Today we officially start our class for the school year 2013 – 2014 at our Stung Treng training centre!
Training kits are provided to everyone. The class monitor and sub-class monitor are also selected today.
The Tonlé team commits our best to provide tourism and hospitality skills training to another 18 young disadvantage Cambodians.
I've been traveling around Cambodia for roughly 3 weeks, and I can honestly say this is my favorite guesthouse in all of Cambodia. This guesthouse is a beautiful building, modeling the traditional wooden Cambodian houses. It has a restaurant on the patio downstairs, friendly & helpful staff, amazingly comfy beds, and showers that are nicer than my shower at home. When you're on the road for a while, it's refreshing to stay at a place that is comfortable, clean, and relaxing - perfect for escaping the mid-day heat.
The food tasted great and was reasonably priced. We had almost every meal here, and quickly became addicted to their lime juices and spring rolls. :) Just know that their kitchen closes at 8pm.
I also loved that Le Tonlé is also a Tourism Training Center, teaching local Cambodian students the skills of hospitality and tourism. While we were staying here there was a class of 6 new students learning the guesthouse hospitality skills. They would come take our orders in the restaurant, with the guidance of the staff (their teachers). While some students were nervous, they were always cheerful, very thorough, and always got our order right.
Le Tonlé Guesthouse in Kratie is an extension of the guesthouse in Stung Treng and is a sister-company to CRD Tours. It opened 14/12/13 and is doing a phenomenal job for only being open 2 months.
Note: St. 03 is the street after the Canadia Bank, if you're walking down the river front, north of the bus station. If you're coming from the bus station walk towards the river and turn right (it's really not too far, but it can seem far if you arrive at night).
I've been traveling around Cambodia for roughly 3 weeks, and I can honestly say this is my favorite guesthouse in all of Cambodia. This guesthouse is a beautiful building, modeling the traditional wooden Cambodian houses. It has a restaurant on the patio downstairs, friendly & helpful staff, amazingly comfy beds, and showers that are nicer than my shower at home. When you're on the road for a while, it's refreshing to stay at a place that is comfortable, clean, and relaxing - perfect for escaping the mid-day heat.
The food tasted great and was reasonably priced. We had almost every meal here, and quickly became addicted to their lime juices and spring rolls. :) Just know that their kitchen closes at 8pm.
I also loved that Le Tonlé is also a Tourism Training Center, teaching local Cambodian students the skills of hospitality and tourism. While we were staying here there was a class of 6 new students learning the guesthouse hospitality skills. They would come take our orders in the restaurant, with the guidance of the staff (their teachers). While some students were nervous, they were always cheerful, very thorough, and always got our order right.
Le Tonlé Guesthouse in Kratie is an extension of the guesthouse in Stung Treng and is a sister-company to CRD Tours. It opened 14/12/13 and is doing a phenomenal job for only being open 2 months.
Note: St. 03 is the street after the Canadia Bank, if you're walking down the river front, north of the bus station. If you're coming from the bus station walk towards the river and turn right (it's really not too far, but it can seem far if you arrive at night).
Nous restons ce soir au Tonle. La maison est une maison typique cambodgienne mais aux normes européennes, qui offre 4 belles chambreś. chaque lit avec moustiquaire et ventilateur (certaines ont la clim). Il y a 2 salles de bains communes avec douche à l italienne réellement très propres avec eau chaude sans supplément. De l eau en bouteille est offerte dans chaque chambre. Prix très raisonnables entre 12 et 18$ pour 2.
Précision importante cet établissement dépend de l'école hôtelière Kratie and Stung treng. Votre séjour sera donc place sous le meilleur service. Les élèvent s appliquent, le service est parfait et ils sont adorables. N hésitez pas a le choisir pour les aider à parfaire leurs connaissances.
L'accueil est une mine de très bons renseignements pour vos déplacements
The wooden house is a cosy oasis in Kratie. I loved the atmosphere in the Tonle Center. The food is delicious and will be served with a nice decoration. The students are realy friendly and all realy nice. And at least, the (shared) bathrooms are quite good. Especially the shower was the best I ever had in asia! Great place to stay and a great place what should be supported!
10$ per room is a realy good price, also a higher price would be o.k.!
After hearing very disappointing (sometimes terrible!) reviews of other guesthouses in Kratie, we were incredibly grateful to find this hidden gem. We loved Le Tonlé so much, we ended up staying five nights instead of our originally planned three. The receptionists are gracious and helpful booking bus tickets to Stung Treng, and they will often try to get you a locals discount instead of overcharging, unlike most guesthouses! The atmosphere between guests was friendly and considerate.
