Guest Reviews

CABOCHON HOTEL & RESIDENCE: "Urban Bangkok feel — Hit it twice this so far."

"For those seeking to experience the vibe of Bangkok as a psuedo-denizen for a couple of days -- that is, to live/to sleep amid that ordinary urban street mix of local food vendors adjacent to gleaming skyscrapers, [and, with some solid benefits such as a being near a handy supermarket, the Skytrain Phrom Phong stop, a hip juice bar, and a small city park] the Cabochon offers this kind of feel in the Thai metropolis. It's not on the famed river, and it's not super luxury. Rather, it's under-the-radar subtle. Hidden down a small alley from that urban mix, the colonial-era building is a sweet spot -- surrounded by lush foliage and filled inside with Asian collectibles. Venture out into the Bangkok chaos, and return back to the chill of the Cabochon, where the genuinely warm staff will greet you with smiles -- more smiles when you order a couple of rounds of mojitos. Relaxed without anyone in your grill. Clean, more than acceptable, not over-priced. And best, it is super understated."

The River Resort: "Superbe ! Notre plus bel hôtel au Laos"

Superbe : l arrivée en bateau et l accueil, l aménagement paysager du site, la qualité des constructions et la décoration, les 2 douches dans la chambre, le petit déjeuner surtout lorsqu il n y a pas le buffet et que l on peut choisir parmi du salé et du sucré frais et bien cuisiné, les 2 grandes piscines, le personnel discret et efficace, le prêt de vélo (et cerise sur le gâteau l attention parfaite de vous offrir une bouteille d eau fraîche pour votre balade !). Bref après 3 semaines au Laos nous sommes en mesure de comparer : du très très haut niveau, luxueux mais où on se sent bien ! Et la literie parfaite...

Rachamankha: "Quaint hotel"

Beautiful hotel and room. Loved the design and the property overall. A magical place for sure. Please make the effort to book it if in Chiang Mai. Stayed only one night in a Grand Deluxe room but would have liked to stay for more.

Amata Lanna: "Perfect"

We stayed here 3 nights in January & it was lovely in every way. The staff were so helpful, the rooms lovely and the bed very comfy. It's close to the road and there is some noise from that in the morning, but it's otherwise very peaceful. Breakfast was good. No complaints, except the endless rain, but I can remember blame the hotel for the weather.

Talabgaon Castle Heritage Resort: "TALABGAON CASTLE AMAZING"

WOW. What an amazing place. Whilst we did not stay overnight, we spent a day. Our guide, Annpurna , was the most wonderful host, friendly, informative, inventive, colourful - simply the best. We were fortunate to spend time with her in her home in Jaipur and her family home, Talabgaon Castle. We made a new friend! Annpurna made sure we made the most of our day when we had the opportunity to visit her family home and village and meet and spend time with her beautiful family. The staff at Talabgaon Castle will ensure your visit or stay is perfect. The hospitality and friendliness is a treat in itself. We were invited for a complete tour of the resort rooms, hotels and facilities and they are world class. Arriving on the very colourful Camel Cart as we pass through the local village, the people are so friendly and the children just love it when visitors arrive at the Castle. Red Carpet entrance with welcome drinks and flowers. After a tour of the Castle and the grounds we enjoyed a very welcome lunch at the resort ,- the food was amazing and the service was simply the best, and then we were whisked off to be dressed and travel to town. We are now in local colourful attire and are taken to another nearby village - this experience is amazing. As we walked and talked with the local women and children. Enjoying the most amazing colourful markets and the most amazing display of fresh food that you will ever see. A few hours goes very fast and every minute is fabulous. Everyone is so friendly, they are loving the Western Visitors whom they do no see very often. If the world could be this friendly , fresh and colourful we would all be happy every day. A day or a few days spent at the Resort and the local village is time you will never forget. Simply Majestic. Thank you for sharing your day and your family with us. Such wonderful Memories (Oct 2017) Sally and Maggie

Villa Song Saigon: "Away from the hustle and bustle"

"I am so pleased I chose this hotel after reading previous reviews. It is in district 2 but the hotel provided a taxi boat to the centre of Saigon and it was lovely to get back to serenity after a full day of sightseeing. The bedroom we had was huge! The pool area was lovely. There is no set time for breakfast! You can have it anytime when you get up, I wish more hotels would do this. The staff are very professional and nothing is too much of a problem. Stayed January 2017, traveled as a couple"

Inle Princess Resort: "Superb stay in a fantastic resort"

We spent two wonderful nights at the hotel. The design of the estate and, in particular, the rooms/houses has been beautifully thought through to create a self-contained oasis of calm and peacefulness, just what we wanted after a succession of very busy days sightseeing! The staff were excellent and the service impeccable, the food was very good. Strongly recommended.

Sea Dance Resort: "Lovely quiet place"

We stayed 4 nights in the sea dance and enjoyed every single day. It's a very charming resort with private pool and wonderful food. The team is amazing and make you stay memorable. Don't miss it, it's a great place to stay and you will love the staff.

