Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra Golf & Spa Resort - a very good hotel

There is very little to add to the other reviews of this hotel. I have tried to find some pictures that have not been shown before, and add my experiences of our short stay. I am sorry if this tends to be picture heavy, but my words cannot describe the hotel as well as a picture.

We planned not to visit the temples during our stay here, but the cost of the temple passes for an extra few days was only 10 USD. So we split our days from temple exploring to relaxing (and avoiding the rain = we did visit during the “green” season).

From arrival to our sad departure it was a pleasure to stay at this fine hotel at the top of its game.

We arrived at the hotel and were greeted like returning friends, with people helping with luggage and guiding us inside, where we were greeted with a refreshing glass of lemon grass tea and infused cold towels.  The GM came over and introduced himself, following a brief chat, the rest of the formalities were completed and we were escorted to our room ( double upgraded - junior suite room 129 ) where our luggage was already present.

The hotel is situated on the outskirts of the town, and is around twenty years old. During that time, the town has expanded around the hotel grounds. Inside the hotel is divided into two large triple story wings, one overlooking a lagoon and the other the large pool. There is no town noise inside the hotel main grounds and it is an oasis of calm and quiet.  The rooms have either a road view, or a water view.  There was no road noise despite the close proximity of some of the rooms.

The grounds are tended and maintained. We saw a team of gardeners sweeping leaves each time it rained, pro-actively cutting green coconuts from the palms before they could fall, and generally keeping the garden tidy.  Flowers are also an important feature of the hotel, and we watched the arrangements being made in the mornings (well one morning). The displays were always fresh and arranged.

When we stayed the hotel had a company team building group, and two river cruse groups staying. This did not distract from the tranquil atmosphere at the hotel. I cannot understand how you can come all the way to Cambodia and only spend 6 hours at the temples!

The lounge still looks very much like a restaurant during the day, but has a few areas to relax in a more informal setting. Breakfast is served until noon a la carte, and after the first day, our menu choices were remembered and served again. The tour groups used the buffet breakfast and were gone by 10! The food in the lounge was very nicely presented and tasted even better.

The turn down service each night provided a nice locally produced scarf on the first night, and then each subsequent night a selection of fresh macaroons, and many bottles of water. In the lounge the executive chef introduced himself to us the first day ( Eric ), and we happened to mention that my OH loved macrons.  These were then provided on the turn down each night. He was very hands on, and constantly checked if we needed anything that was not on the menu, and provided it if possible. His fresh horseradish sauce was superb. We are at the hotel each night. The buffet restaurant area was large enough to accommodate the tour groups, and there was also a private dining area that they used.  To answer my earlier question the Accor Plus card is accepted, and gave 50% discount on two persons.

There were only two very minor things that were negative on our stay. The first is that there is no easy access into the pool if you are unsteady on your feet and cannot use the pool steps. There is a sloping area but it was very slippery from the type of pool shoes I was using.  The Jacuzzi area was suggested but it was also unmanageable. It was not such a disappointment, although I would have thought that there would have been more provision.

The second is just strange. In the restaurant, my son ordered a bottle of French water. It arrived and was presented very similarly to a fine bottle of wine. It was the poured into his glass. after a few minutes another waiter arrived and proceeded to top everyone's glass ( including my sons ) with water from a jug, so negating the bottled water as it was now mixed. My son just found it funny. All others in the party had either wine or beer.  We ate in the restaurant a few more times, and observed that same happening with other guests as well.  My son learnt his lesson and stuck to the beer. The dancing show was different each time and very enjoyable.

Checking out was fast, but sad, and we took a tut tut to the small airport. It was six in the morning when we left as we had an early flight. We could check the flight status in our room as the hotel televisions showed the arrivals and departures of the local airport on a dedicated tv channel.

The airport has a nice Priority Pass lounge, that we had breakfast in. It was just not the same as the hotel.  There is no doubt that we will be back. We had a very relaxing stay and all Accor Platinum advantages and status benefits were provided. Points posted within a few hours.

They would not let me have this as the welcome drink .....