Review: Chayra Angkor Hotel

Location: 344 St. Wat Bo Sangkat Sala Komreouk, Siem Reap, Cambodia

In my recent trip to Cambodia, we were lucky enough to book a good deal via Booking.com for a Standard Twin Room for only $24.20/night. It did not include breakfast but they do have a one way free pick up service and you can choose to use it either for pick up from or drop off to the bus station/airport.

Coming from Phnom Penh, we boarded the 11:00 PM night schedule of Giant Ibis Sleeper Bus to Sieam Reap. It took us around 7 hours to reach the Giant Ibis Terminal at Siem Reap and arrived around 6:00 am-ish. Outside the terminal, a lot of Tuk Tuk drivers are already available for you to choose from. We were able to negotiate one Tuk Tuk driver (his name is Red & a nice guy) to bring us to our hotel for $2, but then asking further, he agreed for $15 to take us for a city tour - bringing us to our hotel included.

The moment we arrived until we left the hotel, it provided us a very good service. I'm listing down all our positive experience with them, and why I highly recommend this place for anyone searching for a hotel in Sieam Reap:

1. Allows Early Check-In

Arriving at Chayra Angkor Hotel early morning, we were surprised that they allowed us to check in that early. I supposed we were just lucky enough that the room is vacant at that time. Its best to let them know as well your estimated time of arrival in advance so they can prepare. What I noticed in both Vietnam & Cambodia is that, they don't have a 24-hour open reception. Unlike most countries, by night time their receptionist turns off the lights of the lobby, lock the doors, and pull out their mini-bed and sleep at the lobby. So make sure you advise them if you are checking in late so they can wait for you, and you don't end up knocking and waking them up. This happened to us at our hotel in Vietnam. When we arrived (around 12MN-1AM), the hotel lobby was dark & we thought the hotel was already closed only to find out that the receptionist was just sleeping while waiting for us.

2. Clean & Spacious Room

The Standard Twin Room that we booked for 2 nights is very spacious & clean when we arrived. Bed was comfy (with cute teddy bear towel arrangement), has TV with cable, mini-ref, electronic safe, hotel robes provided, and complimentary bottled water & coffee. Initially, we had some problems with the air conditioning because it was not cooling the room enough, however on our last day my friend figured that we just had to press some buttons for it to function correctly. Thinking about it, we could've mentioned it right away to the hotel staff but due to our busy itinerary that day, we just let it pass.

Our room before the chaos lol

3. Nice and Helpful Hotel Staff

Upon arrival, we were greeted by the receptionist with a smile. All throughout our stay, even if we just see them by the hall or stairs, or when we go out - they always greet us with a smile. I really appreciated that gesture because it makes guests feel very welcome & at home (away from home). Although some staff are not that comfortable with the English language, they are still very keen on helping us & answering our questions. I also appreciated that moment when we were hanging out at the lobby waiting for our service to the airport, a staff gave us a glass of water and helped us with our bags when our Tuk Tuk arrived to drive us to the airport. A small thing but made a big impact for me.

Chanthou, the hotel manager, was also very helpful in answering my inquiries via email. I also appreciated that he sent me an email right after my confirmation with booking.com. He was also very helpful in answering our questions, especially when we asked him about Koh Ker & Beng Mealea. Great guy! :)

4. Good Location

The hotel has the perfect location for me as it was very accessible to a lot of essentials. In front, there is a small store if you need to buy small items, a few walks to the intersection there are 2 ATMs (ANZ and ABA bank) located right beside the grocery store.

Note: ANZ ATM only dispense USD while ABA ATM dispense both USD and Khmer Riel

In front of the store, there is a small restaurant serving $2-$4 dollar menu - recommended by our Tuk Tuk driver because apparently they serve good noodles. We had our breakfast here on our first day, ordered the #1 and #13 - noodle was just ok, nothing special but their fried rice is good.

When we went to the Night Market & Pub Street - we were able to just walk from the hotel. It is quite a long walk though, probably around 10-15 minutes, depending on how fast or slow you walk, but the roads along the way are safe. Much cheaper to walk than to take a $2-3 tuk tuk ride.

Overall, I highly recommend this hotel. Good value for your money, good location, and good hotel service.