Phnom Penh Hotel Prices: A Cost Guide

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Phnom Penh’s hotel prices run similar to Siem Reap’s, sometimes slightly below, for a well-appointed capital city with less tourism pressure on accommodation than the temple town gets. Here’s what to actually expect to pay by tier, with real named examples at the upper end.

Phnom Penh Hotel Prices by Tier

Tier	Price/Night	What You Get
Budget (hostel dorm)	$8-18	Common area, sometimes a pool
Budget (guesthouse/hostel private room)	$13-36	AC, en-suite bathroom
Mid-range / boutique	$53-135	20-90 rooms, pool, central location
Upscale (riverside resort-scale)	$192-278	Multiple pools, several restaurants
Luxury / historic international-brand	$270-500+	Full spa, landmark status or skyline views

Named Examples by Tier

At the true luxury end, Raffles Hotel Le Royal (4.5/5, roughly 2,690 TripAdvisor reviews) runs $270-398/night and Rosewood Phnom Penh (4.8/5, roughly 538 reviews) runs $324-493/night. Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeethra (4.7/5, roughly 2,218 reviews) sits just below that at $192-278/night, with full resort-scale grounds on the riverside. The Plantation Urban Resort & Spa (4.6/5, roughly 2,791 reviews) and Pavilion (4.6/5, roughly 3,392 reviews) represent the strong $53-135/night boutique tier. Onederz Phnom Penh and Mad Monkey Phnom Penh cover the budget end, roughly $8-36/night depending on room type.

Hidden Costs Beyond the Room Rate

Many mid-range and upscale hotels quote room rates before a service charge and VAT, which can add 10-15% to the final bill — always check whether a quoted price is net or before tax when comparing two similarly priced options directly. Breakfast inclusion also varies significantly even within the same price tier, so two hotels at an identical nightly rate can offer meaningfully different real value once you factor in whether a $5-8 breakfast is bundled in or charged separately each morning. Airport transfers are rarely included at any tier below full luxury, and given the current distance to Techo International Airport, that’s worth budgeting for separately rather than assuming it’s complimentary.

Why Phnom Penh Runs Slightly Cheaper Than Siem Reap

As a working capital city rather than a resort town built around a single attraction, Phnom Penh has a much larger and more varied hotel supply relative to tourist demand, which keeps prices more competitive across every tier — a mid-range hotel here often runs 10-15% less than a comparable property in Siem Reap. Business and NGO travelers also make up a larger share of Phnom Penh’s hotel guests than in Siem Reap, which supports steadier, less seasonally volatile pricing overall and less dramatic peak-season spikes.

What Drives Price Differences Within the Same Tier

Within any given price band, river views, pool size, and proximity to the Royal Palace or riverside sights push a hotel toward the top of its bracket — a BKK1 hotel with the same star rating as a riverside one will often run 10-20% cheaper purely for location. Age and recent renovation status matter too, sometimes more than the star rating itself — a recently renovated 3-star can outperform a tired, older 4-star at a similar or lower price, so checking recent review dates and photos is worth the extra few minutes when comparing similarly priced options.

Booking Timing and Seasonal Swings

Phnom Penh doesn’t see the dramatic seasonal price swings that beach destinations do, but dry season (November-February) still runs 10-20% above rainy season rates, and rooms during the Water Festival in November — when the whole city fills up for the river boat races — can sell out days in advance at any price. Booking 1-2 weeks ahead is usually enough outside of these peak windows, though popular named properties like Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeethra are worth booking a bit further out given their popularity.

Comparing a Full Trip Budget by Hotel Tier

For a 4-night Phnom Penh stay, budget guesthouses ($13-25/night) total roughly $52-100, mid-range boutique hotels ($53-100/night) total roughly $212-400, and upscale riverside properties like Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeethra ($192-278/night) total $768-1,112 — a wide enough spread that, as in Siem Reap, accommodation choice often has more impact on total trip cost than any other single spending category. For specific budget picks, see Best Budget Guesthouses in Phnom Penh, and for riverside options across every tier, see Best Riverside Hotels in Phnom Penh.

How to Negotiate Longer-Stay Discounts

Independent guesthouses and smaller hotels are often willing to offer a modest discount (5-15%) for stays of a week or more when contacted directly rather than booked through a platform — a polite direct email or WhatsApp message mentioning your planned length of stay is worth the small effort, particularly for budget and mid-range properties. Larger chain hotels like Sofitel are less likely to negotiate directly but often run their own loyalty program discounts or seasonal promotions worth checking on the hotel’s own website before booking through a third-party platform.

A Realistic Weekly Accommodation Budget

A week split between 3 nights budget ($13-20/night) and 4 nights mid-range ($60-80/night) lands around $279-380 total for accommodation — a useful anchor figure for building a realistic overall Phnom Penh budget before adding food, transport, and activities on top.

Phnom Penh vs. Siem Reap: A Final Comparison

If your trip splits time between Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, budgeting slightly more for Siem Reap accommodation and slightly less for Phnom Penh reflects the genuine price gap between the two markets — a small adjustment that helps your overall trip budget track reality more closely than assuming identical costs in both cities. For a fuller picture of where to base yourself, see Where to Stay in Phnom Penh: Choosing Your Area and Best Hotels in Phnom Penh for the complete tier-by-tier roundup. If the evening scene factors into your choice, see Phnom Penh Nightlife Guide too.

Phnom Penh Hotel Prices on the Map

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does a hotel cost in Phnom Penh?

Budget guesthouses and hostels run $8-36/night, mid-range boutique hotels run $53-135/night, and luxury hotels run $270-500+/night, with an upscale riverside tier in between around $192-278/night.

Is Phnom Penh cheaper than Siem Reap for hotels?

Prices are broadly similar, sometimes slightly lower in Phnom Penh given less concentrated tourism demand and a larger, more business-driven hotel supply than Siem Reap.

Are Phnom Penh’s luxury hotels cheaper than Bangkok’s?

Generally yes, for a comparable standard of international-brand luxury hotel — Phnom Penh’s top-tier properties like Raffles Hotel Le Royal and Rosewood typically undercut equivalent five-star stays in Bangkok or Singapore.

Does Phnom Penh have big seasonal price swings like beach destinations?

Not dramatically — dry season (November-February) runs 10-20% above rainy season rates, with the exception of the Water Festival in November, when the whole city fills up and rooms can sell out days in advance at any price.

Are hotel prices in Phnom Penh quoted before or after tax?

It varies by property — many mid-range and upscale hotels quote rates before a service charge and VAT that can add 10-15% to the final bill, so confirm whether a price is net or before tax when comparing options.