Tourism & Siem Reap : An Oasis of Green Serenity at Anjali by Syphon

There are addresses that one senses as singular well before settling in. Anjali by Syphon is one of them. Located on Korean-Cambodian Friendship Road, just minutes from the Angkor temples, this characterful house reveals itself, from the very first seconds, as a timeless refuge—a cascade of greenery in the heart of a bustling city.

Two days. Barely forty-eight hours. And yet, enough time to understand why this boutique hotel now features in the MICHELIN Guide selection, and why travelers from around the world shower it with rave reviews on TripAdvisor and Booking.

Arrival Under the Canopy

The first impression is that of a garden that has decided to claim an hotel, rather than the other way around. Century-old trees, banana plants, palms, climbing plants with immense leaves—Anjali by Syphon is literally enveloped in vegetation.

This is the setting for the Santi wing, the hotel's new extension, opened in 2025. Designed as a natural evolution of the house's spirit, this wing offers premium rooms whose large floor-to-ceiling windows open directly onto the pool—and onto the slow, green life unfolding there.

The Santi pool deserves lingering. Its emerald green mosaics give it an almost vegetal glow, as if the water itself had absorbed the surrounding chlorophyll. Along the basin, generous beige canvas poufs invite total laziness, interspersed with young shrubs with bicolored leaves growing between white columns. A well-padded, comfortable armchair. A rolled towel. Nothing more—and that's exactly what's needed.

The Room

The room asserts itself from the threshold. A dark wood four-poster bed, draped in a gauzy white mosquito net tied to the posts with simple fabric ties, reigns in the center of the room like a piece of period furniture reinterpreted for the contemporary traveler. Mustard yellow cushions contrast with the immaculate white sheets—a Khmer, solar, and discreet touch of color.

The dark, polished parquet floor, a small round table with a bowl of fresh fruit on arrival, a green-accented armchair facing the ivory curtains filtering the light: everything here is designed so the eye rests, and the body follows

But it's perhaps the bathroom that best reveals the aesthetic rigor of the Santi wing. A round hammered brass basin—patinated, golden, with a sculptural presence—rests on a slate gray anthracite vanity top. The gold faucet recessed into raw stone, the small courtesy mirror with a brass frame, and the engraved glass water bottles tied with jute cord: every object has been chosen with the precision of a curator. A luxury that doesn't shout—it is contemplated.

Green as Philosophy

At Anjali, greenery is not a backdrop. It's a conviction.

Annie Sonny knows this better than anyone. At 33, this smiling and determined Cambodian has been the establishment's sales manager for four years. Her work largely consists of building ties with travel agencies in the region and beyond—a network she cultivates with as much care as the garden surrounding her. And when asked why she chose Anjali, her answer comes without hesitation:

“I love nature. And Anjali is a really, really green and cozy hotel—it's not so common in our sector.”

Annie Sonny

The hotel, which describes itself as a “hidden green jewel,” has structured its entire approach around sustainable hospitality. Solar panels on the roofs, smart air conditioning system to minimize energy consumption, LED bulbs everywhere, saltwater pools—infinitely less aggressive on the skin and environment than traditional chlorine—and ecological mosquito traps replacing chemical pesticides.

Plastic free: the hotel has banned single-use plastics. Water is served in elegant engraved glass bottles. The bathroom amenities are organic and dispensed from rechargeable wall dispensers.

The commitment goes further: Anjali actively supports local social enterprises—Cambolac, Manava, Osmose—that work for community development and environmental preservation in Cambodia. Staying here means, modestly but concretely, participating in a virtuous circle.

The MICHELIN Guide, which has included the establishment in its selection, highlights this meditative modernist architecture that “wraps around a central pool courtyard like a green oasis.” It could not be better said.

Teams That Make the Difference

If the vegetation strikes first, it's the staff that remains, in the end, the most persistent memory of a stay at Anjali.

“Here, management has always cultivated a family spirit,” confides Annie Sonny, seated at a terrace table with a coffee in hand. “Clients feel it from their arrival—there's something in the atmosphere, a warmth that's not manufactured.” She adds, with the seriousness of someone for whom it's not just a phrase:

“I regularly ensure with the teams that this mindset is upheld. It's important. It's non-negotiable.”

From arrival, one is welcomed with a fresh welcome drink and a scented, cool towel—a delicate attention that says much about the house culture. The staff, trained in sincere and non-performative hospitality, shows availability that never veers into intrusion. The smiles are genuine. The advice, sound.

