Phnom Penh

[QUOTE=NewImage;2306513]Hi be, would appreciate your thoughts.

Would like to stay at Lux but need a pool. Was looking at Sun & Moon but bit costly. Okay or Harmony? Thoughts please. Like quiet at night, walk to bars, good buffet bfast and POOL.

Appreciate any comments.[/QUOTE]I don't know about the Okay hotel, but a friend has stayed at the Harmony. Relatively quiet and only a long block or 2 to Street 136. Same price range as the Lux. I have been in the room my friend had and it was nice. Not sure if the Harmony is guest friendly if that is a requirement. My friend had his "anchor" (wife) with him, so he can't say. I almost always email a hotel directly and inquire about any policies they have regarding guests. I ask a direct question and get direct answers.

SS.

[QUOTE=SamSanuk;2306912]I don't know about the Okay hotel, but a friend has stayed at the Harmony. Relatively quiet and only a long block or 2 to Street 136. Same price range as the Lux. I have been in the room my friend had and it was nice. Not sure if the Harmony is guest friendly if that is a requirement. My friend had his "anchor" (wife) with him, so he can't say. I almost always email a hotel directly and inquire about any policies they have regarding guests. I ask a direct question and get direct answers.

SS.[/QUOTE]Harmony is shit. I stayed there one night and will never go there again.

Everything sucks in that place.

The guy at the front desk is an asshole, rooms are small, pool is small and full of people inside, breakfast sucks, the lift is always busy so you end up taking the stairs every time.

It's also way overpriced, but it's probably guest friendly as I saw some old barangs with some bar girls inside.

Okay is better but it's far from the river side, the pool is small also and breakfast was not the best but at least you've got a big room and the staff is professional.

I stayed the Hotel Ok in the winter of 2016 and liked it quite a bit. The lobby is a bit ostentatious, and kind of Chinese looking, but cool and different in its own way. I did not think the pool was all that small and really enjoyed the rooftop view from there. I think it's on the 12th floor. Agree that the breakfast was mediocre amd it's a good distance from the river but there were always tuk tuk guys outside the hotel. The rooms had nice nice wood paneling and no problem bring girls in and they take their ID as extra precaution. I initially had stayed my first night in PP in a two story level type hotel next door with a nice garden level pool until I noticed a sign over the front desk saying all guests had to be registered beforehand. I moved out the next morning to the OK.

[QUOTE=Paolo99;2307092]Harmony is shit. I stayed there one night and will never go there again.

Everything sucks in that place.

The guy at the front desk is an asshole, rooms are small, pool is small and full of people inside, breakfast sucks, the lift is always busy so you end up taking the stairs every time.

It's also way overpriced, but it's probably guest friendly as I saw some old barangs with some bar girls inside.

Okay is better but it's far from the river side, the pool is small also and breakfast was not the best but at least you've got a big room and the staff is professional.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=NewImage;2306513]Hi be, would appreciate your thoughts.

Would like to stay at Lux but need a pool. Was looking at Sun & Moon but bit costly. Okay or Harmony? Thoughts please. Like quiet at night, walk to bars, good buffet bfast and POOL.

Appreciate any comments.[/QUOTE]I did a good bit of research trying to find a girl-friendly hotel near the action with a pool long enough to do proper laps (minimum 20 meters). In the end I gave up. The Raffles (reasonably central) may have a long enough pool (not clear), but is super expensive and not quite in the action. Across the river there is a one or more huge hotel complexes with big pools, but that is far away. In the end I gave up.

I recommend the Himawari. The rooms are super large. The pool is great! And I mean great! The location is on the river in between Darling Darling and the Hostess bars which is not bad. The rates this time of year run between $92 - $100 for a deluxe suite w / bfst and the hotel is girl friendly (most important as many Phnom Penh boutique hotels with pools are not gf).

If money is no object, you can spend a lot more for more luxury at the Sofitel (great pool & gf), but the Sofitel location is not as good as the Himawari IMHO.

