Hotel Le Royal, hotel in Pnom Penh, Cambodia
Hotel Le Royal is a colonial building in the Wat Phnom district of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, with around 170 rooms that combine Khmer and French decorative elements. The property has two swimming pools, several restaurants, a spa, and large common areas with high ceilings and traditional furnishings.
The hotel opened in 1929 during French colonial rule and quickly attracted well-known visitors from around the world. It closed in 1975 when the Khmer Rouge took power and did not reopen until 1997, after careful restoration work.
The hotel has maintained the tradition of Afternoon Tea for decades, drawing both locals and visitors into its shaded terrace for a slow, social ritual. Some suites carry the names of past guests, turning an ordinary stay into something with a sense of personal history.
The hotel sits in the Wat Phnom district, set back from the main roads and surrounded by trees, within easy walking distance of local markets, temples, and the river. The dry season, roughly from November to February, brings cooler and less humid days, which makes getting around the city much more comfortable.
Charlie Chaplin was among the guests who stayed here, and his name remains connected to the hotel's story to this day. When the building reopened in 1997, restorers kept many of the original details in place, so parts of the interior still look much as they did in the late 1920s.
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