There’s an abundance of hotels to choose when deciding where to stay in Siem Reap. There is accommodation types that will suit all budgets. I spent a lot of time researching and believe that I found the best place to stay in Siem Reap!

I did originally book a 5 star hotel that looked lovely but when I spoke to other people they said it was on the airport road and a bit to far out of the main area of Siem Reap and we could expect to pay USD5 each way in a tuk-tuk to go to the night markets or into Pub Street.

You’re also welcome to join my South East Asia Travel Planning Facebook group – it’s a great resource for all things travel in SE Asia!

I had booked a ‘pay later’ deal on Agoda which meant that I could cancel my booking free of charge so I continued to search for a more suitable hotel. I came across the Prince d’Angkor Hotel & Spa and decided to book adjoining rooms there for much the same price. Deciding where to stay in Siem Reap was a challenge as the city is quite spread out.

Choosing where to stay in Siem Reap

Prince d’Angkor was also 5 star and was much closer to the main tourist area and night market. I think it was the best place to stay in Siem Reap. It was also only a USD2 tuk-tuk ride to get into the night market and Pub Street. We went in each day sometimes twice a day for breakfast or dinner. Most days we were out and about for lunch.

We were also close enough to Pub Street to walk if we wanted to but a tuk-tuk was much more convenient. There were tuk-tuk’s outside the hotel ready any time of the day if we wanted to go somewhere. If by some chance there isn’t one there just walk out to the street and there will be one not far away at all. Make sure you agree to a fare before you get in as you might get a bit of a shock at the other end.

Our hotel was set back from the street in a courtyard, almost behind the street front shops. The courtyard had a lovely decorative fountain and gardens and driveway up to the hotel entrance. Being set back from the street ensures minimal noise from the traffic, we didn’t notice any street noise at all during our stay even when at the pool.

Our Room

When we arrived at Prince d’Angkor we were escorted to our room. We had adjoining rooms with king bed in one room and twin king singles in the other room. The rooms were large and clean and both had a bathroom. It was facing out onto the street, at the front of the hotel. For reasons I won’t go into we had to ask for some assistance with a problem with the plumbing caused by number 3, it wasn’t a major issue but we asked reception to have a look while we were out the next day.

When we returned from our day exploring with Sok, our fantastic tuk-tuk driver  we were approached by Ravi from the reception desk, who we had been dealing with. He advised that the problem with the plumbing couldn’t be sorted and they would like to move us to another room. No worries, I’m pretty relaxed and was a little surprised as the issue wasn’t that serious to warrant this response. Ravi then told us that we would be upgraded to the TOP FLOOR PRESIDENTIAL SUITE. OMG no way!

The kids were running around the room like Julia Roberts in the scene from Pretty Woman at the Beverly Wiltshire. I, of course contained myself, until Ravi left then might have done the same! The suite consisted of 3 rooms, a king size 4 poster bed with ensuite and spa bath, double vanity and large shower, the next room had a lounge/dining area with a powder room and the kids had a queen bed and a king single with their own bathroom! Did I mention we were on the top floor over looking the pool from our 3 sets of windows…! Oh and the 3 bathrooms, get out of here, it was very, very lush.

It’s fair to say I was a little bit excited. Ravi the champion had come up with the goods, so after taking all the photos and taking a GoPro video, I settled in with my Angkor Beer and took in my surrounding and was very thankful for being me. Now I have to throw in here, this hotel had no idea that I was a travel blogger so they were not doing this for coverage, we had booked this hotel very cheaply on Agoda and by no means deserved this lovely upgrade. I was very, very impressed as were the group of British tourists I had met in the bar the evening before!

The Facilities

The hotel had all you would expect from a 5 star hotel in South East Asia. There was a hotel restaurant that served breakfast, lunch and dinner. We had dinner there a couple of nights but we did not purchase a package that included the buffet breakfast. Others we spoke to were very happy with it and advised that it was your typical buffet breakfast with cereal, eggs however you liked, pancakes, loads of fruit, yogurt all the usual things plus some of the typical Asian fare such as noodles, soup and rice.

The pool area is lovely and relaxing and has a kids pool attached. Its shallow and perfect for kids at one end and progressively gets deeper as you walk towards the opposite end. It’s large enough that when everyone is there it still doesn’t feel cramped. There is a bar near by and table service is provided. The kids loved the pool and we spent most afternoons there with the our new British friends i mentioned earlier. The kids loved swimming in the afternoon after spending most morning exploring Angkor Wat and surrounding temples.

