(photos below text)
My wife and I have been living in Phnom Penh since January. We had a long weekend and wanted to escape from the city and get some fresh air and enjoy some peace and quiet. We also wanted to go somewhere within reasonable driving distance so we could take ourselves there on our pair of Honda Cubs.
So we choose Kirirom. We looked online and found 3 places to stay: vKirirom Pine Resort, Kirirom Mountain Lodge, and Kirirom Hillside Resort. The three seem similar based on their websites. We choose Kirirom Hillside Resort since it had a tennis court.
We booked on Agoda. It was maybe $3 dollars cheaper than booking directly. It was only after we booked that we realized that Kirirom Hillside Resort is actually just outside of Kirirom National Park, at the base of the hill.
We arrived on our Cubs Saturday afternoon, and our first impression was wow, this place is huge! We rode up to the reception building, and soon realized that they had no idea we were coming. The staff asked us to open the booking confirmation email on our phone to verify. He didn't ask for ID. He did ask how many nights we had booked (which was 2), and then he proceeded to walk us to a room in a large motel style building. We then told him we had booked a bungalow ($55 USD per night, btw), and again he had no idea what option we had booked. So he went back to the reception building to get a bungalow key.
We ended up staying in a cute bungalow raised on stilts just a few steps from the pool and restaurant on one side, and overlooking a pond on the other. I was a little worried it might be noisy being so close where guests swim and eat... until we quickly realized: we were the only guests!
That's right, on a Saturday night, we were the only ones there. The massive parking lot only held our two tiny Cubs. We were the only ones in the restaurant for dinner. We had been given coupons for our free "breakfast buffet." We were curious if they would set out a whole buffet for 2 guests. It turns out we could just order something from the breakfast menu in exchange for our coupons.
On Sunday we went on a self guided tour of the whole grounds. It is huge! It was erie because it had an abandoned feel to it, and except for the odd grounds staff, we were completely alone. They've got all these activities like a zipline,"petting zoo" (which was made up of chickens, geese, turkeys, and one ostrich), outdoor amphitheatre, dinosaur park, kayaking, a waterfall (manmade, it wasn't turned on), and loads of grass huts and weird statues/lawn ornaments mixed in. The whole walk took about 45 minutes, and not once were we approached by any staff, and none of the 'activities' were even manned.
Our whole stay we kept wondering why the place was so quiet and seemed to be on its last legs. We spent a lot of time tossing up many theories...
We ate at the restaurant 4 times (2 breakfasts, 2 dinners). The food was average, and we kept wondering how they could keep fresh stock for an extensive menu with so few customers... we tried not to think about it. One bonus was they were able to alter some dishes to make them gluten free for my celiac wife (using Khmer).
Although it was erie, we wanted to escape from Phnom Penh and enjoy peace and quiet, and it turns out we got more than we bargained for!
Ratings (out of 5):
Location = 4
Value = 3
Restaurant = 2.5
Pool = 4
Cleanliness = 3.5
As advertised = 2.5
Photos:
When they didn't offer us drinking water with dinner, we ordered a 1.5 litre bottle from the fridge. We ordered a second to go, but then the sticker shock came! ($5 of our $14 dinner was water...)
This photo is zoomed in. We dared not approach.
The 'day use' entrance. Looks like they were expecting lots of foot traffic.
The tennis court hadn't been swept in a long while, but we still enjoyed some rallies.
They invested in these custom made bedside tables, complete with labelled electrical switches and a phone with no wires running from it. Unfortunately, they got the measurements wrong, because the top is 4 inches higher than the mattress... my elbow is still sore!
The website advertises 'horse back riding.' This scraggley horse roaming free and unattended was the only horse back riding opportunity we saw.
Review: Kirirom Hillside Resort
- Hanno
- I am a Special Snowflake !!?!
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Thanks for the review. Sounds and looks like so many of the locally resorts all over SE Asia. I have stayed in quite a few of those and when it comes to food, service, "attractions" you could use the same photos and just change the names.
"I realized that If I had to choose, I would rather have birds than airplanes."
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Lindbergh
Interesting review, thanks. Too bad nobody's competent enough to do proper marketing for those ghost places, this one still looks like it's got good potential.
- Lucky Lucan
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Cheers for the report. It seems a bit strange having a resort so far from the park though, as I thought the river/ pine-forest/ lake/ ruined villas and hills were the main point of going to Kirirom?
I have to say I was pretty unimpressed when I was at Kirirom 10 years ago. There were no resorts there then, just a scruffy picnic area near the river/ rock pools. There was garbage everywhere, and walking into the forest I just kept coming across more and more trash heaps and remains of camp fires. It would be nice if it wasn't so messy.
I have to say I was pretty unimpressed when I was at Kirirom 10 years ago. There were no resorts there then, just a scruffy picnic area near the river/ rock pools. There was garbage everywhere, and walking into the forest I just kept coming across more and more trash heaps and remains of camp fires. It would be nice if it wasn't so messy.
Romantic Cambodia is dead and gone. It's with McKinley in the grave.
That place is truly awful. Stayed there a couple of times on dirt biking weekends. I just remember the clueless staff and the chalets that stunk of cigarette smoke. At one stage I was almost going to be living there whilst working on a project and the thought of that made me want to top myself.
Last time I stayed in kirirom I stayed at the newer place kirirom pines way up on top of the mountain and it was great.it was only just opening at the time and we got a very cheap rate. I'll never forget stopping for a rest way out on the single tracks and a squad of American special forces and some khmer SF just materialised out of nowhere with heavy camo on. And then like ghosts they were gone.
Fairly sure I trained some of them....
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Last time I stayed in kirirom I stayed at the newer place kirirom pines way up on top of the mountain and it was great.it was only just opening at the time and we got a very cheap rate. I'll never forget stopping for a rest way out on the single tracks and a squad of American special forces and some khmer SF just materialised out of nowhere with heavy camo on. And then like ghosts they were gone.
Fairly sure I trained some of them....
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Rated R for Ricecakes
- Felgerkarb
- Sir Felgerkarb, Kt Pb
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Stayed at this resort several times when training operations were ongoing, so I can attest to SF guys skulking around the area. Don't remember Ricecakes. :p
I always liked it there, clueless staff go with the country...I have given up on locals ever achieving the service levels expected when one pays top dollar...same shit service at a hole in the wall to a top level and priced cocktail bar.
I always liked it there, clueless staff go with the country...I have given up on locals ever achieving the service levels expected when one pays top dollar...same shit service at a hole in the wall to a top level and priced cocktail bar.
====================
Why are the gods such vicious cunts?
Where is the god of tits and wine?
Why are the gods such vicious cunts?
Where is the god of tits and wine?
- violet
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Is that Lexusschmexus type training?ricecakes wrote:That place is truly awful. Stayed there a couple of times on dirt biking weekends. I just remember the clueless staff and the chalets that stunk of cigarette smoke. At one stage I was almost going to be living there whilst working on a project and the thought of that made me want to top myself.
Last time I stayed in kirirom I stayed at the newer place kirirom pines way up on top of the mountain and it was great.it was only just opening at the time and we got a very cheap rate. I'll never forget stopping for a rest way out on the single tracks and a squad of American special forces and some khmer SF just materialised out of nowhere with heavy camo on. And then like ghosts they were gone.
Fairly sure I trained some of them....
Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.
- Plutarch
- Plutarch
I trained you not to remember.Felgerkarb wrote: Don't remember Ricecakes. :p
.
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Rated R for Ricecakes
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