A new hotel serving the Phnom Penh International Airport opened on July 1 at Ratana Plaza on the left off Russian Boulevard just before Hanoi Road on the way to the airport from central Phnom Penh.

The Dara Airport Hotel has 155 rooms with a fifth-floor reception, swimming pool, bar and spa. A 60-room second addition to the hotel on an adjacent street, with 11 long-stay apartments, in a building along with a restaurant and a branch of Canadia Bank is scheduled to open in November. When the adjacent addition is opened, the hotel’s total room count will be 226.

General Manager Pierre Bernard, who formerly worked at the Cambodiana Hotel and the Independence Hotel in Sihanoukville, says one of the best features of the hotel is the fifth floor open area where guests can relax in the open air, adjacent to the lobby.

“The advantage is to be close to the airport,” Bernard said.

The hotel is part of the Ratana Plaza complex, which houses a Lucky supermarket, Lucky Burger, iOne computers and a number of other shops.

An opening promotion rate of $55 per night is being offered for single rooms, $60 for double. The rates will later increase to $80 plus, and $90 for a deluxe room. The suites, with living rooms, couches and big screen televisions, start from about $200.

The hotel’s restaurant is called Blue Sky and has Western, Khmer and Chinese menus. The Attitude Lounge is located adjacent to the fifth floor rotunda and reception area.

Bernard said the hotel would focus on corporate clients.

“We already have guests, a majority of them are corporate from the government and factory sector,” Bernard said. “We are close to the golf course and the Cambodia Country Club,” he said.

Fitness and pool membership is being offered in an early bird special for $64.50 per month.

To contact the reporter on this story: Stuart Alan Becker at [email protected]