Hotel Review: Golden Temple Hotel

I think I’ve found my favourite hotel! Located just a 10-minute walk (or a 3-minute tuk-tuk ride) from Old Market and Pub Street, Golden Temple Hotel is convenient yet serene. Don’t confuse it with its siblings, Golden Temple Villa and Golden Temple Residence, which are in the vicinity as well!

We were first greeted at the airport by a smiling staff, and he brought us to the car and gave us a bottle of cold water each. He chatted with us during the ride to the hotel, which took less than 20 minutes. After the free pick-up service, the same staff brought us a tray filled with food and cold drinks. Free of charge. I’ve never had a welcome snack in such a big portion before! He also provided cold towels.

After we finished our very-filling snack, he helped us with the check-in procedure. Then he proceeded to show us little slips of paper and explained what they were. 1 free set meal (lunch or dinner) at the hotel restaurant… Wait, what? Free food? I was listening intently. 1 free picnic breakfast, great for taking on one of the temple visits! There was also 1 free massage of your choice – either an hour of foot massage or an hour of traditional Khmer massage. Huh? Were my ears deceiving me? I’ve never heard of hotels giving so many complimentary things before! And I thought that was all. But no, when we were brought into our room, another surprise awaited us.

Our pre-wedding surprise! 2 lovebirds on the bed with flower petals scattered all over. And, our small table filled with a large bowl of fruits, more sugared peanuts and a bottle of red wine! They even redid the decorations on the bed when they tidied up our room! Although the decorations were probably because we told them we were on our honeymoon when we booked through Agoda… There were also 2 DVDs in the room we could watch (for free) about the temples of Siem Reap, and the killing fields. No agonising about what to do should it rain!

We lazed around by the pool on our 2nd day in Siem Reap after visiting the temples. It was happy hour from 5 to 7pm. And when they said happy hour, they meant happy hour. There were free wine and soft drinks passed around. And I’m not talking about just 1 glass! What is this madness? The friendly staff also went around with trays of small bites, and kept coming back to ask if we wanted more. On our 4th day when we lounged by the poolside again, they prepared a little buffet table filled with snacks and drinks — free for all! I’m so not used to this pampering! Anyway, enough with the gushing about the free food (which was delicious)! The poolside was great too! There were sunbeds under umbrellas and sunbeds under the hotel ceiling for those who need more sun protection. They were good, yes. But the ones I really enjoyed were the hammocks! Talk about chilling out by the pool; I even fell asleep in it!

On the opposite side of the small jacuzzi was a carved mini waterfall inspired by Kbal Spean which we didn’t manage to go to! That was just one of the many details which Golden Temple Hotel has. They even place traditional musical instruments near the pool which you can try your hand at! Even though it was only 3 storeys high, the hotel has a lift. And with a 24-hr reception and a business centre (which consists of a couple of computers with an internet connection and a printer), you won’t need to wait till the morning to get what you need!

To end our stay on a high note, Golden Temple Hotel gave us a final surprise – a tray of fruits and drinks! Of special mention are Victor the manager and Sony. They were both exceptionally helpful and friendly. Victor gave us a later check-out timing without us even asking, and Sony even followed us on the ride back to the airport just to say goodbye! We rated Golden Temple Hotel a dazzling 10 on Agoda. That’s how happy we were with the hotel! I mean, what’s not to like? Good location, free pick-up, good service, free massage, good food, free food and drinks, good amenities, and hey, did I mention the many freebies? When we had to go back after our (extremely short) 6-day trip, it was with a heavy heart. And when the staff asked us to come back again, I meant it when I replied that we definitely would!

We stayed at Golden Temple Hotel from 30th April to 5th May 2015, and booked our rooms on the ground level. We paid SGD$493.85 for the 5 nights through Agoda, which works out to be less than $100 a night! Even though there was minor construction on the roads outside the hotel while we were there, we couldn’t hear it from our room! They also stopped construction works in the evening.