Phnom Bok Hotel

Hélène & Thaddée

Hélène & Thaddée are happy to welcome you and prepared for you well equipped rooms, a family atmosphere and a friendly welcome. The French/Cambodian direction will be happy to help and assist you during your journey at Siem Reap in the region of Angkor Wat. [Read more] We speak English, Cambodian, French and German to give you a better service. The name Hélène sounds typically French, but in fact, I am Khmer. After living 25 years in France, I decided ,beginning 2005, to come back to the country where I was born. This new life give me and my family the opportunity to better help the other members of my family who stayed in Cambodia and also the local community of this poor country. My new job as Hotel manager, also give me the opportunity to share with the guest of the Hotel my love for this country and to talk with them about the way of live here in Cambodia.

This accommodation provider has taken action to address one or more issues (whether environmental, social or cultural) which will contribute positively to the long term viability of the destination and hence their site displays a Caring for the destination rating.

Main area of focus in Caring for the Destination:
Involved in the training and education of local staff; Takes measures to reduce their impact on the local environment

Detailed description of the Caring for the Destination Initiative:
When you stay in a town like Siem Reap, you can forget how hard the life is here in this country. The luxury of the hotel and the cars is a mask for the global poverty. Since our arrival in Cambodia at the beginning of 2005, we feel the need to take care of the need of the local community. We decided to work on this: - Helping our local family. - Training and giving more education to the staff. - Reducing the impact on environment. - Helping local children: an orphan centre called "Centre de Development Culturel et des Arts Populaires Khmers" and Agnarersey School.

Phnom Book is a relatively new hotel, but has already started to help the local community. An uncle of the family is now living with us at the hotel. His two youngest children can now go to the college. Now, he has a better job then at his village (slayer). We trained our personal to use less detergent product in their work to lower the impact on the environment. We reduce our electricity consumption and so help the city by reducing the fossil fuel consumption. We trained our housekeeping staff on other task like reception or serving at the restaurant. We reduced the total working time of the staff, so they can go in an English class at the end of the day. We organized a Christmas party at the orphan centre. We also updated our Web site to present our two local sustainability activities to our future guest so then can take with them some gift for the children. On our Web site, we add links to other local initiative that we want to support.

For Christmas, toys and gifts have been provided to all the children in "Centre de Development Culturel et des Arts Populaires Khmers" in the Bakong district. We are now part of the IFC/MPDF program on sustainable Tourism in the area of Siem Reap and we will be in the first group of hotels and guesthouses in Siem Reap implementing this program.