Historic hotel holds its own in magnificent surroundings

THE CHANCE to travel in style while

experiencing a sense of history is sought by

countless travelers but available to only a

few. Traveling in style does not just involve

the journey but the accommodation at the

destination. And there is no greater thrill

than re-living times past in a historic hotel.

Many old hotels have been reconstructed

beyond recognition (such as the Manila

Hotel whose ballroom, once one of the most elegant halls in the country, now

looks like a Chinese restaurant) or worse, torn down to make way for brand

new buildings. Then there are the many old hotels in Europe that still maintain

their cache but have not upgraded their facilities or services (air conditioning

and 24-hour room service is still nonexistent in many expensive European

hotels). Finally, there are some hotels that are just old. Like the 75-year-old

Hotel Majestic in Ho Chi Minh, which is just that—75 years old. However,

though rare, there are jewels like the Grand Hotel d’Angkor in Siem Reap,

Cambodia.

The Grand Hotel d’Angkor is the last word

in traveling in style. It has been restored to

its 1929 glory (complete with the elevator of

that year that is still in use) and is currently

managed by the Singapore-based Raffles

International Limited. From the ’30s to the

’60s, the Grand Hotel d’Angkor was the

hotel of choice for inveterate world travelers

seeking to experience the dazzling Angkor

temples. The Angkor temple complex, the largest place of worship in the

world, was built between the 9th and 14th centuries, at the height of Khmer

civilization. From their command post at Angkor, Khmer kings at that time

ruled over what we now know as Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Yunnan,

the southernmost part of China.

As one of the few remaining grand historic hotels in the world, the Grand

Hotel d’Angkor is an experience in itself. In its heyday and since its reopening

in 1997, the hotel has been home to royalty, diplomats, film stars and writers.

The producer and director of "Tomb Raider" (Angelina Jolie’s latest movie

shot in Angkor) stayed at the Hotel d’Angkor. The hotel has 130 rooms, 50

of which are Landmark rooms, meaning they are located in the original

four-story building facing Prince Norodom Sihanouk’s Summer Palace and a

manicured public park, maintained by the hotel. In many ways, the Grand

Hotel d’Angkor, with its history and park, parallels what Manila Hotel was

and should be with its location across from and its view of Rizal Park.

The rarified world of the Grand Hotel d’Angkor begins at the time of

check-in. You don’t register at a desk marked "Reception." Instead, you are

escorted to The Conservatory. Cooled by slow-moving overhead fans, this

tearoom by day and piano bar by night is decorated in colonial style. Wicker

armchairs, Khmer area rugs and Western antique furniture are surrounded by

potted palms and lotus floral arrangements.

While sipping a drink and dabbing at your face with a refreshingly fragrant

cold towel, you wait as staff fills out your forms for you. You hand over your

passport and credit card and they do the rest. When you get your key (and it

is a key, not one of those plastic Ving cards), you are escorted to your room

via the authentic caged elevator, which to today’s GenX techie would be

what a typewriter is to a computer. The black and white tiled hallways are

lined with original photographs of the Angkor temples. Details such as a

writing desk near the landing on every floor take you back to an era when

one wrote their correspondence or journals outside their rooms and guests

stayed longer in one place and were therefore more sociable.

The Landmark rooms in the old building maintain the same configuration as

those of the original rooms. Decorated in traditional Khmer style, each room

has high ceilings with fans, colorfully tiled verandahs that look out to either the

35-m pool or the Summer Palace and park. The best part of the room for the

weary traveler is the deep bathtub you can sink into after a day climbing and

exploring the breathtaking temples.

The Personality Suites, all located in the old building, have anterooms with

black and white tiled floors, a larger verandah with a daybed upholstered in

Khmer patterned cottons, and claw-footed bathtubs. These extra-large

rooms bear the names of personalities who had a passion for Cambodia and

the Angkor temples—Henri Mouhot, the French naturalist who revealed the

existence of Angkor to the world in the 19th century; John Thomson, one of

the first photographers to capture the temples on film; Henri Marchal, who

restored one of the smaller but also one of the most beautiful temples,

Banteay Srei.

There are two villas, the Villa Uma and Villa Kama, both nestled in the inner

gardens near the swimming pool. Each villa is practically a house with two

bedrooms, living and dining areas, private verandahs and private wine cellars.

The amazing service and facilities at the hotel can be attributed to the staff’s

hard work and a reliable backroom. Not to mention the pricey room rates.

Cambodia area manager Gilbert Madhavan laughs off the charge of

exorbitant prices. "… But we have the Raffles standard to maintain. We had

to train staff for six months and have a complicated backroom which may be

standard for most countries but not Cambodia. We have our own dry

cleaners, water tanks, generators… things that are taken for granted

elsewhere."

Staying at the Hotel d’Angkor took me back to a civilized time when people

rested in between tours, took walks, dressed for dinner, and had leisurely

meals. During the three days we were there, we left for the temples at 8

a.m.—a late hour compared to other aficionados who set off at dawn—then

returned to the comfort of the hotel between 11 a.m. and noon. We would

have a buffet lunch of continental and Cambodian food at Café d’Angkor, the

hotel coffee shop that is decorated in traditional French country style. The

hotel also packs lunches and picnics for those who going on longer day trips.

We usually started the afternoon at 3 to avoid the heat and still have enough

time to walk through the temples until sunset. Between lunch and 3 p.m., I

would take a 15-minute walk through the frangipani-scented park and along

the river to the Old Market or visit the floating village market. Laden with

purchases, I return to the hotel by hitching a ride on a motorbike for a dollar.

Evenings found us having drinks at the Writer’s Bar (in The Conservatory)

before dinner at the formal Restaurant Le Grand, where they serve traditional

Khmer cuisine. Adjoining the Restaurant Le Grand is the Traveler’s Bar, a

place that transports you back in time as you sink into the overstuffed wicker

sofas with a cocktail and a book on Angkor after a day of sightseeing. The

original photographs of the temples from the 1860s add to the feeling of

stepping back in time.

After dinner, you could walk through the original gates of the hotel entrance,

now gracing the entry to the Elephant Bar. With its Art Deco interiors, the

Elephant Bar is a popular after-dinner pub with a pool table, bar, a popcorn

cart that really produces popcorn and private KTV rooms.

The Grand Hotel d’Angkor, together with the Raffles Group, does not come

into a country like Cambodia without giving back. The hotel has several

charity programs which many returning guests and staff participate in. Among

the programs are the Clean River Campaign, the educational Reach program,

and the Clean Angkor Campaign to benefit the crowd-drawing sights,

Angkor Wat and Bayon.