The Sanctuary Villa Battambang

On arrival the room place is lovely. Green plants, ponds etc. The staff are fairly friendly but one poor guy gets roped into everything if you're western for English. Not to worry.. You head to you're room, (past the pool that doesn't have a functioning filter and the water smelled and looked murky) the doors are locked by padlocks with huge gaps for insects. The door either jams closed or doesn't stay closed without the lock. The aircon work wonderfully (if a little smelly) theres a safe and small fridge that isn't turned on when you arrive so keep an eye on that and if there's a power outage it quickly defrosts. The bed? Ahh the bed.. It's little more than a raised floor with sheets and a mozzy net. Waking up from a restless night on that mattress is just painful.. Literally. Unfortunately for us they were working on the hot water system but failed to let us know when we arrived, so we had no water until 930pm after we enquired about it at 7pm. The following 4 days were met with works happening directly above our bathroom, loads of banging and drilling from 7am to around midday. This came with no power aswell which isnt ideal and the workers could see into the bathroom with full view of shower and toilet because the frosting tint didn't go all the way to the top of the window. Breakfast was, included which was nice however nothing was warm which is alarming. A glass bottle is provided for drinking water and replenished daily. The meals for lunch and dinner are surprisingly very good a d decently priced. The roads around the town are extremely rough, potholes everywhere and occasionally filled with crushed tiles etc. if you've got a bad back, probably avoid this town. Seriously. Overall, the stay is good for one night if you're stopping through. I would certainly not recommend several nights. We regretted it. We've stayed at other places that are much smaller for less money and expirenced far better.

TLDR: If you only need a big cheap room for a single night, this might suffice. For anything longer, expect cockroaches, bedbugs, poor service, and unreliable facilities. ||Pros:|- Spacious rooms with large beds|- Affordable (£70 for 3 nights) as a stopover between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap|- Found a great tour guide/driver Zaky (+855 96 929 8091)|- One receptionist was genuinely helpful and apologetic||Cons:|- Pests: Found not one, or two but THREE cockroaches in the bathroom within 10-15 minutes of arrival in the evening.||- Cleanliness: Sheets were pilling; robe provided had torn holes. Through the whole month travelling Cambodia and Vietnam this was the ONLY place we had BED BUG bites (or something). Pool was dirty. ||- Food: When pre-ordered breakfast was unavailable and replaced with just a plate of bread. Breakfast buffet food was left under mesh lids, attracting flies.||- Unreliable facilities: Wi-Fi down for a day, no specific room WiFi (102) advised to join other rooms. Terrible TV. Padlock for the room and no functioning key card system. ||- Customer service: Several staff were dismissive. When I found the 3rd cockroach and reported it there was a different receptionist said "what do you want me to do about it". Felt more like they were doing guests a favour than offering hospitality.||- Noise: Loud scratching/flapping noises one night, we thought someone was in the bathroom, but must've been the ceiling. ||NOT four stars at all. Maybe WAS good, but not anymore. We stayed only because we had full day tours away from the hotel and pre-booked pick-up we couldn't change.

For what you’re paying to stay here it is definitely worth the money. Less than 5 minutes out of town and yes the ride is a little bumpy but we’re in Battambang after all … My room was clean, no bugs in the room unless I didn’t close the door myself and if any issues they have mosquito nets in the room. AC definitely worked well and hot water was boiling hot if I wanted it to be. Unlike some other reviews claim, the pool is not dirty at all, the tiles at the bottom are just a dark grey which gives it a tinge but was really refreshing and clean and you can ask for them to switch on the water features if they are not. This hotel was beautiful and green and the staff were very friendly. Wifi works well as I was still able to work remotely with no issues and they have multiple connections depending on where you are in the resort. Breakfast which is included in the price was good, otherwise the area has many little hidden gems you can walk to and being just out of town it feels very local. Will definitely be staying here again if i end up in battambang again.

A bit out of the main area but perfect if you like greenery and peaceful place to stay. Our room was specious, good value money. There is small things that need to be fixed but it was okey overall. Breakfast was included and it was good!

Pro: Let me first of all say that the staff was incredible nice and the a/c worked well. Cons: no hot water at all, mattress was hard as a rock and the pool water was not too clear. The road in and out is full of potholes. This hotel looked like it was very nice at one point but has not been kept up properly.

It is in a really remote part of the city but it is really tranquil and the staff is really nice and friendly. They even have laundry service. I didn't take advantage of their food service so I won't go into my rating. My only problems are the wifi is basically dal speeds and the tub in the room I stayed in would leak water. I found out the shower hose is of poor quality causing the leak. The pool looks nice but a little murky. After all of that,I would stay here again. It isn't perfect but I enjoyed my time here and it housed me while I created great memories in Cambodia. The place also felt like it is being ran by a family and not a corporation or chain. I would recommend this place despite the flaws.

A very nice hidden gem tucked away! Noce pool, nice staff, very comfortable rooms, and close to the town. We enjoyed our stay a lot!!

This place is quite far from the city center, with not much around except for a few local stalls about a block away. The road leading there is extremely rough, so if you're taking a tuk tuk, prepare for a bumpy ride — your backside will feel it. Services are minimal. You check in, and that’s about it — no help with baggage. It’s also a bit of a walk from the main road to the front desk. The room is basic. Instead of a traditional door, it has a framed glass panel with a padlock instead of a key card — definitely unusual. There’s a strong mildew smell, and the AC takes a while to cool the room. The bathroom is a decent size but has visible mold. There’s no in-room phone, so if you need toilet paper or towels, you’ll have to walk back to the front desk — and even then, it might take a bit to find someone available. The pool is large, pretty deep, and always busy with guests. Don’t expect a quiet swim — it's one of the more active areas of the property. It's also not the best location for booking Grab. A ride to downtown Battambang costs around 4000 riel (roughly $1), so plan on spending at least $2 per day if you're going back and forth. Overall, I personally wouldn’t book here again. But if you're looking for an entry-level resort feel and don’t mind roughing it a bit, it might be worth a try.