River Luxury in Siem Reap

Khmer Times
PETER OLSZEWSKI

The Belmond is now an all-suite hotel. Supplied

One of Siem Reap’s leading luxury hotels, Belmond La Residence d’Angkor – formerly known as La Résidence d’Angkor by Orient Express – has reopened in its prime downtown riverside location after extensive renovations.

The remake was overseen by general manager Thomas Henseler, who took up the post in September this year following a stint of just under five years in Yangon where he was general manager of the exclusive Belmond Governor’s Residence.

One of the major changes is that Belmond has repositioned itself in the market by doing away with rooms and is now an all-suite hotel.

Prior to the renovations Belmond had 56 rooms and eight suites – now it has 59 suites.

Mr. Henseler explained the repositioning, saying: “We saw an opportunity here as the supply market keeps on growing to create more of a clear cut niche for us in the luxury segment.”

“The fact is luxury travelers like suites and exclusivity. Both sides – we and our clients – will benefit positively from this,” he added.

Mr Henseler also said that because the hotel had been getting “more and more requests for incentive groups,” a new meeting room catering for up to 90 people has been added to the hotel to capture a share of the growing meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions market in Siem Reap.

The hotel’s two restaurants have also been upgraded, with the Spice Circle dining room featuring what Henseler says is “Khmer Hawker-style local street food,” with a cooking station and featuring “pop-up tuk-tuk food displays.”

The Ember restaurant, with a new show kitchen and pizza oven, will feature Asian cuisine with a Latin twist prepared by Mexican chef Saul Garcia Cristiani.

The hotel also features a new outdoor dining space and water feature.

The extensive remake should also help reinforce the hotel’s relatively recent renaming, or rebranding.

Since its opening in 2002 the hotel has undergone a series of name changes – it was originally known as The Pansea Angkor but in early 2004 Pansea Orient-Express Hotels was formed through a partnership of Pansea Hotels and Resorts and Orient-Express Hotels. Pansea then advised that the hotel was to be renamed La Residence d’Angkor.

But in July 2006 Orient-Express Hotels Ltd. acquired the Pansea Hotel Group and the hotel became La Résidence d’Angkor by Orient Express.

The Orient Express brand is owned by SNCF, the French government rail system, and was licensed to Orient-Express Hotels. However the two parties decided to terminate the license agreement in February 2014. The hotel company then had to abandon the iconic Orient Express brand name and the Siem Reap hotel was rebadged as Belmond La Residence d’Angkor.