THE SOLO TRAVELLER
Your world. Your way.
Cultural immersion
Raffles Hotel Le Royal, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Image © courtesy Raffles Hotels and Resorts.
The Golden Age of travel
By Michael Webster
Briefly …
The name Raffles has long been woven into the mythology of travel. From writers and adventurers arriving by steamship to the early glamour of international aviation, the Raffles story reflects a period when grand hotels became destinations in themselves. A new exhibition and companion book at Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor revisits that golden age through rare archival material and the intertwined histories of Cambodia’s two historic Raffles properties.
There are few names in travel that arrive with quite the same weight of memory as Raffles – with Raffles Singapore setting the standard for luxury hospitality, introducing the world to private butlers, the Singapore Sling and a style of hospitality that became legendary.
In 1887, at the dawn of the Golden Age of Travel, four entrepreneurial Persian Armenian brothers, the Sarkies, opened a modest 10-room hotel in Singapore. They named it after the founder of modern Singapore, Sir Stamford Raffles, a distinguished British diplomat and pioneering botanist. With such a resonant name, Raffles Hotel caught the imagination of a new generation of travellers beginning to look eastward with curiosity and fascination.
%20at%20Raffles%20Hotel%20Le%20Royal%2C%20Phnom%20Penh%2C%20during%20the%20early%20d.jpg)
The salle à manger (dining room) at Raffles Hotel Le Royal, Phnom Penh, during the early decades of the hotel’s history. Image © courtesy Raffles Hotels and Resorts.
As the hotel grew into the Victorian-colonial landmark recognised today, it quickly became a gathering place for writers, celebrities and international travellers. Rudyard Kipling, Somerset Maugham and Noël Coward arrived seeking inspiration, while Ava Gardner, Elizabeth Taylor and Jacqueline Kennedy further cemented the hotel’s international reputation and mystique. Over time, the Raffles name became synonymous with a particular style of formal yet deeply personal hospitality, shaped by British tradition, tropical atmosphere and Southeast Asian refinement.
Jackie Kennedy at Raffles. Image © courtesy Raffles Hotels and Resorts.
Preserving this legacy today, the two Raffles hotels in Cambodia continue to set the benchmark for luxury travel in the region. Raffles Hotel Le Royal, which opened in 1929, underwent a full refurbishment as part of a meticulous one-year restoration project in 2019. The hotel’s past has been reinterpreted in a contemporary style that is inspired by French colonial, Khmer and Art Deco influences.
Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor opened in 1932 as a rest stop for archaeologists and adventurers exploring the ancient kingdom of Angkor Wat. The hotel features an authentic expression of 1930s French Art Deco style with refined rooms, suites and villas blending old-world charm with Cambodian influences and contemporary detail.
Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor during the early decades of the hotel’s history. Image © courtesy Raffles Hotels and Resorts.
Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor has been named one of the world’s 500 Best Hotels. Image © courtesy Raffles Hotels and Resorts.
Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor has also recently been named one of the world’s ‘500 Best Hotels’ by ‘Travel + Leisure’, earning the prestigious recognition for a fifth consecutive year. “Being recognised by Travel + Leisure is a celebration not just of our hotel, but of the enduring spirit of Siem Reap,” Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor General Manager Joseph Colina told The Solo Traveller. “As custodians of this iconic landmark, we aim to bridge the gap between our guests and the true soul of Cambodia – ensuring that every visitor leaves with a profound respect for the heritage that makes this city the heart of the Kingdom.”
‘A Tale of Two Hotels’
The ‘Grand Path of History’ tour, Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor. Image © courtesy Raffles Hotels and Resorts.
Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor has unveiled an immersive new ‘Grand Path of History’ tour featuring rare photographs, video footage, architectural drawings and other artefacts that highlight the golden age of travel in Southeast Asia.
The permanent exhibition at Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor in Siem Reap is complemented by a new history book by Andreas and Carola Augustin. ‘A Tale of Two Hotels – Raffles in Cambodia’ showcases the property alongside Raffles Hotel Le Royal, its sister property in Phnom Penh, while chronicling an era of globe-trotting explorers and thrilling discoveries.
The ‘Grand Path of History’ tour, Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor. Image © courtesy Raffles Hotels and Resorts.
The ‘Grand Path of History’ tour and book trace the early boom years of international travel between 1900 and 1940, when steamships carried travellers eastward and commercial aviation was still in its infancy. The 160-page book recounts the country’s determined efforts to promote its rich cultural heritage abroad, from the Royal Ballet of Cambodia’s striking debut in Paris at the start of the 20th century to Hollywood actor Charlie Chaplin’s visits to Le Royal and Angkor Wat. Curated by the authors, the ‘Grand Path of History’ tour will be available to in-house guests with guided visits led by a Raffles historian.
“We are delighted and honoured to showcase a seminal early period of international travel, when visitors from around the world first discovered the wonders of Cambodia.” Joseph Colina told us. “Our new ‘Grand Path of History’ tour chronicles this story alongside that of Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor, whose illustrious 96-year past intertwines with those pioneering arrivals.”
To learn more about Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor, visit https://www.raffles.com/siem-reap/, and for Raffles Hotel Le Royal, visit https://www.raffles.com/phnom-penh/
Michael Webster is The Solo Traveller’s International Community Development Lead.