We would like to ask for suggestions for a hotel/resort with pool for Siem Reap, for 6 nights, Feb. 8-14.

Here in Chiang Mai, Mrs. EJZ is having a more difficult time than expected with the heat and humidity (though we hope that will change as jet lag fades). Thus we have decided that for SR -- notably hotter, hore humoid and more crowded -- we will up thehotel budget to max at $100/day and find a higher end hotel or resort with a pool, thus changing our game plan from "temples, etc with a bit of down time" to "pleasant down time with some temples" if necessary. (If weather and crowds are not a problem we plan to spend 2 or 3 half-days at temples, do a bike tour, a Khmer cooking class and ???)

We *think* we prefer the Wat Bo area, east side of the river as we suspect it will be quieter, and we would like relatively close proximity to Pub Street, etc, to sample cafes. (When traveling we tend to eat twice a day: breakfast and a meal in late afternoon, unless we have a "splash" dinner -- which we try to do a couple of times a week.) Our current booking does not meet the "pool" criterion."

Above all, my primary goal is to have a quiet, cool retreat if the weather or crowds prove to be challenging for Mrs. EJZ .

Sonalong Village -- recommended here by JuliesS -- has no vacancy 6N: Feb 8-14. Using the selection criteria of "swimming pool," "free wifi," and "non-smoking rooms" we have found:

Residence Indochine D'angkor (9.3 / 450 reviews): seems a bit far out, but I cannot really judge from the map.

The Privilege Boutique (9.3 / 82 reviewers). looks pleasant enough, but now sure how to weigh 82 reviews vs 450+

Home Indochine D'angkor (9.2/ 508 reviews). Closer in than Residence Indochine. --but enough to make a difference?

Thoughts on these options -- or other suggestions? Perhaps a more experienced eagle-eye reading the descriptions will help us distinguish among these options.

Thank you! --EJZ

We stayed at the Hollywood Angkor Boutique hotel a couple of years ago when it had just opened. Great rooms, a really good location (close to the centre but very quiet) and an outdoor pool. The one downside was that the staff were and consequently, their English could have been better. I often use www.booking.com to choose hotels. Their reviews are genuine and you can filter just about anything you want including who the reviews are from ( i choose "couples"). Unlike Tripadvisor reviewers have had to have stayed at the hotels to review. Another place we have used is the FCC Angkor - very stylish and a VERY cold pool but not so close to the centre. It is nice to be close to the centre so as to walk to restaurants etc. But tuk tuks are cheap to get around but a bit of a hassle at times.

CM is relatively cool at this time of year so you will find Angkor a lot warmer. The massive buildings act as a heat sink and add significantly to the temperatures. Most will head to the temples very early and return early to avoid the midday heat and then go back in the late afternoon. The problem is that everyone else takes this approach making it very crowded. Some people advocate using a car and driver/guide so as to get blasts of aircon in between sites. Personally I find this makes it worse and prefer to use a tuk tuk and rely on the breeze to cool us down as there is less of a contrast.

Thank you. Yes, I am relying heavily on booking.com for this trip for the reason you note: reviews are written by verified guests.

We chose Hollywood when we first made bookings in late December: we booked five nights for early February, then added one more night, and then shifted the (now six night) booking by 3 days. This generated messages from Hollywood demanding confirmation that we had booked three rooms for slightly different days.. I replied that we had booked ONE room and explained (initial booking + 2 changes), where upon, a week later, they asked me to change our booking to reflect this (which it already did). A phone conversation with booking.com 's CSR -- and her conversation with Hollywood -- may have straightened them out -- or not. The booking.com CSR was unsure but clearly the problem was language and a failure of the Hollywood reservationists to understand the booking.com system for changes In reservations. So we cancelled Hollywood and booked elsewhere -- without a pool.

Hence we are reluctant to engage with Hollywood with the possibility of showing up only to find no roo at all -- but booking.com shows them fully booked for our dates,so the question is moot. Our reluctance is based solely on our previous booking issues and not on hotel experience.

