Siem Reap Hotel Reviews

Marvellous temples to be seen...good restaurants: "amok" typical but fancy restaurant, "carnets d''asie" proposes you good meals in a very nice restaurant combined with a bookstore, gifts shop (french speaking)...

The Home Cocktail restaurant on Wat Bo Road was awesome value for money...cocktails $1.80 and large beer $1.50 till 9pm....food was excellent in quality and price $1-4 a dish...seek this place out!!!

Siem Reap is much more westernized than I thought it would be. One could go and never eat Cambodian food because of the number of American/Western options. Pub Street is an area that has only western bars/restaurants, which is nice. But tourists should try and avoid spending all their time there as they would miss the real Cambodia.

To visit all the temples you need to buy a pass: US$20 one day, US$40 3 days, US$60 6 days. You need a passport picture! The must see: Angkor Wat, Bayon, TaProhn, the rest you can skip if you don''t have lots of time. Take 1/2 day for the Floating Village (US$13 pp)1 1/2h tour. Rent a Tuk-Tuk (US$6 1/2day) to visit the town. The open air war museum is a nice change from all the temples. AngkorWeb, opposite Provincial Hospital, for $l 1hr internet. Go to the Old market for local souvenirs. You can pay everywhere in US$, but have small notes ready. If you can, visit Siem Reap in the low season, when there are less tourists and looks less commeercial!

There are many small pubs within one block of the hotel. They are located on what is known as the "Bar Street." Additionally, there is a nice disco just over the bridge from the hotel, named Martini.

Plenty of restaurants, bars around town but obviously the main reason for visiting are the temples. The main problem is the heat, try to start early and maybe think of taking a break midday to avoid the worst temperatures.

Siem Reap''s grown dramatically since I was there 5 years ago. As a result there are a number of good restaurants to choose from Red Piano restaurant is popular and was the home-based for film crews filming ''Tomb Raider'' with Angelina Jolie. Soup Dragon offers home-made ice crean including to its regular dining options. Blue Pumpkin serves crisp baquette sandwiches and good shakes. My guide recommended the US$12 evening show/buffet at the huge ''Koulen'' restaurant. Costumes and performances of traditional dances was top notch.

Went to the floating villages. Worth going to. We hired a taxi for the day. Actually the taxi that brought us from the airport. It cost approx £15 for the day. You have to pay a fee at a checkpoint before getting there but this includes the boat that takes you around. The boat trip was approx 1-2 hours. The road is pretty bad getting there but you see a lot of life on the way. On the way back we went into Raffles hotel for lunch.It was worth it just to see it and it wasn''t very expensive. The taxi also took us to see the Landmines museum run by an ex Khmer Soldier. They have volunteers from this country helping there as they run a sort of orphanage for children that are amputees. It really makes you think. Very interesting place. Of course we went to see Angkor Wat. We only spent one day here and found that it was enough for us. We hired a taxi again for the day with a guide. It was 20 dollars each to get in plus 45 dollars for the taxi and guide. It was really beautiful. One other thing that we saw was a cultural dance at a hotel just two streets away from our hotel. Can''t remember the name of the hotel but it was in a 4-5 star small hotel which had a theatre next to it which I think was the National Dance Theatre. Dinner was included and it was very, very good. More expensive than most of the other shows (like double) but worth it.

