Jaya House River Park Hotel Review: Luxury You Don’t Feel Guilty About

“Welcome home! Welcome home!”, exclaimed the driver, helping me to exit the jeep in front of the modern hotel building, opened only in December 2016, but already adorned with tropical greenery. Situated on the River Road, between Siem Reap Center and Angkor monuments complex, Jaya House River Park was just far enough from the main attractions this Cambodian tourist mecca offered, that the “walking distance” term couldn’t have been easily applied to describe its location.

However, complimentary jeep pick-up from the airport (return trip provided as well) and free tuk-tuk transfer service during one’s entire stay in the hotel (Jaya also offers its guests the local mobile phone one can use to order the tuk-tuk free of charge) annulate entirely its relative remoteness, and make of it an actual – advantage!

Jaya House River Park is a tranquil, secluded oasis that one looks forward to coming back to after spending the exhausting day visiting temples or the equally exhausting loud nights in hasty Pub Street.

Plastic is not fantastic

Welcoming guests with refreshing wet towels and welcome drinks became the standard service of properties ranking higher. Jaya House tops it all and sets new standards of hospitality, by not only catering to guests but also to the environment.

You get the idea from the very first minute you arrive! The straw in your welcome drink is made of bamboo, informing you that this property is aiming to be completely plastic-free.

In an effort to reduce waste to a minimum, the hotel gives every guest their own aluminum water bottle, as part of the Refill, Not Landfill campaign. One can refill the bottle at the hotel reception, or at any of the water station sites in the town, all listed on the back of the bottle. That’s right, Jaya House is not only implementing eco-friendly policy on its own grounds but also pushing other local players to join the movement!

After the tragic history under the Khmer Rouge regime, Cambodia has opened itself to tourism and entered a new era of tragedy that is threatening to destroy its environment; it is estimated that tourists leave about 56 million plastic bottles in this country every year! Without environmental education, plastic waste ends up in landfills and the Cambodian countryside.

In addition to the refilling water bottles project, Jaya House also participates in other community and sustainability initiatives.

Those include planting the Moringa, the multi-purpose “miraculous tree” (10.000 Trees initiative), creating jobs by founding the market with fine quality artisan products produced by Cambodians (Made in Cambodia Market), providing workshops for underprivileged children culminating in an annual street parade (Giant Puppet Project)…

Jaya House River Park also gives away five percent of its earnings every month as a donation to local charities!

Jaya House River Park aims for the world’s top

Named after the most powerful Khmer monarch of all time, Jaya House River Park is building a legacy that might grow to be as equally impressive as Ta Prohm or Bayon, just some of the temples that King Jayavarman left behind.

I know, these might sound like extremely generous words for this small 36-room hotel, but its ambition is outgrowing its capacity!

After traveling through Cambodia for a month, seeing its poverty and ecological disasters just waiting to burst, with the political neglection and supportive corruption, I truly believe the small steps forward that I witnessed being implemented by Jaya’s smart yet humble management are restoring the optimism.

The man behind it is Christian de Boer, the Dutch general manager who previously supervised Shinta Mani’s growth to the 2^nd place of the world’s best hotels according to TripAdvisor, and then surprisingly left the laurels to embark on a Jaya challenge.

It is easy to feel guilt when staying at a luxury resort in a country struggling with poverty and rebuilding its identity. Staying in Jaya House, THE example of responsible tourism, makes such a difference!

Social responsibility is not the reason to be lenient in evaluating Jaya’s hotel service, which is still, when we put its political efforts aside, world-class.

I have stayed in a beautiful Junior Suite on the ground floor with one of the hotel’s two swimming pools at my doorstep.

The room itself is truly spacious and comfortable, connected with a large bathroom/toilet area (no doors in between) that includes a bathtub and a rain shower (the latter both in indoor and outdoor versions).

Bathroom amenities, such as shower gel or shampoo, are packed in refillable ceramic bottles, which follows the hotel’s excellent eco-policy but also lowers their functionality in slippery conditions (which showering certainly is). The suicidal round cork just wishes to roll off of the shelf and break into pieces.

Towels are displayed with beautiful, carefully folded lotus flowers that can be seen decorating the entire hotel.

My minor remark would be that, with so many options to get wet (two showers, tub, pools), and enough towels for the two persons in a twin room, there is only one hook for the towels in the bathroom. While wanting to stimulate the guests to reuse their towels, the lack of an appropriate hanger makes them throw them on the floor.

Premium quality with a local touch

Premium bedding on plush beds one would expect from five-star hotels, and little sweet treats that come with turndown service, are sure to make you sleep like a baby.

If that doesn’t help, there is also a free minibar, a basket with a variety of fruits (banana, dragon fruit, longan), high-quality coffee, and loose homegrown organic herbal tea (another element showing consciousness in reducing the waste – no tea bags here!).

