Shanghai Resort, located in Bavet city, Cambodia, primarily functions as a casino resort. While some visitors find it a "wonderful place" with friendly staff, others have encountered significant issues, making it a polarizing destination. It appears to cater more to a specific clientele, often described as "more for foreign people" or, paradoxically, not recommended for non-locals due to certain challenges.
The resort garners a range of ratings, from enthusiastic 5-star reviews praising its friendly atmosphere to a critical 1-star account detailing a highly frustrating experience. The common thread is that while the core facility might be appealing to some, several operational and service aspects fall short for others.
One of the most frequently mentioned points is the resort's isolation. It's described as being "pretty far from the city center", approximately 21 to 30 kilometers away. This distance can be a significant inconvenience for guests without personal transport or relying on local options. While an electric shuttle bus is sometimes available within the resort, its use for external travel or assistance with luggage can be inconsistent.
The resort offers bungalow-style accommodation. While rooms are generally reported as "big and beds comfortable", there are notable drawbacks:
Dining options within the resort are limited, primarily to a couple of restaurants within a small shopping mall. The reviews for food are overwhelmingly negative:
Shanghai Resort features a shopping mall (with limited stores), a small mart, and some bars. The swimming pool is generally considered "nice and quite big". However, there's a significant caveat:
Reviews regarding staff are mixed. Some visitors praise staff for being "very friendly" and helpful. However, a recurring issue is the significant language barrier; many staff members, despite wearing badges indicating English proficiency, reportedly do not speak English, necessitating reliance on Google Translate for communication. Furthermore, there have been unsettling reports of security personnel conducting unprompted bag searches upon departure for non-local guests, leading to feelings of being targeted and confused.
Based on varied guest experiences, Shanghai Resort appears to be a challenging choice for international travelers. While some aspects like the friendliness of certain staff members and the pool might be appealing, the consistent issues with communication, room quality, dining, payment options, and perceived discriminatory security checks detract significantly from the experience.
It is generally not recommended for anyone who is not a local or prepared for significant logistical and service challenges. If staying for purposes like visa processing, be sure to carry ample cash and be prepared for potential communication hurdles and inconsistent service.
We had to stay in Bavet Cambodia to wait for our visas to be processed before entering Vietnam and unfortunately for us, we decided to stay in the Shanghai Resort.It was the cheapest accommodation we could find in the area but it’s not worth the stay.The ‘resort’ is 30 minutes away from the main town and it’s made up of Bungalows, a shopping mall (only containing a couple restaurants),a small mart, a swimming pool and some bars.The staff at reception were nice but did not speak any English, despite their badges saying they spoke it. We had to communicate with google translate and it could take a significant amount of time to have your query solved.A $20 dollar deposit is asked on check in and also your passport.Firstly we were given a key to someone else’s room, we didn’t know until we walked in and saw them sleeping. We had to get a new room off reception. We then had to carry our two 20kg Backpacks and our rucksacks to the bungalow, but seen other guests get offered the electric shuttle bus to bring them to their bungalows and back to the main part of the resort.When entering the room, we had to turn on the electricity ourselves.The room was big and beds comfortable but we had many ants on the floor, in the bathroom and even found a few in the bed🤢 After having a shower, the water started bursting out of the pipes which wasn’t great trying to sleep with the sound of water running all night. There was also no wifi in the room, the phone did not work to call reception and the hairdryer only worked with certain sockets (not the bathroom ones)We decided to eat in the shopping mall restaurants, I would advise to not bother doing this. The food was overpriced, the most we have paid for food in the whole of Cambodia and it was below average.The chicken was all bone and cartilage, rice was stodgy and very unpleasant.We sat in the restaurant for 30 minutes waiting for our two coca-colas and when my partner went up to ask, he was turned down, rudely shushed and told to return to his seat by Shanghai Restaurant Executive manager Loek Usa.Our food came out and we still had to ask for our drinks and a shocked staff member had to fetch them for us and was asking the manager why we didn’t have our drinks yet.When we went to pay after a displeasing meal, we were stunned when the Executive manger asked for a service charge ontop of our bill. We asked what service did he provide but he did not speak any English despite his badge saying otherwise.The pool area is nice and quite big but you have to pay a fee of $2 pp to enter or it’s a $50 fine.No where in the resort takes card payments and the nearest ATM is a 15 minute drive away so if you don’t have lots of cash or a motorbike you’re screwed.I’d be lying if I said we weren’t excited to leave. We asked reception through google translate, the best way to get back into main town of Bavet. They said there’s a bus which is $3 each.They hired an electric shuttle bus which we assumed was to drop us to the bus stop.We where brought to the main gates to leave the resort and where stopped by security.Security and our shuttle bus driver started taking photos of us and kept talking into his radio and we heard the words ‘Bungalow’. We where told to get out and he asked to search my partners bags but not mine? My partner asked why he was searching by google translate but he just smiled and laughed nervously.He took photos of the inside of my partners bag.We were left feeling angry and confused at why we where being searched when we where given the all clear to go when we checked out at reception.Given the fact that many locals were going in and out of the resort in bikes and cars without being looked at twice, we felt targeted.I would certainly not recommend this ‘resort’ to anyone who is not a local.