THE SAMAR: "A gem in Bustling Siem Reap"

"OVERVIEW Coming here for the Angkor Empire Marathon was my main aim for this trip. Siem Reap has changed alot over the years since I came in 2006. From the only big establishment of Le Meridian Resort, they have many more to offer and also hospitality competition is getting tight. As this time I was travelling with older folks and all ladies, I had to make sure that the hotel is really comfy, especially my own mother is a very very stringent person when it comes to hotel selection. After consultation with her, we finally land on Samar. Just from the pictures, she said she felt that this little resort will be good. I must say I was a bit taken aback from the Poor reviews put forth here, but we nevertheless went ahead. BOOKING I originally booked on Agoda and Booking. com for two rooms as I needed 2 rooms, agoda.com could only provide me one. After the booking, I got in touch with manager Mr Bertrand, he was patient in replying and gave me clear directions on the amount to prepare for the trip. Throughout the e mails, he was patient and assured me that the rooms are well prepared for our trip. I like this French professional way of dealing things. So there we are prepared and packed ready to go. LOCATION To speak the truth, this hotel is not only the usual Pub st or Main National road, so it is of course not easy to find. But this is also its advantage, you can be sure you are out from the tourists infested area ( esp these days there are so many Korean and Chinese big tour buses and groups). If you are however going for those cliche big tours, then do not bother to come here because this place is all about style and niche. The establishment is smaller in real life than in the pictures, but it is definitely tastefully designed. It gives you the feel of a big home rather than a hotel. If I am not wrong there are not more than 10 rooms and one big villa in the whole ground. It is very well kept, very clean, tidy and a lot of plants around. Already we felt relaxed. STAFF and MANAGMENT We were greeted by the staff who was expecting us. The lady in the counter are more conversant in English, so they were the ones to serve us. But generally all the staff can actually speak English, but I guess the Cambodians are shy people, so they hardly speak. We were given a refreshing welcome drink, while I settle the bill with the staff. We had to pay upfront the stay. There is, however, no need to leave a deposit for safeguard. So do prepare cash in hand ready or a valid credit card or hotel voucher for your stay. ROOM We all stayed on the second floor, the first room nearer the lobby is the one with 2 beds ( single) while the last room is one big bed. Both rooms are big and spacious and tastefully furnished with a European Colonial style design, I loved the black and white tiled toilets with nice bath tub. Definitely enough space. We were also given robes and slippers. Umbrellas and Hats were also provided for us as the weather is really hot. All these were free of charge. I must say the bed is really comfy, I had not problem at all snoozing like a pig for the 4 nights, even the aunties in the other room, who are light sleepers mentioned to me the beds are nice. There were choices of hard and soft pillows on the bed. Really comfy comforter and strong working aircon with fan to cool you down after a day in Angkor Wat is good enough a tourist can ask for ! The TV also provided many channels of entertainment in various languages. At the balcony, you can see the swimming pool and afar the vicinity. This is also a place good for chilling out and talking to friends. Although the water pump was not working well at night, we mentioned it to the hotel staff and they quickly got the engineering plumber to get it fixed. So we could get hot soaks after visiting the Angkor Wat. There is no hot water making facilities but you can always get hot water from the kitchen from the staff who are more than willing to serve you. The fridge is cold and the hotel provides 2 bottles of drinking 500ml water. FOOD The food is really good. Although pricey, but hey in Siem Reap everything is in USD, comparatively to Singapore, it is worth it. To begin, first night we had a selection of Khmer Asian Western fusion gourmet with an Italian red. The meats are really tasty paired with the unique Khmer cooking style, the first night was already a plus for us. We could not finish everything but it was really good. For the breakfast, there are no buffet spreads, but we get our daily fruits and fruit juice with coffee and tea. Bread baskets were also given to us with Baguettes, crossaints, choco rolls and toast. Homemade jam was also served. There was even home made yoghurt for us. Daily the residents gets a choice of egg with either bacon or sausage. I really love the sausage, it is home made and good meat, no unhealthy transfat here! We only tried their lunch on the last day and of course, the quality is really not compromised! Very tasty kway teow chicken noodles, Asian yellow noodles with pork bits. Yummay! I think the sweet treats here in the hotel is really good. We absolutely adore the French pastries here, like the pana cotta. SWIMMING POOL One good mention is that the pool is not infested with chlorine like most big establishment does, it does not hurt and dry your skin. The area around the swimming pool is nice to chill and relax. I absolutely love to laze around whole afternoon. WIFI I really hate the WIFI here, cos it was too efficient !! haha and I keep getting messages from work which I had to shut the phone down so that I can really enjoy the rest by the pool. TRANSPORTATION As the hotel is way out from the main road, there is no way to get out unless you walk out pretty far just to get the tuk tuk. I suggest you either get your own transportation and make arrangements with them to ferry you to and fro, or you can get the tuk tuk to come into the hotel via main road. From the pub st to the hotel is about USD4-5 per tuk tuk trip. Although the hotel also provide transportation at a higher price, the quality of the tuk tuk is better too. The hotel staff will not force you to take their tuk tuk, but if you need the service just let them know. SPA Free facial for the ladies ( one time) was good and refreshing, for the guys , they have shaving service which none of us used. But the spa was rather relaxing, we did the massage, although we cancelled last minute for 2 people, the staff also never forced us to pay for any late cancellation. They just smiled. OVERALL I must say the Samar is a place I would go back and also recommend. I was still worried that the staff will be like slow and cannot be bothered. But they are all generically very kind and quiet. They might appear non chalent but actually they are just shy, if you step out and talk to them, they will be more than happy to smile and talk to you, there is no hard selling in this hotel. Staff just let you take your time relax do your things. I love that factor, the last thing for a holiday is to handle hustlers! Thank you Samar team for the wonderful five days four night!! Merci Beaucoup.."

Cuca: "Our all time favourite restaurant"

True perfection.....chef's tasting degustation makes it easy..... Our kids were so welcomed and looked after. Dining in the garden was magical....such value for money extraordinary dining.