Wow,Cheers Hotel Sihanoukville great looking hotel

[lonelywombat]

Cheers hotel has not really appealed to me in the past but I had a link to their website with the subject WOW'

Have to agree...Cut and paste from their website

Our bar is 15 metres long with 17 hand made custom stools, by far the biggest in Sihanoukville. We have seating for over 60 at the moment & standing room for over 200, surrounded by palm trees & gardens the bar is located behind the Hotel so it is very private, the bar is tastefully lit by led lights & we have a music collection of over 70,000 songs & music video's to suite every taste, the bar is made from marble & blue glass shelves, we have a wide choice of drinks, the best food in town & freshly made coffee from our automatic Italian coffee machine which makes each cup freshly from coffee beans, hope to see you all soon.

my friend is considering the helicopter ride from Phnom Penh airport Wow

http://www.cheers-cambodia.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Beachlover]

What is there to "WOW" about?

I get that they're making progress, the overall quality of accommodation options in Sihanoukville is poor and their pool is, well... better than nothing. But there's really nothing to "WOW" about with the info you've provided. It looks like a fairly low-budget guesthouse with poor design and an attempt at some nice facilities like the pool etc.

I notice their restaurant food and drink prices are around 50% more expensive than what you find in most mid-market hotels and restaurants in Siem Reap. Cocktails and wines which are $2.50 in Siem Reap become $3.50 at this place. Not that this is significant, as we're only talking about a few dollars but still... it's the principle of it.

Out of curiosity, what are they charging for the helicopter transit? If it's $5k, forget it. But if it's $1,000 or less and you get avoid hours of shitty roads and shitty driver it might be worth publishing.

[lonelywombat]

After post after post of how much you can spend when in 5 star hotels, your comment of high prices for food seemed so [ beachloverish] The rooms much bigger than expected were about $30US 1000baht

Here is a link to the menu page. It is in US$ and I dont think it unreasonable or overpriced, in fact it is another plus for the place.
http://www.cheers-cambodia.com/includes/fab.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

The question mark is local boys but the there is a gay bar at the rear of the hotel owned by Cheers and whilst not "Venue or Copa" to quote my friend ,the shows were entertaining more dance than lip sync. There are freelancers, good eye candy on the staff and it is more laid back that Pattaya. My friend met several boys through gayromeo.

The taxi trip was the only option at the time but next trip he will investigate the plane and train and check the buses again. Anyone with travel info please add detail.

[paulo15]

Hi,
Just on that transport question the only options from Phnom Penh are bus or taxi. The best bus used to be Mekong Express but they stopped last year, so now you have three companies, Paramount, Capitol and Soriya. Paramount are pretty awful, Capitol a bit better and Soriya the best bus option, trip is 4-5 hours but breakdowns are not uncommon. A private taxi takes 3-4 hours, costs $45-50 and is probably the better option.
If you happened to be in Siem Reap doing a bit of temple visiting and wanted to head to the coast then there is a new flight to SOK with Cambodian Angkor Air, runs Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 14.10, flight time just over an hour and cost is approx $117 one way. Only fly in the ointment is you can't book online.
No passenger trains in Cambodia right now.
cheers

[paulg]

Paulo15 thanks for that post ,I really appreciate it.

If I was going Bangkok to Bangkok via SR or PP and Sihanoukville, how would you organize travel. In what order. Cost is not a factor.

Comfort is a consideration.

your reply was very welcome

[paulo15]

Hi,

I think I would do Bangkok to Siem Reap, overland if you want to save cash or Bangkok Airways direct, then fly Siem Reap to SOK, then hire a taxi back to Phnom Penh (or bus) and then fly back to Bangkok from there, Air Asia cheapest, but also also Thai or Bangkok Airways on that route. You can sometimes score a very cheap ticket on the Air France flight back to Bangkok too but you'd have to buy that locally.

