by

Whom are you sleeping with?

Whom are you sleeping with?

Would it be glitterati of the days of yore, Jacky Onassis? Or perhaps you prefer to mingle with royalty, a la Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon? What about with one of UK’s most famous writer of the era? No, not JK Rowling; I am talking about Somerset Maugham.

Given that they have all walked towards the light, save for JK Rowling, you would still be able to enjoy the luxurious traditional (read: old) surroundings where they have once slept in at Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor. Like any grand dame, it has gone through several tumultuous moments throughout its history. This hotel was first opened in 1932 with 60 rooms. In 1970, Lon Nol and his military staff occupied it after leading a military coup against Prince Norodom Sihanouk. Five years later, the Pol Pot cadres occupied the hotel during his communist rule. When the Khmer Rouge was defeated in 1979, the Vietnamese forces occupied the hotel. It was only reopened again to the public on December 1991.

Raffles International Limited took on large scale restoration works of the hotel in March 1996. The hotel was then re-opened after a complete renovation on 30 December 1997. The four-story main building was preserved, but was refurbished with taste and imagination. Two low-rise wings in the same colonial style were added to double its room count to 131 keys. Traditional art deco pieces, antique photographs and posters from the 1920s were proudly displayed to convey elegance, glamour and sophistication of the golden days. An Otis cage elevator from 1932 was also preserved too add a touch of history to the place.

RGA Lobby

Lobby Area – The Otis 1932 elevator (or lift, whatever) is on the right; you’d probably need a license to operate it.

The 35-meter pool was the first pool in Siem Reap when it was added on to the complex. Inspired by the ancient bathing pools of the Khmer kings at the Phimeanakas Temple at Angkor, the pool is still the kingdom’s largest. Legend had it that in this temple, a naga, a dragon serpent-spirit, would take the form of a woman. All Angkor kings must sleep with her every night in the tower before he could join his wives and concubines, lest disaster befall him or the kingdom. How about that for personal sacrifices to fulfil one’s duty to the kingdom? In addition, this pool is rated as one of the world’s most spectacular swimming pools by MSN Travel Canada.

RGA Pool

A Gorgeous (with a capital G) pool with traditional Khmer-styled dome at the background; now, just watch out for the mythical serpent in the form of a woman…

Depending on the room that we are getting, we might be facing the pool or the 60 000 sqm Royal Crusade for Independence Gardens. Regardless of view, the rooms would be decorated with hand-carved wooden post and assembled with an eclectic mix of Cambodian and art-deco pieces that reflect the hotel’s inimitable history. For a little bit of pampering, Sarah could be interested in spending the nights at the two bedroom suites of Uma Villa or Kama Villa. I believe it would be available at a modest supplement of at least USD 2400 /night. These villas are equipped with a full pantry facilities and a private wine cellar. But if you are dropping that amount of money, why would you cook yourself? Call your personal 24-hour Butler to arrange everything for you!

RGA Four Post 2

“Every morning there’s a halo hangin’ from the corner of my boyfriend’s four-post bed… (Sugar Ray)” – Hand-crafted four-post bed, mind you…

The Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor would certainly not want Jacky Onassis or us to go hungry. It has plenty of options made available for dining: from exotic Royal Khmer cuisine at The Restaurant Le Grand to Noum Pang, a delicatessen serving traditional French pastries and Cambodian delicacies. Enjoy a sumptuous breakfast at Cafe d’Angkor with Asian and continental favourites. Try out the hotel’s signature dish of Khor Bangkong, braised fresh water lobster in ginger and caramel sauce, at the Le Grand. Princess Margaret and Wei would also be delighted to have a traditional afternoon tea at The Conservatory.. Yash and Tan-Chi could go ga-ga over Elephant Bar’s signature cocktail Airavata; a refreshing cocktail named after Indra’s, The King of Gods, multi-headed white elephant. This concoction is made of rum, coconut passion, lime juice, crème de banana and pineapple & coconut juice and a dash of Raffles’ magic.

RGA Elephant BarThe Elephant Bar – Notice the details on top of the pillars?

After all the temple tours and 5AM wake-up call for yoga at Angkor Thom, you could use some pampering. Raffles Amrita Spa would be a perfect place to benefit from a traditional Khmer therapeutic massage, chab ta shai: a vigorous, firm pressure point, rubbing, kneading and rocking massage for effective pain and tension relief. The massage complete with heat herbal pack to enhance healing and soothe aching & painful muscles. A 55 minutes treatment is priced at USD 65 while an extended 80 minutes version is available at USD 80.

So, whom are you sleeping with?

1,385 thoughts on “Whom are you sleeping with?”

  1. It’s really a nice and useful piece of information. I’m glad that you shared this helpful info with us. Please keep us up to date like this. Thanks for sharing. 토토사이트

  6. This article is an appealing wealth of useful informative that is interesting and well-written. I commend your hard work on this and thank you for this information. I know it very well that if anyone visits your blog, then he/she will surely revisit it again.
    사설토토

  11. I’d like to thank you for the efforts you have put in penning this website. I am hoping to check out the same high-grade content from you in the future as well. In fact, your creative writing abilities has motivated me to get my own blog now. 바카라사이트

  13. I don’t even understand how I stopped up here, but I thought this submit used to be good. I do not realize who you are but definitely you’re going to a well-known blogger in case you are not already. 카지노사이트

  14. really enjoyed reading it, you might be a great author. I will certainly bookmark your blog and definitely will come back sometime soon. I want to encourage you to continue your great writingClick for more info
    바카라사이트인포

  22. Amazing how thiis article help me as a human being thats help me a lot! This has been a really wonderful post. Thanks for providing this info.

  26. I was pretty pleased to find this web site. I need to to thank you for your time for this fantastic read!! I definitely loved every bit of it and I have you book marked to look at new stuff on your blog.
    바카라사이트윈

  28. I don’t even understand how I stopped up here, but I thought this submit used to be good. 카지노사이트 I do not realize who you are but definitely you’re going to a well-known blogger in case you are not already.

  30. Wow, amazing blog layout! How long have you been blogging for?
    you made blogging look easy. 토토사이트 The overall look of your site is magnificent, let alone the content!

  32. This article is an appealing wealth of useful informative that is interesting and well-written. I commend your hard work on this and thank you for this information. I know it very well that if anyone visits your blog, then he/she will surely revisit it again. 사설토토

  48. lotto vip | หวยออนไลน์ และ หวยหุ้น อัตรจ่ายสูงที่สุด บาทละ 910 อันดับ 1 ของไทย สมัครง่าย เล่นง่าย ไม่ต้องโหลด สมัครสมาชิกวันนี้รับ เครดิตฟรี 300 บาท แอดไลน์ : @MGWIN

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *