Raffles Hotel Le Royal
Phnom Penh’s storied 1929 grand hotel blends French Colonial, Khmer and Art Deco influences with tropical courtyard pools, historic suites and the legendary Elephant Bar.
Raffles Hotel Le Royal sits on a tree-lined avenue near Wat Phnom, within easy reach of the riverfront, Royal Palace and National Museum. Opened in 1929, it remains one of Phnom Penh’s defining historic hotels and a rare surviving link to the city’s early-20th-century urban transformation.
The original building retains high ceilings, timber floors, ceiling fans and clawfoot baths, while later courtyard wings expand the hotel without erasing its historic scale. Suites draw on Khmer and Art Deco references, and several Personality Suites commemorate notable former guests associated with the property.
Two outdoor pools sit within tropical gardens at the center of the hotel, creating a surprisingly calm retreat from the capital. The spa adds treatment rooms, separate wet facilities, saunas, steam rooms and a fitness center.
The Elephant Bar is one of the hotel’s institutions, known for an extensive gin collection and the Femme Fatale cocktail created in connection with Jacqueline Kennedy’s 1967 visit. Restaurant Le Royal and other dining spaces continue the hotel’s emphasis on Cambodian and French culinary heritage.
Le Royal is strongest for travelers who want Phnom Penh through a historic lens. The combination of preserved architecture, royal associations, courtyard pools and enduring social rituals gives the property far more narrative weight than a new luxury tower.