Kirirom Hillside Resort

Good environment also friendly staff

Me and my family wished to escape Phnom Penh for the khmer new year holidays and Kirirom seemed to be a good idea, 2 hours away. We arrived around 8:00pm at the reception of the Hotel. We were indicated to come to the front desk for check-in. No welcoming, we were just shown a bill instead by a rather unhappy receptionist. There was a miscommunication on our booking, as their reservations did not inform there would be extra bed charge for our room, as it was for 2 kids of 3y each. A matter which could have been resolved easily however the receptionist thought we were complaining, called his manager and went on to say « either you pay the full booking price now, either we do not give access to the room ». This is how we were welcomed. We booked the standard bungalow which was rather small. No wifi in rooms, as well as no phone network (since we are in the mountain). No phone in the room, no possible way to contact reception from there. You have to walk the whole property to ask something as simple as towels (there is no towels at the Restaurant swimming pool). Absolutely no pest control has ever been done (worms, ants, bees, mosquitos you get it all) and housekeeping was inexistant during our whole stay. The hotel is nestled on the Hillside with charming pathways and bungalow houses. It is clearly an accommodation in the nature (yes I do not mind the worms everywhere) however I chose this hotel because it was featuring online many attractions for the kids to enjoy. This is how it appeared to be: a waterfall (which doesn’t exist anymore), kayaking (which you can do in a small pond using abandoned kayaks), not maintained badminton and tennis courts, a rusty (and dangerous) playground for kids. No staffs on any of these sites either. The only facility which was available and maintained was the swimming pool, where the restaurant is. When I asked what is there to do here except the restaurant, I was told by the same receptionist arrogantly “there is an other waterfall 20km ahead”. The breakfast was alright, if you arrive before 9:00am. Afterwards, it gets emptied pretty fast and the staffs does not refill anymore. Restaurant is alright during the day for the local dishes, western dishes is the basic take on western food you can find pretty much everywhere. They will charge you 10% VAT even if the restaurant menu does say all prices are inclusive of VAT. If you ask why, they won’t give a clear reason, and their manager will just reject your question, giving you a new bill without VAT. It’s about hospitality there for sure. And I did not even start talking about the F&B waiter bringing you a plate of french fries that you ordered and picking up one on your plate on the way from the kitchen to you. The manager was not here for the whole stay. Their staffs were all round unhappy to be working, except two old smiling ladies at breakfast. I believe when your hotel is fully booked, the Manager should be around and not on public holidays. We asked sever

A nice resort an hour away from Kampong Speu, with a very nice pool, mountain bike hire, archery and very nice food, there was lots of western choice or local dishes. There is limited wifi so it is a proper palce to relax. Take Mossi spray as you are surrounded by water and trees. Kirirom waterfall is 50 minute bike ride ($8 a day rental for a decent mountain bike) or 15min car ride away, and worth a visit, we cycled. If you book rooms direct they offer 25% discount for 2 nights or more. The BBQ rental & meat package is overpriced, we thought the use of the BBQ was free as it is listed as a room facility, and we would just have to pay for coal and meat, but it was $50 in total ($25 for meat for 2 persons and $25 for BBQ hire and coal). So just order steak and chips off the menu, as it is good! We stayed in the bungalows as they are the nearest accommodation to the pool, there is no loud music blasting so it was nice to be near the best facilities. We also played pool whilst there as there was a free table by the swimming pool. The villas are 1 mile away so too far for us. There was beers and cocktails on the menu, they were nice, though slightly overpriced. It was a very nice breakfast, not quite full english/irish as advertised. Though there was eggs, bacon, hotdog sausage and toast. We packed a crate of beer for our bungalows as they had fridges. No TV. The cats got slightly annoying whilst eating. I think there was 6 or 7 sat whining whilst I was trying to enjoy my meal. Though they do keep other creatures away I suppose!