MAJESTIC ANGKOR BECOMES MAJESTIC ORIENTAL

Siem Reap’s "financially troubled" Majestic Angkor Hotel was taken over by Capital Private Financial Services in July, and on October 1 it will officially emerge as the rebadged Majestic Oriental Hotel. A new management team has been installed at the four-star, 100-room hotel, which was built in 2006, and new general manager Sivam Raman and CEO Rob Doeven are busily re-organising the hotel under its new name.

Last Saturday, 14 monks came to the hotel to bless all the rooms and staff members in preparation for the hotel’s metamorphosis.

Doeven, an experienced hotel hand who has worked in Asia for the past decade, told Man About: “Because of the problems in the past, we need to regain the trust of suppliers, tour operators and guests, but everything is looking bright.

The company has hired new, experienced staff members, and we are training them to give quality service to our guests in a traditional Khmer hospitality style.

“Within a few weeks, the new Wellness Salon will be opened, with professional beauty and massage treatments. And on the rooftop will be the Oriental Sunset terrace with a great, unique view over Siem Reap, where guests can enjoy a cool drink or have a foot massage during sunset.”

NO HALF-BAKED MEASURES HERE

An odd blog about town gives a rundown of Siem Reap's bakeries. Bakingbadly is the work of a Canadian expat whose been living here for three years and has been baking furiously every Sunday.

But a move to a new apartment without baking equipment has curtailed the blogger’s Sunday baking binge. Now he has to resort to buying baked goodies, and his blog lists most of the town’s bakeries. He gives a big wrap to the recently opened Schnitzel Wirtin restaurant, near Central Market, which is creating a buzz.

He writes, “To my knowledge, Mr Roman, the Viennese owner of Schnitzel Wirtin, has been in the restaurant business in Cambodia since 2004. In addition to that, he has been baking breads both leisurely and professionally for over a decade.

“Without a doubt, the rye bread prepared by Mr Roman is one of the best-tasting breads I have had in my life. Let me just emphasise, this is not an exaggeration.”

For further bakery insights, go to: http://bakingbadly.com/2012/09/23/bakeries-in-siem-reap-cambodia-breads-pastries-cakes/

RAFFLES LAUNCHES VILLAS

Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor has launched on the market two two-bedroom villas that it claims are “the most distinctive, impressive and private accommodation in Siem Reap.”

Villa Uma and Villa Kama will provide “discerning guests” with a large drawing room and dining area, a butler’s kitchen, a wine cellar and private terraces with day beds and private access to “the largest swimming pool in the Kingdom.”

All three rooms are decorated with original Angkorian artefacts, antique furniture, Persian-style carpets and wooden floors.

Additional villa services include a complimentary Apple Macbook with complimentary high-speed internet, an espresso machine, a flat-screen television with satellite channels, a DVD player, a Bose surround-sound system with an iPod music collection, a Playstation, an “all-embracing in-villa library” and 24-hour butler service.