Where to Stay in Siem Reap - Pavillon D'Orient Hotel
Originally posted November 23, 2017
Planning a trip to Cambodia?
If you'll be spending time in Siem Reap, I highly recommend booking a stay at the Pavillon D'Orient Hotel. The property is beautiful, the restaurant's food is delicious, and the staff is extremely helpful and friendly. They ensured I had both a comfortable stay and an enjoyable time in Siem Reap.
By the time I arrived in Cambodia, I'd been bouncing around Southeast Asia at breakneck speeds for over a month. I'd packed up my life in Korea, breezed through Hong Kong, covered almost the entire length of Vietnam, and visited Myanmar and Indonesia. I was exhausted, and travel burnout was hitting me like a freight train. I won't focus too much on that, but, to put a long story short, Cambodia rocked. my. world... physically... mentally... emotionally... the whole nine yards. I'm so thankful to have stayed at such an amazing little sanctuary during my time in Siem Reap. (For more about the number Cambodia did on me, click here).
On my first night in Cambodia, I went to Pub Street to meet up with some friends who I'd met at the Vietnam Backpacker Hostel in Hoi An. My night out on Pub Street was an absolutely insane experience that I'm not quite sure I ever want to live again... I am however, definitely sure that I NEVER want another hangover like I had the morning after... not for as long as I live.
Despite the copious amounts of booze we drank, to celebrate both our reunion and last night together, I will never forget the flashing lights and blaring top 40 tunes from the booze carts of Pub Street. Even more ingrained in my memory is the desperation of the numerous barefoot children who walked up and down the streets, soliciting money from the foreign partiers, late in to the night.
The next day I was too hungover, and too mentally shook, to do much of anything. My movement consisted of going from the bed to the couch... the pool to the patio... and back to bed again.
I always feel like I'm wasting precious time on my travels when I take lazy days like this... but they are SO incredibly necessary... and at the one month mark of my two months of nonstop travel, I really needed to take some time to relax. The Pavillon D'Orient's spacious rooms, two swimming pools, and open air restaurant made this the perfect place to spend a couple of lazy days.
Don't want to lounge around? Want to stay on the move and get out and about in Siem Reap? Well, while I think you'll miss an excellent opportunity to get some R&R, this is still a great place for you! The hotel staff had loads of information about local sights, tours, and other activities. They can even arrange your own personal tuk-tuk driver (which is, in my opinion, hands down worth the money).
Though this hotel is a bit pricey by Southeast Asia standards, it is very affordable for what you get. If you want to splurge, and take a break from bunking up in hostels, I'd highly recommend doing it in Siem Reap at the Pavillon D'Orient Hotel.
I was a guest of the Pavillon D'Orient Boutique Hotel, but all thoughts, opinions, and bad decisions (i.e. Pub Street) are my own.
