pogonation

Just arrived at the PH Siem Reap. Taxi from the airport is a set charge of $7 which you pay to at the airport kiosk (Inquired about the hotel car and was told it is $50 for the 13 minute ride which is a bit pricey IMO).

On arrival I was met and taken to the check in area which is next to the lounge bar. We were seated and they took our passports and credit card away for check-in. Service was already a bit patchy and confused at this point which is fine since it only opened yesterday. We were offered water or juice while we waited (the orange juice was proper fresh juice with bits ^). A few minutes later the check-in agent returned with my card saying it had been declined.. no probs, must be my bank so I gave him another card... comes back again saying this was declined too.. I asked him how much he was putting on my card as a deposit (I keep about £500 in my card at a time and transfer money from my savings as I go) and was told they were trying to take a $1200 room deposit

I was amazed at this and explained that I had never paid more than $300 at any hyatt worldwide so asked for an explanation from the manager. I met with the room manager who explained that they take they take a pre-authorisation for the full room cost plus $100/day for incidentals. I found this very odd and offered to pay either $900 (room rate) as an advance purchase with the $300 deposit or a $300 deposit only. My visa card will only return the blocked amount after 1-2 weeks so I would be travelling with $1000 less in my account for the next few weeks which isn't really an option for me.

The staff have all been pleasant although service not very refined and not even touching any other PH I have been to, although this is of course to be expected. I was told they had upgraded me to a Park Suite (Actually I used 6000 points to do this a while ago) and was given my keys and escorted to my room. No mention of diamond status, 1000 points and no letter/amenity waiting me on my arrival.

Arrived in my suite and everything looked very nice. The furnishings are very nice and of high quality. The suite comprises of bedroom, living room, bathroom, separate toilet in the hallway and also a little kitchen-like room coming off the living room. Pictures below (taken on iPhone so not the best quality):

Entrance:



Living Room:









Bedroom:





Walk-in wardrobe:



Bathroom:

pogonation

Separate toilet at entrance:







The negatives so far:
Internet does not work in the bedroom. Had to move into the living room to get it.. this isn't good enough so I will probably try change room. Soundproofing isn't that good in the room and can hear all the traffic and construction work outside. Bath is not clean and even has a few hairs in. Sinks aren't clean and there are already a few stains on the sofa and the drapes (seems like a blood stain on the drapes, there is some more blood-like stains on the toilet, the flush button and on the service). A few of the light switches are off centre and the toilet seat in one bathroom is off centre. There are also some dirt stains on the walls and few areas which have a thick cover of dust and one of the sinks is mobile and the plaster which stuck it down to the surface has all cracked away. Photos:












I haven't explored the rest of the hotel yet but so far everything has looked very nice. Will probably try change room due to the internet and will probably mention the unclean bath etc. when they are here.

So in conclusion, so far it is a very beautiful hotel however service is still teething. Most the negatives are really small and I am just being pedantic

I will keep this updated with pictures from the rest of the hotel and report on the rest of the stay! If anyone wants to ask me any questions then let me know.

price123

Great to see the first pictures - have been looking forward to these.

Agree that service slips are to be expected in the first few weeks, especially as there have been some changes with management recently. However, the stains and similar are really not good. I would hope everything was sparkling a few days after opening. Also, internet needs to be boosted - maybe they have a hotspot you could borrow for the lounge to boost signal to the bedroom?

I have never been to Siem Reap and don't know the hotel. Are there any suites which are likely to be quieter? Maybe overlooking the pool or at the back?

Otherwise, I look forward to hearing about the food and general areas.

holtju2

You haven't probably traveled a lot? It is normal for hotels to preauthorize your stay + certain amount for incidentals per stay or per day.

My advise would be to use a CC to cover the authorization and then use debit card at the time of check out.

If you travel plans are railed because of some $1K authorization dropping off from your card, I would probably have better financial situation before traveling.

TRAVELSIG

I have stayed here when it was Hotel de la Paix- by the way it looks very similar in terms of the photos with the exception that a couple of pieces of modern furniture in the living room appear to have been swapped out for something more classic- very minor changes.

