Accommodation Review: The Cashew Nut Villas, Siem Reap

This guesthouse had been on my radar for a few years.  I had noted it in its previous incarnation, The Cashew Nut Guesthouse (I think it was the cashew nuts that caught my eye, I love them!!) and read many great reviews which sung its praises. It sounded like a great place, reasonably priced and although it looked a bit further out from the main centre of Siem Reap, no-one had said that was a problem.

When I knew we would be returning to Siem Reap, I looked it up when researching accommodation.  It had changed its name to The Cashew Nut Villas and had acquired a pool in the back garden, but it was still getting rave reviews.

On looking it up on booking.com, we saw they were advertising a two bedroom apartment…my immediate thought was ‘oooh, more space’! It looked like there was a nice spacious communal area and a balcony – that swung it.  Why not, we thought!  So we booked it! I emailed the guesthouse to request a pick up from the airport and received very prompt responses – all good so far!

We were met on arrival at Siem Reap airport by a lovely man (he turned out to be the best tuk-tuk driver in Siem Reap in our humble opinions!) who drove us to the guesthouse by tuk-tuk.

We were met at the guesthouse by Han and were checked in without any fuss.  They did question our choice of room…and on seeing it I can see why!

The two bedroom apartment turned out to be two separate bedrooms, which locked independently, but which had a shared communal space and a balcony off that space which overlooked the front of the property.

It was a bit of strange set up to be honest and was an extravagance that we didn’t really need, but hey ho.  It was lovely to have the balcony, it was nice to have the option to sit out there for a little while and watch the world go by when we returned to the property.

The Rooms

I really can’t fault them, they were large, each contained a big bed, table, fridge, a TV and hanging space. They also had aircon which was super efficient.

The bed was, of course, quite solid but this is quite normal in this region it seems.

Each room had an ensuite bathroom – these were small but very usable. As is the norm in South East Asia, using the shower can mean that the whole bathroom gets wet – top tip, move the toilet roll out of the way before you turn the shower on!!  But it was a good shower and there was always hot water.

And more importantly they were impeccably clean.  This struck me as soon as we entered and they were all kept clean throughout our stay.

The lounge area of the ‘apartment’ was very spacious but didn’t contain much really, apart from a place to sit.  It was also very hot as there was only a fan to keep it cool.

The balcony was off the lounge area and was a nice place to sit and watch the world go by.  It consisted of a table and two chairs.

The Location

The Cashew Nut Villas are not located slap bang in the middle of town, but in my opinion this is a good thing.  It was a short 10 minute walk to reach the main centre where there are many restaurants and Pub Street are located.

I can’t ignore the fact that it is located on a main road and I discovered a few days into our stay that what looked like a bus station was located directly behind it!  The fact that this wasn’t immediately obvious to me shows however that it was not disturbing.

Because it is on a busy road, there is inevitably noise that comes with it.  The apartment is located at the front of the building, so it was a bit noisy.  I use ear plugs when I sleep so it didn’t bother me too much.  The other rooms seem to be set at the side and back of the property, so noise might not be such an issue in those rooms.

If you don’t want to walk, there will always be plenty of tuk-tuks around who will be able to take you to and from the guesthouse.

The Breakfast

Breakfast is included and is served either in the lobby of the guesthouse, or in the back garden by the pool.

It consisted of tea or coffee, fruit, a choice of eggs (freshly cooked) and baguettes…a whole baguette!  It’s simple, but that’s all you need sometimes.

I did see a couple eating dinner there one evening too, however, we always ate out so I can’t comment on what their other meals may be like.

The Staff

The shining stars of the guesthouse are the staff!  From the moment we arrived we were made to feel very welcome.  Everyone we encountered was helpful and friendly and helped us sort out transportation (they helped us sort out a day trip to Preah Vihear) and even pointed us towards Gelato Lab, which had THE most delicious ice cream!

A special mention must therefore go to Sue, Rakshak, Ly and Han, who looked after us exceptionally well during our stay. But there were also various people working behind the scenes who were very helpful and gave us broad smiles whenever we bumped into them.

The Pool

We didn’t use the pool, but it looked quite inviting.  I feel that the outside area could do with a bit of sprucing up, but I think this may be on the cards as Han did ask for our opinion on what could be improved outside.

WiFi

Yes, there is wifi (you’d be hard pressed to find somewhere that didn’t have it these days!) and we had no problems using it throughout the guesthouse.

Value For Money

As mentioned, we did splash out and book their two bedroom apartment which cost us US$243 in total for four nights.  As there was only two of us, it was unnecessary, but the access to the balcony was great. I thought it was fairly good value considering the space we got and the service we received.

In Summary

Whilst I wasn’t sure about the set up of the apartment when I first arrived (I would only recommend booking this if there is a group of you!), I was won over by the friendliness of the staff and the facilities, which were comfortable and spotless! I would return to stay there again if (when!) I return to Siem Reap.  The location of the guesthouse was no issue to us at all, we actually enjoyed the stroll to and from town.

This is exactly what I expect when staying in a guesthouse of this sort. The personal touch is something that makes me come back to an establishment like The Cashew Nut Villas time and again.

 

Please note: All opinions in this review are my own, as are all of the photos (this may be obvious!) and I received no compensation for writing it.