Independence Hotel by Dara

Customer service par excellence! The hotel staff both in the concierge and the restaurant were not only professional but personable in their service: I asked for milk and they brought me hot milk to put in my coffee and I was so impressed that they would know that cold milk would just make my coffee lukewarm and I love it HOT first thing in the morning! The landscape and beach area so beautiful and relaxing, and a golf cart is provided to take guests all around the huge compound! The beach is private and there are 2 beautiful pools which were clean and well kept! I liked the fact that there were no little soaps in the bathroom but liquid hand wash and that if a room was booked for 2 people, 2 keys were provided for our convenience! I did not give this a 5/5 because the view from my room was not that good so if you are staying here maybe is better to stay in rooms on the higher floors or in the amazing private villas which overlook the beach! If you have trouble walking, the steps down to the beach can be a bit difficult though I was told there was an elevator there! Would I return for a visit? Definitely ! Thank you and kudos to the staff that made my group feel so special and loved !

Love the beautiful gardens. Friendly staffs. The hotel is old and not well kept. The window facing the ocean needs cleaning. The A/C air filter needs cleaning/replacement, because we started getting sinus after two nights from the dust blowing from dirty filter. Hotel could use a fresh new paint job.

Great

We loved the friendly staff and the pool was the best feature. We had booked a pod room but on arrival were given a twin in the main building, we were happy with this so did not mention it to the staff.

TV not working, otherwise excellent

WiFi is too slow and I got an uninvited visitor

There were several power cuts during the night. The problem was that all of the lights in the room would turn on when the power came back on. It made for a terrible night’s sleep. Other members of my party had the same problem in their rooms too. The ground floor terrace door didn’t lock. The room was very damp. Rising damp visible on the walls. Mould throughout.

The resort is nice, but for the price I'd like to see better service. Always had to ask 3 times in restaurants and reception on just the basics.... a fork, tuk tuk, a beer...

The property has a big potential and the infinite pool is great. However it looked more like a ghost hotel, few staff visible. We arranged in advance 2 paid options : honeymoon decoration and pick up. The driver was 35 min late for the pick up. No one helped to take the bags when we arrived with the taxi (other hotels had staff at the door especially when a pick up is arranged). They forgot the honeymoon decoration (even if it was on the sheet describing our reservation) but at least they did not charge for it. The food was ok. The hotel is isolated from the city but you will not necessarily enjoy the city with all the construction. Staff does not really greet people. It looks like the staff itself stopped believing in the hotel. It is like a old memory from the past. In summary, deceptive experience, expensive price for an average service compared to the 3 other hotels we stayed in Cambodia.

I’ll start with the pros: one of the best ocean pools out there and great gym facility and beautiful state in general. Unfortunately the cons way outweigh the pros. It’s a super dated hotel(1963) without proper maintenance. A lot of mold in our room ( I had a sea pavilion room) and the bathroom smelled disgusting. Cleaning staff apparently didn’t receive proper trainings and breakfast is disappointing too. Overall won’t recommend. The hotel is overrated and overpriced due to the ocean pool.