Raffles Hotel Le Royal

Known simply as Le Royal when it opened in 1929 with just 40 rooms, this historic hotel has hosted such luminaries as Charlie Chaplin, Charles de Gaulle, and Jacqueline Kennedy. President Obama, a recent VIP guest, stayed at the hotel in 2012.

• Four “Personality Suites” are decorated with memorabilia from the original 1930s hotel and custom-made items (the color scheme of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Suite was inspired by the  blue one-shoulder dress Jackie wore when she met King Sihanouk in 1967).
• Happy hour at the iconic Elephant Bar. Enjoy a Femme Fatale—the bar’s signature cocktail made with champagne, crème de fraise sauvage, and a dash of cognac.
• The doormen’s uniforms are inspired by those worn in the Cambodian Royal court and continue the tradition of different color trousers for each day of the week. Purple pants…it must be Wednesday!
• Many of the suites in the original building also feature furniture and décor from the 1929 hotel, including claw-footed bathtubs, wooden floors, writing desks, and overhead fans.

Though the Raffles has been expanded since its opening, it maintains its distinctive combination of Khmer, Art Deco and French Colonial architecture and historic aura. Once inside the high-ceilinged lobby, you will feel as if you’ve stepped into another era. Relics from Cambodia’s golden age of French colonial design include dramatic black-and-white floor tiles, a grand teak spiral staircase and a wrought-iron elevator cage.

Rooms and suites can feel a bit dated (be sure to request to stay in the original building, known as the Heritage Wing. Interiors feature a mix of period colonial décor with contemporary Cambodian silks and traditional Khmer patterns. Rooms and suites in the three new wings added in 1997 also feature some decorative objects from the original hotel, but are generally less atmospheric and evocative than those in the Heritage Wing.

There are two pools, verdant private gardens and a full-service spa with a gym, sauna, Jacuzzi, and steam room. The hotel’s Elephant Bar remains one of the city’s great old-world staples for a cocktail (though anyone desiring views should also head across the street to the Rosewood Hotel’s Sora Sky Bar).

Those looking for an old-school, Colonial-inspired ambience. The suites in the original building are more charming and 24-butler service is available to all guests staying in the Heritage Wing.