A 24-hour private driver, an all-you-can-drink mini-bar and a personal assistant available round the clock are all part of the service at the Privilege Floor, a VIP boutique-hotel-within-a-hotel, on the top floor of the 5-star Borei Angkor Resort and Spa on National Road 6.

The concept, according to managing director Finan Khim, is a personalised, ‘boutique experience’ in a 5-star hotel.

“There is a growing market for boutique hotels where people hope to get a more intimate, intuitive service,” Finan says, “In a very personalised and a smaller environment. Where the staff remember the guest’s name, where all the service is customised.

“Being Borei Angkor, where we have 180 rooms, we would not be able to compete with the small boutique hotels, so we decided to take this 19-room top floor and turn it into a privilege floor.”

The essential idea behind the Privilege Floor is a tailored service. Guests can choose from three packages all of which include a chauffeur-driven car, a mobile phone with 30 minutes of free calls,  free-flowing cocktails, complimentary mini-bar and a resident host – the latter being a kind of personal assistant who is on call 24 seven for all of the guest’s holiday needs.  

“Every room comes with a car, 24 hours, with private driver. And we do mean 24 hours,” says Finan. “Literally the car will follow the guest everywhere. If the guest wants to go out late at night and come back later on, wake up early in the morning to go for sunrise, that’s part of the deal.

He adds, “Every guest is assigned a dedicated resident host. This is quite similar to the butler concept but we go more one step – the resident host acts more like a host or house owner. The host will arrange everything such as collecting all the personal information, even the guest’s food preference – if they are vegetarian or prefer a certain style of cooking.

The idea is to offer an experience as if you are visiting a friend in a different country and your friend takes care of you.”

The basic package, the Premier Landmark, starts at $220 a night. The Sunset Suite package includes a daily temple tour with private tour guide as well as a meal and spa session, while the complete package, the Royal Suite, costs $555 and provides the “ultimate experience of privilege.”

“The Royal Suite is all-inclusive,” says Finan. “Guests feel free to consume everything inside the hotel apart from shopping at the souvenir shop and very premium liquor and wine. Everything else is part of that so they can go to the spa as many times as they want, eat, drink whenever they want, go to the temples, have the car – everything is part of the whole Privilege experience.”

The Privilege Floor is proving popular, largely with Europeans who give it glowing reviews.

“So far it has enjoyed a lot of positive feedback,” Finan says. “We have been ranked almost always in the top five on Tripadvisor.”

The Privilege Floor is one of several businesses owned by the Cambodian company Innotality, a combination of ‘innovation’ and ‘hospitality.’ Other businesses include Borei Angkor, Lotus Blanc Resort and Hashi restaurant.

Future projects include Twizt, a hotel aimed at the youth market. Rooms will be in the $30-50 price range, designed to be less of a backpacker joint and more like a funky upmarket venue.

“We target younger travelers looking for greater value for money,” Finan says. “A simpler, yet safe environment, in the mid-price range where social interaction is the key. All the staff will be aged below 35. We want to offer a service delivered by the people who speak the language.”

Twizt will open later this year.