I am currently staying at the Amajaya and it is very nice. Great location right on the riverfront. A little pricey. A better value worth looking into is the Bouganville which occupies the other half of the same building. Same look and location just less money.
The nicest hotel looks like the Raffles. Had a drink at the elephant bar there and it is very nice. Not on the riverfront though, across form the US Embassy.

Hope you'll post more about what PP is like now. I stayed at the Raffles Le Royal in 2000 -- the colonial rooms are really very special. They also have a very good breakfast buffet.
I'd find the river tempting, however. Am assuming you had lunch/drinks at the FCC?

I stayed at the Amanjaya last September and loved it too. The rooms at the Bouganville are less than half the size of the Amanjaya rooms, but it's not a bad choice for staying in that area, which is about the best place to be in PP.

I think PP is one of the more under-rated cities in SEA.

Having returned home and reflecting on my stay in PP. I would say that the Amanjaya is probably the best bet in the city, due to it's location. The Raffles has a bigger facility with a pool, etc. but you can't beat the riverfront location of the Amanjaya. They seem to operate close to capacity so reserve ahead of time.

We stayed in both Amanjaya and Bougainvillas last April. In Bouganvillas we had the top floor room in the front which was I think bigger than the room we had in Amanjaya. It was decorated with silks and very special. It also had a very efficient a/c system which was much appreciated as there was no lift.
I agree the Amanjaya was lovely- boutiquey and with a traditional bath.
I would stay in either again but Amanjaya 1st choice

I stayed at the Bougainvillier last January, and found it quite charming and more than ample in space. I had a suite with a sitting area that opened onto a bougainvillea-draped balcony overlooking Sisowath Quay, a grassy promenade along the river. It is within walking distance to the Royal Palace, National Museum, one of the most important monasteries in Cambodia, and numerous places to eat and to shop (including FCC). The food in the restaurant is excellent and has samples of world-wide French cuisine, from France itself to Southeast Asia to the Caribbean to Louisiana. The bathrooms are modern and spacious, and as Frances has noted, the rooms are beautifully decorated with silk. I thought it was a terrific value for the price. The picture at the link and the one immediately following it were taken in the bedroom and sitting area:
http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/View...amp;p=73622474

In my opinion the small boutique Amajaya while nice is overpriced. There is no reason to spend more than $80 net on good accommodations. The Bougainvillier along with the Foreign Correspondents Club and the Cambodiana with their riverfront locations are good.
Others you might consider are the Pavilion (has had excellent reviews), the Phnom Penh and the least expensive Juliana.

I stayed at the Hope & Anchor ( used to be called Mikey's) which overlooks Sisowath Quay and right amongst all the restaurants, walking distance to palace etc.

The rooms are huge, a/c, have hot water, bath tub etc, and very clean.

Standard - Double
25 USD (low season) 25 USD (high season)
No window
Superior - Double
35 USD (low season) 35 USD (high season)
$45 for top floor

I took the top floor room for the balcony and incredible view.

I had that same 'top floor in the front' suite and yes, it was huge, and yes, the A/C worked great! Being a bath tub snob, I found the bath tub very comfortable for reading in. The slope of the back of it was just perfect, it really was, at least for me.

No lift made for quite a climb, but most of the places I stayed seemed to be on the 4th floor, no lift, from high end to low end places. Maybe the staff thought I needed the exercise! ;-)

rabidstoat, bathtub snob? Me too, and yes it was perfect for reading in and also for having cups of tea and cake.


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