Seems a bit odd to be writing about the resorts we stayed in (other than the adventure camps, which fall in a different category), but (a) maybe someone is looking for a recommendations and (b) they just beat the crap out of places in the US. Our working theory is that the low cost of labor, real estate, and everything else makes it possible to have crazy nice levels of luxury at a price point that doesn’t require you to be Jeff Bezos. Regardless, it’s part of the vacation package, so here they are.
The Rosewood
The Rosewood is perched on top of an office building along the Mekong River in Phnom Penh and was at one point the highest building (or maybe bar) in the city. There’s a new casino that’s a bit taller. Regardless, it has spectacular views, big open rooms, outstanding service, and more importantly, cocktails. |
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The sky bar juts out of the thirty seventh floor of the building and includes an outside deck which is quite spectacular but was a bit too hot for us. And, really, the inside is surrounded by glass walls that give you pretty much the full view of the city anyway.
Alison and I have learned to lower expectations around “signature cocktails,” which almost always involve a long list of ingredients that create a drink that tastes like it has a lot of different flavors that don’t particularly mix. The sky bar raises the ante a bit with Japanese themed drinks with little associated stories that were the inspiration for each drink, which are fun and a bit charming. But these drinks weren’t crazy complicated and work so well that I’m going to try to recreate them. Then, add bespoke ice FOR EACH TYPE OF GLASS. Crystal clear square or rectangular ice cut to size for whatever the cocktail was delivered in. I’m thinking we need to go back to Cambodia and just stay in the hotel and drink every day.
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There are multiple restaurants, but we only used the main one. The drinks there were excellent, but more classic cocktails. But unlike most places we stayed that used local Cambodian gin, bourbon, or rum, they seemed to settle on what they thought was best; I was surprised, for instance, that the old fashioned used Buffalo Trace bourbon, which is a fairly boutique US bourbon (that also happens to be the basis for the No. 9 Park old fashion, which ranks second only to the one I make). The And the beef carpaccio ranks as the best we’ve ever had.Breakfast was equally good, with a huge variety of hot and cold options.
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Phum Baitang (a Zannier hotel)
There are six Zannier hotels, each one different; the blurb says "EachZannier Hotelis a unique story – portraying the spirit of every place we call home. Whether it’s the captivating beauty of the Namib desert, the mystical heritage of ancient Khmer architecture, or waking in a neo-gothic tower – it is the rare experience that matters."The Phum Baitang is nestled in an otherwise normal looking residential neighborhood in Seim Reap, hidden behind tall walls to hide it from sight from those passing by. It is a resort version of Disneyland. Instead of Frontier Town or a Star Wars setting, they are recreating an idyllic Cambodian village, complete with working rice patties, wooden buildings, thatched roofs, and honest-to-god water buffalo (who didn’t just look well fed, they looked like they were groomed and curried each day).
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Complete with your own dipping pool, the private bungalows were natural wood that felt rustic and very feng-shui, but provided all the modern amenities you could possibly want.
The restaurant was great as well. It was a place that clearly catered to the white monied crowd, but unlike many of what we came to call the “Gringo restaurants” it wasn’t bland, genericized food with a Cambodian name stuck on it; they were all flavorful, used all local ingredients, and seemed more genuine than most of the regular restaurants.
At the end of the stay, they gave us a small bag of rice harvested from the hotel rice patties. How cool is that?
We liked it so much we are looking to do an African vacation next year and stay in the two Namibia locations.
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Amber Kampot Resort
The Amber sits on the Prek Tuek Chhou river and offered water bicycles, kayaks, and water taxi rides. We were amused by the carefully crafted concrete walkways with (unintentional) dog prints in them. The restaurant offered stunning views of the sun rising over the river in the morning and fun views of the other side of the river in the evening.
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The rooms were big comfortable bungalows with outside bathtubs and private dipping pools enclosed in fences for total privacy (which we took advantage of). A great way to cool off after a day of 97 degree, 100 percent humidity hiking around.
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