HotelChatter - Siem Reap

And the Award For Best-Dressed Christmas Tree Goes To...

ASchechter — 2011-12-22T11:30:02-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/61268/IMG_0189.jpg" class="top">...the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Raffles+Grand+Hotel+d%27Angkor/local/3077">Raffles Grand Hotel D'Angkor</a> in Siem Reap, Cambodia! We got sent a photo yesterday of their colorful, bright, silk-adorned tree, which manages to make our tree at home look about as elegant as a bundle of twigs with a star on top. But then again, we don't normally hire a Paris-educated couturier to design our tree, now do we? Internationally-acclaimed designer Eric Raisina, who relocated to Siam Reap because of the region's native silk, and who has created textiles for the likes of Yves Saint Laurent and Christian Lacroix, decided to use the lotus flower as his inspiration for the tree, citing its associations with "purity." Hats off to him, because this is definitely one of

Siem Reap Hotel Guide: Hotel De La Paix's Hidden Water Wonderland

ced138 — 2008-10-24T09:56:51-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/7156/pool_de_la_paix_1.jpg" class="imgborder"> A few weeks ago, we discussed the merits of <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/H%F4tel+de+la+Paix%2C+Siem+Reap/local/305">Hotel De La Paix</a> from afar. This week, we had the chance to step inside the hotel and snoop around. Despite a distinct feeling of inferiority like only the French can impose, the experience was pretty sweet. Our takeaway? Other than enjoying the avant garde installations in the hotel's swank lounge and discussing with a cocktail waitress the myriad wildlife living in the giant Bayon tree in the center of the hotel's courtyard, the thing we most enjoyed about the place was its pool. This thing is ridiculous. Hidden on the hotel's second floor, it has everything: a bridge, an infinity ledge overlooking the ground-floor courtyard,

Siem Reap Hotel Guide :: Raffles, In Contrast, Is Fit For A Queen

ced138 — 2008-10-23T09:15:50-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/7156/raffles_hall.jpg" class="imgborder"> <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Raffles+Grand+Hotel+D%27Angkor/ian/160577">Raffles Grand Hotel d'Angkor</a> provides what's expected of it...no more and no less. Like Amansara nearby, the hotel focuses on understatement to liken itself to royal tastes and emphasize its subtle class. The hotel's sterile, colonial exterior continues inside the building's hallways and guest rooms. The result is a removed feeling from the air and bustle of Siem Reap--welcome to some and disconcerting to others. Still, it's the best way to see how high society of yesterday (and today) experience Angkor, from a safe, removed distance. The newly-built extension continues the hotel's austere feel that the more critical might (and do) call "uninspired." The rear gardens resemble a place where Queen Elizabeth might let her basset

Siem Reap Hotel Guide :: La Residence Gets A Facelift But More Work Is To Be Done

ced138 — 2008-10-22T10:15:49-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/7156/La_Residence.jpg" class="imgborder"> <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/La+Residence+D+Angkor/ian/117813">La Residence D'Angkor</a> is Siem Reap's greenest and wettest hotel. And as of August 1, the place just got greener and wetter. La Residence reopened after a three-month revamp. Orient-Express, which owns the hotel, brought in Pascal Deyrolle, a 16-year veteran manager with the company specializing in "troubled properties." Pascal added even more trees to the already dense foliage, he says, updated the grounds' many ponds, redecorated the outdoor lounge terrace, and added a new outdoor BBQ spot (complete with $50 imported Australian steaks). To hammer the theme home, guests receive complimentary coconut-flavored, green welcome cocktails. And Pascal has more grand plans for the hotel, he tells Hotelchatter. While a few guests right now have to

Siem Reap Hotel Guide :: Angkor Century Resort Goes Big

ced138 — 2008-10-21T09:30:48-05:00

More than eight million tourists visit Angkor Wat annually. The innumerable hotels in Siem Reap, the neighboring town that houses and feeds these visitors, all seem to shout for market share. Cheapest! Priciest! Best Golf Course!

Undoubtedly, Angkor Century Resort & Spa, yells the loudest. It's by far the largest hotel in Siem Reap, in terms of the size of its ground--2.4 hectares--and its number of rooms--190. Even the swimming pool is the biggest in town, the hotel's friendly Malaysian manager informed us.