Lizie

Thanks hedoman. Unfortunately I like these things all sorted before I go. I've got time so will wait a while and see if anything new develops.

SHLTP

The concierge arranged a guide for us very easily.

84Horn

There is a thread with driver recommendations.

Recommended Driver in Siem Reap/Angkor Cambodia

My wife and I used Synon Korng and he was great. He does just what you are asking for. He picked us up at airport and took us to hotel. The next morning he picked us up from hotel with a guide and took us to all of the temples. The next morning he picked us up at hotel and took us to airport. It took all of the stress out of the trip for us.

Lizie

Is the right answer! perfect. Thanks 84Horn

avja

Go to tripadvisor.com and type Siem Reap private guide. It should pull up several guides ranked by number of positive reviews.

ExpatSomchai

I can recommend Mr Bunhak at the below email address. We did alot of research and at the end of the day he came in highly recommended.

[email protected]

karenkay

hedoman, if you're really looking for no-muss no fuss, i'll second the recommendation to go through the concierge at the hotel. (you could skype them if the email link isn't working.) it's not the cheapest way to go, but we got a driver through the hotel for one day and were quite pleased with him. you can also get a guide, if you like--we didn't--and they'll set it up to be as hands on or hands off as you like, for a fee.

you'll pay a premium for booking through the hotel, of course, but if you want easy...that's easy.

dsquared37

This reminded me of a particular trip to REP, right after the southern wall of Bayon was opened, when I called out and chided a guide who was telling a Singaporean couple it was OK to touch the Bas Relief right next to the sign saying "Do Not Touch".

bgriff

Just a couple of thoughts after a recent stay:

The Le Meridien got the job done, but I would probably recommend others to seriously consider the Park Hyatt, which has the advantage of being right in the middle of town and thus walkable to lots of restaurants. The Meridien is closer to the temples, but you still have to get into a car or tuk-tuk to get to the temples, so the time savings to the temples of being at the Meridien vs. staying downtown are more marginal, whereas being able to walk to dinner downtown would save some hassle of getting transport.

Speaking of transport, for those who don't like haggling with taxi and tuk-tuk drivers, the app Grab (the Uber of Southeast Asia) is invaluable, and will even let you book a tuk-tuk if you want to.

Otherwise the Meridien itself is about what you would expect for the price and the brand: clean and solid but a little shabby around the edges. Breakfast was good, nothing luxurious but a decent diverse spread. There's a small Platinum happy hour in the bar which is a generous touch by the hotel, but drinks and food in Siem Reap are quite cheap even at the nicer hotels so I wouldn't attribute a ton of value to it if comparing vs. other options. The pool area is nice enough and there is poolside food and drink service, which is a nice way to relax after the temples. Bed was very, very firm.

We booked our Angkor Wat driver and tour guide through the hotel which worked out well; there are probably cheaper options but in Cambodia even a rip-off price is still pretty cheap. We didn't necessarily need the tour guide, but he was very flexible to go faster or slower as we wanted, and it was helpful to have someone who knew his way around, particularly getting in place for sunrise at Angkor Wat in the dark. I would highly recommend getting there for sunrise, not so much because of the sunrise itself (it's nice and all, but lots of places look cool at sunrise, and I don't get up in the early morning to see all of them) but because it's very useful to get an early start at the temples before it gets hot and crowded. We managed to get to all three main temples and back to the hotel by noon or so.

dsquared37

If you just need a quick ride around town PassApp is a very good option. Cash only.

Intl359Widget

Has anyone recently stayed here?

I am looking at a last minute trip to Cambodia and Vietnam in two weeks and wanted to see if staying at the Le Meridien was worth it versus the Courtyard in the city?

Condition One

Had another good stay at this hotel. Transfer to/from the airport was $15. I was upgraded to a spacious corner suite with a view facing the street of the hotel. I was concerned about noise but the windows were soundproofed extremely well. Was given a complimentary scarf and welcome drink upon check in, a plate of fruit, a rice and bean based snack cooked inside bamboo, and drink vouchers for each night of my stay.

Breakfast offering was alright – I got the impression it was geared for tour groups. Definitely understaffed though. Refills of coffee or tea were nonexistent. Staff tried hard to please though, but were overwhelmed…and it wasn’t even that busy! Food and restaurant prices were very reasonable compared to Western standards, with elites receiving 20% off food and beverage, and spa services.

We booked a guide and driver through the hotel. No need to arrange anything beforehand. The tour desk just needs one hour notice. I forgot the exact breakdown, but a guide and driver for the whole day is about $105. Believe the car and driver is $35, and the guide takes up the rest of the fee. Half day options are available as well. Going further out to the Bantay Sreay incurs a $10-15 surcharge.

Gym is open 24/7 with a limited selection of equipment. Beware that the A/C doesn’t turn on until 5am. Overall, it’s as solid resort hotel and great value for your money. Downside is that it’s about 10 minutes away from the main eating and drinking areas. But taxis and tuk-tuks are cheap. For me, I would return to this property if I visit Siam Reap again.

rogo

I liked it too. It was one of those "not amazing but pretty nice" properties that did nothing other than provide a nice place to sleep and relax after long days at the temples... But that's exactly what we needed.

Intl359Widget

I stayed at the Le Meridien Angkor Wat in September while I was traveling around SE Asia and completely agree with what you just said.

Btw, if you want to shop at the Duty Free store in Siem Reap they'll give you a free ride in a Tuk Tuk.

Thanks for sharing!

khabah

This property apparently shuttered temporarily last November for a planned period of at least one year due to COVID, but has just disappeared from Marriott's portfolio and had its website/mentions taken down.

Might have lost another Le Méridien.

khabah