EJZ

Seems like the staff’s english may not have improved! I tend to agree. IME when something like this starts going wrong, the problems usually continue. Shame, because the rooms are very nice and good value.

EmaJayZee--

Did you rely on booking.com to check availability at Sonalong? Or, did you contact the hotel directly?

If it was booking, check with the hotel directly and you might be pleasantly surprised.

Also, just use pool in your search criteria. Then when you have more options, you can check with the hotels directly to ask the wifi and non-smoking questions. I think nearly every hotel now has these last two things, and I wouldn't be surprised if booking.com doesn't have all of this info correctly coded.

Thanks JulieS. Yes, I have relied solely on booking.com as we have been very pleased with their terms and even their attempts to unangle the Hollywood snafu.

In general if one contacts the hotel directly does one get similar sorts of generous conditions for cancellation and prepayment?

Also -- any suggestions for a hotel in PP? Again on booking.com ThePavilion is booked so we are throwing the dart.

Frequently hotels do not release all of their inventory to booking.com (I use it too quite frequently), and that is why sometimes, but not always, places really do h ave rooms available that are not listed on booking. In Siem Reap we had been in another hotel, and when we decided to extend our time, we went out walking and checked out maybe a half dozen different hotels before deciding Sonalong was the best we'd seen. They asked us for a one night deposit.

Booking.com charge around 15% commission for bookings via their site so,unsurprisingly, many hoteliers will only release their rooms to booking.com and other consolidators, either way in advance or at the last minute, when they would rather sell theroom or lose it. Consequently, it is always worth contacting the hotel direct to see if they have any rooms. Contractually they are obliged to offer the same rate directly as they would through booking.com. Some do, some don't.

In reality, the level of places you are looking at, I think you are pretty safe using a hotel which has all the facilities you want, in the right location and at the right price with a review score of 8.5 or above.

Crellston, you wrote, "Contractually they are obliged to offer the same rate directly as they would through booking.com."

I think you left out a not. Contractually, the hotel is NOT obligated to offer a walk-up or someone contacting them individually the same rate as booking.com Nonetheless, some hotels will offer you the same price as on booking .com It's always worthwhile contacting the hotel directly.

No I did not Kathie. Several people I know in the hotel business have told me that it is a condition that they are required by booking.com to offer the same rates for direct bookings as via the site. Maybe they got it wrong but knowing them, I very much doubt it. Though some undoubtedly do ignore it.

Really? That has not been my understanding. Indeed, I've had owners tell me that they are NOT to offer the same price to people who come to them from different routes.

Seim Reap is really awesome place for resort lovers..it is mainly famous for its amazing resorts..as there are many more but some of the resorts you will surely love it like Anantara Angkor Resort & Spa,Royal Angkor Resort, Victoria Angkor Resort & Spa and Phum Baitang Resort..

My understanding is that hotels ARE required to offer the same price directly as for booking.com, but ....

When I asked at 3Sis in Chiang Mai about cancelling my booking.com reservation after the MHS and booking with them directly for a better price, they hesitated, said no, it would be the same price but if I booked direct they could include breakfast...

Looking at the Sonalong Village website, I see that they are offering rooms (if available) for the same 69USD as booking.com -- or they have "packages" for 2 or more nights, same price per night, but these include tuk-tuks, massage, dinners, etc.

So that's the work-around for hotels: they must offer the same basic room price, but to entice direct bookings they offer more add-ons.

Alas, Sonalong Village replied by email that they are booked for our dates, but if they had availability we would have booked directly with them (for the add-ons) rather than through booking.com

Very interesting, MJZ. Thanks for this info.

The reason that booking.com are required to the same price is because they offer a "best price guarantee" so it wouldn't make sense for them to be undercut by their own hotel owners. Having read their contract from end to end when we were contemplating buying aNd operating a Guesthouse, I doubt they would be impressed with the practice of offering extras as an incentive to book direct but who cares! I have taken advantage of that myself.

It is also worth remembering that even if a place shows as full on booking, it doesn't mean it is as many hotels only seem to place a small number of rooms on the site and if they are not being offered on the site then the can't be accuse of undercutting.

The Sofitel hands down!