Elite Traveler Spring 2020

EXPLORE CAMBODIA

Rosewood Phnom Penh Norodom House is an airy suite outfitted with bespoke furnishings and elegant decor

Coming soon... Shangri-La Hotel Phnom Penh will have 302 guestrooms and suites, various eateries, including a Chinese restaurant, and a rooftop pool. The long-awaited hotel will be part of a new mixed-use development located along the Mekong River and facing Diamond Island.

EXPLORE CAMBODIA

Forest SHINTA MANI WILD

City ROSEWOOD PHNOM PENH

Beach SIX SENSES KRABEY ISLAND

Like most of prolific designer Bill Bensley’s hotels, Shinta Mani Wild was conjured from a personal dream. In this case, he imagined the 15-tent camp, ensconced beside a river, wedged amid waterfalls and thick foliage, as the place Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis would have stayed had she stepped into the heart of the CardamomMountains. Theatrically constructed as a nostalgic colonial safari camp among a landscape with wild Asian elephants, Malayan sun bears and Indochinese tigers, the retreat is almost four hours by road from Phnom Penh. Guests can helicopter to camp — or even courageously zip-line a few thousand feet through the forest for a dramatic arrival. Created to combine opulence with conservation goals, Shinta Mani Wild collaborates with Wildlife Alliance, giving guests the opportunity to work with rangers. Book the Waterfall Tent, considered to have the best views. From $2,400 per night. Contact Sangjay Choegyal, general manager, gm.wild@shintamani.com, +855 12 223 782, shintamaniwild.com

Chaotic, chic, offbeat and sophisticated, Phnom Penh epitomizes everyone’s vision of an enlivened Asian city. With traffic aplenty, busy markets, Buddhist monks, and acclaimed eateries and hotels, this metropolis at the confluence of three rivers has a provincial elan all its own. Embodying that vibrant spirit, Rosewood Phnom Penh soars to the sky in the show-stopping, 39-story Vattanac Capital Tower — the tallest skyscraper in Cambodia. Taking the form of a rising dragon, oriented toward the east, the 175-room hotel offers peerless city vistas, a spa and four dining venues. Its acclaimed bar, Sora (‘sky’ in Japanese), has a lofty perch on the 37th floor — the highest bar in the city. Rosewood’s signature 2,422 sq-ft Norodom House is sublime: a commodious, urbane suite with multiple rooms — including a bedroom, study and dining room — all studiously tended by a dedicated butler. From $5,800 per night. Contact Rémi Delpech, director of rooms, phnompenh@rosewoodhotels.com, +855 23 936 888, rosewoodhotels.com

Live the private island dream at sustainably planned Six Senses Krabey Island, a 30-acre tropical enclave three miles off Ream National Park in southern Cambodia. Just 40 pool villas pepper the haven, which includes a spa, two restaurants (don’t miss Tree, which offers a contemporary twist on traditional Khmer cuisine) and the Sunset Bar, which was designed to emulate local fishermen’s homes. Accessible by boat (the hotel’s sports cruiser transfer takes 15 minutes from the resort’s mainland reception), Six Senses Krabey Island also has the capability to welcome private jets and helicopters. Families or couples traveling together will enjoy the Oceanfront Two-bedroom Villa, built to frame a picturesque sunset ocean view. In addition to a private plunge pool and private sundeck, the bi-level retreat has elevated views of the ocean and a nearby island. From $2,625 per night. Contact Ateeb Shrestha, general manager, ateeb.shrestha@sixsenses.com, +855 69 944 888, sixsenses.com