guest was smoking inside their room. This was against hotel policy, as there were signs on each floor that clearly stated no smoking, in English and in Chinese. To further confirm this policy, the hotel receptionist told us that smoking is not allowed anywhere in the hotel and that they would investigate further. They suggested we change rooms, but we refused to be inconvenienced for another guest breaking hotel policy. We were also checking out the next day so to pack up and move was an inconvenience to us when in reality, the guest smoking should have been moved or removed from the hotel altogether for breaking the no smoking policy. The hotel staff said they will locate the smoking guest and tell them to stop smoking.

Around 9:30pm, the cigarette smoke once again filled our room from the same air vent. We called reception and a staff member came up to our room to investigate, and later confirmed that he too smelled the smoke coming from our vent. We were informed of the room number of the smoking guest, who was staying on our floor opposite us. The reception told us they had called the guest twice to tell them to stop smoking inside and that they had agreed to stop, which was clearly not the case as we had already smelled it in our room. This was already incredibly disappointing and frustrating as the hotel staff knew who the smoking guests were and did not do anything to remove them other than give them multiple warnings, which went ignored. They should have moved the guest to a different room or banned the guest from the hotel to avoid inconveniencing us who had been on the receiving end of this unfortunate ordeal. Despite being inconvenienced, we knew we had to move otherwise we would be breathing cigarette smoke all night again. In an effort to make things right, the hotel gave us a room upgrade, which was completely unnecessary when all we wanted was a smoke-free room and for them to have dealt appropriately with the smoking guests who broke hotel policy, which they did not. We reached out to Agoda to inform them of this matter and request a refund for our second night stay where we got no sleep, and the hotel spoke to us later refusing to provide a refund. Instead, we were given an unnecessary room upgrade that did not do much to amend the situation as the smoking guests were still allowed to stay in their room and continue smoking. While guests who followed hotel policy, like us, were inconvenienced and treated like we were the ones who caused the problem. I have been messaging Agoda further about this issue and it seems like the hotel still refuses to provide a refund for our night stay. They don’t care about upholding their hotel policy and don’t care about their guests. Avoid this place in town unless you want to breath in toxic cigarette smoke during your stay and deal with...

For a small city like Kampong Cham, I am willing enough to give four star to this hotel, because in fact you cannot find such a fairly good hotel / accommodation in the capital of Kampong Cham Province.

Frankly, if this hotel seated in bigger city such as Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Singapore, Shanghai etc., I will give 2 star only. But, since there ade a very few choices of hotel/accommodation in Kampong Cham, this is the best hotel to stay when you are happened to be in Kampong Cham Province capital.

The best value is this hotel strategically located adjacent to the calm but mighty Mekong River. You can see the beautiful sunrise right from you room's balcony. You can also enjoy the busy bridge overpass the Mekong River, or the purple neon light illuminate along the bridge at night. Or you can enjoy the busy small boat carrying something roving the bank of Mekong River with its noisy engine.

Don't expect too much from this hotel, but still, this is the best choice to stay when you are in Kampong Cham. At least it offers breakfast (although the choice of menu is very limited, only 8-9 menus available (such as: fried rice, stir-fried vegetable, plain porridge, fried-chicken, fried-noodle, omelette station, tea, coffee, orange juice, water), all menu are in a humble appearance, with mostly continental menu breakfast, while western menu only french toast available and humble salad), when other hotel does not (KC River Hotel, 700-800 meter away does not offer breakfast).

Its parking space is limited. Even in the so-called VIP Room with balcony facing the Mekong River ($55 including breakfast), the supply of amenities - such as soap, bath gel, shampoo, etc. - is limited. The rate of other room types is varied between $35 - $50 / per night.

The hotel's room painted in dark-yellow, with curtain also use the same color, will make you not so easy to fall asleep. While you need to wait 5-10 minutes before the hot water come-out from the nozzle, and the water spilling out of the shower chamber when you are showering.

With all that shortcomings, still, LBN Asian Hotel is the best choice to stay when you are in Kampong Cham.

Cautiously...

I stayed at the LBN Asian Hotel for one night on a visit to Kampong Cham. There are positives and negatives to this hotel. First, the positives. At roughly $40 a room, it represents a solid value for the money. The room was a good size and very clean. On the 8th floor, it had a very nice view overlooking the river. The front desk staff was helpful; I arrived prior to official check-in, and a manager stepped in to provide a room for me, which was appreciated. Breakfast was fine - not the best encountered on a two-week trip, but certainly adequate. Finally, the location of the hotel is close to everything Kampong Cham has to offer, and within a 3-minute walk of the bus station. ||On to the negatives. First, parts of the hotel are tired and showing their age. While the front-desk area if very attractive with dark wood, the carpets in the hallways are worn, the room walls are marked up and the bathrooms need some attention. At some point in the not-to-distant future, ownership is going to need to sink some money into the hotel or watch it fall into an unsightly state of disrepair. In addition, if you're a Westerner, be very careful to watch your charges. After asking for my check at the rooftop bar, a manager clearly instructed my server (for whom I felt sorry) to give me what I call the "foreigner upcharge". She told me my glass of wine that was listed for $3 on the menu would actually cost me $5. I politely told her that didn't work for me and to send the manager over to discuss. He wouldn't come over, and, amazingly, sent the poor server back to reiterate the upcharge message. I got up, walked to the cash register, and confronted the manager, telling him if he wants to charge $5 for an item that is listed on the menu for $3, he has to tell the customer AHEAD of ordering that the price on the menu is incorrect (and that I wouldn't have ordered it had I known). He backed down immediately, but this is a big negative for me. Who needs the hassle? Again, unless you're a local, be wary of...