Asia cambodia

Staying At Jaya House River Park : Siem Reap

9/02/2018Jake Ryan

Jaya House Riverpark was top of my list of hotels in Cambodia, after reading the reviews on TripAdvisor I was so keen to stay here. Jaya House doesn’t have a single negative review on TripAdvisor out of nearly 1000 reviews. This is something I haven’t seen before and found it hard to believe a hotel could be ‘perfect’ I then noticed the environmental impact Jaya House is aiming for and all the great things this hotel is doing and my mind was set. Jaya House it had to be. 

Jaya House is a 95% plastic free hotel set along a stretch of the riverbank. This small boutique hotel has a total of 36 rooms, 2 fresh water swimming pools, an onsite restaurant and the Riverpark Spa. Located less than 10 minutes from the world famous Angkor Wat, Jaya House is nestled discreetly alongside the Siem Reap river. 

Your stay at Jaya House comes with free airport pick up where you’ll be greeted by your friendly driver and your own ‘Refill not Landfill’ water bottle. A project created to reduce the use of plastic bottles around Asia. Your water bottle can be refilled at various sites around Cambodia and Southeast Asia and is already having a huge impact in reducing plastic waste (more about Refill not Landfill in a separate post soon).
Refill not Landfill bottle provided by hotel to reduce plastic waste

As we arrived at the hotel, we were greeted by some of the kindest people I have ever met as they all gave us a greeting of ‘Welcome home’ and offered us a welcome drink and a cold towel (coffee fans should be sure to check out the Deepoll Coffee). We then had a chat with the owner Cristian who greets many of the guests. Cristian is an extremely passionate man who has been doing great things since arriving in Cambodia 12 years ago. His work includes reducing plastic waste and bringing jobs back to the locals of Cambodia. He has even started a market ‘Made in Cambodia’ which has given jobs to locals in the area and is a great place for people to get real Cambodian trinkets and gifts to take home with them from their travels. Jaya House is one of the few hotels that offers its 107 staff full time employment year round, all of which radiates amongst the happiness of the staff. 

When I reached my room, I was greeted by a stunning junior suite. Located directly in front of one of the swimming pools, the large relaxing space already seemed the perfect place to settle after a busy day in Siem Reap. The rooms are decorated with some incredible art work and the large kingsize bed was so inviting. The rooms feature tea and coffee making stations and the bathroom came with home made Shampoo, Conditioner and Shower Gel all in jars (as you remember, this hotel is plastic free) which was a lovely touch. The amenities were great too and being homemade made them all that more special. Inside your room you’ll also find fabric shopping bags for you to use during your time exploring Siem Reap so that you won’t need to use plastic bags during your visit. You may also notice that your laundry basket is made out of recycled plastic bags. This is part of the ‘Rehash Trash’ project that Jaya House is involved in. Rehash Trash takes old plastic waste and turns it into something new. 
Bug spray cover used in room made using old plastic bags

The junior suite comes with a small outdoor terrace area, giant bath tub, rain shower and another second outdoor rain shower. You’re also treated to one hour spa treatments per day and a complementary mini bar. The room would be made up twice a day and forget a chocolate on the pillow, Jaya House leave you a special treat each night from cookies to cake. Always something new to look forward to. 

What really sets this hotel apart from all the others though is the service. I’ve stayed in 5 star hotels around the world and not one has come close to the exceptional service received in this hotel. The staff go above and beyond every single day. Nothing you request is too much of an issue for the team at Jaya House. The hotel only has 36 rooms and yet has 107 staff, meaning you really get a personal experience while staying here. 
1 of 2 pools

On top of the complimentary laundry and mini bar, Jaya House also offers complimentary Tuk Tuk rides around the area. As you check in you’ll be handed a mobile phone to use throughout your stay, this allows you to keep in contact with the hotel but also allows you to call the hotel when out and about and organise a Tuk Tuk to collect you to bring you back to the hotel. This came in extremely useful on several occasions (especially the day I broke my camera and one staff member helped me locate a camera repair shop nearby and sorted a Tuk Tuk to take me there immediately to have it repaired).

Rooms come inclusive of breakfast and each morning you’ll find a wide buffet selection, including some delicious macrons and if you fancy a champagne for breakfast, they have that too. While enjoying breakfast be sure to sit outside in one of the large swinging tables. 
All in all Jaya House will remain one of my favourite hotels I have ever stayed in. Your experience at Jaya will be unforgettable and you’ll leave feeling inspired and wanting to be have a bigger impact on the battle against plastic. 



Thank you Jaya House for hosting my stay. 
As always, opinions are entirely my own. 


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4 comments

  1. this place is unreal

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  2. Great review of a fabulous hotel! We stayed there last November and didn't want to leave. We were also in a junior suite with outdoor shower, probably right next door to the room you stayed in.

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    1. Ah I bet it was next door, and I agree I never ever wanted to leave. Such an incredible place. So happy to have found it. Already planning to go back :D

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  3. This place looks really nice :D

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