If you are looking for inexpensive accommodation in Siem Reap with lots of local style, read my Petite Temple Suite & Spa review. It’s close to the old town, has rooms with local decor and a cool pool. Breakfast and airport transportation are included in your rate and service is friendly! The hotel would benefit from more attention to detail, but offers good value if you can forgive the small issues.
Location: Petite Temple Suite and Spa is located just across the river from the old town with all the bars and restaurants. It’s close enough to walk there in a few minutes – and far enough to avoid the inevitable noise from the party’ing. The ride from the airport by tuk tuk or taxi is about 30 minutes and all the temples are easy to reach. This makes it a great location for a visit to Siem Reap, if you want to see the temples and enjoy the restaurants and bars of the old town on foot!
Service: Staff at the Petite Temple Suite was friendly and reliable. They offer free round-trip airport transportation, confirmed my flight information promptly by email and sure enough, a friendly driver was waiting at arrival with a sign and my name. The ride is in an open tuk tuk, not a taxi, which is ok for a budget hotel.
The front desk had my reservation ready, checked me in quickly and escorted me to the room with a tour of the facilities, turning on the a/c, fan, etc. That’s the first time I was escorted to my room in a budget hotel and a nice touch. Staff spoke good enough English for the simple tasks at hand. Housekeeping cleaned the room each day and replaced towels and coffee. At check-out my driver to the airport was running a little late and dropped me off at the wrong terminal, but it was no big deal…
Room: The rooms are located in a two-story building overlooking the pool. The long hallway was decorated with pots with bamboo, golden statues and dark’ish lighting. The rooms have an equally local style and craftsmanship. The large room is dominated by the heavy, wooden king-size bed. The mattress is firm (but not rock hard), sheets were clean and basic. The lamps around the room are inspired by Angkor artwork. Next to the entrance is a deep, well shaped soaking tub, an unexpected luxury at a budget hotel, if a little odd in placement.
In a little niche across from the bed are a luggage rack, a large wooden wardrobe and a small cabinet with the safe. The staff wasn’t familiar with the safe, but I got it to work nevertheless.
The nightstands were made of large vessels with trays loosely set on top. Large glass doors lead to a small balcony with two chairs overlooking the pool. Outside wooden shutters were a little hard to operate, but kept the room pretty dark.
The bathroom is large and also had a local flavor. The rough stone walls are dark with white painting on it, vaguely inspired by Angkor artwork you’ll find at the temples. The wooden slate floor was raised and surrounded by stones. The sink was set on top of a big vessel, similar to the nightstands, and also only loosely installed – Don’t lean on it or you’ll both end up on the floor! The shower is local style, which means there is no curtain or glass enclosure and you’ll flood the whole bathroom during each shower. The shower head reminded me of a linga (fertility) statue and didn’t have a shower head, delivering a solid stream of water instead! It was …interesting and somewhat functional, but not my favorite shower. There is a full set of amenities of basic quality, including soap, shampoo, dental kit and shaving kit.
The internet was slow at 2.1Mbps and not very reliable. I went down to the restaurant to get work done, but was able to browse the web or send messages from my room!
Restaurant & Amenities: The Petite Temple Suite & Spa has a nice pool, surrounded by lots of lush greenery and some padded loungers. That looks very tropical, but unfortunately also results in lots of leaves in the pool that weren’t cleaned away, making the pool nice less inviting to swim.
The small restaurant at the lobby serves breakfast and also offers lunch and dinner. Oddly, breakfast on my first day was made-to-order with a choice of various continental, hot Western or Asian breakfast combinations, as well as fruit and coffee.
My American breakfast included eggs, toast, croissant, sausage and bacon and a plate of fruit. The second morning, a small breakfast buffet was set up instead. It offered pretty much what I had as an American breakfast and worked fine for me, but didn’t offer much choice if you are looking for a healthier alternative or more of an Asian breakfast.
Bottomline: At a rate of $35/night including breakfast and airport transport, you get a room that offers oodles of Angkor style, a pool to refresh after a hot day climbing over the temples and good service, all in a great location. But if you expect the precision workmanship of a Mercedes, you’ll be disappointed – wobbly lamps and sink, poorly closing doors and an odd shower limit the functionality of the room. It’s character over function and a hotel you won’t find outside Cambodia. If that works for you, you’ll get great value for your trip to Angkor!
Check for current rates at the Petite Temple Suite & Spa Siem Reap here. You can find other hotel options, tips how to get around and what to see in my Mini-Guide Angkor/Siem Reap!