Raffles Grand Hotel d'Angkor

This hotel is a true period piece, more than seventy years old — and Raffles, its new owners, have turned back the clock a bit, with an extensive renovation, erasing some of the shoddy “modernisations” in the historic main building, as well as constructing two new (though convincingly old-fashioned and unobtrusive) wings.

There's a good chance you're on holiday in Cambodia for one reason only: Angkor Wat. The hotel is located at the edge of the town of Siem Reap, just 8 kilometers from the temple complex, an easy drive. But there is plenty to be said for the Grand Hotel besides its proximity to Angkor.

The idea here is to provide an alternative to the more heavily traveled resort destinations, and with direct flights from Phnom Penh and Bangkok, Siem Reap is actually rather convenient. This is an authentic French Colonial hotel, palatial, filled with '30s Art Deco furnishings, claw-footed bathtubs, and an antique (though refurbished) cage elevator. Beneath this exterior, though, are all the conveniences needed for survival in the competitive Asian luxury hotel market — satellite television, modern phone systems, bright high-tech lighting — and 24-hour valet service in the inimitable Southeast Asian style.

The hotel's bars and restaurants are excellent, and they have to be, as there is not exactly a thriving restaurant row outside the hotel. The pool, as well, is impressive, a full thirty-five meter lap pool in the hotel's inner gardens, and for extreme leisure there is the Raffles Amrita spa, offering a full range of treatments, and yoga and tai chi in the outdoor pavilion. A few relaxing hours here and you may forget all about the temples — hopefully the ongoing photo exhibit, collecting Angkor images from the last hundred years, will be enough to jog your memory.

How to get there: Raffles Grand Hotel d'Angkor is 8 km. from Siem Reap International Airport.