SIEM REAP’S BEST CITY AWARD

FOR the first time, Siem Reap has been listed as one of the world’s best cities, according to influential US travel magazine Travel + Leisure.

The magazine’s World’s Best 2011 Awards issue will be published on July 22, based on the votes of thousands of Travel + Leisure readers who nominated various cities from around the world.

In this year’s listings, Siem Reap ranks as the world’s seventh-best city, one spot above Australia’s Sydney, which came in at number eight on the list.

Bangkok, for the second year in a row, was again voted as the world’s best city, a listing which caused some controversy last year when the Thai capital came in on top.

The complete list reads as this: 1. Bangkok, Thailand; 2. Florence, Italy; 3. Rome, Italy; 4. New York City, US; 5. Istanbul, Turkey; 6. Cape Town, South Africa; 7. Siem Reap, Cambodia; 8. Sydney, Australia; 9. Barcelona, Spain; 10. Paris, France.

Meanwhile, in mid June, the website CraveOnline, which claims to be “the source for all of the entertainment needs that young men have”, ran a feature on the most underrated vacation cities, revealing “four unique places to visit before everyone else discovers them”. And the site, which claims 26 million unique visitors every month, awarded the number-one slot to Siem Reap. The other three cities were Guayaquil, Ecuador; Merida, Mexico; and Riga, Latvia.

MANAGERS MOVE ON

SIEM Reap has lost two of its most popular and influential hotel general managers in recent weeks.

Just last week, Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra Golf and Spa’s Charles-Henri Chevet flew out of Siem Reap to embark on his new role of general manager of Sofitel Phnom Penh.

Chevet told Man About that although the challenge of managing the new hotel in the capital was exciting, he felt that his time as a Siem Reap resident had been all too brief.

Meanwhile, Sandra Wieczorek has signed on as the Sofitel Angkor’s new food and beverage manager, and comes to Siem Reap from Sofitel Philippine Plaza in Manila.

Last but not least, fitness freak and triathlon warrior Robert Hauck has also quit his job as general manager of the award-winning Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor to become group president of Thanyapura, Phuket’s innovative hospitality and sports group.

Thanyapura is centred on a 23-hectare campus in Phuket, Thailand, which includes the Thanyapura Sports & Leisure Club – a world-class sports and fitness facility for elite athletes and amateur enthusiasts alike.

The campus is also home to the Thanyapura Mind Centre for the cultivation of mental and emotional balance; the Phuket International Academy Day School; the 38-room Thanyapura Retreat; the 77-room Thanyapura Resort; and the five-star Thanyamundra Organic Resort– the first and only certified organic farm in southern Thailand.