Country Living in Siem Reap – the Suites and Sweet Resort

"Conventional wisdom" advised by most Angkor Wat experts – myself included – is that it’s best to stay at a hotel in the center of Siem Reap, to be within walking distance to all the shops and restaurants. While it’s hard to argue with the logic of this, having now sampled the charms of the "country life" outside the city, I have to say that a hotel away from the middle of things has its advantages. This revelation comes courtesy of the Suites and Sweet Resort, which is located between the airport and town, on a secondary road. The resort sits in a walled compound in the middle of farmland, and was a wonderfully quiet and relaxing place to come to after a hot day at the archaeological park. The ‘remote’ location, really just 10 minutes from the center of town, wasn’t a problem at all, since the hotel provided a complementary tuk-tuk with driver to take me into town for dinner, wait, and return me to the hotel.

Lotus Pond at the Suites and Sweet Resort in Siem Reap

Every room at Suites and Sweet is indeed a suite, with a spacious ‘sitting room’, bedroom, large bathroom and outdoor veranda with a small plunge pool. The bathroom includes a large walk-in shower with a rain-shower head. Free wireless Internet access was available in the room as well. The decoration is simple, using nice accent colors and a lot of local handicrafts to create a comfortable-feeling room. All of the rooms are arranged around a large lotus pond, with the verandas generally perched over the water.

The sleeping area, with balcony and pond beyond.

The hotel has a single restaurant, off the lobby and facing the lotus pond. Breakfast was a fixed menu, with everything cooked fresh using good quality ingredients. The restaurant was closed for lunch (except on request) during my stay, but this may have been due to the ‘low season’ time of year.

Visit the Suites and Sweet Resort web site for more information.