The Sothea
Siem Reap, Cambodia
This hotel was built by a wealthy Cambodian business man in honor of his wife, Ms. Sothea. I love that the hotel then celebrates her, women, and Cambodian culture in both its architecture and decoration. The rooms are large and include private butler service. The landscaping, pool and even rooftop gardens are lovely and peaceful and I think this hotel is a great honeymoon or anniversary option, but might not fit in everyone's budget.
Beautiful architecture and lovely big rooms.
A very pricey option compared to similar properties.
This hotel loves events and they do a good job of incorporating community outreach into each event: from fashion shows of local fair trade products, to art exhibits featuring local children's art to music put on by non profit bands, they find a way to hold a lot of events and all their events have a community angle. They are a part of ConCert, so guests are pointed in the right direction if they want to give back.
It's also worth saying that this hotel is Cambodian owned and is a real celebration of Cambodian culture. This is a new hotel so I hope that as it grows and becomes a more permanent fixture in Siem Reap they are able to broaden the scope of what they do.
Reviewed by: Andrea Ross
November 2009