The Bliss Angkor

The Bliss Angkor is a small hotel in the Wat Bo district of Siem Reap, a short walk from the canal and a six-kilometre drive from Angkor Wat. Pub Street and the Old Market lie 800 metres off, close enough for an evening stroll back after dinner. Rooms sit on the ground and first floors around a freshwater pool, air-conditioned and finished with flat-screen televisions, a personal safe and an en-suite bathroom with both a tub and a walk-in shower. Several categories open directly onto the pool deck or look down on it from a balcony, and a separate two-bedroom villa stands behind its own gate for guests wanting more distance from the main building. Downstairs, Bliss Coffee and Lounge serves French and Khmer dishes through the day, from eggs Benedict at breakfast to grilled salmon and steak frites at night. A spa on site handles massage and treatments without a trip out. You can hear the pool area from most rooms rather than street traffic, a small point in the hotel's favour given its central location. The front desk runs around the clock and handles tickets, tours and luggage, useful groundwork for anyone timing an early start at the temples. Check-in is from 2pm, check-out at noon. It keeps its footprint modest and its focus narrow: a clean base for the temples, not a destination in itself.