Top-quality furniture looks warm and makes it a welcoming place, whether you want to work at the desk, relax on the sofa or drink a glass of wine on the small patio.

The modern-style interior design is accompanied by vintage elements such as rotary dial telephone or black-and-white portraits of Cambodia’s singing stars from the sixties (paintings created by the local Small Art School, underprivileged Cambodian youth taught by Japanese art teacher Tomoko Kasahara).

The whole hotel makes it for a nice walk if you wish to discover not only modern but also traditional Cambodian art – look for the rain drum-turned-table in the reception area!

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Nature in and around the dish

The strong decorative element of this outstanding resort is undoubtedly its growing garden landscape. The architect Si Sokvann even paid respect to the trees already on the grounds of the hotel. For instance, the restaurant was literally built around one tree. Its trunk is now indoors, while its branches create shade at the bar on top.

This kind of ambiance makes it an attractive setting for having a meal that can feel like a fancy dinner or laid-back picnic.

For breakfast, for instance, hop onto a swing chair, and upgrade the already exquisite dining experience to an entirely heavenly feel.

While sitting on “the cloud”, you can compose your breakfast at the awesome buffet (that is offering a variety of options, but still keeping the quality high), and by selecting the warm dishes from the a la carte menu.

I had perfect Eggs Florentine, with expertly poached eggs and the Hollandaise sauce with well-balanced ingredients. I also tried a delicious French toast served with a caramelized pomelo that melted in my mouth.

Garnishing dishes with small edible flowers seems to be a signature of the cuisine in this generally blooming hotel gem. Great cakes and bread from their own bakery, fine ingredients, fresh produce – it is hard to go wrong there.

Find more unique Siem Reap restaurants here!

Exceptional food, hospitality, and style

TrurKuon Restaurant provides lunch and dinner as well.

A mixture of local and international cuisine includes Khmer classics such as Fish Amok or Prahok Ktis, but also Italian specialties such as Linguini Puttanesca or Minestrone.

For dinner, I enjoyed stir-fried squid and prawn with green peppercorn. With sides of jasmine rice and rice spirit in the form of Khmer Ginger Mojito, this was a filling and delicious experience. My compliments go to Chef Tim Pheak!

Equipped with a sincere smile and stylish uniforms designed by Eric Raisina, the professional and attentive staff will discretely jump in if you need anything, without that awkward intrusiveness.

But that kind of subtle hospitality happens throughout the day, not only on the restaurant grounds. It is enough that one enjoys the refreshing swimming pool, to get surprised by an unexpected fruit skewer, freshly picked mango from Jaya’s garden, or a glass of cold water to keep one hydrated.

Future meets tradition

As mentioned before, there are two stunning swimming pools – one located in the central yard, where you can dip under the four small waterfalls, and a lap pool on the side of the property, whose futuristic appearance makes it a truly unique place to swim in.

In the daytime, silver tiles reflect the tropical sunshine, while during the nighttime the inbuilt pool lighting transforms it into a fantastic spaceship for relaxing floating moments under the stars.

If that doesn’t help loosen up your muscles, there is a spa area and masseuses that will do their best to bring you to Zen.

Small steps for Jaya House River Park, a giant leap for the industry

The staff seems to be the most valuable asset of Jaya House. Who would have thought that some of these people were carrying stones for a living before shining at the reception desk? Who could have said that some of them have never been to school before?

Jaya House is not just making the lives of its guests enriched; it also improves the lives of the workers. Christian de Boer is ambitious, but also a passionate man. He speaks about his ‘family’ with a glow in his eyes: “Some of them have never even crossed the river [Jaya is just next to the river – Ed.]! Tomorrow I am bringing them to see the circus!”

Some of Christian’s seeds are catching up quickly. Only two years ago he worked on introducing the first female tuk-tuk driver in Siem Reap. Today, there are four!

He presented the first wheelchair-accessible tuk-tuk but also created job opportunities for the disabled. Those employees are working in housekeeping, as well as in human resources!

The other day I saw another example of how Jaya House breaks the illusion of luxury resorts being pleasure grounds for the rich. After the two Siem Reap girls were injured in a car accident, the hotel offered its exclusive silver swimming pool as a place for rehabilitation therapy. How often do you see luxury resorts making such concessions?

All the staff at Jaya goes through equality training. All of them are getting better lives.

It is easy to feel guilt when staying at a luxury resort in a country struggling with poverty and rebuilding its identity. Staying in Jaya House, THE example of responsible tourism, makes such a difference!

Do not think twice if you get the chance to visit this beautiful project that will certainly grow to be one of the most fascinating hotels in Southeast Asia!

Disclosure: My stay at Jaya House River Park was complimentary, but all opinions are my own and reflect my true experience at the hotel.
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