The Best of Cambodia & Laos

158
SOUTHERN CAMBODIA
8
SIHANOUKVILLE
Orchidee Guest House This excellent guesthouse is popular with expats and
many returning guests. Simple rooms have air-conditioning and satellite television, but
very basic tile bathrooms with a shower-in-room setup. It’s affordable and a fun party
vibe prevails. The $30 standard rooms are big with white tiles and the best choice (better
than the red-carpet rooms). Bathrooms are large, plain affairs with tubs. Get a room next
to the pool and you’re likely to make lots of friends over oversize drinks with umbrellas.
23 Tola St. (1 block back from Ochheuteal Beach), Sihanoukville. & 034/933-639 or 012/380-300. www.
orchidee-guesthouse.com. 72 units. $13–$28 double; $30–$40 family room. No credit cards. Amenities:
Restaurant; outdoor pool; car and motorbike rentals. In room: A/C, TV, fridge, minibar, IDD telephone.
Reef Resort This small hotel is casual and laid-back. Rooms are neat and tidy, and
the bamboo furniture, silk lamps, wall hangings, and knit blankets give the place a very
charming appeal. Each room comes with a small poolside terrace. The bar has a proper
pool table and a large flatscreen TV for movies or sports events. It is airy with the beating
of ceiling fans and muted rattan furniture giving it a relaxed semicolonial atmosphere.
They also have a good selection of Mexican food. It is a great place to while away the
evening with a couple of beers.
Road from Golden Lion to Serendipity. & 012/315-338. www.reefresort.com.kh. 11 units. $35–$65
double; $70–$80 family room. MC, V. Amenities: Restaurant; bar; small outdoor pool. In room: A/C, TV,
DVD (family rooms), fridge, minibar, Wi-Fi, no phone.
Sunshine Beach Hotel This is the best of the resorts lining Victory Beach. It is a
whole beachside complex with a large restaurant and shaded beachside salas in which to
enjoy your crab or lobster. The rooms themselves are ocher tiled with white cotton furnishings.
Given the hotel’s generally pristine look, some of the furniture is quite weirdly
tatty. The more expensive rooms look directly on to the beach and the sea is only a short
leap away.
Krong St., Victory Beach. & 034/933-708. 28 units. $30 standard not facing sea; $40 standard sea facing;
$60 deluxe. Amenities: Restaurant; bar; room service; Wi-Fi. In room: A/C, TV, fridge, minibar.
Tranquility Guesthouse Given the spread of sound systems across Ochheuteal and
Serendipity, tranquillity is in increasingly short supply; however, this beachside guesthouse
is one of the better beach options. It hovers between backpacker and flashpacker
and is a pleasant option if that is your scene. There is a range of rooms from basic to
relatively luxe. If you fancy living with the sand between your toes but value your creature
comforts, Tranquility fits the bill. It offers TV, DVD player, Wi-Fi, and (important for a
beach bungalow) a safe.
Serendipity Beach. & 016/463-492. www.tranquility-sihanoukville.com. 14 units. $12–$25 double fan;
$35 double A/C; $45 deluxe. MC, V. Amenities: Restaurant; Internet. In room: A/C, TV, fridge.
KOH RONG BEACH
Lazy Beach On the isolated island of Koh Rong lies Lazy Beach, with a series of
basic wooden bungalows set on a beautiful private stretch of sand. To reach it, boats for
the island leave every day at noon from Ochheuteal Beach, and the trip there takes about
2 hours and costs $10. The grounds include a bar and restaurant, with fresh seafood
caught daily from local fishermen. Snorkeling and fishing gear are available to guests.
Frommer’s staff rave about this pristine tropical paradise, perfect for a true getaway, and
friendly British proprietors. You can book a night at their office at Serendipity Beach (on
the dirt track leading to Serendipity).