July 2010
Bokor Mountain Lodge in Kampot.
Bokor Mountain Lodge seems to be the grand dame of the Kampot guesthouses, although it seems to have changed hands several times over the years. Unfortunately, you get to be the grand dame by being very old, and the Bokor Mountain Lodge looks every bit of its age. While the old colonial styled exterior looks charming, the interior is in dire need of some attention.
Front room in the Bokor Mountain Lodge in Kampot.
The six rooms are all on the second floor. Three of them have river views. All have a fan and air conditioning, as well as en suite bathrooms with hot water showers and cable televisions. Wireless internet access is available free of charge throughout the lodge. I had one of the river facing rooms (shown above). There were patches of peeling paint on the walls, most of the (apparently new) sliding windows were off their tracks, half the shutters were stuck and the air conditioner seemed to have a mind of its own. These things all made a bad first impression, but in the end none of them were so serious as to really make staying here unpleasant.
Hotel facilities include a restaurant and free wi-fi.
Rooms feature air conditioning, fan, hot and cold water, wi-fi Internet and color television with a wide range of international channels.
Pluses: Excellent location, good restaurant.
Minuses: Rooms extremely run-down.
See the Bokor Mountain Lodge web site for additional information, booking details and rates.