I think that's the most 'time effective' way to do those places but there are other options, just you don't do any doubling back with the above

Cheers

[Khor tose]

I thought I remembered a ferry that went from Thailand to Sihanoukville. Anyone know about this?

[Beachlover]

Guys, about the flights...

I went in 2010 so this info may be out of date.

- The only airline allowed to fly between BKK and Siam Reap was Bangkok Airways. They were quite expensive.

- Between Phnom Penh and Bangkok you can fly AirAsia (around 2,000 baht) or Bangkok Airways where I paid USD$100

- Between Bangkok and Phnom Penh you can fly AirAsia and Bangkok Airways. AirAsia was around 2,000 baht and for Bangkok Airways, I paid 4000-4,500 baht/USD$100 (no choice as I missed my AirAsia flight).

- Between Siem Reap and Phnom Penh you can fly Cambodian Angkor Air, a relatively new airline joint venture between the Cambodian government and Vietnam Airlines. I think I paid USD$100 for this which was fairly expensive for a 30-min flight. Are these guys still operating? I recall the booking had to be made on the Vietnam Airlines website online booking system. There are other options for traveling between these two cities. Most people don't fly. But it is very convenient because with flying you can be going from hotel door to door within two hours including waiting and transit time!


Here is a link to the menu page. It is in US$ and I dont think it unreasonable or overpriced, in fact it is another plus for the place.
Hmmm... first thing I notice is the food menu only has Western food. Not a single Cambodian dish, which is poor taste and quite disappointing. Not even the basics like Amok and Beef Lok Lak are there.

Every restaurant I came across in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, even the ones serving Western food, had Cambodian dishes.

I can say for sure the drink prices aren't competitive... I spent two weeks in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap and recall drink prices in all kinds of places from boutique cocktail bars to mid-market hotels, mid-market restaurants, high-end bar lounges and cheap backpacker joints.

- House wine in most joints is around $2.50 ($3.50 at Cheers).
- Beer is under $1 ($1.75 at Cheers).
- Cocktails are $2.50 to $4 at most ($4.50 to $5 at Cheers).

Why is Cheers 50% more expensive than most other tourist-oriented bars? Is there something special about the bar? Is it because of the moneyboys and show they offer? Linga Bar and Blue Chilli had one or both and their drink prices weren't higher. :dontknow:

Don't get me wrong... I'd love to see more hotels and resorts in this little town and would love to see this place do well. But just don't see what there is to "wow" about this place. There are nicer and better-equipped hotels and resorts in Sihanoukville at this and higher price range.


Just on that transport question the only options from Phnom Penh are bus or taxi. The best bus used to be Mekong Express but they stopped last year, so now you have three companies, Paramount, Capitol and Soriya. Paramount are pretty awful, Capitol a bit better and Soriya the best bus option, trip is 4-5 hours but breakdowns are not uncommon. A private taxi takes 3-4 hours, costs $45-50 and is probably the better option.
I was planning to grab a taxi from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville. A Cambodian in another country was worried when I told her this and advised I should get a reputable bus. She said taxis can be dangerous there. Anyone know what she's talking about? Do taxis often rob people? Do they drive more dangerously? Anyone advise against getting your own taxi?

[paulo15]

Hi Beachlover,

Sorry can't work out how to quote you, but just my opinion on your last question.

Cambodian roads are dangerous, some taxis drive at ridiculous speeds and couple that with the odd wandering animal, errant moto riders, etc it can be a dangerous mix. The thinking is that the bigger the vehicle you're in, the safer you are because big wins, small loses. Of course the endless loud kayoke music on the bus might drive you to suicide first, but that's by the by. Tbh, I think taxis are fine as long as; a) you don't drive at night and b) the guy doesn't look or smell drunk. I heard from someone whose minivan driver drifted off to sleep at the wheel, veered across the carriageway and into a tree at 60mph a few weeks ago on the way back from SHV. They survived btw, but...