We arranged a car and driver through the hotel to take us to the temples at Angkor which was $50 for two days. Our journey from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap is worth noting. We had bought high-speed boat tickets to make the four-hour journey from Phnom Penh. When we arrived at the boat dock, we were told that there weren''t enough people to make the trip worthwhile for them, so they took the eight of us who had bought tickets on a bus to the southeast end of Tonle Sap Lake -- about a 2-hour ride. There, at a floating village, we met the boat that was bringing people from Siem Reap. After an exchange of passengers in a sort of marshy area, we were off in the boat heading toward Siem Reap. At full speed -- probably 35 mph -- it took another 2-1/2 hours until we reached the floating village near Siem Reap. We then switched to another boat, which took us to this narrow, rickety, precarious dock made of single teak planks atop bamboo poles. There, we were swarmed by taxi drivers who wanted to take us the 15km into Siem Reap. They were very forceful and really surrounded us, making us really feel uncomfortable. All of them offered the same deal: $1 for two people. The driver I chose happened to have a flat tire when we arrived at his car. That fixed, we were soon on our way down a very bumpy and muddy dirt road that seemed very remote. At that time, he asked us whether we had anyone to take us around Angkor Wat. We said we had already arranged a driver. At that point, the one-dollar fare suddenly went up to $7 -- but we were welcome to get out in this remote area and get the next taxi that came by. Since a $6 difference really isn''t worth getting into a losing argument about the principle of the matter, I acquiesced to the sudden price hike and in a good-natured way tried to argue the Buddhist philosophy of lying about the price to lure customers in. He explained that all the drivers do the same, and that was the only way to get people''s business. Pretty sad, but he did get us to our hotel. What he did not realize, however, is that when he gave me his number to call if we needed him, I immediately threw it away; I certainly would never deal with a person like that again.

Siem Reap ia a must see destination - the size of the ruins is astounding as was the size of their Empire. Nothing compares to seeing Angkor Wat - and I have seen most there is to see at least in Asia. To understand the magnitude of the atrocity of the Pol Pot Khmer regime and to realise how far Cambodia has moved forward in a relatively short period of time is amazing. They will be fully back on their feet within 10 years for certain. The local cuisine is compartatively mediocre in comparison to Vietnamese and Thai cooking, but a brilliant French restaurant in a courtyard at the back of a library/art gallery was the culinary highlight for me. Definitely Angkor Wat is a must see - two full days of sight seeing is sufficient and if you are lucky enough to have a good driver and tour guide (ask for No. 0091) then all the better.

We did take a trip to Angkor Wat and some of the other ancient temples and it was beautiful and very impressive. Our favorite was the Bayon and should not be missed. For all the trips and everything else it is recommended to always ask for the prices in advance to avoid surprises. We went to the Victoria Hotel for lunch and dinner a couple of times, the service and the food was very good. The restaurants in Angkor are much more reasonable than in a lot of other places in Asia. A lot of tourists go to the old market area where all of the bars and restaurants are. There is very good value for the money, good to ask for the Siem Reap Visitors guide which is free and is available at most hotels and shops. It explains the different temple areas and gives very good info about trips and restaurants.

I traveled to Siem Reap/Angkor from Phnom Penh. I met a super-friendly/knowledgeable driver named Nol (cell phone 855.12.998.352) at the airport in PP. He took me around PP for the night, and made arrangements for me to be driven around by an associate of his in Siem Reap. These guys are well worth the $20 or so a day you pay them. Tuk Tuks are fun for a short ride, but if you are seeing temples all day, you need a car with airconditioning. Saw most of the temples in Angkor over 2 days, and saw the main highlights of PP, including the Killing Fields, Royal Palace, Tuol Sleng museum, etc.

The Old Market area''s an interesting place to buy souvenirs (bargaining here is a pleasant experience). Most vendors accept US dollars, but make sure to bring lots of small notes. They don''t accept coins, so be prepared to receive change in local currency, or in kind as I opted (i.e. 3 pcs. instant noodles in exchange for $.50 change). Many quaint, reasonably priced restaurants surround the Old Market. Try the home-made ice cream/sorbet at the Soup Dragon restaurant. Needed a memory stick for my digital camera and found one at the Sakallork Photo Shop on Route Number 6. It''s a small store with a friendly staff. The owner even gave me a free ride to the Old Market on the back of his motorcycle.

The standard price for a rented car (with driver) is $25 a day, with an additional $25 needed for a guide. The arrangement is for a 3-hour in the morning (8 to 11) and another 3-hour tour in the afternoon (3 to 6). The noon break is necessary to recover from the heat! A tuk-tuk costs $6 for half a day and $12 for a whole day. Nearby the hotel is the Bayon II Restaurant with evening dance performances daily ($12 with all-you-can-eat buffet). Make sure to visit the roofed market stalls downtown to get good deals on souvenirs.

