In the news

City Angkor Hotel has a special claim to fame in Siem Reap – it’s a home away from home for Prime Minister Hun Sen when he’s in town. And Hun Sen’s presence is always felt when he’s here. Resplendently uniformed military and police officers line National Road 6 leading to the grounds, and the Prime Minister’s helicopter is parked on its pad at the front of the hotel, which is owned by Cambodian People Party parliamentarian Seang Nam.

But this week the hotel also made the news in Thailand when the Bangkok Post reported a possible sighting last Saturday of Red Shirt protest leader Arisman Pongruengrong at the venue. This was strongly denied by hotel management.

The hotel also made news in the Bangkok Post on November 15, 2009, when the paper reported that fugitive former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra chatted with Hun Sen for about two hours at the hotel.

A “group of political supporters from Thailand” was also present according to the newspaper, which added that “the reunion was warm even though security was tight”.

Hotel job day

Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra Golf & Spa Resort is hosting a major recruitment day tomorrow from 10am until 4pm. The hotel has more than 40 positions available, from managerial to rank and file in several departments.

Charles-Henri Chevet, Sofitel’s Siem Reap general manager, said there were several reasons for holding this “exceptional recruitment campaign”. These included new services beginning for clientele from October and the anticipation of an excellent coming season.

Some staff will also transfer to the new Sofitel Hotel in Phnom Penh. Applicants are invited come to the hotel tomorrow with resumes and one photo of themselves.

Blue Pumpkin in The Penh

Arnaud Curtat’s Blue Pumpkin café, pastry-making and catering empire in Siem Reap is gearing up for its expansion into Phnom Penh.

A site for a retail outlet has been negotiated in the trendy Sisowath Quay area, and Arnaud is now busily scouring Phnom Penh looking for an ideal site for a bakery.

The Blue Pumpkin, which started from humble beginnings, is one of Siem Reap business success stories, and the move to open an outlet in Phnom Penh is part of a new trend for local businesses to establish a presence in the capital.