On the flights, Bangkok Airways also fly the BKK-PNH route, they still have that expensive monopoly on the BKK-REP route. Air France do a flight from Phnom Penh to Paris via Bangkok, you can sometimes score seats on the PNH-BKK leg as it's usually empty and this can be even cheaper than Air Asia. CAA are still going and fly REP-PNH and vv and have just added REP-SOK and vv. You can't book these on the Vietnam airlines web site any more and CAA aren't taking online bookings on theirs yet, but they promise that from 14th Feb you will be able to book these flights online with them.

Cheers

[paulo15]

I thought I remembered a ferry that went from Thailand to Sihanoukville. Anyone know about this?

Meant to say in the last post. The ferry use to be called the 'bullet boat' and went from SHV to Koh Kong where you crossed the border into Thailand by land. But once they completed route 48 to Koh Kong the boat didn't make any sense so it stopped running. Back in 2007 I think.

Cheers

[lonelywombat]

Thanks to the member that gave me a link to the man in seat 61, which I thought was only trains. Scroll down for details of the bus Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville.

http://www.seat61.com/Cambodia.htm#Phno ... lle_by_bus (http://www.seat61.com/Cambodia.htm#Phnom_Penh_to_Sihanoukville_by_bus)

There is a ton of valauble info ffor all travellers to cambodia.

further down the page was this piece of interesting news

Train service to be revived by 2013?

But Cambodian & foreign backers plan to bring back Cambodia's railways from the dead. A company called Toll Royal Railway (www.tollroyalrailway.com (http://www.tollroyalrailway.com)) has been given a 30 year concession to repair and operate the railway, and by 2013 it's planned to reopen both the Southern Line from Phnom Penh to Kampot & Sihanoukville (254 km) and the Northern Line from Phnom Penh to Battambang, Sisophon & Poiphet on the Thai border (388 km). Indeed, I have witnessed the new ballast and sleepers being laid between Sisophon and Poipet myself, in late 2011. It could mean passenger trains linking Bangkok & Phnom Penh once more, after decades! One freight service is already back up & running, and the rehabilitation of Phnom Penh's historic main station is already under way.

[Cheers]

Hi i'm Les the Owner of Cheers Cambodia, just like to reply to these posts.

First of all thank you lonelywombat

Beachlover i presume you own a business in Cambodia?
It looks like a fairly low-budget guesthouse with poor design and an attempt at some nice facilities like the pool etc. Have you been here? We have guests here that have booked into the local "so called" 5* hotels and they all say our rooms are better. Our pool is the only pool in Sihanoukville with a 6x4 metre waterfall, 6 metre Jacuzzi & 24 carat gold logo.
I notice their restaurant food and drink prices are around 50% more expensive than what you find in most mid-market hotels and restaurants in Siem Reap. Cocktails and wines which are $2.50 in Siem Reap become $3.50 at this place Our food is the best in Sihanoukville, ask our guests that have tried it. Our drinks are all original brand drinks & not copies as in many places in Cambodia & Thailand. I want guests that appreciate quality not quantity.

Hmmm... first thing I notice is the food menu only has Western food. Not a single Cambodian dish, which is poor taste and quite disappointing. Not even the basics like Amok and Beef Lok Lak are there. Yes correct we don't have Khmer food, i have been a Chef for over 30 years & Khmer food is the most unhealthy food i have ever seen, prepared in dirty kitchens by untrained staff, here we have the cleanest kitchen in Cambodia "you are welcome to look" many tourists get sick, this is because of the local food "not all, just 85%" here at Cheers that doesn't happen. Here we have clean glasses to drink from, iced glasses for beers & cocktails of European standard.

To get to know us better come & try us, also see our website
http://www.cheers-cambodia.com

[Neal]

Hello Les and I would like to thank you on behalf of all of our members and myself for coming on board and correcting what was said about your fine place. I would like to ask as many people as possible to write actual experiences and not what they see in pictures and online and "think" of what a place may be like. Gives a person a bad name and I am sure we would like to hear more from people who have had actual experiences.

