The One Hotel Angkor

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Siem Reap, Cambodia

A chic hotel for two – just one groovy room and a roof terrace that overlooks the bustling old town New!

Reviewed by Tom Bell

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

It’s not often you rock up to a hotel and find the whole place is yours, with all the staff at your beck and call
The position in the middle of the old town is perfect if you want to go out and play at night
A cool ground-floor lounge reception lounge with black cement floors, furry cube seats, designer sofas and chairs. Doors at the back take you through to an art gallery
The roof terrace, with its daybed, jacuzzi, and surround sound system is a pretty cool place to hang out
You're only a short motorbike or car ride away from Angkor Wat

LOWS

When Hotel Be Angkor opens next door, both hotels will share the reception lounge. Effectively, they'll be one hotel and some of the privacy of this place will be lost
The price was a little high compared to other places in the same area
You’re bang in the middle of the old town so some noise is inevitable, although we stayed at the weekend and weren’t disturbed

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:

Angkor Wat (right), the principal temple of this ancient capital and the largest religious building in the world (it's surrounded by a 5km moat)
Bayon, the state temple of Angkor Thom, where 216 giant faces are chiselled into the stone
Ta Prohm (right), where the roots of giant banyan trees hold temple ruins in their mighty grip as they soar towards heaven
Banteay Srei for its wonderful pink sandstone temples and their exquisite stone carvings

Other suggested activities:

The market is on your doorstep, a 2-minute stroll from the hotel, and full of great artefacts
Escape the tourist hordes on your private roof terrace with ceiling fans above the daybed, a jacuzzi shielded by walls of bamboo and a shaded balcony from which to watch the world go by
If you fancy a Khmer massage, body wrap or facial just pick up the phone and all will be arranged. Your masseuse will come to you, so head up to the roof terrace and relax in style. When Hotel Be Angkor opens next door, you’ll be able to pop over for other pampering options
Hire your own film crew - see Special Packages - who will follow you around while you’re in town, then edit the footage and hand you a disk. Very expensive, but the last word in holiday movies
Visit The Tonle Sap, Asia’s largest freshwater lake, which floods with monsoon rains and teems with fish. It’s 10km south of Siem Reap and boat cruises plough their furrow, taking in the various floating communities

For more details, including practical tips, see our Local info.

FEATURES

Phone

Internet in Room

Fan

Air Conditioning

Safe Box

Coffee/Tea Making

Breakfast

Lunch by Arrangement

Dinner by Arrangement

Room Service

Special Diets Catered

Vegetarian Options

Bar

Jacuzzi

Massage Available

Internet Connection

Airport Transfer

ACTIVITIES

	Cycling

	Cultural Insight

	Historical Sites

	Museum / Galleries

	Nightlife

	Shopping/Markets

Getting there

Name	The One Hotel Angkor	Location	Old Market Area, Siem Reap
Type	Deluxe Hotel: 1 Suite	Country	Cambodia
Price Guide	Dbl: $250 BB	Open	All year


DISTANCES	Airport: 8km	Nearest Shops: 0.1km	Nearest restaurant: 0.1km	Beach: 500km