Review of Sofitel Phokeetra Phnom Penh

I stayed for 4 nights in this newly built Accor property end January/beg February. This hotel is brand new. They opened on December 18, 2010 and they are still in a “soft opening” phase. This is the 2nd Sofitel in Cambodia, after the great Sofitel Royal Angkor in Siem Reap, which is, in my heart, the best hotel in the world (see the thread by my very good
friendCupart:http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/accor...esort-spa.html). The director of the new Sofitel Phnom Penh is Mr Lamoot who is the former director of the Sofitel Angkor. As he did a great job there, one could expect the best from the Phnom Penh one. So here is a brief review.

The hotel is located about 2 km south of the Royal Palace, very close to the Russian embassy, in an area that is changing a lot. I mean that the surroundings of the hotel are not really great right now (there is even a kind of “favella” well visible from the pool area) but this is a promising area as there are some luxury villas being built, so the area will improve very quickly.

I have to say that this hotel is very nice. The main hall of the hotel is huge with the bar on the left side and the check-in & concierge desks at the back. When I arrived, I was greeted by a very courteous staff member with a welcome drink. He asked for my passport and credit card and asked if I was an A-Club member. I said yes and gave my platinum card. He looked at it and said “Oh, Mr Goldorak, we were expecting you”. He came back a few minutes later with the usual paperwork to fill & sign and told me that they upgraded me to the upper category room. Then I had the nice surprise to see an ex-Sofitel Angkor staff member (a Cambodian speaking very well French) who came to tell me how nice it was to see me again there, and enquiring about my family he already met in Siem Reap. What a nice welcome ! In fact 30 staff members moved from the Sofitel Angkor to the new Phnom Pehn Sofitel. So I was knowing a lot of people there (as I stayed several times in Siem Reap) so it was a great stay that was coming.

Very nice B&W pictures of Angkor temples and Cambodian countryside are depicted in the lobbies. My room was quite big and very nice and extremely comfortable. There were the bedding area and a living room area (with a sofa and an armchair). A full plate of chocolate and typical French pastries (clairs au caf& au chocolat) were waiting on a table. TV was a nice Samsung flat screen with a DVD player. The only “negative” point of my stay is that the insonorisation of the rooms could be better. Not from the outside noise but from the neighbouring room through the communication doors.

The staff is as great as in the Sofitel Angkor. I think the staff members who knew me from Siem reap told the others, as I was always greeted with “Hello Mr Goldorak !” even by some people that I never knew before.

Four restaurants are available : I tried all except the Chinese one that was about to open but not opened yet during my stay. Great food. The chief is a Franco-Khmer very nice guy who came to discuss with me several times.

There is a nice pool with a pool-side bar which is greatly appreciated after a day of walking in the warm Phnom Penh.

So, in summary, a very nice hotel with great staff. A nice addition for the Sofitel brand. I would definitely go there again for my next visit in PNH !