Dream Home Hostel 2

I've stayed in plenty of hostels, and this one was a letdown. It's run down and reception felt cold. There was no breakfast, even though my reservation said there would be, and I wasn't given a room key. The main door was often locked when I came back from eating or sightseeing, leaving me stuck outside. Transport was expensive and I got lost. The AC kept cycling between freezing cold for 10 minutes, off for 5, then warm again. It made for a miserable night, alternating between freezing and cooking, and a great way to get sick. Travel however you like, even if you're a hardcore budget traveler, but I wouldn't recommend it. It isn't worth the money.

The only reliable positives were the Wi-Fi and the convenient location for seeing the city. The rest of the stay felt so uncomfortable that we wouldn't recommend this place to anyone. From the moment we arrived, we felt unwelcome, almost as if we were intruding on the staff's personal space. We arrived at 11 AM just to leave our bags before check-in, but were quickly asked to pay. The exchange rate seemed unreasonably high and made us feel taken advantage of. When we returned, the receptionist said, “You came back,” as if she doubted us, even though we'd paid and left our things there. In the room, she turned on the AC and covered a visible stain on the bed with the remote, which looked like an attempt to hide it. The room had serious problems. The lock seemed to catch, but the door opened when pushed. Staff were dismissive when we asked for help, and one person suggested it was our fault even though we'd just checked in. They said someone would fix it the next day, but nobody came and it was never mentioned again. We couldn't feel our belongings were secure in a private room. The bed was awful too, with springs poking through and deep dips from overuse. During our stay, staff were painting bathroom doors, leaving the whole place smelling strongly of paint and giving both of us headaches. Breakfast was mixed: the food was decent, better than most included hostel breakfasts, but it took 30-40 minutes because orders were made one at a time. The staff's attitude made us feel like an inconvenience just for being there.

The room booking was a mess from the start. We reserved a 6-bed dorm but were put in a 10-bed dorm, then had to pay extra to move to the room we had booked. When we raised it, the owner sarcastically said, “I knew there was a mistake,” as if it were our fault. We were also charged more than the Booking price after paying for the stay. The owner yelled at us to take off our shoes as soon as we arrived. We did. Staff were rude and unhelpful throughout. One night, our friend went to shower and found no running water. When she asked the night receptionist for help, the receptionist turned away and went to sleep. Covered in soap and shampoo, our friend had to rinse off with frozen water bottles from the fridge. The next morning the male owner shouted at us, slammed his hand against the fridge, and acted aggressively and physically intimidating. He then made us pay for the bottles, even though they were the only way to manage a basic shower. He also gossiped about us to other guests, seemingly trying to humiliate us and make us look at fault. I've never had such a horrible hostel experience. We were treated with disrespect and aggression from beginning to end. This place is a scam, and the staff are rude, unprofessional, and completely unhelpful. DO NOT STAY HERE!

The only real plus was that breakfast was delicious. Otherwise, I wouldn't stay here, and the staff weren't friendly. All the good reviews are fake. We arrived without a reservation and were quoted twice the price for two nights that was listed on Booking, so I had to book through Booking. Check-in was at 1:30 pm, and we got there at 1:10 pm. The owner had just shown me a ready room, but still said I'd have to pay to check in 20 minutes early. The room was dirty and awful, with nothing in it except a bed. Its lock didn't work. The owner said there were cameras everywhere and it was safe to leave things, and said he'd call an engineer, but we carried all our belongings on every walk. The next day, they supposedly fixed the lock by turning on an alarm. At night it started screaming and woke us all up, and the door still wouldn't close. We had a bike, and the owner said parking at the hotel cost extra. It felt like he was trying to charge us for every little thing. He also gave us a false exchange rate: two nights cost $28, about 620,000 kip, but he quoted 674,000.