Modern hotel in Phnom Penh’s expat area: Patio Hotel and Urban Resort

Stayed 2019: The Patio Hotel and Urban Resort is a sister property of the Aquarius Urban Resort I stayed at during my visit to Phnom Penh, located in the popular expat area Boeng Kang Keng (BKK1). It offers modern rooms, a restaurant, spa and a rooftop pool with killer views over the city, all for reasonable prices. If you are looking for a big-city style that would be at home in New York or London and a friendly Cambodian vibe while hanging out in Phnom Penh, the Patio Hotel is a good choice

Location: The Patio Hotel & Urban Resort Phnom Penh is located in the heart of BKK1, the upscale district South of downtown, popular with expats. There are lots of nice restaurants, bars, shops and spas in walking distance of the hotel. The ride to the airport is 40-90 minutes, depending on traffic and the Royal Palace is 10 minutes by taxi or 30 minutes on foot.

Service: The front desk was very friendly and attentive. They processed my check-in quickly and one of them escorted me to my room, explaining the amenities of the hotel and room in the process. Whenever I returned to the hotel, they warmly greeted me with smiles and any questions were answered helpfully.
Housekeeping cleaned my room thoroughly each day and replaced towels and amenities. Staff at the restaurant was also helpful, if not quite as exceptionally friendly and attentive as the front desk. They did keep the buffet stocked and tables cleared.

Room: I booked a standard room for single occupation and my room was small, but nice! Near the entrance is the sink and vanity, open to the bedroom.

The door behind it leads to the toilet and shower. It has dark floors and an industrial look to it.

The double bed takes up most of the room. It’s on a platform, firm and has nice sheets, comforter and pillows. The dark floor tiles and concrete-look walls continue the industrial theme and the artwork adds a splash of color to the room.

In the corner are a small desk with chair as well as an open wardrobe with some hangers and the safe, big enough for a laptop.

Opposite the bed is a small sideboard with coffee & tea facilities and some shelving for your stuff. The small, wall-mounted TV had an endless number of channels, seemingly from every major country that sends visitors to Cambodia. 

Rooms with two twin beds as well as (more expensive) rooms with balconies are available as well.

The free WiFi internet was weak and unreliable. I wasn’t able to connect in my room with my laptop at all and the connection on my phone dropped repeatedly. When it was working in the room and in the restaurant, the speed could be as high as 19 Mbps with an average speed of 10.4Mbps. It’s not ideal if you need to get work done or want to stream movies, but it’ll do in a pinch.

Restaurant & Amenities: The standout feature of the Patio Hotel is the nice rooftop pool! There are soft mats on the floor to lounge and umbrellas, with lounge music playing in the background and views over the city.

On the level below are the bar and restaurant. They are open-air and offer a bar, a pool table as well as bistro style seating for your meals.

My rate included breakfast and it’s a mix of a small buffet with fruit, bred and some hot dishes and a selection of hot entrees served to order, including a number of egg dishes.

While the buffet selection was limited, the make-to-order dishes made it a complete and very good breakfast. And the killer-views from the restaurant made it even better!

The Patio hotel also has a spa, offering massages – I didn’t try, but prices were reasonable and slightly higher than street shops.

Value & Rewards: I booked my stay during high-season for only $55/night including breakfast. Considering the modern room, nice pool and restaurant, good breakfast, friendly staff and great location, I consider this very good value. You can find the current prices here! 
The Patio Hotel & Urban Resort does not participate in any rewards program. I booked through hotels.com and earned 10% rewards in Welcome Rewards. 

Bottomline: The Patio Hotel is popular and was sold out during my visit in high-season. Prices for standard rooms are $50-80 and comparable with similar hotels (find current prices here). If you want a modern, urban-style hotel with a rooftop view in Boeng Kang Keng, The Patio Hotel is a good choice at reaonable prices. The sister hotel Aquarius is very, very similar in style and features, but felt a little newer and is closer to downtown, so the choice is really down to the location you want to be in!