Sofitel Phnom Penh Wins 2nd Place in Awards

The Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeethra has won second place among the 25 best hotels of Southeast Asia in the 2013 Readers’ Choice Awards of the prestigious Conde Nast Traveler publication, which also named Siem Reap City as one of the “Top 10 Cities in Asia.”

Charles-Henri Chevet, the general manager of Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeethra, said that he never expected the hotel, which only opened two years ago, to top the list of Southeast Asia’s best hotels right behind Bali’s Amankila resort.

There are two English-language travel publications whose readers’ surveys yield a huge influence in the industry: Travel + Leisure and Conde Nast Traveler, he said. So obtaining this ranking from the readers of Conde Nast Traveler is no small accomplishment, he added.

The Sofitel second-place ranking will put tremendous pressure on the hotel staff, Mr. Chevet noted. “We now must maintain this level of quality,” he said of the young hotel.

According to a statement released by the publication, a record number of Conde Nast Traveler readers took part in this year’s survey, in which they were asked to rate their favorite hotels and resorts based on numerous criteria ranging from food quality to hotel design. A total of 79,268 people rated more than 16,000 properties worldwide, also reviewing airlines and cities.

The results released by the travel publication last week showed that Siem Reap City obtained a rating of 83.6 percent for friendliness, 81 percent for atmosphere, 80.3 percent for its lodging and 63.8 percent for its restaurants, which placed the city 10th.

“This is due to the strong commitment of the private sector in the service provided to custom­ers. We have to give a good service at a good price,” said Ho Vandy, co-chair of the Tourism Working Group, a government and private-sector forum.

Cambodia’s other hotels also fared remarkably well in the survey. The list of “25 Top Hotels” of Cambodia, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines and Vietnam contains five hotels in Cambodia. La Residence d’Angkor and the Raf­fles Grand Hotel d’Angkor, both in Siem Reap City, respectively ranked third and fourth on the list.

The Amansara, also in Siem Reap City, tied for 15th place along with the InterContinental Singa­pore, and the Raffles Hotel Le Royal, Phnom Penh, came in 19th place after the Sofitel Plaza Hanoi.