holiday palace hotel and casino, poipet
I'd stayed at this hotel/casino several times before without any problems. If you have to visit the hellhole that is Poipet, Cambodia, you would be well advised to avoid staying at any of the guest houses in town because they are generally dirty and can be unsafe. (I won't write about the one room I had where I awoke at 3 am to find cockroaches eating the "sleep" out of the corner of my eye!)
Holiday Palace, located on the border and run for rich Thais who are unable to gamble in their homeland, offers cheap rooms for 1,200 Thai baht, or around 66 U.S. dollars a night, including breakfast. Be careful about two things, though. One, only pay day to day, because if, as I did, you decide to check out early, the hotel will not refund any money you've put down for future nights' stay. And two, don't be tempted to buy $780 worth of chips in order to get a free room. You get the free room, but they hold your passport hostage till you check out. And anyway, the chips they give you are "non-redeemable" and hard to cash in.
The entire Thai-Cambodian border area is depressing, corrupt and in need of a thorough wash. You probably would have no desire to spend any time there, but if you do need to do business (or NGO work) in Poipet, it is not necessary to spend the night in Aranyaprathet.One more note on the Holiday Palace: Food at the main restaurant -- all-Thai and spicy -- is rank, but there's a good bakery and a faux Starbucks on the premises. There's also a Japanese restaurant and a Chinese restaurant, both unforgettable. Better bring some sna
Holiday Palace, located on the border and run for rich Thais who are unable to gamble in their homeland, offers cheap rooms for 1,200 Thai baht, or around 66 U.S. dollars a night, including breakfast. Be careful about two things, though. One, only pay day to day, because if, as I did, you decide to check out early, the hotel will not refund any money you've put down for future nights' stay. And two, don't be tempted to buy $780 worth of chips in order to get a free room. You get the free room, but they hold your passport hostage till you check out. And anyway, the chips they give you are "non-redeemable" and hard to cash in.
The entire Thai-Cambodian border area is depressing, corrupt and in need of a thorough wash. You probably would have no desire to spend any time there, but if you do need to do business (or NGO work) in Poipet, it is not necessary to spend the night in Aranyaprathet.One more note on the Holiday Palace: Food at the main restaurant -- all-Thai and spicy -- is rank, but there's a good bakery and a faux Starbucks on the premises. There's also a Japanese restaurant and a Chinese restaurant, both unforgettable. Better bring some sna
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