Le Méridien Angkor: ideally located on the temple route

Wishing to take advantage of my presence in the area to visit the temples of Angkor, I chose to stay at Le Meridien Angkor, in Siem Reap.

Last stop before the temples of Angkor

Le Méridien Angkor is ideally located in Siem Reap. Only 20 minutes from the airport, a few minutes from the city center, it is the closest hotel to the temples. You can get there in a few minutes by car and not much more for those who opt for the bicycle option.

I had booked transportation with the hotel concierge and a car was waiting for me when I arrived at the Siem Reap airport. After 20 minutes I was at the hotel to check in.

Although relatively recent (about 15 years I think), the hotel was inspired by local architectural codes.

The lobby is very airy and bright.

Le Méridien Angkor is organized around a central space with garden and fountains in the local style.

As always at Le Meridien they try to find the balance between local style and a claimed European-French influence.

In general the hotel is clean and looks good. It was one of the first large international hotels to open in Siem Reap and the passage of tourist buses with a clientele that was sometimes not very respectful of the place and the effects of the climate have also done their work. 15 years is a long time for a hotel and if it is still doing very well, Le Meridien Angkor could raise the bar even higher with a small facelift.

Having used the “mobile check-in” of the SPG application I would only have to sign a document before taking possession of my room. The welcome is pleasant, the protocol of the loyalty program well carried out, I am thanked for my loyalty and informed that I have been upgraded from a standard room to a “family suite”.

The hotel does not include a lounge for platinum guests but makes up for it by offering an open bar on part of the menu and a mini-buffet for these guests at cocktail hour in the bar.

Family Suite at the Le Méridien Angkor

I go to my room. It opens onto a very large living room.

The living room leads to an equally large bedroom with a bed that can easily accommodate 4 people.

Then follows a dressing area and the bathroom.

The whole is very spacious and pleasant to live in. The bedding is comfortable and the well chosen materials have stood the test of time very well. A timeless style that works very well, maybe a little less so for the bathroom…still.

The visit in video.

A very solid restaurant offer

The hotel has two restaurants. One of local and international inspiration, the Angkor Royal Café, the other Italian, the Angelo.

I will have dinner at the Angkor Royal Café the first night.

The restaurant is huge, made to accommodate large groups for breakfast and dinner, but will be totally empty that evening. The answer is simple: tour operators prefer to take groups out to dinner, it is more picturesque and less expensive. In addition we were in low season. The restaurant is therefore full only for breakfast and is occupied at dinner only by a “hotel” clientele, who choose their own program.

And the absentees are wrong. Without saying that it is culinary genius, it is a simple, solid and effective performance. The dishes are served quickly, are well presented, have taste and are very affordable.

Precision: it’s copious.

I will dine the other three nights at the Angelo.

A purely Italian restaurant with a nice menu.

The restaurant is smaller in size and a little more “upscale” oriented than the other. The first evening I had the chance to meet the Director of Food and Beverage of the hotel, a Frenchman named Nicolas who has been working at Le Meridien for over 10 years.

He will advise me every night on the dishes, the wines, tell me the history of the hotel and the hotel landscape in Siem Reap. In short, an excellent surprise that confirms my good opinion of the staff at Le Meridien Angkor.

Two examples of dishes among others. Nothing especially creative but very well executed basics, excellent service and a very good relationship…. it doesn’t take much to make you adopt a restaurant.

Let’s come to the bar, the “Naga Bar”, which I will frequent every day at aperitif time for the aperitif snack reserved for platinum clients.

The place looks very good.

Although small the buffet is not only symbolic and the products are good.

The drink list offered to platinum is very decent and the staff serves large doses and doesn’t care too much about the end time of the free service.

A singer accompanied by a musician sang live during the aperitif and part of the evening and I must admit that she had a very beautiful voice.

On the third evening, an evening of Italian wine tasting will be organized, accompanied by snacks of the same origin, of course at the instigation of Nicolas who does everything possible to revitalize the life of his properties. I will also meet some French people living in Cambodia and working in food and beverage, on the supplier side. Very pleasant moments, totally unexpected but which are once again the proof that in a property when people do the job “humanely”, it radically transforms the customer experience.

In short, without reaching gastronomic heights, the experience of Le Meridien Angkor is solid and of high quality with a quality of service and relationship of the staff that makes you overlook the slightest imperfection because you are happy to be well received.

Let’s come to the hotel’s services.

A good level of services but things to review

When we go to Angkor, it is above all for tourism, not for idleness. As soon as I arrived, I asked the hotel’s “tour service” to organize various temple visits with a guide and driver. The service was remarkable with, in particular, a passionate guide who knew how to show me the best angles and “spots” for unforgettable travel photos.

This kind of service on such a destination is crucial: if you have a bad experience on the sites the best pool in the world will not save the stay. Everything was organized and properly delivered, without any problem.

The hotel has a very large swimming pool. I didn’t have time to hang out there too much because of my tour schedule but it was nice after a long day walking among the temples.

This is also worth a short video.

Disappointment on the other hand on the fitness room.

Very very small and poorly equipped, it is saturated as soon as two people try to do something other than cardio. Few machines, almost no floor space. Very unsatisfactory.

Very unsatisfactory.

Conclusion: Le Meridien Angkor, a very solid service.

For a fifteen years old hotel, Le Meridien Angkor offers a nice service in a very pleasant setting. The level and quality of service expected in such a hotel are there with a few drawbacks in the gym and a building that is aging very well given its operating conditions but could become a reference with a nice renovation.

At 100 euros per night…All this is more than correct.

PS: Thank you to Nicolas who was of great service to me during my stay and whose passion for his work and his property is worth going to one of the restaurants of Le Méridien Angkor.

I leave you with a magnificent view of Angkor Wat at sunrise.