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Cambodia's ancient Angkor Wat temples are hardly a well-kept secret, as over 1.6 million people visit them every year, and they really should be on every traveler's wish list. Two days are the minimum time required to do the five or six most important temples in the region, but culture vultures should plan on staying at least a week in Siem Reap. The city is just a few miles from the site and offers a welcome alternative to heritage-filled days with its buzzing night life, open-air markets, restaurants and bars.
The Raffles Grand Hotel d'Angkor (www. raffles.com/siem-reap) opposite the Royal Palace is the city's oldest hotel, and its cool and collected colonial grandeur sweeps over you when the doorman, wearing a uniform inspired by the Royal Guards, ushers you into the lobby. The manicured gardens between the hotel and the palace are mirrored in the magnificent lawns at the back around the pool, which is a copy of the ancient royal pond at the Ta Prohm temple. Here you are drawn back to not just French colonial days but also to Angkor's magnificent 12thcentury Khmer dynasties.
The black-and-white Art Deco tiles in the old building are original and the 119 rooms and suites, all with butler service, blend traditional features like claw-foot baths with contemporary Cambodian influences. The extended wing, added in 1997, replicates the original building so well that it is difficult to tell where one stops and the other starts.
The 46 Landmark Rooms in the old building-with views over the gardens or the pool-have been renovated and we felt that their high ceilings gave them an edge over the rooms in the new wing. Having said that, the six Cabana Suites, which span 775 square feet and are all on the ground floor in the new wing, are hard to beat. They have a spa- cious living area, two bathrooms-his with a monsoon shower and hers with a bath-and direct access to the pool from the private terrace which has day beds.
For clients who like a touch of...