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Royal Crown Hotel and Spa Review: 9 Reasons for a Wonderful Stay

Royal Crown Hotel & Spa, a 4-star hotel is one of the best places to stay in Siem Reap and near to the Angkor Archaeological Park. The monumental park has a cluster of Angkor temples, which are the symbolic icons in Siem Reap. Moreover, it has a perfect location for accessibility to some of the Siem Reap attractions within walking distance. Especially when you want to immerse into their nightlife, there are plenty of bars, Khmer restaurants and hawker stalls nearby.

I travelled to Siem Reap for 6 days 5 nights during Songkran, which was their Khmer New Year. Hence, the street on the Royal Crown Hotel & Spa was vibrant and boisterous during the day. You could even see the water warfare in action during the Cambodian New Year standing at the balcony of the hotel. The amusing sight was one reason why the Royal Crown Hotel was such a charming place to stay at the right time.

During the day, there were animated voices from people and loud music celebrating the joyous occasion. However, when night fell after 10 pm, the place was dead silent. That was what I wanted. An assuring peaceful sleep while retaining its spirited vibe during the day. Siem Reap city is simply amazing and so is the hotel rate!

The cost of a hotel room in Royal Crown Hotel Siem Reap is between US$38 to US$50. You can also get many good hotels that are cheap and comfortable for less than US$10. Our hotel arranged for one airport pickup to the hotel free of charge. When we returned to Siem Reap Airport, the cost was US$10 for a taxi. Most hotels offer a one or two-way airport transfer too.

1. Royal Crown Hotel Perfect Location

Royal Crown Hotel has a perfect location in the city that can reach several places of interests by walking without spending too much time and money on taking transport. The walk from the Royal Crown Hotel to the nightlife around Pub Street was merely 6 to 8 minutes of walking, 500 to 600m away. Along the way, you passed by many interesting places which you can spend a few nights exploring or looking for some good bargains on souvenirs or even try out their hawker food. Below are a few notable Siem Reap attractions that you can go on foot.

• Siem Reap Art Centre Night Market » Get some bargains on the clothes and souvenirs
• Angkor Night Market » Shops and pull carts
• Hardrock Cafe » Live Band
• Old Market Bridge » Watching fireworks and many points of interests
• Phalla Angkor Night Market » Shops
• Pokambor Street Food » Hawker stalls where you can eat on the street
• Old Market » Wet market and shops mainly for the locals
• Angkor Minimart » Essential to buy mineral water, drinks or snacks

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2. Driving Distance Close to Angkor Wat

The Royal Crown Hotel could also arrange a taxi or tuk-tuk to Angkor Wat at a standard market rate without the markup as what I had found. They would show you a brochure and gave you the price instantly to wherever place you want to go. The hotel collaborated with some of these drivers as they knew them personally.

In this way, I felt even more safe to use their service. There will also be tuk-tuk waiting outside the hotel, ready to offer you a quote and bring you to buy admission tickets at Angkor Wat Ticket Office. I had the hotel staff arranged for me a Big Circuit Tour to visit 5 Angkor temples at US$18. The distance to Angkor Wat from Royal Crown Hotel is approximately 20 to 30 minutes by tuk-tuk.

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3. One Hotel Key to One Room

Usually, it is common to give one key to one passport for registration upon check-in. In normal circumstance, if a guest asks for another room card access, the hotel would want the second passport to be registered as well. In Royal Crown Hotel Siem Reap, only one card will be given for one room.

We tried to ask for the second key. Surprisingly, the hotel was not able to accommodate our requests. Hence, if I wanted to return to my room earlier, it would not be convenient. The hotel staff said that they would open the door for us if that happened. Problem solved, but I still find it weird to have such a single-key rule.

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4. Royal Crown Hotel Spacious Clean Room

Here comes my favourite part after mentioning the perfect location near to many Siem Reap tourist attractions. We had a Deluxe Twin Room. The Royal Crown Hotel room is spacious at 35 sqm and clean. That was what I appreciate about the size and the cleanliness. The floor was so squeaky clean and smooth that after taking off my socks, I could not even feel a grind of sand on the floor.

Unlike other hotels I had stayed before, sometimes I could still feel the dust on my sole despite the room being ‘clean’, especially when the room had carpet which attracted dust. The toilet door was the only downside which I did not like so much. It did not have a door outside to close and shut out everyone when one showered.

There was a glass panel frosted only in the middle part for the shower room. Therefore, I could not help but felt insecure. When one was showering, the other person in the room could use the toilet bowl or the washbasin right outside. One night, the hand spray beside the toilet bowl burst suddenly. The water was spraying on the floor at full force.

I could not stop it as the knob seemed to be damaged. I called the reception. Shortly, two technicians arrived in one minute. They got it fixed immediately and cleaned up the area until it was dry. I did not blame the hotel for the damage of the hand spray but was instead amazed by their fast reaction to rectify the problem.

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5. Free Hotel WiFi

Wifi was free in the Royal Crown Hotel Siem Reap, but the connection did not work very well most of the days in the hotel room. Therefore, do not depend solely on using the hotel free wifi as it is not reliable at all. I would instead recommend you to buy a Cambodia Tourist SIM Card when you arrive at the airport for only US$3 with abundant internet data. As I had bought one from Siem Reap Airport upon arrival, thus I was able to continue surfing the net on my mobile without feeling annoyed over the poor wifi connection.

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6. Hotel Lobby and Swimming Pool

The waiting area in the hotel lobby was remarkably cosy with couches everywhere in the lobby. The ample seating arrangement was part of the aesthetic design that made the hotel looked homey. Although the 18m lap pool located beside the hotel lobby was small, many people were having fun in the water as well as suntanning. It was so ideal for those who wanted to get some glowing tan under the hot weather in Cambodia.

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7. Royal Crown Hotel Buffet Breakfast

It was a real pleasure staying in Royal Crown Hotel as they had a very gratifying breakfast that made all my mornings rejuvenated. Although all the buffet food was tasty in general, the one recommendation I have is to try their congee, specifically if you are a Chinese who enjoys Teochew porridge. The hotel kitchen cooked their porridge with onion and some other ingredients that gave the broth a natural sweetness. My family and I loved it very much. We were addicted to it and must have it every morning. Therefore, please try it if you are staying there.

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8. Full Moon Bar @ Rooftop

One unique point of Royal Crown Hotel is their Full Moon Bar located on the 6th floor at the rooftop. You can get a panoramic view of the city and enjoy a quiet evening, either indoor or outdoor seating. One tip is not to go too early because it can still be warm and uncomfortable at 5 pm. We went to explore the bar around 8 pm.

Only two people were sitting outdoor, admiring the scenery. The heat was oppressive during the day at 38 to 40°C and had not cooled down during the evening. Those warm nights did not seem to encourage people to sit outside for long. Nevertheless, the bar opens from 5 pm to 11 pm daily.

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9. Royal Crown Hotel Final Review

Overall, it was a very delightful experience staying at Royal Crown Hotel & Spa Siem Reap because it had created many beautiful memories for me, especially during the Songkran period. The hotel staffs can speak English well, professional and polite. I would not hesitate to recommend you to stay in this hotel despite all the small cons mentioned. It is still one of the best places to stay in Siem Reap! You may also like to check out some travel tips before going to Cambodia.