[lonelywombat]

Thanks for the link to the new flight M,W,F from Siam reap to Sihanoukville and the cheap rate. 70 minutes makes it far more interesting.

http://www.cambodiaangkorair.com/en/home.aspx

[Khor tose]

Thanks for the link to the new flight M,W,F from Siam reap to Sihanoukville and the cheap rate. 70 minutes makes it far more interesting.

http://www.cambodiaangkorair.com/en/home.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Except the whole site is under construction. Not sure the planes are flying yet.

[paulo15]

Except the whole site is under construction. Not sure the planes are flying yet.

They really are flying, started on the 14th December and although you cannot book online at the moment, they are saying that by 14th Feb you will be able to

Cheers

[pong]

I thought I remembered a ferry that went from Thailand to Sihanoukville. Anyone know about this?
installed looooooong ago-as any uptodate travellerfora also notes. There is now a bus via a good road-but of course as always change at border. The ferry also did not come from TH-but from very close to TH/KH border.
best info for all TH-KH borders and transpo both sides; talesofasia.com
IF doing a circle-easy to bus it from SIH-via that border-Trat into BKK or PTY. Khmer airlines have a nasty habit of folding down in a few monthes after start-there simply is not enough demand for domestic travel.

[Brad the Impala]

Yes correct we don't have Khmer food, i have been a Chef for over 30 years & Khmer food is the most unhealthy food i have ever seen, prepared in dirty kitchens by untrained staff, here we have the cleanest kitchen in Cambodia "you are welcome to look" many tourists get sick, this is because of the local food
http://www.cheers-cambodia.com

I expect that if you used your skills and sense of hygiene you might even be able to make Khmer food palatable. Heaven knows how the Cambodians have managed not to poison themselves into oblivion with their unhealthy food over the centuries.

[RonanTheBarbarian]

Yeah, cleanliness doen't cost very much, not sure why the owner is suggesting that cleanliness alone should account for his price premium.

I know preparing western food is probably more expensive - if he had said something like "western food is our speciality and it is more expensive to prepare" I would have had more sympathy with him.

But claiming that if people eat the Khmer food outside the walls of his resort it will make you sick strikes me as a slightly melodramatic way to encourage people to eat in his establishment.

[joe552]

Strange that Beachie hasn't posted a reply to the owner's comments yet. Perhaps he's been spending too much time in Pattaya!

[jinks]

Beachie hasn't posted a reply yet.

Be assured he is around, maybe he is having a rest.

[Beachlover]

Sorry, Joe... I missed replying earlier.


Cambodian roads are dangerous, some taxis drive at ridiculous speeds and couple that with the odd wandering animal, errant moto riders, etc it can be a dangerous mix. The thinking is that the bigger the vehicle you're in, the safer you are because big wins, small loses. Of course the endless loud kayoke music on the bus might drive you to suicide first, but that's by the by. Tbh, I think taxis are fine as long as; a) you don't drive at night and b) the guy doesn't look or smell drunk.
Cool... Thanks. I'm thinking the best bet would be to get the hotel to organise a taxi... That way you have some certainty of service standards and not some unpredictable random.


Yeah, cleanliness doesn't cost very much, not sure why the owner is suggesting that cleanliness alone should account for his price premium.
Yes... hundreds of other tourist standard restaurants in Cambodia don't have an issue with cleanliness.


I know preparing western food is probably more expensive - if he had said something like "western food is our speciality and it is more expensive to prepare" I would have had more sympathy with him.

But claiming that if people eat the Khmer food outside the walls of his resort it will make you sick strikes me as a slightly melodramatic way to encourage people to eat in his establishment.
I agree... it was completely unnecessary to put down the local cuisine and badmouth every other restaurant and hotel serving this to tourists. Something like "our customers prefer Western food" (or one of the other standard customer service objection-handling lines) would've been fine.


Beachlover i presume you own a business in Cambodia?
No... I don't think anyone else commenting on this thread does either.