P. S. On those visits when I chose to stay at another hotel which did not have a swimming pool, I frequently paid $8.00/day for guest pool privileges at the Himawari. A pool in Phnom Penh is almost a necessity. 555

Hello,

Been forever, but is Sharky's and Martini Club still flying? What about Heart of Darkness. Back in 2010 it was like 40,000 for a top caliber girl. What's the jam now?

Cheers.

[QUOTE=HummerBird;2307710]Hello,

Been forever, but is Sharky's and Martini Club still flying? What about Heart of Darkness. Back in 2010 it was like 40,000 for a top caliber girl. What's the jam now?

Cheers.[/QUOTE]Sharkey is alive at same location on Street 130--different biz model now under newer barang ownership; Viet freelancers are gone. Customers are no longer mobbed when sitting down. Martini is gone--history; Heart is reportedly a primarily a gay venue now. Top caliber girls? Depends on when and where and whether short time or long time. Since 2010, pricing structure has changed. Influx of Asian punters has pushed up the price of poker. For instance, in Nagaworld, top caliber can cost $100 for short time or up to $200 for LT. Some of the same gals can be had later at Pontoon for maybe 1/2 that. In the hostess bars, you can get most gals for $30-$40ST; $50-$70 LT.

SS.

Sorry to burst your bubble but you are in for a rude surprise. Sharkey is a pale imitation of what it was. Martini, can't even recall if it is still going on 174 (but was shit a couple of years ago) and HoD is full of gays. As for 40,000 for a stunner? Knock off 3 zeros, make it US dollars and you may get a ST with a 7 or 8 unless you are a very hansome man. Good luck and report back.

SE.

[QUOTE=Cucumber;2307632]I did a good bit of research trying to find a girl-friendly hotel near the action with a pool long enough to do proper laps (minimum 20 meters). In the end I gave up. The Raffles (reasonably central) may have a long enough pool (not clear), but is super expensive and not quite in the action. Across the river there is a one or more huge hotel complexes with big pools, but that is far away. In the end I gave up.[/QUOTE]I'm honestly not sure if it's 20 meters long, I thought it was large enough. But it's absolutely gorgeous, and I've been told by other punters it's the best pool in town. Take it for what it's worth. And the hotel is in the midst of everything, couple of blocks from the river.

[QUOTE=SamSanuk;2307728]S For instance, in Nagaworld, top caliber can cost $100 for short time or up to $200 for LT.

SS.[/QUOTE]I travel around a lot. Angeles city, Sosua, Pattaya. I never give a ten. Rare I see a nine (maybe in gogo bar Pattaya which I cannot afford). Some eights. More 5-7. I went to Naga world around nine and hung out to 10:15. Did not see any girl above a seven. Most were sevens and less. But if your rich hanging out in the casino. What $100 or more. Just a little effort will find better for cheaper. But its not my money.

Sun and Moon hotel. Agree definitely one of the top hotels in the RLD.

[QUOTE=MikeM488;2308130] I never give a ten. Rare I see a nine (maybe in gogo bar Pattaya which I cannot afford). Some eights. [/QUOTE]I'm more restrictive to just the main RLD and Cyrcee but I have only seen one single girl who I would rate over a 7 in all my trips to PP. I haven't been recently but from photos I see of other's conquests I don't believe the PP girls became miraculously prettier. I hope I am wrong as I may be heading to PP as early as a couple more days as I am already sick of bloody Songkran in Pattaya.

Thanks Mike for pointing out the real issue with guys rating girls in Pattaya Lots of arguments on the Pattaya forum about no girls over a 7 but when you dig deeper the main reason is those guys who claim this do not barfine girls from the top gogo bars. I agree it's rare to find any girl above a 7 on Soi 6, Beach Road, beer bars, G clubs, etc.

I'm staying at the point next week and know it does not have a pool but for price and the room I got I booked it and no second thoughts. Has anyone found hotel you can go to during the day your not staying at and can drink and eat and its OK if you spend certain amount use the [URL]pool.com[/URL]. I know in ac and subic they have some like wild orchard lets you. Thanks for any info.

