Hotel for Michelle O’s Cambodia Visit Cost $242,500 Two-day stay required 85 rooms

[geovalin]

BY: Elizabeth Harrington

March 30, 2015 3:23 pm

Hotel accommodations for First Lady Michelle Obama’s two-day trip to Cambodia required 85 rooms and cost taxpayers $242,500, according to a government contract released Friday.

Mrs. Obama traveled to Siem Reap, Cambodia on March 21 to promote a girls education initiative. A contract was awarded on March 3, citing the “unusual and compelling urgency” of the First Lady’s trip.

Mrs. Obama and a delegation of senior high-level U.S. government officials stayed at the Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra Golf and Spa Resort, according to a justification and approval document for the visit.

The trip required 85 single rooms, five office suites, five sleeping suites, and one conference room for 14 nights. Mrs. Obama herself only stayed in Cambodia for two days, leaving on March 22.

The Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra is listed as a luxury five-star hotel.

“The Siem Reap hotel, which elegantly combines Khmer and French architectural design, features landscaped gardens, [five] restaurants and bars, meeting facilities, a luxury spa and the largest free form swimming pool in Cambodia,” according to Accor, the French hotel operator that manages the hotel. “The leading luxury resort in Siem Reap also boosts a world-class 18-hole golf course at the Phokeethra Country Club, which is only a 25 [minute] drive from the hotel.”

Suites at the Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra come with personal butler service.

Mrs. Obama traveled to Japan and Cambodia to promote the Let Girls Learn initiative, a global campaign to increase educational opportunities for girls. The First Lady held two public events while in Siem Reap, speaking for a total of 33 minutes.

Mrs. Obama spent 21 minutes talking with a group of 10 female students at Hun Sen Bakorng High School, according to a White House transcript on March 21. She then went back to the hotel to speak at Peace Corps Training Round Table for 12 minutes.

The First Lady also visited the Angkor Wat temple complex, and held a meet and greet with embassy employees while in Cambodia, according to the White House press office.

The State Department, which issued the contract on behalf of the U.S. Embassy in Phnomn Penh, Cambodia, said that security issues require hotel accommodations for the First Lady to be made on short notice, and outside the normal competitive bidding process.

“Security concerns prohibit sufficient advanced notification of VIP travel to allow for sufficient time to conduct full and open competition,” they said. “The Department of State can only communicate with the staff at Posts abroad when authorization is given due to security concerns. They have an extremely short turnaround time when authorization has been granted for negotiations to commence and site selections to be finalized with both the local vendors and Posts before the actual Senior High Level USG VIP visit occurs.”

“Security and logistical teams make determinations during the site survey as to which hotels are most suitable for the Senior High Level USG VIP and his traveling staff to remain overnight,” they said.

Hotel costs were estimated at $242,500. The document noted that other contracts for miscellaneous costs associated with the trip were awarded to the Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor ($9,000) and Victoria Angkor Resort and Spa in Siem Reap. A third contract worth $3,230 was awarded to the Park Hyatt Siem Reap, for the Peace Corps event.

http://freebeacon.com/issues/hotel-for-michelle-os-cambodia-visit-cost-242500/

This source is not well known.

[RichCor]

Non story, really. Not sure why someone thought it was important to post it.

All nations spend money when their delegates, top officials or high-level "appointees" travel the world.

Maybe you're just glad to hear that Cambodia had a spike in income at the end of High Season?

[khwaibah]

The US tax dollar at work.

[NickJ]

Plus....and a big bonus.....u can donate in her name now....anything you dont need or want you can send it directally to her via the Hillary Clinton fund under the caption WE DONT REALLY CARE BUT VOTE FOR HILL.

[geovalin]

US first lady’s tab: $250K

Wed, 1 April 2015

Alice Cuddy

Hotel accommodation for Michelle Obama’s two-day visit to Siem Reap last month cost almost $250,000, according to a US government document.

The first lady made the historic visit to Cambodia in an effort to advance her “Let Girls Learn” initiative in a country where females still face significant disadvantages in education.

During the trip, she met with female students, delivered a speech to Peace Corps volunteers and visited the Angkor Wat temple complex.

According to a justification and approval document for the visit, which was released on Friday, the estimated cost of accommodation for the trip is $242,500.

Eighty-five single rooms, five office suites, five sleeping suites and one conference room were booked out for two weeks at the five-star Sofitel Angkor Phokeetra Golf and Spa Resort.

Other contracts were awarded to two other luxury hotels – Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor and Victoria Angkor Resort and Spa – but details were not included.

The contract cites the “unusual and compelling urgency” of the trip, explaining that “security concerns prohibit sufficient advanced notification of VIP travel to allow for sufficient time to conduct full and open competition.”

In a speech last week, Prime Minister Hun Sen took aim at the first lady’s visit, calling on the US Embassy and USAID to make good on supposed scholarship promises and front some cash if they truly want to make an impact on education in Cambodia.

The embassy declined to comment, directing questions to the White House.

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/us-first-ladys-tab-250k

[geovalin]

Non story, really. Not sure why someone thought it was important to post it.

All nations spend money when their delegates, top officials or high-level "appointees" travel the world.

Maybe you're just glad to hear that Cambodia had a spike in income at the end of High Season?

You are right, gvts need to spend some money when they travel and I don't know if the amount is normal or not.

What I know is that this story or maybe non-story got more views in this forum than the smart and erudite articles I post usually.

By the way, the remarks Hun Sen made about this trip and its cost are interesting even if we can disagree.

[Linky]

I am thinking the OP poster has an agenda against Obama. Its a non story. Lots of views but so few replies.

[geovalin]

I am thinking the OP poster has an agenda against Obama. Its a non story. Lots of views but so few replies.

I don't know if by "OP" you mean me or the source.

For myself I'm not a US citizen but I LOVE Obama + I hate Republicans / Bush family.

When I have 1 reply it's A LOT! So thanks for replying.

We are in a niche here.

[geovalin]

To go on with this topic and maybe generate more views.

First of all, as a French, I fully support Obama and Democrats in the USA.

BUT why did Michele did no visit a terrible place like Preyveng or Svay Rieng or even Takeo instead of Siem Reap?

When I was working for the French Embassy in the 90's (just when the war ended), nearly every month a minister (from Right then from Left) had a good reason to come to visit this country... and Angkor Temples.

I'm sorry to tell that, but I'm pretty sure Michele Obama wished to watch Angkor and I don't see why we should blame her for that or why we should think it's insulting her to tell that.

By the way, she made the job (have a quick look at some humanitarian projects).