Thursday, August 8, 2024

Hotel Review: Amber Angkor Hotel & Spa, Siem Reap, Cambodia

We were recommended The Amber Angkor Hotel and Spa by our long-time travel consultant Club7 Holidays. There were plenty of other options, across the city, but we finally settled on this one. It turned out to be a good choice. It was right in the centre of town, a little set back from the road and just near the Wat Bo (temple), and near to the night market, a short tuk tuk ride away.

The hotel itself is quite large, which isn’t immediately visible when seen from the road. Spacious ground floor and a simple enough lift. We had a triple room, which was quite roomy, though the bathroom was a little on the cramped side, but quite ok. The single room we saw was neat but small. You may be hard pressed to put too many bags. 

The one thing I always dislike in hotels is that one needs to climb into and out of bathtubs for bath. That’s not a good idea for older people, or for that matter, any people in wet areas. Fundamentally, I don’t even know how many people really use bathtubs in hotels! But presumably, a lot do, as I have seen bathtubs in hotel bathrooms across the world. Would this be considered a water wastage?

The restaurant was simple and roomy, but the breakfast quality left much to be desired. It simply wasn’t good enough quality, and variety. It gave the impression that a majority of the guests were usually SE Asian or locals- and even the few locals we saw didn’t look very pleased either. This is one area this otherwise nice hotel needs to drastically improve. The quality of breakfast we had in Helsinki, for example, was top notch- prices were more or less the same ( Cambodia is not a cheap destination contrary to beliefs that Asia is cheap).  

Water dispensers are on the ground floor, and you need to go fill bottles yourself. Nothing unusual in this. The rear area that backs onto the Wat Bo road has the swimming pool, quite nice and well frequented. 

The best part was Daniel, the manager of this hotel. Quick, efficient and polite, he arranged all the taxis and tuk tuk that we hired during the stay. His replies on email before we arrived were also comprehensive enough ( he in fact told us in detail of the small circle and grand circle tours, and arranged the taxi and guide as well). Eased any concerns we had quite bit and other wise made the trip far more enjoyable. On the last day in fact, we had to check out by 11am but our flight to Hanoi was around 7pm- Daniel was kind enough to arrange a single room for us to rest in.

All in all, a good stay- recommended as on December 2022. Readers need to go thru the latest reviews and take their own decision.


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