Bou Savy Guest House Review

We traveled in Cambodia and Malaysia for a total of 17 days, staying at 8 different guest houses. One of these was by far and away our favorite, and we want to highly recommend it to any travelers to the Siem Riap area.

Bou Savy Guest House is a fairly new guest house, run by a very friendly family. We found it online by searching the Siem Riap and Angkor Hotels Directory website, and selected it because it was given high marks for caring for the customer and caring for the destination. We were able to reserve our room online without having to give credit card information – an important criteria for me as I wanted the security of having a room in advance without having to worry about identity theft or fraud.

Upon our arrival at the guest house, we had to wait a little while as they looked for our reservation, but that was no problem because we had time to enjoy our “welcome drinks” – tasty banana shakes – while sitting in the shady patio area. Finally, we were led up to our lovely, air-conditioned, 3rd floor, $15-per-night room.


We enjoyed three nights of cool, quiet sleep at the Bou Savy. I also took advantage of the book trade and the 3rd floor porch. We had laundry done twice, both times for an affordable price. Perhaps best of all was the excellent breakfast – included as part of our room rate – of eggs, baguettes, fresh fruit, and juice, tea, or coffee.


The atmosphere at Bou Savy was completely relaxed and friendly. I felt very safe there and was sorry to leave. On our last morning, before we left for the airport, we asked one of the staff if we could purchase a couple of extra baguettes for snacking on our flight to Malaysia. When the manager found out we wanted to pay for the bread, he refused, and insisted that we take it for free. We were touched. I hope that more travelers stay at the Bou Savy so that such excellent service and staff can be rewarded!

Mekong Hotel, Kampong Cham, Cambodia

We spent one night in Kampong Cham, Cambodia, on a short detour between Phnom Penh and Siem Riap. Choosing a hotel was easy – only one had our desired combination of air-conditioning, private bathrooms, and a location on the river. All that was made even better by the utterly affordable price of $10 per night.

The hotel is located not far from the bus stop, but with our bags we opted to take a tuk-tuk anyway. After checking in, we trudged up the giant staircase to the spacious halls of the second floor. Our corner room had windows over looking the river, plenty of space, and a hot shower.


Just across the street from the hotel is a quiet riverside park, with a few vendors selling beverages at sunset, and tables to sit at while the night falls. We found it to be a quiet spot, even on a Friday night. In the morning, I watched fishermen starting their day’s work on the water.

Last Home Guest House, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

For our two nights in Phnom Penh, we stayed at the Last Home Guest House not far from the river. It was a nice little place in a residential neighborhood, an easy walk from some of the main attractions in town (Royal Palace, National Museum) and from the riverside park area.


We paid $15 per night for an air-conditioned double with attached bathroom. The room itself was fine – no windows, but a nice size and very quiet. We had to walk up a steep flight of stairs to get to our spot on the second floor, but the fine balcony down the hall overlooking the street made up for it – we spent time both evenings sitting out there reading, journal-writing, and listening to the sounds of the neighborhood. Because the power goes out from time to time in Phnom Penh, we were occasionally without AC for a couple of hours, but not so much that it made a difference in our enjoyment of the place.

The staff at the guest house was very friendly and helpful with our questions about touring the city. We ate breakfast there both mornings – a baguette with eggs was both affordable and a welcome treat after months without decent bread in Thailand! I would recommend the Last Home Guest House for the traveler who wants an affordable but comfortable place to sleep in a quiet neighborhood.