The bar is located inside close to the reception, it was open most of the time. You could get smoothies for the kids, cocktails for me and all sorts of different beers. We took to the local Angkor Beer and drank that most of the time. The bar had happy hour between 5pm-7pm when drinks were 2 for 1 prices. The pool area was included in happy hour too which was great. There was a local singer that would be in the bar singing top 40 songs from 9pm, the kids loved her and she recognised the kids after the first night. They would sing along and dance with her on the night or 2 we were there that late. We had big days so most nights we were in our room by that time. Some nights we stopped for a night cap on our way back from the night markets and had a chat with other travellers about what they had seen and done that day. I find this the best way to find good restaurants and any activities I hadn’t known about.

The Opal Spa located on the ground floor of the hotel was reasonably priced, well maintained and comparable to most other hotel spa’s I have been to in Asia. I went and had a 1 hour relaxation massage which cost $65AUD. This is of course much more expensive than the one Craig had around the corner for USD9. I chose to have mine in the hotel and it was very lucky I did, as this was the day I picked up food poisoning and lets just say I made it back to my hotel room just in time. I feel bad for the ladies in the spa as I literally ran back to my room without saying a word, they must have thought it a bit strange.

The hotel also has a fitness centre with gym, sauna, spas and steam rooms on the ground floor near the pool, which always seemed to be full. I didn’t get a photo as every time I went there it was being used. It was relatively small but had what you would expect in a gym.

The staff on the tour desk, located next to the reception, are able to organise any tours and tickets that you need. They are also great for people that may not be as organised as I try to be. We did have the girls organise tickets for the Phare, the Cambodian Circus for us and I have to admit, we paid for B reserve but got A reserve, so we were pretty happy about that. We found all the staff at Prince d’Angkor to be absolutely fabulous.

Costs

For any hotel bookings in Asia I always book through Agoda.com, I find them to have a huge variety at very competitive prices. I use the option to book now and pay later, this means that I can cancel my booking and rebook if I find a better deal on Agoda at a later date. With the book now, pay later deal you are able to cancel free of charge. This allows me to get the best possible price for any hotel I am looking at.

Click here for up to date prices on Agoda.com for the Prince d’Angkor Hotel & Spa.

Our Verdict

Obviously we loved the Prince d’Angkor Hotel & Spa, how could we not with our awesome upgrade but I felt that we were just far enough away from the tourist area that we had the best of both worlds. We had the quiet relaxed resort feel but we were able to walk down to Pub Street and the Markets if we wanted too. Ravi looked after us so well, he has even sent us an email to make sure we got home ok, now that’s above and beyond and that type of service goes a long way.

All the staff were great with the kids. They took the time to talk to them and interact with them. I taught the kids how to say hello, thank you and goodbye in Khmer and all the locals loved it. Their faces would light up when the kids spoke. It was heart warming to watch and it only takes a little effort. It goes a long way.

There is nothing bad I can say about the presidential suite, it was very lucky we had that room, as it turned out Alannah and I had food poisoning and all 3 bathrooms were required! Not sure how we would have coped with only 1 or 2. I was very happy for this upgrade and very humble as I know they did it out of kindness. I do hope that this post brings a lot of business their way.

If you decide not to take the breakfast option like we did, there are plenty of places to eat around the hotel, a couple of times we went down to Pub Street and other times we went to Gloria Jeans which was less than 100 metres from the hotel. That was after my food poisoning when I just wanted to play it safe. Just to clarify here, the food poisoning came from eating cashews out at one of the temples not from the hotel. They arrived on our table in a bowl and I should have known better. I wouldn’t eat peanuts on a bar here in Melbourne so not sure why I ate them there. We ate in the night markets and had no problems whatsoever so don’t be afraid to eat there just beware of cashews in a bowl unless you saw them come out of a packet. That’s the same anywhere you go though.

We explored the temples most days and returned in the afternoon to the hotel for a relax and swim in the pool. We also went zip lining with Flight of the Gibbon. There is so many great things to do in Siem Reap with kids and I was apprehensive about visiting with the kids but I am so glad we did, we all got so much out of this experience. Prince d’Angkor does not provide babysitting or childcare options but if you are looking for options Tree House Nursery comes highly recommended by one of my readers.

I would go back to Prince d’Angkor in a heart beat. Would I have the same experience, probably not, how can you top perfection! I would still go and enjoy every minute of it too, if not only to see Ravi again.

Have you been to Siem Reap? Where did you stay, did you have a good experience? Would love to hear about it in the comments below.

Happy travels,

Sal & Co.

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