It might take time for dusty, chaotic Phnom Penh to grow on you, but that’s not the case at lovely Plantation. On Street 184, a five-minute walk from the Royal Palace, National Museum and riverfront, this sanctuary of whirring fans and tropical plants has the most inviting pool in the city. It’s quite something – 20 metres long, guests-only – and surrounded by foliage, cabanas and a bar-restaurant serving pizzas, green-mango salad, and a signature cocktails that pack a zesty punch The spa also offers fabulously affordable massages. There’s history here too. The Thirties buildings were French administrative quarters during colonial rule, and the Ministry of Labour after independence. They were saved from demolition by hotelier Alexis de Suremain’s Maads group and it took two years of restoration work before Plantation opened in 2011.
Rooms are calm, neutral and stylish, with four-poster beds, colourful Khmer silk cushions and warm wooden furniture, while open bathrooms make rooms even brighter and airier (the loo is private, thankfully, and twin rooms have enclosed bathrooms). At dinner-only La Pergola restaurant, chef Olivier Guillon mixes French, Khmer and global flavours in his cardamom chocolate mousse, ricotta ravioli and duck with Kampot-pepper sauce, and the Lotus Pond Gallery and Red Pool Lounge courtyard often host art exhibitions. Sitting on half a hectare, it may feel less intimate than other boutique hotels, but staff are incredibly friendly, and for the price, there’s nothing quite this lush and spacious. Amid the motorbike-honking chorus of the Cambodian capital, havens such as this are like gold dust.
Address: Plantation Urban Resort & Spa, រាជធានី, 28 Samdach Preah Thoamak Lekhet Ouk St. (184), Phnom Penh 12206, Cambodia
Price: Doubles from about £74 per night