I stayed at the Raffles Hotel recently for 5 days and loved every second of it. My room was large, beautiful and clean. The private balcony overlooked the street and not the pool but it was fine watching the local street life. The hotel lobby was beautiful and everywhere there was staff who were trying to make my stay more enjoyable which they did. The pool was large, clean, and was at the perfect temperature. The Sunday brunch was awesome and could rival that at a Ritz Carlton. The location of the hotel is a block from the American Embassy but it is about half a mile to the river area and a 15 minute tuktuk ride to the Russian Market.
The bottom line is that the hotel was perfect in every way and I would stay there again in a heartbeat.

We stayed at Raffles Hotel Le Royal for 2 nights at the beginning of February. We loved the hotel. We were lucky enough to be upgraded from a Landmark Room to a Landmark Suite, which had a small balcony at the front of the hotel.The room was large & beautifully furnished, with sleigh beds. The bathroom was also large with a clawfoot bath and separate shower. We found the rooms spotless.
Downstairs, the lobby is lovely and the pools inviting. Look out for the happy hour cocktails in the Elephant Bar.
The breakfast buffet was good, especially the omlettes made to order, although the rest of the hot food could have been hotter.
We ate in the beautiful 'Restaurant Le Royal' both nights and found the food, wine and service exceptional.

I've been hearing about Le Royale Hotel/Phnom Penh for years & its website and somewhat recent merging with the superb Raffles management and brand name ignited my interest anew.

With the exception of Burma, I know every country in SE Asia well and had been to Cambodia 8-10 times previously.

The hotel is spectacular to look at from the outside and its small, intimate, well-decorated lobby is very inviting. "Check-in" is done on one of the lobby sofas with a tropical drink and the requisite paperwork taken care of in this environment.

The hotel's pools are brilliant with beautiful landscaping albeit with sluggish drink/food service around the pool.

I agree with all of the quasi- or full bore negative comments about the rooms which are faded, sometimes small and not even all that clean looking.

For example, you would expect a hotel of this stature to have nightly turn-down service.

Nope. (Call the front desk if you deign to want such service).

You'd expect the newest in bed linens and not some presumably dirty and smelly, dark bedspread.

Nope.

You'd expect not to be awakened at 0730 on a Sunday (and, this being Chinese New Year) with the sound of a buzz saw around the swimming pool doing "necessary" construction.

But, we were!

Internet costs, admittedly high in Cambodia, were US$20 . . .for eight hours of in-room service which was sporadic on speeds.

And, finally. Call me picky but at US$200+ night in Cambodia, I am allowed to be. The toilet seats (we tried 2 different rooms) were actually wooden (see my photo)! I will always assume that a dark, "wooden" toilet seat allows for stains on it to be missed in the cleaning process.

This hotel was not worth the money. The service, while excellent at times was also sporadic. Le Royale Phnom Penh is living on its name and fabled reputation. At US$200+ per night with the Raffles brand name & one of the lowest labor cost nations in the world, they could do far better.

Raffles Le Royal is beautifully decorated with antique furniture in the common areas and the rooms. It is full of atmosphere and colonial charm. And it is very comfortable. The Elephant bar is gorgeous and the pool is lovely. It's a great oasis in a challenging, lively city.

But I wouldn't say the service was flawless or necessarily world class. Our room service overlooked some details and the staff seemed a bit harried. The hotel was busy and it showed.

The breakfast was a little disappointing compared to other international five star hotels. It was strong on European food - cheeses, breads, omelettes - but lacked many Cambodian touches. Most of the buffet items were a little cold. Tea was not loose-leaf, but just tea bags. If you love gourmet food, then this breakfast is a bit ordinary.

Staff were pleasant, if maybe a little impersonal. But I loved my stay at Raffles very much.