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At Phnom Penh’s Raffles Le Royal, Jackie Kennedy’s 1967 Visit Endures Through a Lipstick-Marked Relic and a Signature Cocktail

A new CNN report spotlights the hotel’s museum-like approach to preserving Jackie Kennedy lore for heritage-minded travelers.

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Overview

  • Raffles Hotel Le Royal displays a coupe glass identified by a lipstick mark that staff say Jackie Kennedy used during her 1967 stay.
  • The Femme Fatale—created by the hotel bartender for her visit with cognac, Champagne and crème de fraise—remains on the Elephant Bar menu.
  • The property maintains a Kennedy suite with a portrait and a vintage Life magazine issue open to coverage of her Cambodia trip.
  • Kennedy’s visit, viewed as soft-power diplomacy, required a royal invitation and a U.S. Air Force C54 flight arranged after a commercial leg to Bangkok.
  • The hotel, opened in 1929, survived the Khmer Rouge era, operated as the Solidarity Hotel, and was revived by Raffles in the 1990s, later hosting high-profile guests including Barack Obama.