Emerald BB Battambang Hotel

I've stayed here a few times, but in each of the last three rooms the water wasn't hot. I tried turning the shower knob both ways to see which side was meant to be hot, usually it's the left. On the most recent stay, I ended up changing rooms. The AC and TV remotes also needed a shake before they worked, since the batteries were old. They wouldn't respond on the first click.

The hotel was nice and the beds were great and firm. My jacuzzi tub didn't work, and the cable TV on my floor went out on day 3. Nobody seemed in a rush to fix it. I'm moving up the street tomorrow to the Classy hotel and spa, which I toured today. Wow, it has a beautiful pool, hot and cold water saunas, and a steam room as well as a hot sauna. It looks like they also provide professional masseuses, and breakfast is included every morning. I can't wait.

For what they charge, it's well worth it. The place is sparkling clean and as cheap as chips. The bed is firm but comfortable. Most things work, though my bedside lamp, the TV remote, and a couple of the electrical sockets didn't.

I'm glad to have checked out. From arrival to departure, the problems kept piling up, and I think people should know what to expect. We got only one key, but the key had to stay in the wall switch to power the room. That meant the air con and fridge were off while we were out, so we came back to a hot room and warm water. The room wasn't clean: there were lipstick marks on the wall and a red stain on the mirror that I couldn't remove. The bath needed hosing down before I could use it. It didn't work properly either. I had to fill it with the shower hose, which was cold and weak, and the buttons to start the jets were missing. After waiting ages for it to fill and washing in cold water, I couldn't drain it because the plug was broken. I scooped dirty water out with a bin to try to free the plug. Maintenance came and got it out but didn't fix the problem, so on the last night I had a very cold, drippy shower with the handheld hose. The key card was temperamental too. It stopped working if it was near any other contactless cards. On my last night, I woke twice with an itchy, burning feeling on the backs of my legs. I rinsed off and reapplied bug spray, but it came back. In the morning, I saw what I believe were bed bug bites all over the backs of my legs. I always sleep on my back, and that was the only place bitten. I had a major reaction, was extremely uncomfortable, and the bites looked awful. It ruined the rest of my trip. This could have been a nice stay, but the standards need to improve. I was not impressed and wouldn't return.