3 Luxe and Storied Hotels for Your Next Siem Reap Visit

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Siem Reap in Cambodia is a bucket-list destination as the gateway to the Angkorian temples. Here are three historic, luxury hotels in Siem Reap for your next trip.
Siem Reap, located in the northwestern part of Cambodia, is a bucket list destination for many travelers. Angkor Wat, the ancient capital of the Khmer Empire and now the World Heritage-listed Angkor Archaeological Park , has been a Far East tourist destination as far back as the end of the 19th century.
Five miles from Angkor Wat, Siem Reap remains the gateway to the Angkorian temples. This small, vibrant city now has all the facilities travelers need, including many hotels to fit all budgets. Along with Siem Reap’s rich cultural heritage and warm hospitality, visitors can explore incredible food, a growing arts scene, unique shopping, and a great selection of natural and city-based attractions.
3 Historic Luxury Hotels in Siem Reap
What if, as well as finding a conveniently located accommodation, your luxe hotel had fascinating stories intrinsically linking it to Siem Reap’s past? This could undoubtedly add to your Cambodian travel tales upon returning home. Let me introduce you to three hotels with storied pasts, each an ideal base for your Angkor Wat and Siem Reap explorations.
Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor
Opening its doors for the first time in 1932, Grand Hotel d’Angkor provided what was considered “luxury” accommodation for the first wave of travelers coming to see the famed Angkor Temples. European and Asian architectural traditions, including French colonial, Art Deco, and traditional Khmer, influenced Grand Hotel d’Angkor’s design. Overall, the hotel’s style and layout aligned with the grand hotels popular in Europe and elsewhere in the early 20th century.
Grand Hotel d’Angkor’s restored original facade. Photo courtesy of Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor
Grand Hotel d’Angkor quickly became a favorite for wealthy travelers, diplomats, and royalty. Charlie Chaplin, Somerset Maugham, French President Charles de Gaulle, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and Peter O’Toole are some of the esteemed guests to have stayed.
A New Beginning Though the Story Continues
Tourism and hotel operations ceased between the 1970s and 1990s due to the overflow of the Vietnam War and then the Khmer Rouge regime and other struggles. The Raffles Hotel group was invited to take over the hotel in the mid-1990s. After a complete refurbishment, Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor reopened on 30 December 1997.
The Raffles Suite in the hotel’s new wing. Photo courtesy of Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor
With a new wing of rooms and suites that perfectly replicates the architectural style of the main building, the hotel now boasts 119 rooms, doubling its original capacity. Period architectural details abound throughout the hotel, from the beautifully restored ironwork surrounding the original cage elevator to the floral-motif Art Deco railings.
The cool, uncluttered lobby reflects the understated elegance of the hotel. Corridors extend, to what seems like vanishing points, in either direction. The Conservatory overlooking the garden and poolside terrace extends the lobby area and provides a spacious lounge for cocktails and Raffles’s famous afternoon teas.
The Conservatory is ideal for those famous Raffles afternoon teas. Photo courtesy of Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor
Dining at Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor
Dining facilities include Café d’Angkor with its signature Champagne Breakfast and Royal Khmer cuisine featured at 1932. The richly toned Elephant Bar is ideal for cocktails, including this hotel’s version of the Singapore Sling. Add to that the already mentioned The Conservatory for those wonderfully unhurried afternoon teas and sundowners. Other facilities include the renowned Raffles Spa, a modern Fitness Centre, a selection of boutiques, and the 114-ft (35m) resort pool.

With its beautifully-landscaped French gardens, elegant accommodation, and refined service, including the renowned Raffles Butlers, Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor now offers the splendor of a bygone era to a new wave of travelers exploring Siem Reap.
FCC Angkor by Avani
Situated in the leafy French Quarter adjacent to the sleepy Siem Reap River, FCC Angkor Resort by Avani has had several lives. Or, more specifically, The Mansion, which sits as the centerpiece of the current-day resort, has had varied lives. Built in 1917, The Mansion was home to the regional Governor when Cambodia was still part of colonial French Indochine.
The Mansion is the majestic and historic centerpiece of FCC Angkor. Photo courtesy of FCC Angkor by Avani
Following the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime and subsequent troubles, The Mansion had various owners. It became the FCC Siem Reap when the FCC Hospitality Group, which owned and operated the Phnom Penh FCC, a former Foreign Correspondents’ Club, acquired the site in the early 2000s.
Nods to the FCC (Foreign Correspondents’ Club) in each guest room. Photo courtesy of FCC Angkor by Avani
They built a resort, and The Mansion as Siem Reap’s FCC became a favorite gathering place for locals, visiting writers and journalists, plus tourists. Hosting film festivals and other such events helped it attract international dignitaries. This included celebrity chef and TV host Anthony Bourdain who visited as part of his popular show “Parts Unknown.” Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, war correspondent Peter Arnett, and renowned British photographer Martin Parr are also said to have graced Siem Reap’s FCC.
The Next Chapter
After extensive renovations, the resort reopened in late 2019 as FCC Angkor by Avani, a brand within the larger Thailand -based international Minor Hotels group. The hotel has 80 guest rooms and suites split between two wings, each with a saltwater pool. All nestled beneath the property’s fragrant frangipani branches and ancient native trees.
