‘Gem’ in Siem Reap

About three miles outside of Siem Reap is a gem of a hotel: the Angkor Spirit Palace Hotel (Phneachey Village, Svay Dangkom Commune, Siem Reap, Cambodia; phone [855] 17 908 007). I found it on the Internet, and my husband, Bill, and I stayed there Nov. 16-17, 2012. The price per night was about $47 for a double or $36, single, breakfast included.

They have made the most out of their small piece of land. There’s a “controlled jungle” of tropical plants and trees all around the Khmer-style building. The rooms were mostly small and basic but clean. The pool was very clean and pretty. The restaurant’s food was nothing to sing about but was adequate and not expensive. 

The hotel was pretty far from town, but they provided free tuk-tuk rides to and from. It was also a really long ride to the Angkor temple complex. We got a tuk-tuk driver to take us to the temples, drive us all around, wait while we poked around, then bring us back, all for $15.

This normally would have been a quiet hotel, but we were there during “wedding season*.” This meant that the restaurant across the road and one behind the hotel each had weddings going both days, with ear-splitting music blaring over loudspeakers from just before 6 a.m. to around 9 p.m.; it was quieter all through the night. 

Even with the windows shut and the A/C going, there was no sleeping during the loud time. The hotel staff apologized but really couldn’t do anything about it.

I loved the hotel for its décor, landscaping, pool and general wonderfulness. If you can manage to miss the weddings, it’s a great place; otherwise, I would probably pick a less-charming hotel in town.

FLORENCE DRAKE

Readfield, ME

*In Cambodia, weddings usually take place during the dry season, October through April, with the majority of them in October and November. The typical Cambodian wedding is a dawn-till-night affair.