Raffles Le Royal Phnom Penh, Cambodia: A Review

One of my favorite things about Southeast Asia is the wealth of grand dame hotels in countries like Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. I’ve had the pleasure to stay at hotels like the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok, the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi and there plenty more to discover in cities like Siem Riep and Luang Prabang.

While in Phnom Penh at the beginning of the year for work, I had the opportunity to add another colonial masterpiece to my list: Raffles Le Royal Phnom Penh. Awash in history, it was my first visit to a Raffles and while there were some minor hiccups when it came to the stay, it is the only place to stay if you are considering a historic option when visiting Cambodia’s capital.  

The hotel is well situated just north of “downtown” Phnom Penh with plenty within walking distance including a new luxury mall, Starbucks, the Phnom Penh Night Market, the Colonial Post office, and Wat Phnom Daun Pehn, around which the city was built some six hundred years ago.

I arrived via Uber and after the car (they’re all inexplicably Toyota Priuses) dropped my off in the iconic Raffles gravel driveway, there was no one to welcome me or take my bags and I opened the huge double doors into the lobby myself. I’m an able-bodied man, but still, at an obscenely expensive five-star hotel, someone should open the door for you. I was given a welcome drink during check in, which was presented in a lovely silver holder with an orchid on top. I heard the magical words from the reception staff: “We were able to upgrade your room,” which I did not expect as a lowly Accor silver member. While I had booked a room in the new wing of the hotel, I was thrilled to hear that my upgraded room was in the heritage wing.    

The room at Raffles Le Royal Phnom Penh

I stepped into my room, which was cool and airy and did not have any of the musty mildew smell that afflicts these old colonial hotels in Southeast Asia. Next to the comfortable king sized bed was an old school rotary telephone and a fashionable carpet covering the original hardwood floors. There was a Nespresso style coffee machine and plenty of bottled water. The charming writing desk featured a real orchid and another rotary telephone as well as hotel stationary, which is getting harder and harder to come by these days.

The marble bathroom featured a claw-footed tub but I did all of my washing in the shower, which had superb water pressure and temperature. Unfortunately, the toiletries were not branded, which is something I would expect form a hotel of this caliber. There was really only one issue with the room, which was that due to the fact that the wood and the adjoining frame were made with wood from over a century ago and that ever since, they have been in a pretty humid environment. As a result, they don’t exactly fit into each other like a glove any more. So, at night, when the lights in the hallway are still on, quite a lot of light spills into the room from under the door and between the door and the frame. After not sleeping very well the first night, I was able to solve the problem the second night by rolling up a towel for the bottom of the door and by stacking up all my suitcases and some pillows all the way up to the ceiling.

The pool at the Raffles Le Royal Phnom Penh

After settling into my room, I made my way down to the pool, which is one of the high points of the hotel. The halls at Raffles Le Royal are wide and majestic and effortlessly bring you back to a bygone era so just getting down to take a swim is an absolute pleasure.

 It’s split into two separate sides so if there is a noisy bunch of kids on one end, you can move on down to the other half. The pool staff were extremely attentive and brought ice water as well as a selection of bottles with sunscreen and tanning oils. From a poolside recliner, it was an absolute pleasure to do some tanning while taking in the wonderful palm trees in the garden and the architecture of the hotel. There is a poolside bar and a menu if you are looking to lunch by the pool but I didn’t partake.

There is also a well-appointed workout room which is connected to the spa and although I didn’t take any pictures, I had a very enjoyable workout with a jasmine scented cold towel from the fridge to cool off afterwards.

The Elephant Bar and breakfast at Raffles Le Royal Phnom Penh  

Perhaps the crown jewel of the Raffles Phnom Penh is the Elephant Bar. With two tusks perched proudly at the entrance, a stately bar, paintings of elephants on the ceiling and walls, and a gin selection to rival those in the United States, I spent every evening of my stay at the Elephant Bar. I had one cocktail to try out the barman’s skills, but otherwise stuck with beer. There was a happy hour with the second drink half off, but even without the promotion, the prices were quite reasonable for such a fancy hotel. The snacks served along with the beer were incredible Cambodian pepper dusted cashews which I wish I could buy at home.

The breakfast spread was quite impressive too, and the Raffles offered free flow champagne, which is the first time in recent memory that I can recall a hotel doing so (usually, it’s prosecco or cava on offer). When staying in Asia, I like to start my day with some noodles and the noodle bar made this quite easy to do. There were also plenty of western options and a very good selection of fruits. I took leisurely breakfasts on the balcony with the fans whirring lazily overhead every morning – a great way to begin the day. There was even a bloody Mary station with Absolut vodka if that’s your kind of thing.

The bottom line

If you are a collector of historic hotels, especially those in Southeast Asia, Raffles Le Royal Phnom Penh should be near the top of your list. Upon checking out, there was a slight discrepancy over payment (I thought that I had paid during booking, which was indeed what the reservation said) but they asked to take payment off the card which I used for my deposit. It was a little annoying because I needed to use my business credit card which I hadn’t brought with me, but in the end, it was all worked out with payment via a link and I was indeed charged only once and got the proper amount of Accor points as well. Although I don’t anticipate being in Phnom Penh in the foreseeable future, if I wind up in Cambodia again soon, I’ll certainly book myself at the Raffles again.