This was my second time in Siem Reap, both times going to see the temples of Angkor and staying in different guest houses. After getting off the bus in Siem Reap from the Poi Pet border town, and having been to Cambodia before, I knew that the local drivers would show up to take me to one of their ‘friends’ guest houses.
The Aroma Daily Guest House in Siem Reap
Normally, in this situation I take a quick look inside the guest house, thank the driver, then leave to find another one. I don’t like being pressured into things. Arriving at the Aroma Daily Guest House, I was really pleased with the first impression, the place was really clean, and when they showed me the spacious room, complete with a descent bathroom and cable TV for only $8 USD per night, I was sold!
The Bathroom at Aroma Daily
As I had been to Siem Reap before, I already knew the Aroma Daily Guest House was just a short walk over the bridge to the main town area, so the location was just fine.
With any budget guest house in Siem Reap, there is usually a few ‘in-house’ drivers who hang around in in the lobby and out front of the place, Aroma Daily was no different. These drivers want to take you on a tour around Angkor, the tours around Angkor are great, but if you are a backpacker or on a budget, make sure you shop around for prices.
QUICK TIP: A driver around Angkor for the day should cost you around $15 to $25 USD. I once met a group of backpackers who paid $90, they got ripped off in a big way.
The staff at reception were very laid back, and sometimes not there at all. Luckily the one time we did need help from the staff they delivered well.
The room I originally got was at the back of the guest house, and at night things became very noisy, there was some sort of party area for locals behind Aroma Daily. I also noticed that the room was just outside the range of the WiFi connection.
After the first night, I went and asked reception if I could switch rooms to the other side of the hallway. The man a reception was helpful and simply gave me the keys to a new, quieter room, complete with WiFi, and to top it all off, it was the ‘Honey Moon’ suite! The suite came complete with red heart-shaped pillows, which were just about the only difference in the décor from the other room.
I stayed in the 'Honey Moon' Suite!
My actual stay at the Aroma Daily Guest House was great after that, the only hassles came from the group of drivers out front. I never used the Aroma Daily drivers during the whole stay, I liked to take a walk over the bridge to and from the town area, and met a great driver in town for the Angkor trip, so I didn’t need the in-house drivers.
The fact that I didn’t require their services seemed to frustrate the drivers more and more each day, each time I walked past them their words became progressively aggressive towards me.
The Aroma Daily Guest House is Very Clean
In the end, the attitude of the drivers became the biggest downside to the place, but they didn’t totally ruin the stay. I enjoyed staying in the ‘Honey Moon’ suite a lot, and the actual guest house is good.
I won’t be going back to Aroma Daily though, next time I’m there I will stay somewhere different, hopefully somewhere where you don’t have to walk past rude and annoying drivers each time you enter or exit the place. Maybe for that I might have to splash out on one of the more upmarket hotels in Siem Reap, there is over 150 accommodation options in the town to choose from.
I might check for a late deal on-line next time, hopefully somewhere with a pool which is what I sometimes miss in Cambodia. A lot of the budget options don’t have a swimming pool, which are good to have on really hot days.