First opened in 1932, it was established by French town planner Ernest Hébrard to accommodate the early explorers and tourists visiting the world heritage site Angkor Wat.

Referred to as 'La Grande Dame' of Angkor’,[1] the hotel has welcomed personalities such as Charlie Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Victor Goloubew, Princess Margaret, Lord Snowdon, Jacqueline Kennedy, Charles de Gaulle, Sultan Ibrahim Al-Masyhur, Queen Sofía, Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, Lee Hsien Loong, José Carreras, Roger Moore, Chris Noth, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama among many others.

In an article published in "L'Éveil économique de l'Indochine" on 22 December 1929, it detailed a contract executed by the Société des Grands-Hôtels Indochinois (S.G.H.I.)

In Siem Reap, a proposal outlined the construction of a 60-room hotel which would replace the native lodges that were no longer suitable for the needs of the growing number of travelers flocking to Angkor.

The opening date of Grand Hotel d'Angkor is difficult to establish due to the lack of documentary evidence mostly lost during the Khmer Rouge and civil wars.

"[6] It was later reported that on 11 March 1931, Eugène Jean Louis René Robin, then the governor general of French Indochina, "left the capital of King Monivong to visit the 60-room hotel which has just been built and which only remains to be fitted out.

The hotel, along with the Bungalow d'Angkor (Hôtel des Ruines), located in front of Angkor Wat, with 45 rooms, will be able to accommodate all the tourists from Bangkok.

"[8] Messner produced a booklet titled, ‘Archaeological Guide to Angkor’ which was compiled by École française d'Extrême-Orient conservator Henri Marchal and was printed in Saigon.

Being essentially a romantic writer, she preferred to stay at the ‘bungalow’ that faced the ruins, rather than the “immense and dazzling white concrete palace that would look more at home on the Côte d’Azur than in its present setting in the middle of the Cambodian plains.” She likened the building's style to hotels in Nice, Monte-Carlo or along the French Riviera.

The pioneering luxury hotel offered a bewildering array of services, such as torch-lit Apsara ballet accompanied by traditional musicians at Angkor Wat, elephants for excursions, motor tours, interpreters and guides.

In an explosion of youthful vigor and exuberance that accompanied the declaration of independence from France on 9 November 1953, Prince Norodom Sihanouk launched into a campaign of urban planning, development and construction that transformed many provincial centers.

The early Sihanouk era from 1955 to 1965 saw immense growth within Cambodia, along with a fervent striving for international recognition and a modernization program that saw Siem Reap blossom.

M. Ang Kim Khoan was appointed as General Manager of S.O.K.H.A.R., "a dynamic man and a great traveler himself, and who is well aware that in the hotel industry "le client est roi" ('the customer is king')."

The Grand Hotel d'Angkor had "retained its sixty rooms, fifty of which are air-conditioned, all elegantly furnished and naturally equipped for individual comfort."

The second room, also air conditioned, was located on the newly outfitted right wing: it accommodated 150 guests and served "the finest French cuisine, accompanied by wines from the best vintages in France."

In addition was a souvenir shop selling "the most beautiful products of Khmer craftsmanship: cut leather, silverware, bamboo or rattan objects, statuettes and the finest silk in the region."

Every Saturday evening, the hotel organized, "at the forecourt of the Angkor Wat temple, a recital of Khmer classical dances given by the best dancers of the province dressed [in] sumptuous traditional costumes."

The picture was produced and directed by Richard Brooks with casts including Peter O'Toole, James Mason, Curd Jürgens, Eli Wallach, Jack Hawkins, Paul Lukas, and Daliah Lavi.

According to the directive of Mr. Nhiek Tioulong, who was then Minister of State for Planning and Tourism and chairman of the board of directors of S.O.K.H.A.R., works and modernizations were immediately undertaken in other hotels in the country including the l'Hôtel Le Royal in Phnom Penh as well as other concession establishments, bungalows, motels and villas in Pochentong, Kampot, Sihanoukville, Bokor, Kirirom and Kep-sur-Mer.

The turbulent Lon Nol era had begun, with Cambodia racked by internal political intrigue, American bombing raids, attacks by North Vietnamese and a strengthening of the Khmer Rouge throughout the countryside.

One of the most important functions held at the hotel in those early ‘new’ years was a luncheon on 5 August 1992 hosted by Prince Norodom Sihanouk and UNTAC leader, Yasushi Akashi.

On 14 December 1994, Cambodian Tourism Minister Veng Sereyvuth announced that Raffles has been selected to operate the Grand Hotel d'Angkor, a project costing $30 million USD.

A new 'state wing' that perfectly replicates the architectural style of the main building was added to the west and three new expansive bungalows to the east of the swimming pool.

On the walls hang old paintings, maps and photographs selected carefully by curator Gretchen Liu, who also sourced the Khmer antiques and objets d'art that are showcased among the Art Deco furnishings.

Commenting on the reopening, Prime Minister Hun Sen said: "Raffles International has not only shown perseverance as a serious and long-term pioneer investor, it has also ensured that two famous landmarks of Cambodia take the rightful pride of place among the few remaining grand historic hotels of the world.

It was later announced that the two Raffles properties in Cambodia will undergo extensive renovations, which include upgrading of the guest rooms, restaurants, swimming pool, tennis courts and meeting facilities.

Koh Say Wee, the Singaporean architect appointed by Raffles International in 1997 reopening used the terms such as, “French Art Deco…cosmopolitan…with hints of Oriental decorative features” to describe the stylistic elements of the Grand Hotel d'Angkor.

The building features encaustic cement black and ivory floor tiles, a manufacturing tradition first developed in France during the mid-19th century and have become colonial symbols in countries such as Morocco, Vietnam and Cambodia.

“Prince Sihanouk couldn't have got a better emissary to symbolize the attempt to mend fences with America,”[16] Gerrand told the Phnom Penh Post.

In 2002, Raffles Grand Hotel d'Angkor organized an international charity concert entitled “An Evening at Angkor with Jose Carreras.” The dinner, with a price tag of $1,500 per person, featured the Spanish operatic tenor with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and National Dance Troupe of Cambodia.