JD POLMAN Hotel

I really should have booked a longer stay. The rooms were stunning, with great air conditioning and hot water that actually worked properly. The location isn't ideal, and the lobby decor felt a little kitschy to me, like it was trying for opulence. The front desk staff were attentive and very helpful, especially the lovely young women who checked me in late afternoon on arrival. Also, Grab meal deliveries have improved a lot since my last visit to Cambodia.

The deposit was higher than advertised, and the hotel didn't seem to cater to Westerners. Breakfast was poor, with most trays empty, and the front desk service was poor as well. There was no safe in the room. The skybar decking was in bad repair, with lots of wires showing. This hotel will deteriorate very quickly.

We used to be regulars here from the time the hotel opened, and it was much better then. The breakfast used to be nice, but as more people started coming, the customer service declined and the breakfast got worse. There are only two lifts for most of the floors, so when many rooms are occupied, you can wait quite a while to get in. Rooms on the upper floors also get loud booming music from the pub at the sky bar, which made it hard to sleep early. Of the three televisions in our room, only one worked, or sometimes none. At night, the electricity cut out while the kids were showering, leaving us in total darkness. The worst incident was a fire in the emergency staircase around midnight. We were on the 28th floor and evacuated to the lobby as choking smoke spread through the corridors. We heard no fire alarm. I pressed a fire alert switch, but it seemed like a decoy and fell apart. There were no announcements, and only a few of us from the 28th floor were at the lobby. We later learned the fire was on the 16th floor and was small. Staff tried to cover it up and told us to go back to our rooms. We waited until the pungent smoke smell cleared before going back upstairs. The kids had already gone to bed and were woken suddenly, and the event traumatised them. I keep thinking about what might have happened if it had been a large fire. On another occasion, housekeeping left our room door wide open. We only found out when we came back at night, so I don't know how long it had been that way. Housekeeping blamed us, saying they had seen me tap the card to enter, which made me even angrier. The room filled with mosquitoes through the open door. When we complained to reception, they said they'd inform management the next day, but management knew nothing when we reached them. Once again, it felt swept under the rug. This is a serious security lapse for a 'five' star hotel. Thankfully, I had left no valuables in the room and nothing was lost, but I doubt I'd get anything back if it had been stolen. The hotel looks grand from the outside, but they need to work on security, staff attitude, and emergency training. After these incidents, I doubt I'll return. Anyone booking should do so at their own risk.

The deposit cost more than the room, and the front desk staff had an attitude. The room wasn't clean, especially the towels, which looked used. Worst experience ever.