In Feb I spent a few nights in PP. Went to the new Cyree which looks exactly like the old one inside. When I entered about 9 PM I was the only customer. I remembered how several of them immediately circled me a couple years ago so this time I quickly waved them back to their seats so I could enjoy a beer and make my selection. Yeah almost all were all 7's and below but at the far right was one that looked much hotter for my taste which is young and thin. It wasn't easy but finally I caught her eye and waved her over. She looked shocked and came over with a huge smile from ear to ear. Her english was only very basic. But she was able explain she had never worked before this night. After a few minutes I asked her about barfine and "for lady" and she didn't know. I waved over mama behind the bar and she said the barfine was $10 (I think) and she told me this girl had never worked before. She said $40 would be fair so that's what we agreed on. The girl could not stop smiling she was so happy or proud to have been selected out of all the girls working. It felt so good to see how happy this girl was to go with me. After a while she waved over her cousin that told her she should come work here. The cousin spoke good english so helped with our conversation. As you might have guessed we had an awesome session to remember. It was like she wanted sex more than me. While sometimes this game gets old experiences like this great night keep me in the hobby.

Spent a few days in PP, I haven't visited for over 10 yrs.

Generally, the girls in the bars on St 104 down to St 130 were 6's or 7's, with the occasional 7. 5. All the 7. 5's and many of the 7's did not go out with customers. I'm told that most of the 7. 5's - 9's are in Sihanoukville or Naga casino where they are asking $100 for ST. In terms of prices and quality of girls, I would say the air-conditioned bars here are comparable to the beer bars in Bangkok / Pattaya.

Air Force bar St 104 Took a skinny and cute one for $40ST, barfine was $10. Maybe 3-4 pretty ones in this bar, but forgot to ask if the others will go with customers.

Heart Break (bar first cross street (parallel to Sisowath Quay) between St 110 and St 118. Has 3 cuties but none will go out with customers. Ask first, they will tell you which ones will go with customers.

LE Cyrcee bar St 130 all the girls here will go with customers, the downside is that most are 6's with maybe only two 7's. Took a pretty one for $70 LT, barfine was $10. Very skilled, great BJ. She left after 4 hrs and 2 rounds.

Black Pearl bar St 172 found a cute Vietnamese girl here, a solid 7+ with great boobs and speaks decent English. Agreed on LT for $80, barfine was $10.

OneZeroFour bar St 104 seems to be many Korean or Japanese customers here. 3-4 pretty ones but unfortunately a chubby one latched on to me and I had to make a run for it. : the Not sure if the pretty ones go with customers.

Food.

Many similarities to Vietnamese food (sour soups with fish and vegetables, grilled beef / pork) and Thai food (the curries are much less fiery and the amok is similar to Thai hor mok). The desserts also look similar to Thai desserts but I wanted to avoid ice and didn't try any.

-Romdeng (St 174) has high end Khmer food. It's not air-conditioned like most Phnom Penh restaurants, but it was very cool in the garden. Food was OK, I only went there for the tarantula.

-Food court at Sorya Centre Point is a good place to eat Khmer food in an air-conditioned environment.

-I also ate at various local restaurants between St 130 and St 172. The grilled beef is very good, not sure if this is Khmer or Vietnamese. The noodles were disappointing, not as good as Vietnamese or Thai noodles.

-Sara Ethiopian restaurant (St 172, near corner of St 13) was surprisingly good.

Transport.

I used PassApp for tuktuks and Grab for cars. A Grab car from Riverside area to the airport was about $7. I was quoted $12 for a taxi from airport to Riverside.

SIM card.

The Smart shop at Sorya Centre Point got me a good deal, $2 for SIM card and 10 GB data, good for 7 days. Better than the packages they had at the airport which cost $6 and up.

[QUOTE=Sandy1984;2294776]Hi guys, I would be travelling to phnom penh on Apr 18. Did some research on the net and saw lot of stories about tourist getting into traps where the pimp offers WG and once the customer takes her in a bunch of guys show up to blackmail you claiming the WG is below 18. How common is this and how to be cautious?[/QUOTE]To Sandy1984.

Just be careful ask the girl how old she is and ask to see a ID and returning to hotel ask the security to hold the girl ID and allow anyone enter your room and call the security if you think it is a scam you will be scam newbie.

Fast Eddie 48.