Arthur & Pauls

[Terry4]

It's a Gay hotel in PP catering only to Gay men.

I stayed there earlier this year and I'm afraid I cannot say anything positive about it for the price you are paying.

 

I think it was around $140 US a night which included the taxes.

 

Apart from the internal spiral staircase which I found unsafe as there were no railings ; I found the staff put pressure on you for a overpriced massage which I didn't want

 

I must admit the rooms which all have names were clean and very modern with erotic male artwork.

The French owner was out and about checking on his hotel and asked me my opinion, I did tell him I believe it was overpriced.

 

A few nights later I did move next door to the Rambutan paying around half at $65 A night.

 

A&P is a hotel to try at least once, but unless you are made of money I cannot see a reason to stay there.

[vinapu]

 

A few nights later I did move next door to the Rambutan paying around half at $65 A night.

 

 

for Phnom Penh even that is expensive

[a447a]

I absolutely LOVE Arthur & Paul!!

 

I've stayed there on numerous occasions and it's one of my my favourite hotels in S.E. Asia.

 

The rooms are extra chic, they are cleaned every day by three guys (!), the owner is very attentive, the bed is probably the most comfortable bed I've ever slept in at a hotel and the eggs Benedict for breakfast are to die for. And there's fun to be had around the beautiful pool and in the sauna.

 

I once even saw two hot guys having full-on sex on the sun lounge by the pool! In any other hotel I would have been horrified, but at A&P it didn't really bother me at all, and noone batted an eyelid.

 

Paborn, I'd be interested in your opinion as to whether or not the hotel is over -priced for a developing country such as Cambodia.

 

But actually, I couldn't care less about the price - for me, it represents great value for money.

 

And that's all that matters.

[vinapu]

A&P is a hotel to try at least once, but unless you are made of money I cannot see a reason to stay there.

 

But actually, I couldn't care less about the price - for me, it represents great value for money.

 

 

see Terry4, we have one already 

[vinapu]

I once even saw two hot guys having full-on sex on the sun lounge by the pool! In any other hotel I would have been horrified,

whom you are kidding ?, don't try to dent your credibility here

[paborn]

I'd seriously have to look at hotels in the area.  I recall a partner of a firm I was doing an expense audit for who when asked why he was in the Ritz in St Louis, Missouri when It was above our city cap responded, " do you know what it would cost in New York". I told him not to do it again. It was company money. When I say that a hotel is NYC rate that is not, necessarily, a bad thing. You have to examine what extras are added above baseline for that coast. When I say "staff" I mean the hotel might have a staff ratio of 3 to 1 guest rather than 1 to 20 guests. You decide what is important.

 

If you want to pay for extra luxury, out of your own pocket, that is solely your business and people make decisions based on their own perceived needs. If you break down what a hotel provides:  bed, privacy ( I've seen hostels mentioned here) clean baths with hot water, etc. Then you have a baseline. Hotels can add to that with various luxuries. Your example of perfect eggs benedict is a good example. It is a hard dish to make perfectly. To serve at a high standard it means a goods kitchen - not jarred sauce poured over rubber eggs.

 

Many years ago a, now nationally distributed brand of chicken sausage with apples, was local to San Francisco only and a sought-after specialty item even there. One hotel secured it for their breakfast. I decided that staying at a perfectly good hotel across the street and going to the other for breakfast met my needs. Such choices make travel fascinating.

 

The hotel mentioned might well, I trust Vinapu, be above baseline for PP but at $65 it's a luxury that is certainly affordable. The bed, for instance, can only be seen as a huge factor. 

 

It's sort of like the "models" in Moonlight and Jupiter. At their most expensive they are affordable as a one-off by someone who made it all the way to Thailand. Maybe not every night, but come on now, most of us could indulge. But they all have a baseline: cock, slim, muscles, whatever. They offer, for their extra cost, the extra luxury of their physical perfection. I always look and ask what they will do. It's like a gorgeous and huge hotel bathroom with no hot water if they don't deliver my wants.

 

The hotel bath might be the best example. When establishing the baseline we balance needs and wants. For the base I insist that needs ( good bed, hot water, etc ) be meet at a high standard, Then, we look at wants. In business, we don't factor wants only needs. So, when I toss out " that's NYC prices" that is baseline and a caution to examine what you get for the extra. If it meets your wants and those wants are not met elsewhere in that town then you've, actually. got a good price.

[a447a]

whom you are kidding ?, don't try to dent your credibility here

I wrote about it in a Phnom Pehn report posted on the SGT forum the day after it happened!

 

See post #8.

 

https://sawatdeenetwork.com/v4/showthread.php?16755-Phnom-Penh-report&highlight=Phnom+Pehn+report

 

It was still being talked about by the manager on my last visit.

