Shinta Mani
Author: Anothertravelguide.com0 COMMENTS
Shinta Mani is one of the first boutique hotels in Siem Reap. It is a good choice if, alongside comfort, design, price and location, the philosophy of the place matters to you when choosing your accommodation. By encouraging their guests to do more than spending and enjoying - giving something in return for the hospitality of the people and environment of the country were they have come to spend their holidays - the Shinta Mani projects of socially responsible tourism have earned international acclaim. The Institute of Hospitality supported by the hotel trains young people from disadvantaged provincial families for work in the hotel industry; the course of studies lasts nine months. However, what make the Shinta Mani hotel really stand out are its local community support projects. Alongside a list of the best Siem Reap restaurants and the rest of the usual stuff the guests are also provided with information that opens their eyes to a complete different - poignant - side of Cambodia. In spite of the flourishing tourist industry the average monthly earnings of the rural population still do not exceed USD 1; not only insufficient education and health care but even shortage of rice and drinking water is a serious problem. Unlike a string of other, more abstract, charity projects, the Shinta Mani list of possible donations is quite specific: 46 dollars for a bicycle (so children from remote villages could still attend school and eventually start to support their families); 25 dollars to buy 50 kilos of rice and tinned fish - the monthly provisions of an average family (which would allow them to spend their earnings on other pressing needs). 90 dollars for a boring well (to provide fresh drinking water for another family); 1200 dollars for a modest size brick house (to replace a miserable bamboo shack which has been housing a family of 6 or 8). The Shinta Mani project helps a number of nearby villages; donors are afterwards sent written and photographic evidence of the work actually being accomplished.
The decor of the hotel is a mixture of the traditional Khmer style and contemporary design; some of the rooms are located around the small pool which is surrounded by a garden, the others are situated upstairs. Excellent value for money and a very cosy atmosphere. The location is great: the very heart of the Old French Quarter, some 9 kilometres from Angkor.
Rates from USD 90
Junction of Oum Khum and 14th Street,
Siem Reap, Cambodia
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