Guest User
April 2, 2024
As part of a tour, we spent four nights at the Sokha Palace Hotel, which was overall a nice place to stay. Pros: The complex is quite large, with a very nice pool (not that we spent any time in it). The rooms are spacious and nicely appointed (including a couch, desk, mini-fridge and bathrobes). Many rooms (including ours) have a balcony, but it was too hot to actually spend any time on it. The dining room was huge, with both indoor and outdoor dining areas. The breakfast buffet was expansive (and sometimes even had cheese, a rarity in Cambodia) and offered made-to-order eggs (including omelets). One night, we had dinner at the hotel (which is also offered as room service). The restaurant on our side of the complex offers only expensive Western food; the restaurant at the other side of the complex offers Asian dishes (at reasonable prices, but with a 25-45 min wait). The latter was tasty, with large portions Initially, our AC wasn't working very well, but they fixed it the first day while we were out, and it worked great after that. The staff were all very friendly. Considering the large size of the complex, we were shocked that the hotel manager greeted us by name several times as we passed by reception over the course of our stay. Drawbacks: For us, the biggest drawback was the remote location. The remoteness did mean that Sokha Palace was generally quiet and peaceful, which was nice (with the exception of the breakfast buffet, which was sometimes filled with large, loud tour groups). And if your only interest is Angkor Archeological Park, then the location is good because the temples are pretty close. But Sokha Palace is far from other popular places in Siem Reap like Pub Street (with its many restaurants), the night market, Phare Circus, 7-11, etc. and nothing is within walking distance. So, on top of paying for transport to/from Angkor Park, you also end up hiring additional tuk-tuks or taxis to get to/from other places in Siem Reap (and spend 15-20 minutes on the rides each way). Another drawback is that while there is theoretically a concierge desk, no one actually staffs it, so you're on your own. (When we asked for advice to hire a driver for a day to see additional sights, the hotel staff had no suggestions other than to book one of the organized tours in a brochure they display.) Unlike the bathroom photos provided by management, our bathroom (see photo) was an awkward layout (with the toilet tucked in an alcove behind the door) and had low lighting at the mirror (making it challenging to apply make-up or put in contact lenses). There was some mold growing in the shower crevices, and twice we found mosquitos in the bathroom (making us wonder if they were breeding in the standing water in the drains). For a tip on rooms, it's best not to be on the ground floor, especially in the hallways leading from reception to stairwells/elevators, as other guests often talked loudly in the hallways (at all hours because some like