Travelers frequently return, on booking platforms, to this indefinable something in interactions with the staff. “An extraordinary place, with thunderous service—I never felt like a stranger in a foreign country,” testifies an American traveler on TripAdvisor. “The staff helped us organize all our excursions, the tuk-tuk driver was kindness and knowledge personified,” adds another review.

Team members—Thida, Thean at the bar, the restaurant and spa teams—reappear in travelers' stories like memorable characters in a beautiful tale.

By the Santi pool, one observes a discreet ballet: a waitress placing a selection of fresh fruits on a rattan tray, a maintenance agent carefully picking up the slightest fallen leaf on the wet tiles. It's not performance—it's care.

Mekhala: Reinvented Khmer Table

Dinner at the Mekhala restaurant, whose Khmer calligraphy sign adorns the entrance like an invitation, is one of the stay's highlights. Chef Hak Serey, trained at the Paul Dubrule Hospitality & Tourism School in Siem Reap and with experience in Park Hyatt kitchens, crafts a menu that reconciles Khmer gastronomy and Western sensibility without betraying either.

Annie Sonny observes this evolution with undisguised pride. “The restaurant is starting to attract a clientele far beyond usual tourists,” she says.

“Locals, expats, people passing through Siem Reap for work—Mekhala is becoming a real city address.”

The bar fully plays the ambiance card: dark woodwork, geometric patterned tiles, warm and subdued lighting. Thean, the bartender, mixes house cocktails with local rum and Cambodian citrus that merit the detour on their own.

Breakfast, served under the veranda facing the gardens or in the Khmer-authentic dining room, offers eggs Benedict, croissants, tropical fruit platters, and congee for local flavor lovers. A gentle way to start a morning at the temples.

Anjali Spa: Asian Rituals and Rediscovered Silence

After a morning traversing Angkor Wat's galleries under tropical heat, the body craves more than the pool. That's where the Anjali Spa comes in—discreet, like everything that matters here, and yet formidably effective.

Blending traditional Asian healing rituals and proven modern therapies, the spa promises to reduce stress and rebalance inner energy. The treatment menu covers a wide spectrum: Ayurvedic treatments, massages, hydrotherapy, but also facials and body wraps.

From aromatherapy to Thai massage, each protocol is designed to suit the traveler often exhausted by jet lag as much as by kilometers of temples.

The spa has five treatment rooms and opens from noon to 9 PM—a schedule aligned with the real rhythm of the Angkor traveler, who spends mornings at the temples and seeks recovery in the evening. Travelers are not mistaken:

“We highly recommend booking a massage at the spa—it's a fantastic experience,” notes a couple on TripAdvisor, and “the spa and massages were top-notch,” confirms another traveler after five nights.

The spa follows the same guiding thread as the rest of the house: organic products, gestures rooted in Khmer and Asian tradition, and the same care in every motion found throughout Anjali. One emerges with light legs and a clear mind—exactly the state needed to head back to the millennial stones of Angkor Thom at the next sunrise.

Angkor, Tuk-Tuk Away

The hotel offers its own excursion program—“Secrets of Angkor”—in several circuits. The free shuttle to Siem Reap city center allows reaching downtown without negotiating a tuk-tuk each time.

From the Santi Pool Access room, Angkor Wat is a ten-minute tuk-tuk ride. At sunrise, the tower silhouettes ignite in a violet sky—a spectacle justifying the trip to Cambodia alone.

And it's often returning to one's room, after an exhausting morning among the millennial stones, that one fully measures the value of a space like Anjali: the pool shimmering in the frond canopy's dim light, the humid air scented with frangipani, and the certainty that, for a few more days, one is exactly where one should be.

More photographs here...

---

Anjali by Syphon#1705 Korean-Cambodian Friendship Road, Krous Village, Svay Dangkum, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Tel.: +855 63 965 600 www.anjalihotel.com

Reservations: reservation@anjalihotel.com

Santi Wing — Pool Access Rooms: from 130 USD/night, breakfast and minibar included.

Note: The hotel also offers temple passes (1 day: 37 USD, 3 days: 62 USD, 7 days: 72 USD) and Khmer cooking classes with local market visit (from 8 AM or 12 PM, 4 hours duration). The Anjali Spa is open from 12 PM to 9 PM.