Our pool is the only pool in Sihanoukville with a 6x4 metre waterfall, 6 metre Jacuzzi & 24 carat gold logo.
I'm sure it is... no one else is going to have the exact specs as your pool.

I didn't say your pool was terrible. I just said it didn't seem like there was anything to "wow" about to the OP. Proportionate response.


Our food is the best in Sihanoukville, ask our guests that have tried it. Our drinks are all original brand drinks & not copies as in many places in Cambodia & Thailand.
I didn't dispute that your food is good. No reason to suspect wouldn't be. I just commented that it seems more expensive than other good places I've eaten and stayed at in PP and SR.

So you're claiming "many places in Cambodia & Thailand" serve "copies" and not original brand drinks. Are you telling us this practice is wide spread in Cambodia AND Thailand and that all tourists should be wary of this in BOTH countries?

That's a bold claim to make. I've never knowingly been served "copies" in Cambodia or Thailand and don't think there's any reason to worry about this in reputable joints. The cocktails I had in Cambodia were fantastic.


Yes correct we don't have Khmer food, i have been a Chef for over 30 years & Khmer food is the most unhealthy food i have ever seen, prepared in dirty kitchens by untrained staff, here we have the cleanest kitchen in Cambodia "you are welcome to look" many tourists get sick, this is because of the local food "not all, just 85%" here at Cheers that doesn't happen. Here we have clean glasses to drink from, iced glasses for beers & cocktails of European standard.
I commented that it's disappointing to see a hotel not serving Cambodian food and you come back putting down the cuisine of the country you've chosen to open a business in?

Are you telling all tourists they should NOT eat any of the local cuisine anywhere? You're also implying that anywhere Cambodian food is prepared, the kitchens are dirty and the staff are untrained. That's a terrible statement to make.

I ate Cambodian food 80% of the time I was in Cambodia, found it delicious and had no adverse health issues. Of the several close friends and family I know who traveled to Cambodia, none of them had any stomach problems either. In fact, I tell everyone the local cuisine is fantastic and definitely one of the reasons to travel to Cambodia.

You may be proud of your business and the standards you claim to uphold but coming out and...

1. Putting down the local cuisine and warning tourists from the food that every other hotel I've seen in Cambodia serves,

2. Claiming that drinking establishments in Thailand/Cambodia aren't trustworthy, and

3. Asserting every restaurant kitchen in Cambodia is dirty and staffed by untrained team members

... in what could be an attempt to draw customers to your establishment by scaring tourists from everywhere else is sleazy and bad form as a business owner.

You might want to re-read your comments.

As I said, I hope you and other hotels in Sihanoukville succeed and wish you all the best but making inaccurate comments about Cambodia's (and Thailand's!) bar standards, cuisine and restaurant kitchen standards isn't a good move.

[jinks]

There you go, he had a rest and then told you everything here there and everywhere.

With only 14 posts/replies for today. A bit of a slow one.

Good Old Beachy.

[joe552]

Maybe he's on holidays somewhere in SE Asia, so has lots of time to post?

[Beachlover]

Was in bed with a stomach bug!

All these spectators commenting on my posting patterns... it amuses me. :happy7:

[paulo15]

Eat more fruit...
:sign5:

[joe552]

My brother has lived in Snooky for a couple of years, but my one visit wouldn't encourage me to return. But I could live in PP.

[Beachlover]

I have requested you not attack places where you have not been and say that you "hearrd". It also is unfair for you to demand answers from the same poster who last logged on on Jan25th and you posted your accusatory commentys on Feb 25th I believe it was. Your accusation of him not replying to your questions when you have not even been there are outrageous in that he has not even logged on to defend himself Now, please only post to places you have beenj

My brother has lived in Snooky for a couple of years, but my one visit wouldn't encourage me to return. But I could live in PP.
Phnom Penh was fun to visit stay for a week and I could live there short-term if there was a reason to do so but I wouldn't choose to live there for months or years... to small and undeveloped and lacking in good amenities.