All the rooms overlooking the courtyard are much quieter. Unless they have moved the pool there are no rooms overlooking the pool- it is in a bit of a strange location at the end of a hallway and near the cabanas (free standing suites) if the hotel is still the same. I definitely would see if it is possible to avoid a road overlooking the very busy road.

As for the wifi- if this is like previously (and it sounds exactly like it is) the rooms closest to the reception (elevators) areas work the best for signal.

pogonation

Maybe the case but I have travelled a lot and never once encountered this (or if I have, I wasn't bothered by it as it wasn't as big as $1000) and never at a PH. I have always had a deposit taken but never had the full stay pre-authorised, especially when I have a credit card on file with the booking already.

I wouldn't say railed exactly but $1000 is a lot of money to have blocked for up to a month. I used my credit card first but it was declined (I am not sure why as my credit limit is >$4000).

holtju2

Some hotels (i.w. W Hollywood) add $500 per day to cover incidentals. I have never paid too much attention to the preauthorize amounts, but usually it is the entire stay + then some.

BTW it is up to your bank and not the merchant, how long they take to cancel the preauthorizations.

pogonation

Yeah I thought it looked very similar to the photos I saw from hotel de la paix. The whole property really is stunning. Everything is tastefully done. I asked for a courtyard room but they said that they are all still being refurbished so don't think it will be possible. This suite is maybe about halfway down the corridor from the elevator so thought the signal would be good. It is absolutely perfect 100% in the living room but 3 metres away in the bedroom it won't even work at all The room manager is very nicely trying to find if there is a suite with internet for me at the moment ^

pogonation

Maybe this is an American thing (I never travel in North America) because I've never encountered such high deposits in Europe or Asia?
I know, this is why I advised them that my bank (and some other UK banks) take a long time to cancel the preauthorisation. It is a really annoying feature of my bank... Once in Venice I tried to withdraw 500EUR 3 times (other 2 times were declined) at different branches and turned out all 3 took a pre-authorisation which took 28 days to be cancelled Anyway no problems at this hotel as I just paid for the stay in advance

RTW1

The pre-authorisation varies a lot between properties... But normally they keep it decent by only including a fairly low amount for incidentals. I've got a card where I get an e-mail for all authorizations so that gives some insight in what they actually do.

But it's not only the card company that's to blame. When your final payment is made a property should make sure that in doing so they also cancel your per-authorization. That's the way it's supposed to work.

And if they would charge me a ridiculous amount as a pre-authorization I simply wouldn't accept that.....and you should use an ATM for withdrawals, no pre-authorisation needed.

pogonation

Ahh fair enough. Just came as a bit of a surprise as this is the first property I have encountered that charges such a high one. I did use an ATM in Venice but must have been faulty. Anyway, things at the property are very nice and the room manager and other staff have been very helpful and have sorted everything that needs sorting.. The lighting in the rooms at night is very very nice and makes the room look beautiful. I will update this with more photos and reports on the property later ^

JetAway

I've never had chain/major hotel pre-authorize my entire stay and I've been doing overseas business travel all my adult life. And I would never use a debit card to pay foreign hotel charges since the opportunity for "mistakes" to be made is high and such mistakes are quite difficult to correct with a debit card.

azepine00

Perhaps it's just me but undecorated white walls and dark cherry floors/furniture combo looks very barebones and cold. Fairly typical IIRC for midrange properties in that part of the world but i would expect smth more cozy from PH.

suite2suite

I agree. The problem is the hotel does not contact the bank unless asked to by the guest, and that means a call to the hotel's accounting department's manager.
In reality everyone waits for the authorized hold to drop off by itself which can take one, two or more weeks.

RTW1

There shouldn't be a need to contact the bank. They just have to include the pre-authorisation code when running your final charge. And a lot of them do....in the e-mails I get for all my card transaction I can also see my remaining credit line. And normally when they run the final payment the hold is gone at the same time.