Be aware of the $25 visa charge and $20 exit tax when travelling by air. $40 for a 3 day temple entrance. Add to that dearer food etc than Thailand, it makes it quite expensive for a 4 day trip. However the temples are quite fantastic!

We had an absolutely wonderful time in SR. We travel alot & this trip was no exception. The people in this wonderful country are doing such an amazing job considering the devastation they have suffered time & time again. We used Saron Soeun as our tour guide. He was fantastic! His english is great & his knowledge of the temples is amazing.You can look at Saron''s web site at www.sarontours.com. We had three days in SR & had Saron as our guide for 2 days. We found that this was ample time to spend around the temples. We pretty much saw every temple in the area & even went out to Bantreay Srei which is 35km out of Siem Reap. We did these temples in great detail & didnt feel like we skimmed over them at all.<br> <br> By the 3rd day we were most happy to have the day to ourselves to do a bit of shopping & go back out to Angkor Wat in the pm for one last look. Angkor Wat is best in the am. The crowds are much less & you can have many spots to yourself. Would suggest going out there in the am to do the big tour & then go there again one arvo for a look with the sun setting,but the crowds at this time are huge & the place takes on a whole different experience-not as pleasant as in the morning when it is all still a little mysterious.<br> <br> If you are there on a Fri or Sat nite, please take an hour out of your time & go and see Beatocello. He is the Western Doctor who has spent his life dedicated to building Children''s hospitals in PP & SR & caring for those who cannot get care. He plays the Cello and sings a little,which is quite entertaining. He plays in the Children’s hospital at 7.15pm for one hour & its free. The more important part about this is he shows 2 movies which will change the way you will think forever(not gorey)just eye opening. If you can please go, make a donation to this very necessary cause & if you are there during the opening hours of the hospital, please go and give blood. I know that this sounds like a scary thing to do in such a poor country, but I can assure you that it is totally safe. These children need us to help. Please dont just be a tourist, give something back to these people who have had so much taken away from them. I urge you. We had the best time in Cambodia & are already planning our next trip back there.

We had guide and driver for our three days which we organized before arrival which was helpful. We ate at the excellent Red Piano and the Ivy. We went to Dr. Beat Richners concert at the hospital on the Friday night...an interesting and thought provoking experience! The real highlight, other than the temples, was our wonderful massage at "Seeing Hands 4" which I would highly recommend. It was easy to walk there from the hotel.

If you''re not on a package tour, speak with several tuk-tuk drivers and find one who speaks passable English and knows something about Angkor Wat, then hire him for the day (arund $10, plus drinks). It may be more interesting. If you''re going in the dry season, and if you decide to see the floating market, avoid, at all costs, taking a tuk-tuk to the boats! Take car or bus. The unpaved riverbed they use for a road when the water is low results in the tuk-tuk ride from hell. Three days later my kidneys still hurt.<br> <br> Take the time to see the war museum. The collection of junk weaponry is very uninspired, almost boring. But the attraction is to talk to Mr. Cat, as he says his friends call him. Because he has 9 lives. After he relates his life story and shows you all his war wounds, you''ll really think he does have 9 lives. And, if, after hearing of the unspeakable tragedy visited upon him and his family by the war, land mines, etc., you don''t have a king-sized lump in your throat, you''re not human.

Angkor Wat is simply beautiful and something absolutely worth seeing. A three day visit gives plenty of time to relax and see the top temples (Ta Prom, The Bayon, Angkor Wat and the pink sandstone temple outside of Angkor). Nice restaurants are Viroth''s and the FCC.

We got around in a tuk-tuk to all of the temples. We used Mr. Moram and Mr. Sopha to get around. Mr. Sopha has a smoother ride and knows much more about the temples than Mr. Moram. But, Mr. Moram is very kind and he drove us around for 2 days, aprox. 14 hours and he charged $25. They are both very reasonable and good drivers. I would definitely recommend them!! Mr. Moram: 855-12 994 285; Mr. Sopha: 855- 12 410 802.