Hotel & Tourism SMARTreport #40

Hotel & Tourism
SMARTreport #40
2018 Autumn Edition 31
THE PROPERTIES NOW HAVE NEW
OWNERSHIP. WITH THIS COMES NEW
INVESTMENT AND BOTH HOTELS WILL
UNDERGO EXTENSIVE RESTORATION.
Oliver Dudler
Cluster General Manager,
Raffles Hotel Le Royal, Phnom Penh
Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor, Siem Reap
THE GRANDES DAMES OF
CAMBODIA SET TO HAVE A
FACELIFT
Raffles Hotel Le Royal in Pnom Penh and the Raffles Grand Hotel
d’Angkor may be historic marvels, but they’re soon to get a makeover
Born into a family of hospitality professionals in Switzerland, hotelier
Oliver Dudler worked for many years in Food & Beverage before moving
into hotel management. His previous position was at Raffles Fairmont
in Manila. He is now the Cluster General Manager of Raffles Cambodia,
responsible for Raffles Hotel Le Royal in Phnom Penh, as well as Siem
Reap’s Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor. We asked him to tell us a little more
about the two properties.
I am a very lucky man. I am entrusted with
looking after two of Cambodia’s most
beautiful hotels, two “grande dames”,
built by the French in 1929 and 1930,
respectively. “Le Royal“ will turn 90 next
year, so this is an exciting time for us. As
you have probably seen in the media,
the properties now have new ownership.
With this comes new investment and both
hotels will undergo extensive restoration.
Raffles Cambodia have the same owner
as the famed Metropole Hotel in Hanoi,
so there is a lot of synergy.
Tell us a little more about the history…
In the early 1990s, after the Paris Peace
Agreement was signed ending the civil
war, HM King Sihanouk returned from
exile. Being familiar with the restoration
work that had been carried out at
Raffles Hotel in Singapore, he asked if
Raffles would be interested in acquiring
Cambodia’s two heritage hotels. This was
how, in 1997, “Le Royal“ and “Grand
Hotel d’Angkor“ became the first Raffles
hotels outside Singapore.
The Siem Reap property has an
extraordinary story. If I was visiting the
temples of Angkor today, I feel that
I would want to stay in the same hotel
where the first wave of travellers stayed
in the 1930s, as the sites were first
being excavated. The hotel has a historic
connection with the French explorers who
brought the majesty of Angkor to the
attention of the western world. There are
wonderful hotels in Siem Reap, but none
have this kind of heritage.
What are the key differentiators of the
hotels?
Raffles as a brand is not a “cookie cutter.”
We are very much involved with the local
culture. We have historians working with
us and we have the privilege of having a
Royal Princess on our team. We have a
close relationship with the Royal Palace
where the official opening was attended
by HM Sisowath Monivong (reigned
1927-1941) and our doormen’s uniforms
are the same as the Royal Guards at the
palace. In Siem Reap, the hotel retains
many of its original features, such as
its timber elevator. It is also home to
Cambodia’s most iconic swimming pools,
modelled on the ancient royal bathing
pools of Angkor. These historic references
and experiences just cannot be had in a
modern hotel.