The One Hotel Angkor |
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Siem Reap, Cambodia |
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A chic hotel for two – just one groovy room and a roof terrace that overlooks the bustling old town New!
Reviewed by Tom Bell |
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OVERVIEW The One Hotel has one room only – everything here is for you. It’s a cool little place in the heart of the old town, with a designer lounge that opens onto a narrow passageway and a shaded roof terrace where you can loll about on a comfy daybed or slip into a hot tub and gaze up at the blue sky. But this is a tale of two hotels, which are joined at the hip. Next door is owner Martin’s next venture, Hotel Be Angkor. This is soon to open with 3 gorgeous rooms, a spa on the first floor and a café and wine bar below. Watch this space. HIGHS
ROOM Your big bedroom at The One Hotel is sandwiched between the second-floor roof terrace and the ground-floor lounge. Inside, it offers a raft of luxuries to keep you happy. A contemporary wooden sleigh bed covered in Frette linen dominates the room. In front of it you have a sitting area with a couple of armchairs, a complimentary mini bar, your own local mobile phone while you're in town, and an Apple iBook and iPod laden with hip tunes (ceiling speakers cover each corner and even shoot up to the roof terrace). French windows open onto a balcony from which you can watch life pass through the busy passageway below, but if the air is too humid, retreat inside and flick on the air con, then raid the minibar for a cooling tonic. There’s a flat-screen TV and DVD player, bathrobes and slippers. The bathroom is behind you – quite literally, as double sinks are neatly embedded into the wave-like bedhead. There’s a sunken Terrazzo bath and a deluge shower, too. Spin out into the old town for a night on the tiles, then come home to find the bed turned down and a night cap waiting. EATING This is your hotel: you can do whatever you want, so if you fancy breakfast in bed, the staff will bring it to you there. Usually, it’s set up on the roof terrace - an arduous climb up a flight of steps where you can lounge on the daybed while scoffing eggs Benedict or cheese and ham omelettes, berry pancakes drenched with honey, Danish pastries and hot buttered croissants, all washed down by freshly-squeezed juices and tea or coffee. During the day if you want a snack all you have to do is pick up the phone. Martin also owns The Linga Bar (eight paces across the passageway and one of the coolest spots in town) and they’ll cook something up, then bring it over. At night, you can fire up a barbeque on the roof terrace and they'll bring you fresh fish wrapped in banana leaves, pork ribs, beef skewers and chicken to grill, as well as a salad. Step out of the front door and you’ll find 15 restaurants within a hundred paces. Martin’s bar is directly opposite, but you should at least do a quick tour of the streets before retreating to his cushioned sofas for a cocktail. (NB, if you hole up in bed, they’ll happily bring your martini to you). Other good bars include Angkor What? – the first to open in town. Loads of good restaurants are close. You’ll get tasty French food at Ababcus, cool interiors at Karmasutra (an Indian restaurant on Pub Street), but for the best food in town, head out to Viroth’s on the Wat Bo Road for delicious Khmer food; the short journey is worth the effort. ACTIVITIES You're here to check out Angkor, a wonder of the world so studded with superlatives that it's hard to overstate its magnificence. Highlights include:
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