 

Vinapu, it saddens me that a long -standing member such as yourself would accuse me of telling lies. I find that offensive.

 

I only ever write it as it is.

[a447a]

Paborn wrote:

 

"If it meets your wants and those wants are not met elsewhere in that town then you've, actually. got a good price."

 

My thoughts, exactly!

[biguyby]

for Phnom Penh even that is expensive

I've never paid more than $25 a night in PP

[vinapu]

 

I once even saw two hot guys having full-on sex on the sun lounge by the pool! In any other hotel I would have been horrified,

 

 

Vinapu, it saddens me that a long -standing member such as yourself would accuse me of telling lies. I find that offensive.

 

I only ever write it as it is.

MY LAUD APOLOGIES BUT THIS IS NOT WHAT I MEANT.

 

I should underscore that part  in original comment, like i did just now above.

 

I actually remembered  your hotel f***k  story from few years ago, what I doubt and only that   was that watching this would actually horrify you. Original narrative says nothing about you were horrified and rightly so.

 

You probably don't realize that along with williewillie, anonone and Michael you have special place in my heart as long as this forum is concerned. When back in 2013 , after years of lurking here I made my first post ever and it was trip report I was so stressed about possible response that I sweared to myself if I receive even one negative comment  I'm done with posting for good.

 

Instead four saints mentioned above including you actually welcomed me and encouraged to continue which i do to this day and rest assured , not in order to offend anybody.

[spoon]

Wow people are getting really sensitive in the forum lately. Lots of misunderstanding over words, jokes. I wonder why.

[vinapu]

Wow people are getting really sensitive in the forum lately. Lots of misunderstanding over words, jokes. I wonder why.

no, I actually see now that a447a could read my comment as accusatory if one focuses on first part of sentence quoted

[paborn]

no, I actually see now that a447a could read my comment as accusatory if one focuses on first part of sentence quoted

Yes, and I was surprised that you were doubting a447a ( one of my favorites here - along with you ) and I'm very glad you clarified.

[Guest]

I've never paid more than $25 a night in PP

 

On the last 2 trips I paid somewhere near $35~40 for the Silver River hotel near Blue Chilli.   No problems with joiners.      Now available for about $29.

An even earlier trip was using the Manor House, but I thought that was quite poor value for money at the time.

 

If you have some recommendations, please could you share them ?

[Terry4]

Well according to TripAdvisor Arthur and Paul's has no shortage of customers even at the $140 A night range.

[a447a]

All good, Vinapu. I just took your comment the wrong way.

 

It's difficult to get a room at A&P, which suggests market forces are at work so they can charge what they like.

 

I used to pay $US120 per night so they've raised their prices quite a bit. But still cheap compared to hotels of a similar standard elsewhere.

 

The owner told me I was the first Australian to stay there. Apparently, he advertises a lot in Europe and that's where most of his clientele come from. Last time I was there he was adding more rooms upstairs to keep up with demand.

 

I've only ever eaten breakfast there but they serve dinner every night. Given that many of the guests are French and only want to eat French food, he employs a proper chef.

 

A&P is not for everyone. If you find in -your -face nudity a bit too much, then best stay at the Rambutan next door. You can always visit later in the afternoon and use their pool and sauna facilities when the local boys turn up. I think they charge $5 entry.

 

The hotel is a bit out of town but is only a 5 minute tuk-tuk ride away from Hatha Massage, the scene of so much fun for me. That's where I met Mr Bubblebutt ; I wrote about him extensively in my reports. (I wonder if he ever got his Honda?)

 

I'm a creature of habit and if I find a routine that suits me, I tend to just stick with that every day. I'd get up rather late, eat breakfast on the balcony overlooking the pool, hang around the pool in the afternoon hoping to see some hot young guys, and then around 6pm I'd grab my favourite tuk-tuk driver from outside the hotel and head over to Hatha. I'd pay him $2. He would then come back an hour later, pick me up and take me to the riverside for $3 where I'd have dinner before then heading over to Space Bar for a night of drinking and groping. The guys there were very willing indeed!

 

Now that the topic of A&P has been raised I think I might head back to Phnom Pehn again. But only if I can get a room there.

[Terry4]

A447, you must remember we are all in different financial situations.

 

If I wasn't still working a full time job I doubt I would have stayed in upmarket hotels in Cambodia.

 

Each of us have different needs & wants, and Arthur's & Paul's didn't feel to me as good value, but I wanted to try it at least once, I doubt I would stay there when I eventually retire though.

[ChristianPFC]

A&P is completely out of my price range; I aim for 10 to 15 USD per night when I'm in Phnom Penh or Siem Reap. I went to their sauna once and found it okay. But I liked the other saunas better.