Le Meridien Angkor was a winner at the World Travel Awards 2009, in the categories of Cambodia’s Leading Hotel and Cambodia’s Leading Spa Resort, for the third consecutive year.

The awards, based on over 170,000 industry professional votes worldwide for the very best travel, tourism and hospitality products and services, were announced at the 16th World Travel Awards Regional Ceremony in London on November 7.

Le Meridien Angkor seems to have a stranglehold on these awards and the hotel’s ebullient Australian general manager, Gregory Anderson, issued a press statement saying this achievement was a “superb testament” to the dedicated management team and associates.

Anderson embarked on two 13-hour flights in one weekend, to and from London, to collect the gong, an experience which left him “buggered’ but “well pleased”.

Anderson said the high level of guest satisfaction is what makes the hotel distinctive.

He said staff undergo intensive training so they can connect and empathise with guests, and last year high-end Japanese tour operator Jalpak listed the hotel as number one in terms of guest satisfaction.

Meanwhile, Siem Reap’s ultra-luxurious boutique hotel, The Sothea, managed by Sarah Moya, has been included in DestinAsian magazine’s Luxe List for 2009, and is the only resort listed for Cambodia.

Indonesia-based DestinAsian was established in 2001 and claims to be the “leading award-winning travel and lifestyle magazine in the Asia-Pacific region, with a print run of 41,250 copies and a readership of 123,750 per edition.”

It is distributed in Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.