Phnom Penh: Raffles Hotel Le Royal (February 2009)

Raffles Hotel Le Royal Phnom Penh is a neat, old colonial hotel! We loved the Elephant Bar, which has happy hour (half-priced) drinks each night from 4 to 8 (making them very affordable during that time). Le Phnom Deli also sells their pastries for 50% off from 6 to 9 at night, so if you think ahead and don’t have breakfast included with your room rate, you can buy a little something for the next morning, or as a late-night take-home dessert. There is a tiny terrace off the sweet shop where you can enjoy a snack. The pool area is nice, with plenty of chairs in both the shade and the sun. The twin pools themselves are large. There are two main dining options: Cafe Monivong and Restaurant Le Royal, as well as the Conservatory (lobby) bar, Elephant Bar, and poolside dining. We were upgraded to a Raffles Suite, which was awesome! Two full bathrooms, plus a bedroom and living room (and two TVs and two mini-bars)! All anticipated amenities/toiletries are included, plus robes, slippers, hairdryers. We debated between this hotel and the Intercontinental. While I feel that the Raffles location is safer, the IC is more in the center of the city (yet not near the sights). The Raffles is a bit isolated, making it necessary to take a tuk-tuk if you want to dine or shop outside the hotel, even just to grab some beverages instead of using the mini-bar. We did walk about two blocks during the day to find such a mini mart, but I wouldn’t recommend doing so at night in the dark. There is live music in the hotel lobby at certain times of the day, as well as in the Elephant Bar in the evening. I would probably choose this hotel again if I were to return to Phnom Penh. We did not eat in the restaurants here other than some sandwiches and dim sum in the Elephant Bar. Prices for food and drinks seemed inordinately high, even for a hotel (e.g., $5 for a can of Diet Coke, regardless of whether you bought it in the sweet shop, bar, or mini-bar). I did not use (or even see) the on-site spa or gym, but one morning while waiting for our guide, we saw great numbers of women on their way to yoga class, so the gym must have been fairly large to accommodate all of them. Internet access was NOT free; we paid $20 USD for 8 hours, which didn’t have to be used consecutively (a little outrageous considering the room prices). Airport transfers by regular car were $14 USD each way and were added directly to the hotel bill.