The hotel’s two wings each sit under the fragrant frangipani branches and ancient native trees. Photo courtesy of FCC Angkor by Avani
The Mansion was transformed into an elegant restaurant with a balcony, rich timber floors, huge rattan wing-backed chairs, ceiling fans, and an eclectic menu. Continuing the FCC tradition, a new two-level alfresco Scribe Bar has been added at the front of the property, where travelers gather, swapping stories over refreshing beverages. The onsite Visaya Spa ensures that pampering is available after a long day of sightseeing.
FCC Angkor’s Scribe Bar is the new place for gathering. Photo courtesy of FCC Angkor by Avani
Quirky nods to the FCC past, like a manual typewriter on the desk, a rotary telephone, and old-fashioned wireless complement the guest rooms’ light-filled, clean, modern lines, Khmer arts, and Cambodian hand-pressed geometric tiles. As part of the hotel’s community outreach program, women in a nearby village crafted the handwoven bed runners and chair cushions, while a local copper worker fashioned the vanity unit sinks. Locally sourced and made room signage, bowls and vases, rattan and wicker chairs, and love seats adorn the rooms.
Locally sourced texture and design elements are on display in the Governor Suite. Photo courtesy of FCC Angkor by Avani
FCC Angkor by Avani is an ideal home for storytellers and those who enjoy authenticity, originality, and luxe local connections.
Park Hyatt Siem Reap
A prominent heritage landmark in downtown Siem Reap, Hôtel de la Paix opened its doors in 1957. Widely known as La Paix, it had a superb location, though it was perceived as a plain vanilla structure. It also had an unusual interlude as a rice storage depot from 1975 to 1979—the killing-field years of the Khmer Rouge.
Centrally located Park Hyatt Siem Reap. Photo courtesy Park Hyatt Siem Reap
This original structure was demolished in 2001 with Thailand-based American designer Bill Bensley challenged to create something new and relevant while honoring the original. And what an architectural jewel his Hotel De La Paix is. Bensley wanted this new hotel to have Art Déco elements like the original hotel. The designer also wanted a cool and hip look with Cambodian touches.
Art Déco colors of black, white, silver, and dusty pink feature throughout the property. Photo courtesy Park Hyatt Siem Reap
The front of the hotel’s design has references to the Angkorian temples. Flanked by sugar palms, the four pillars of the entrance porte-cochere are topped by steel vases that emit firey flames in the evening light. A statue of an apsara, a graceful Cambodian dancing maiden, stands at the center of the atrium foyer. Tucked away off the not-a-lobby is the reception desk. While the property’s public spaces are graced with bodies of water: ponds, pools, and fountains. The hotel’s four wings surround a central courtyard with a gnarled 50-plus-year-old ficus tree surrounded by water as a focal point.
Gloriously appointed guest Room overlooking the central courtyard. Photo courtesy Park Hyatt Siem Reap
A Luxe Design-led New Story
Hotel De La Paix’s 104 spacious guestrooms and 13 expansive suites feature polished Makha-wood floors, designer woven rugs, king- or twin-size platform beds, marble-floored bathrooms, pearl-colored terrazzo tubs, and antiqued-pewter light fixtures. The artwork is a well-chosen mixture of Cambodian, Art Déco, and modern. A collection of commissioned infrared photographs of local people and the Angkor temple complex, taken by British fine-art photographer Martin Reeves, are contemporary and Cambodian.
One of the two pools available for hotel guests, with Bill Bensley’s design detail continuing to shine through. Photo courtesy of Park Hyatt Siem Reap
Recreational facilities include two outdoor swimming pools—a saltwater lap pool and a free-form version for lounging and leisurely lolling. In-house, The Dining Room features an original mix of traditional Khmer and French cuisine. The dark-timbered Living Room lounge with Bensley splashes of outlandish color is a place to escape for snacks or pre- and post-dinner cocktails. French-inspired café, The Glasshouse Deli is a bright and airy meeting place for delectable light fare, fresh pastries, indulgent cakes, and an enticing selection of homemade ice cream and sorbets.
The Glasshouse is the hotel’s most relaxed of the three dining options. Photo courtesy of Park Hyatt Siem Reap
Such has been the success of this 21st-century iteration of Hotel De La Paix; Hyatt Hotels became the managers in 2012 and, after refurbishment, reopened in mid-2013 as Park Hyatt Siem Reap . Hotel De La Paix’s story continues with Bill Bensley’s outstanding design and Park Hyatts promise of gracious service on a personal scale.
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When You Visit These Luxury Hotels in Siem Reap
How delightful to spend a night or two in a luxurious hotel, surrounded by every indulgence. It becomes even more meaningful when the hotel has such a rich history and a storied past. These are the ideal hotels to call home while you explore Siem Reap and the Angkor temples. When looking for your next luxury hotel or planning your next trip to Asia , use Wander With Wonder as a reference guide.
3 Luxe and Storied Hotels for Your Next Siem Reap Visit
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