Monsoon Bassac Hotel — Hotel in Khan Chamkar Mon

First, a caveat: Understand that for Phnom Penh, this is a hotel with relatively cheap rates. Second, I am a seasoned traveler. I am also permanent resident of Cambodia.

The Pros: As stated, great rates and a great location.

The Cons: The staff... where should I begin? Well, right as my partner I and I walked through the door we were greeted with: "What do you want here (in Khmer)?" My Khmer partner, who coincidentally is a hotel receptionist stopped in his tracks and had to compose himself. The insinuation (the use of that word is kind) was that perhaps (as a same-sex couple, a foreigner with a Cambodian) we were looking for a cheap room for a few hours. When my partner showed our reservation to the now bewildered girl, her attitude softened, but her professionalism was still lacking.

We had contacted the hotel by text message for an early check-in because our transportation would get us there somewhat early. We stated that we would be arriving in "one to two hours", and would it be possible to check in after we arrived? The clerk said that early check in was not possible because she 'assumed' we had meant "one or two o'clock". (A two o'clock check-in wouldn't be early, would it....??)

While we discussed what are options were a Third person, presumably a guest, appeared and was stopped by our receptionist on her way out. She abruptly and without excusing herself, began a conversation about an unrelated subject while we were made to wait until they decided they were both satisfied with the conversation.

As I chanced to see the utterly useless sign at reception "Bad English, Good attitude!" the receptionist demanded that I show her my visa...She was unable to find it, she said, although it is the largest and most obvious sticker in my passport. When she finally realized I am permanent resident and not a tourist, we finally got down to business and our reservation was honored. Total lack of friendliness, hospitality or professionalism. The cleaning staff were determined to have a competition with reception and held the elevator hostage on the futz floor for more than 10 minutes before I surrender and walked with my belonging up the stairs, passing other guests own their way down.

Rooms are ok, AC works great, but as previous reviews state, there is often no hot water in the showers, although the sink faucet was scalding hot. Hotel is loud, so if you want quiet, look elsewhere.

Breakfast was bus station-niveau, self-service and (for us at least) no hot coffee or tea, despite the fact the restaurant operated a cafe a few feet away.

We come to Phnom Penh once or twice e a month and love to visit different hotels. We will not...

I usually only take time to write awesome reviews when warranted, but today when I left this hotel I was deflated and needed to share- the reviews I had recently read for this hotel made me pick it - and I was indeed unsure why people rave about the staff. I felt like they were a bunch of teenagers sitting around the front desk with their phones. I often didn’t know who actually worked there. The room was fine for the amount paid, but there was no hot/warm water. When I mentioned this - they said to run it longer.. 3 days later and still no hot water. In a country like Cambodia you can feel pretty blessed to have the freedom to travel etc - so you don’t want to complain, but honestly, the staff couldn’t have cared less. Even when I checked out - they took my key and went back to their phones. So weird as the hospitality I’ve had this far had been great. Location is good, restaurant was closed for no reason while I was there. Apparently they did breakfast but I wasn’t keen. Bonus was the woman next door at the salon washed & dried my hair and gave a head massage for $12. I’m not a princess. I can handle cold water - I’m just not impressed by people who aren’t kind or friendly. The housekeepers did...

Upon arrival at the reception the guy at the desk barely raised his head up to look at me. It was asif I had interrupted him. He gave me the key to my room and pointed to the lifts and went back straight to his phone! This is meant to be a 4-star hotel.....I have stayed in better 3 star hotels. I let the desk know 3 times that the remote control for the air-conditioning wasn't working and that the shower head was broken. They kept promising that maintenance will look at the issues. My room wasn't tidied the next so I got no water or fresh towels. As I got off the lift on the 6th floor there was a rat that ran across the corridor to the balcony. It wasn't a mouse....it was a rat! I let the staff know and they said that I must have seen a popular kitten that hangs around the hotel. I know the difference between a kitten and a rat!! That was the last straw!Luckily I had only booked 2 nights just in case I didn't like the place, so I didn't extend my stay and I checked before...