This hotel was rated world’s best on TripAdvisor. Could it be that good?

The hotel

Viroth’s Hotel, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Viroth’s Hotel is a popular choice on TripAdvisor.

Check-in

The leafy front entrance in a quiet street is surprisingly unassuming for a hotel that gets so many rave reviews. “Quite frankly the best hotel in the world,” declared an English visitor on TripAdvisor recently. “Among the greatest hotels in the world,” gushed an American. “Simply the best,” wrote an Australian. As you walk up the front stairs for the first time – and every subsequent time – a staff member hands you a cold refresher towel, you’re invited to sit at a chair in a light and airy foyer, and you’re handed a welcome drink of tamarind juice and honey. After a friendly check-in, an elegant spiral staircase leads up to our room. It’s a positive introduction to what TripAdvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Awards rated as the world’s top hotel and fifth for service in 2020.

The look

The hotel is modern and stylish.

There’s an understated modern stylishness about a boutique two-level hotel that has 35 rooms, a spa, a well set-up and air-conditioned gym and, appealingly for a lap swimmer, a 20-metre saltwater pool. The hotel’s concrete and timber construction is counterpointed by extensive outdoor and indoor greenery. All around the ground floor, are comfortable-looking areas ideal for relaxing, to read or have a drink. Throughout the hotel are sculptures, paintings, lamps, ornaments and Cambodian artefacts.

The room

A comfortable and cool deluxe guest room.

Large at 35-square-metres, our deluxe double room is comfortable and cool, with air-conditioning, a ceiling fan, and a welcoming basket of mandarins and dragon fruit. The room has a king-sized bed, a couch, TV, a polished cement and tiled floor, a bathroom with a double shower and a private balcony with two chairs overlooking the street. And it seems every time we leave the room – even just for breakfast or a swim – it is discreetly tidied.

Food + drink

Dine on Khmer and Western dishes in the casual restaurant.

The AC restaurant by the pool has an excellent a la carte breakfast menu that includes cereals, croissants and other pastries, fresh fruit, salads, bacon, ham and smoked salmon and egg dishes, noodles, pancakes, waffles, banana cake and bread pudding. At lunchtime and in the evening, it’s a casual dining place for Khmer dishes (including Amok fish and Khmer ceviche) and Western dishes (including duck breast tournedos with orange gravy sauce and smoked salmon tagliatelle). Nearby are two friendly and modestly priced restaurants that show the charm of Siem Reap. Very close is Pou Kitchen, which offers innovative local dishes, and a 15-minutes walk away is Haven, a social enterprise restaurant that trains disadvantaged young adults for hospitality careers and serves more traditional Khmer food.

Out + about

The most popular attraction is, of course, the remarkable Angkor Wat but other temples well worth visiting include Angkor Thom, Bayon and Ta Prohm, where the original Tomb Raider was filmed. You need to buy a temple pass ($US37/$56 a person for one day, $US67 for two to three days). The hotel can arrange a tuk tuk and guide for a day-long small tour circuit ($US20 plus $US45) or grand tour circuit ($US30 plus $US45). If a tuk tuk doesn’t suit, you can hire a car or van. The Cambodia Landmine Museum ($US5 entry) is a sobering reminder of the damage wrought by the brutal Khmer Rouge regime, American bombings and Vietnamese occupation during the country’s troubled modern history.

The verdict

The rooms’ private balconies overlook the street.

An excellent and welcoming hotel, though a notch less exceptional after one significant loss – complimentary pick-up in a vintage Rolls Royce or Mercedes from the old airport 10 minutes away is replaced by a $US45 taxi ride now that Siem Reap has a new airport an hour away.

Essentials

Deluxe double room from $US135/$205 a night. Street 24, Viroth’s Hotel, Wat Bo Village, Siem Reap, Cambodia. See viroth-hotel.com

Our score out of five

★★★★½

The writer travelled to Cambodia and stayed at Viroth’s Hotel at his own expense.

Highlight

All around the ground floor are comfortable-looking areas ideal for relaxing.

The warmth of the hotel staff.

Lowlight

One unhappy waiter in the hotel restaurant one night spoiled the otherwise perfect record for friendliness.