This hostel is a particularly popular hostel for backpackers. It is set on the banks of the river around fifteen minutes moped ride of the town centre. It does get pre-booked as it is so popular. We went in the rainy season and we couldn’t get in when looking five days in advance. If you are heading to Cambodia in peak and summer season imagine just how far in advance you would have to book. A tip to keep in mind so you are disappointed.
If you were like us and didn’t manage to get a spot you can still visit the hostel during the day. We actually ended up really liking the ‘Monkey Republic’ hostel we stayed in. Full review also for this is up on the site.
Back to ‘Arcadia’, the communal area at this hostel was definitely the best part of it. It had everything social travellers could ask for: a pool table, a bar, table tennis table, a huge water slide, a blob. I think this what it’s called, you know that huge inflatable balloon thing that looks a bit like a giant pillow, that one person sits on one end and two people jump on the other side to ping the first person in the air and into the water? Blob. The social area also has loads of tables you can just sit around and watch other traveller embarrass themselves by gracefully smacking into the water. It’s a lot of fun and a lot of entertainment. The kitchen serves good food as well so you basically have a dinner show.
The dorm rooms here are very open without a proper door on the front of them. It’s set down a dirt track so you don’t have access or anything from a main street but it is all very open. It’s all made from wood to be very rustic and therefore has a outhouse feel to it. The showers/toilet areas are the same with that out-back, in the wild sort of feel to them. They aren’t the cleanest you’ve ever seen but it’s to be expected. You’d know what I mean as soon as you see photos of the hostel.
The staff were all friendly and young – I think they were other travellers looking at making some money on their way to the next stop. This meant they were always up for a laugh and joining in with the action. They kept the bar open until late if you were staying up for drinks, always a plus to the social aspect.
Just bear in mind on my first comment regarding the distance from the centre of town if you did want to go for drinks you would need to get a tuk-tuk home or a moped ride back. Vis-versa if you are staying in the centre of Kampot you may not want to hire a moped if you’ve just done a full day of river activities and beer pong. The staff can order you a tuk-tuk back to town.
Due to the pandemic at the moment the hostel is currently closed so I am not able to add pricing into this blog. As soon as I am able to I will make sure I add this information for you.
If you have any other questions about this hostel, please feel free to ask on my ‘contact me’ page.
LEAH HANCOX 