Sihanoukville, Reef Resort

Reef Resort has great staff who are friendly

clean and modern rooms

fantastic well stocked bar

clean pool

great tropical atmosphere

yummy breakfasts

Fantastic oasis away from the madness of serendipity road.

This was our second visit to Sihanoukville. On our first visit three years ago we stayed at the Seaside Hotel which was adequate but uninspiring and quite expensive. Determined to find somewhere better I spent a few days looking at web sites for inspiration. On our last visit we spent most evenings in the Downtown area, a good mile from the sea but cheap to get used to tuk tuks or moto drivers, so my first enquiries were centred around there. My emails to my first choice hotel were bounced back because it had been taken over and changed all the contact details. Other accommodations didn't grab my attention, so I widened my search to the area between town and the sea and up popped Reef Resort situated near the Golden Lions Roundabout.

I liked the look of the website and made a tentative enquiry for more info by email. I received an immediate reply from the manager, Matt, a guy with a lovely sense of humour and a liking for PG Tips, who answered all my questions. I had asked for an upper floor room but he said the pool side rooms were nicer and at only $35 per room, including complimentary breakfast. Well, what more could I want? I booked for a week, stayed two days extra and wished it could have been longer.

The beds were very comfortable, the shower room had hot water 24 hours a day delivered by a power shower, the rooms were bug free, had a TV, fridge and best of all a free digital security safe. Having said that, the team of cleaning, pool, bar and kitchen staff were a delight and obviously happy with their working environment, I would have trusted them anyway!

Reef Resort has only ten rooms in total. The pool was cleaned daily, the water in it was tested at least three times whilst we were there and most times we had it to ourselves. The sitting area round the pool is comfortable, tidy and clean. There are plenty of seats scattered around for both sun and shade lovers, a good pool table and a well stocked bar.

There are plenty of terrific eating places in the location and this is definitely the best mid-priced place to stay.

At the time of writing (April 2007) they were unable to take payment by cards of any type but the ATMs in the town work OK so no real problem there.

The taxi from Phnom Penh takes nearly 4 hours but only costs around $40-$50. A mini bus was $60 but well worth it for the extra room if there are more than two of you. An air conditioned service bus was much cheaper but for me a non-starter. The local airport is able to take small aircraft but at the moment there are only three flights a week to and from Siem Reap.

I wish there was a Reef Resort in every country I want to visit and a manager like Matt!