Angkor Wat faces west, which is unusual for a Khmer temple and means the sun rises behind it. From about half past five in the morning, several thousand people stand at the reflecting pool in front of the western entrance waiting for the silhouette. It is the most photographed sunrise in Asia and it is genuinely crowded.
The Angkor Archaeological Park is 400 square kilometres and contains the remains of a city that at its twelfth-century peak may have been the largest in the world. Angkor Wat is one temple in it. The gates open around five for the sunrise and the outlying temples stay quiet all day.
What proximity buys you
Siem Reap town sits about six kilometres from the Angkor Wat gate. A hotel in town means a fifteen-minute tuk-tuk in the dark to be at the pool by five fifteen, which is entirely doable and which most visitors manage exactly once.
The properties closer to the gate, or with their own guides and vehicles arranged for a five o'clock start, make the difference between doing that once and doing it as a matter of course — including going to the outlying temples at hours when nobody else is there.
The town itself has changed considerably. Pub Street is the backpacker strip and it is loud until late; the riverside and the French Quarter a few streets away are quiet, and the good hotels are there.
The eleven below are grouped by where they sit.
Closest to the park
North of town, on or near the road to the gate.
Siem Reap Palace Hotel & Spa occupies a 1960s modernist building that was the royal guesthouse, with 24 suites around a pool, no signage on the road and a private guide arrangement that takes guests into the temples before opening. It is the finest hotel in Cambodia.
Siem Reap Palace Hotel & Spa
Road to Angkor · 5★ · $$$$
The former royal guesthouse, with guides who beat the gates
Check availabilityZannier Phum Baitang sits on eight hectares of rice paddy on the edge of town with a wooden farmhouse, a lap pool among the fields and a working rice field between the villas. It is the most peaceful property here.
Zannier Phum Baitang
Rice fields, edge of town · 5★ · $$$$
A lap pool among working rice paddies
Check availabilityPark Hyatt Siem Reap occupies a colonial-style building on the road toward the park with a large pool, a spa and the closest position of the town's grand hotels to the Angkor gate.
Park Hyatt Siem Reap
Toward the Angkor gate · 5★ · $$$
Closest of the grand hotels to the park entrance
Check availabilityThe French Quarter and the riverside
The old colonial centre, minutes from Pub Street and quiet at night.
Raffles Grand Hotel d'Angkor is the 1932 grand hotel of Cambodia, with an original cage lift, a very large pool and a garden, facing the royal residence. It is the most historic building in Siem Reap.
Raffles Grand Hotel d'Angkor
Royal Gardens · 5★ · $$$$
The 1932 grand hotel with its original cage lift
Check availabilityLa Résidence d'Angkor, A Belmond Hotel, Siem Reap occupies a low building set in mature gardens along the river with a pool, a spa and a level of quiet that its position does not suggest.
La Résidence d'Angkor, A Belmond Hotel, Siem Reap
Siem Reap riverside · 5★ · $$$$
Mature gardens and unexpected quiet by the river
Check availabilityShinta Mani Angkor sits on the river with a strong design programme, a good spa and a foundation supporting local projects that is more than decorative.
Shinta Mani Angkor
French Quarter · 4★ · $$$
Strong design and a foundation that does real work
Check availabilityJaya House River Park Hotel occupies a riverside site with a small room count, a pool and a strict no-plastic policy that predates the fashion for it.
Jaya House River Park Hotel
Siem Reap riverside · 5★ · $$$
Small, no plastic, and among the best-run hotels in Asia
Check availabilityFCC Angkor by Avani sits in the French Quarter in a converted 1960s building with a rooftop pool and the most contemporary rooms in town.
FCC Angkor by Avani
French Quarter · 4★ · $$
A 1960s conversion with the most contemporary rooms in town
Check availabilityFurther out
Quieter, with more grounds, and a drive to everything.
Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra Golf & Spa Resort occupies a large site with a golf course, several pools and full family facilities. It is the practical choice with children.
Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra Golf & Spa Resort
North of town · 5★ · $$$
Golf course and full family facilities on a large site
Check availabilityAnantara Angkor Resort sits in gardens west of the centre with a spa, a pool and a Khmer-inflected interior.
Anantara Angkor Resort
West of the centre · 5★ · $$$
Garden setting with a Khmer-inflected interior
Check availabilityTemplation Hotel occupies a site among trees with private pool villas, a design-led interior and rates below the town's luxury properties.
Templation Hotel
Near the Angkor road · 4★ · $$
Private pool villas among trees below luxury rates
Check availabilityWhat we have left off
The guest houses across Siem Reap are excluded, and the town has a very large number of them at every price. They are guest houses rather than hotels.
What to do
Buy the temple pass for the right number of days: one, three or seven. Three is the correct answer for most people and the three days need not be consecutive.
Do sunrise at Angkor Wat once, then spend the rest of the trip somewhere else at that hour. Ta Prohm with the tree roots, the Bayon faces at Angkor Thom, and Banteay Srei's pink sandstone carving an hour out are all better when empty.
Go further. Beng Mealea and Koh Ker are one to two hours away and receive a fraction of the visitors.
Take a boat on the Tonlé Sap to the floating villages, choosing an operator carefully, since some of the tours around the lake have a poor reputation for how the communities are treated.
Eat properly. Cambodian food is distinct from Thai and Vietnamese, and Siem Reap's restaurant scene has improved sharply.
Practical notes
Siem Reap's new airport opened some distance from the town and the transfer is longer than it used to be, around 45 minutes to an hour. Confirm the current arrangement with your hotel.
November to February is the dry, cooler season and the peak. March to May is very hot. The rainy season from June to October fills the moats and greens the site, and the light is better.
Dress modestly at the temples: shoulders and knees covered, enforced at Angkor Wat's upper level.
Explore 4 & 5 Star Siem Reap Hotels
Questions people actually ask
How many days do you need at Angkor?
Three, and the pass allows non-consecutive days. One is a rush and seven is for the seriously interested.
Is the sunrise worth it?
Once. It is crowded and it is still remarkable. Do the other temples at that hour on the other mornings.
Town or out of town?
The riverside and French Quarter are quiet and central. Pub Street is loud. Further out gives you grounds and a drive.
When is the best light?
The green season, June to October, when the moats are full and the crowds are thinner, at the cost of afternoon rain.