cambodia

Raffles Grand Hotel d'Angkor's Indulgent Valentine's Day Getaway

If your idea of Valentine's Day delight is something truly exotic, Raffles Grand Hotel d'Angkor Siem Reap in Cambodia is offering an indulgent escapade. The 2011 Enchanting Escape Valentine's experience includes a three-night stay in one of just two villas in the historical Raffles Grand Hotel d'Angkor's private gardens, private butler service, excursions to the cultural heart of Cambodia, and, dining in designer style at an intimate gala dressed by award-winning haute textile designer, Eric Raisina.

Moments that make this particular package an unforgettable adventure are a 30-minute balloon ride with champagne for an aerial view of the ancient temples; an adventure sightseeing trip in a 1950s Jeep, accompanied by a private guide imparting the legends and fables of Khmer kings; champagne breakfast in a jungle temple; and the Amrita Grand Indulgence with 3 hours 50 minutes of pampering, wellness treatments at the renowned RafflesAmrita Spa for him and her.

When you arrive at Siem Reap International Airport your private butler awaits with champagne and chocolates and refreshments. A BMW stretch limousine takes you to the hotel where a welcome array of tropical fruits and Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé Champagne is waiting at your villa. A romantic dinner prepared and served by the moonlit pool and the Raffles Grand Hotel d'Angkor will give the guests an Eric Raisina dress for her and a new Panama for him. The package is valid from February 11 to February 20 and costs $15,670.

Tags: Angkor, cambodia, valentines day gifts, valentines day hotel packages

The History of Girly Drinks at Raffles Hotels

by Alison Wellner (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Spirits

Plenty of hotels serve up unusual cocktails, but Raffles hotels have a unique claim on cocktail history: sometime in the 1900s, in its Singapore Hotel, bartender Ngiam Tong Boon created a gin-based cocktail named Singapore Sling, in a hue of proper pink designed to appeal to the hotel's female British clientele.

Or so the story goes, there's debate about whether it was originally called a "Singapore Sling" -- in browsing around today, I found reference to a "Straits Sling" and also a "Gin Sling", neither of which have the same ring. There's also question about whether the original recipe is the one in use today -- for more on this, check out "Dr. Cocktail" Ted Haigh's treatise on the subject in Mixologist: The Journal of the American Cocktail, which goes into depth on the subject. Either way, the Singapore Sling served by thousands at Raffles Singapore today is worth trying at home, see the recipe below.

Also in the East, at Raffles Hotel Le Royal, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the signature drink is a "Femme Fatale". This drink is named after Jacqueline Kennedy, who apparently left a lipstick- stained cocktail glass at the Elephant Bar during her 1967 visit, which was only discovered during the hotel's restoration. (Questions arise: how did they know that it was her glass? And of all the descriptions of Jackie O, is "femme fatale" the first that leaps to mind?) Either way, this is another drink designed to appeal to the ladies.

Raffles "Femme Fatale"
7.5 ml Crème de Fraise
Dash of cognac
Top with Champagne

Serve in a champagne flute with a garnish of rose.

Raffles Singapore Sling

30 ml Gin
15 ml Heering Cherry Brandy
120 ml Pineapple Juice
15 ml Lime Juice
7.5 ml Cointreau
7.5 ml Dom Benedictine
10 ml Grenadine
A Dash of Angostura Bitters
Garnish with a slice of Pineapple and Cherry

Tags: cambodia, cocktail recipes, CocktailRecipes, cocktails, raffles, singapore