Jaya House River Park – Siem Reap, Cambodia

Alongside the Siem Reap River lies Jaya House River Park - a luxurious boutique hotel surrounded by grass, trees and plants. Housing 36 rooms set in a quiet location 5 minutes (tuk-tuk) drive away from Pub Street and Old Market. This hotel offers your own personal and complimentary tuk-tuk driver during your entire stay. If you're being fortunate to have this kind of luxury, make sure you take a day or so to enter one of the most famous and increasingly popular tourist sites in the would - the Angkor Wat and its magnificent temples.

Jaya House River Park has two swimming pools - a salt water pool and a chlorine pool. It has also a spa and an all-day-dining restaurant offering everything from quick bites to fine dining.

We landed in Siem Reap airport at 7pm. "Finally here" I said out loud. I couldn't hide my excitement. Stepping my feet on Asian ground and feeling the heat and humid air made me feel at home. Incase you forgot, I'm half Filipina. Upon arrival, Sun, one of the staff members from the hotel was carrying a signboard with my name written on it. He was waiting patiently with Schme, the tuk-tuk driver at the passenger arrival hall. As soon as we exchanged eye contact he smiled at me. I was given a fresh cold towel with a soft flowery scent  - jasmine. And a refillable aluminium bottle.

Jaya House RiverPark has been partnering with Coola-Products on dealing with plastic waste in Cambodia. A campaign aimed to replace plastic water bottles with reusable aluminium bottles. On the back of the bottles feature the names of all of the free-of-charge water refill locations across the city.

When we arrived at the hotel we were welcomed with a cup of tea and another cold towel. "Jasmine" I thought to myself. I need to buy one for my home. I eagerly asked the staff about the jasmine essential oil. They went to get it and showed me the tiny little bottle. To my biggest surprise, when I got back to our room, one of the staff members came by with the oil. "This is a gift from us.." he said.

Deluxe Room with pool view

Sun kindly escorted us to our home for the next days. Room 204 was situated on the second floor overlooking the swimming pool area. All rooms at Jaya either have balcony or direct garden or pool access.

Our 38 square metre air-conditioned Deluxe room features a king sized bed, a sitting area and a working desk with a complimentary fruit platter waiting to be eaten. It has a private balcony with views overlooking the swimming pool. The room is equipped with a flat-screen TV with Bluetooth connectivity. There's also a Malongo Espresso machine and an electric kettle in the room. The complimentary selection of teas, coffee and minibar items are restocked daily.

The separated bathroom has a rainforest shower and a bathtub equipped with a hairdryer and free toiletries. Once you enter the room, on the left hand side there's a small walk-in closet with slippers and bathrobe.

Free WiFi is available - in all rooms.