I have spent time in the hospitality industry and traveled quite a bit and the energy and aesthetics (simple beauty) of Le Tonlé is among the top I have ever experienced. I think you are doing a really, really incredible job there. I hope to return to Cambodia in the near future and come back.
I didn't stay in the guesthouse but have dinner in the retaurant: the place is very clean and beautiful, people are really nice, smiling and lovely, and food is really good and cheap.
Le tonle is a training tourism center so don't hesitate to go there to help them !
Lovely time spent with staff at Le Tonle guesthouse. Well worth the visit for rooms @ $10 per night, delicious food for dinner, and staff can organise tours or days out for you when required. Great cause of training Local students hospitality skills. Loved our stay here.
Leggendo le recensioni di altri hotel a Kratie mi ero spaventata e stavo quasi rivalutando l'idea di andarci.. Poi abbiamo scoperto Le tonle per fortuna! Il posto è nuovissimo, pulito, delle graziosissime camere in legno e dei comodi e moderni bagni comuni. La cucina è molto buona e soprattutto ciò che rende speciale questo posto sono gli studenti. L'intera guesthouse è una sorta di accademia turistica dove i giovani imparano il mestiere in modo da poter trovare facilmente un lavoro dopo un anno. E sono tutti disponibili, gentili e insomma fanno tenerezza perché è plateale l'impegno che mettono in ogni singolo gesto anche solo se ti stanno portando un semplice milkshake. In questo modo ti senti utile perché sei la loro occasione di far pratica. Consigliatissimo!
The brand new guesthouse is gorgeous, Mr. Bunly and his staff are amazing, and the peaceful location just across from the Mekong River is everything thing a traveller could wish for. Part of a larger initiative to employ young at-risk Cambodians in the burgeoning tourism industry in Kratie, the guesthouse is run by a small staff of graduates (including Mr. Bunly!) of the 12-month Stung Treng program, and acts as a teaching lab for current trainees from the Stung Treng center.
The guesthouse is a contemporary blend of tasteful luxury and traditional Cambodian architecture. The stilted teakwood building has four beautiful rooms upstairs, with two immaculate shared bathrooms, and the downstairs has a lovely outdoor restaurant, a a small bar and reception desk, a lounge area, trainee classroom, and industrial sized kitchen where trainees prepare delicious dishes! Thoughtful touches like the handwoven silk scarves as decor, shampoo and shower gel for guests, water bottle refills, and extremely thorough daily cleaning services make the inexpensive guesthouse feel boutique.
The restaurant downstairs has lovely outdoor seating, and a wide delicious drinks, appetizers, entrees, and a full bar. The iced lime juice (3000 riel), vegetable spring rolls ($2.00), and pomelo salad ($2.50) were our favorites. The building is made of wood, so they do not allow smoking upstairs, and we particularly appreciated the non-smoking atmosphere in the restaurant.
After hearing very disappointing (sometimes terrible!) reviews of other guesthouses in Kratie, we were incredibly grateful to find this hidden gem. We loved Le Tonlé so much, we ended up staying five nights instead of our originally planned three. The receptionists are gracious and helpful booking bus tickets to Stung Treng, and they will often try to get you a locals discount instead of overcharging, unlike most guesthouses! The atmosphere between guests was friendly and considerate.
Unfortunately their online presence is minimal, but growing. For convenience I included a few informational links below.
For more information on Le Tonlé and affiliated organizations:
Le Tonlé Guesthouse website: http://letonle.org/
Established in 2012, the Kratie branch of Le Tonlé's sister organization CRDT (Cambodian Rural Development Tours) is located just down the street from the guesthouse, and open for booking tours Monday-Saturday, 8am-5pm http://www.crdtours.org/
The first Tonlé Tourism Training Center Guesthouse was established in 2007, and is based in Stung Treng, about 3 hours north of Kratie Town.
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/cambodia/stung-treng/hotels/tonle-tourism-training-centre
https://www.facebook.com/LeTonle
http://letonle.org/about/
I've read so many bad things about accommodations in Kratié. When I found this new place (opened in Dec 2013) I sent them an email and got a reply from them the next morning.
Rooms are clean and beautiful, beds are comfy, I love the stylish showers (with hot water and free shower gel and shampoo).
You can rent a bicycle from them, but they are actually working this through other companies.
Breakfast is good. Haven't had dinner here already but seems tasty.
Staff is adorable.
I highly recommend this place, they deserve their first place in Kratié.
