Originally Posted by iahphx (Post 21495230)

Safety is not a consideration. I'd be very surprised if there was a 4-star hotel in Siem Reap that wasn't safe. If I was surprised by anything in that part of Cambodia was how peaceful everything seemed -- and how much money there seemed to be. I was expecting to see some poverty. I'm sure it's there, somewhere, but when we'd drive in the countryside, we were mostly amazed by how nice so many of the houses appeared to be. In other words, this part of Cambodia is probably not going to be what you think it will be.

Same for cleanliness. I'm sure when you read the tripadvisor reviews for all the fancy hotels, somebody will complain that there was a hair in their shower or something. But these hotels -- and there are dozens of them -- are going to look as sharp as nice hotels anywhere. Perhaps even better, because most of them are pretty new.

Location is in the eye of the beholder. Like you can be closer to town, or closer to the ruins. Honestly, I don't think it matters because transport -- like most things in Siem Reap -- is very cheap. One evening, I hired a tuk-tuk for my family to take us around for some sightseeing and then to a restaurant on the outskirts of town (this place -- it's excellent, email them for a reservation in advance http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran..._Province.html).
I think hiring my vehicle for the evening was about $10. So it didn't matter that my hotel was a kilometer or two from town. If you want to stay in the town center, though, read the reviews carefully, because I understand that party noise can sometimes be a consideration (although I doubt this affects many of the high-end properties).

When you look for accommodations, you'll see that room rates are all over the place, and there are a lot of promotions. For value seekers, I suspect the "best place to stay" will vary from month-to-month, depending on who has the better promo. I think there are over 75 hotels/inns in Siem Reap getting at least 4 1/2 stars on tripadvisor. I think that tells you that the hospitality industry is doing a pretty good job there, and there are many excellent places to stay. I'd personally use price to whittle down the possibilities.

Originally Posted by vg247 (Post 21502323)

Does everyone here recommend booking a good guide and driver through the hotel for all days or would you have some suggestions on how best to arrange for driver/guide and plan our visit? We arrive 10am Nov 3rd and fly out morning of Nov 6th.

Originally Posted by iahphx (Post 21503116)

My general rule of thumb is never reserve a guide and driver from a Starwood hotel. You'll probably pay twice the "outside rate" for comparable services.

By now, this probably won't come as a big surprise, but there are dozens (hundreds?) of excellent guides and drivers in Siem Reap. And, like most things in town, they're not expensive. Here's a tripadvisor link to get you started on picking one:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio..._Province.html

We used Derleng Tours, easily arranged in advance via email. At the time, they were considered one of the best. I thought the service we received was excellent, but I also thought it could be possible to do a little better. Overall, our guide was very good, but I thought his English skills were only "good" -- I would have preferred someone with EXCELLENT language skills so I could understand everything he was telling me. Given how many good guide services there are in town, I'd bet you could find that perfect guide.

In general, I'm not a big fan of guided tours, but I signed up for Angkor Wat for a multi-day tour because the price was so reasonable and I thought we'd get more out of the visit. I think it did make it more enjoyable, and certainly much easier.

Originally Posted by Quasiconvexity (Post 21504407)

We only engaged a driver (no guide) during the time we were there. Generally not a fan of guided tours, and wanted to explore at our own pace. We had a good guidebook (sold everywhere in Angkor Wat for ~$5) and that acted as a great resource. The main temples are well laid out, and easy to get to with just a driver -a guide may have good suggestions for some of the off-the-radar ones. The hotel driver/car set up was excellent with umbrellas, cold water bottles etc. and even though we knew we were probably paying more, the extra comfort and security was worth it to us (full-day rentals are $35 and half-day is $20 if I remember right). The hotel also hands out suggested itineraries for 3 days which was detailed and quite helpful.

If you like Indian food, I would highly recommend Dakshin in Siem Reap. Some of the best Indian food we have had outside India.

Originally Posted by vg247 (Post 21505490)

Very much appreciated information. When renting drivers do they offer their services for the day like 9a-5p or how do the hours of their services for the day work? I'm assuming they just take you to wherever you like to go and wait on you?

Did everyone here utilize the LM's airport pickup or do you recommend me just taking a cab since I'm not getting the complimentary pickup service from the hotel?

Originally Posted by Quasiconvexity (Post 21508692)

Yes, no fixed hours - full-day rentals are 8 hours, and half-day rentals are 4 hours. Most temples close by 6 (I think). If you would like to plan in advance, you can email the concierge at the hotel and ask them to share suggested itineraries with you - might be a good starting point.

I think they had a special rate offer when I booked that included complimentary one-way transfers. I think you can definitely save by arranging your own transfer - but the difference is probably going to be ~$10. The hotel arranges for a cab (on the return) to the airport for $10, so that is something you could do as well.

Originally Posted by vg247 (Post 21730072)

The hotel seems to cater to Japanese, Korean, and Chinese tour groups. Occupancy has been 100% and numerous staff informed me they are always advised when these groups come and to treat them as VIP's by the GM here who is also Japanese.

No upgrade for me as they informed me they I only have 8 suites and they are all booked.

Overall, not the best bang for the buck and perks as a Plat based on my experience this stay...if I had a choice again I will stay at a non SPG and enjoy more while saving $ at the same time. Plenty of equivalent or better hotels at lower prices here..

Originally Posted by Duke777 (Post 21730873)

May need to reconsider my upcoming stay. The hotel looks fully booked a couple of nights. I figured it must be a large tour group. Bummer.

Originally Posted by Magicbus (Post 21811337)

Just finishing up a 3 day stay here. I used SNAs and we're upgraded to a corner suite. For 4000 points a night We find it to be excellent value. The evening lounge drinks/snacks and breakfast for play. Benefit are good. I agree with other posters that the breakfast is ok but not superb and below what we've experienced with spg in Asia. Very accommodating staff. We used the hotel pickup and booked a driver through the hotel and are pleased with both. This hotel is a 7 minute drive to Angkor Wat and a $2 tuk tuk ride to siem reap.

I'd recommend it.