The Raffles owned Grand d’Angkor is the centrepiece hotel in Siem Reap – the first luxury hotel close the temples of Angkor, welcoming illustrious guests since 1933. For as long as it has been in Siem Reap, a visit to the ancient Angkor temples has been synonymous with a stay at the Grand Hotel d’Angkor, as the imposing main building is a colonial-era gem in the same tradition as The Oriental in Bangkok or The Strand in Rangoon.

The Grand d’Angkor still has pretty much everything going for it; the best (and largest) swimming pool in Siem Reap; perfectly landscaped extensive gardens; impeccably groomed and uniformed staff, the most assured and experienced in Cambodia; a well-stocked library; fine-dining restaurants .. and much, much more. It still looks to set the standard in Siem Reap and none other can compete on history.

The original hotel was designed by French architect Ernest Hebrard, the architect behind many of Indochina’s most striking buildings. The main building has been carefully restored to its original style and is now complemented by new wings of similar architectural inspiration. There are 119 guest rooms and suites, each elegant and appointed with art-deco style furnishings and Cambodian objects d’art. You have a choice of pool or garden views and the ‘Cabana Rooms’ feature a terrace with direct access to the pool whilst the ‘Landmark Rooms’, with their outrageously comfortable four-poster beds, are located in the original building. There are also “”Personality Suites””, named after famous occupiers of old.

In keeping with a hotel of such stature, there are an array of distinctive restaurants and bars (eight in total) to choose between; ranging from the formal, where a strict dress codes remain in place, to the more relaxed. The hotel is also home to the renowned Raffles Amrita Spa, fully equipped with the latest high-tech exercise equipment and spa treatments.