Australian Gourmet Traveller - (02)February 2020 (1)

announceda newsustainable-tourismventure,Song

SaaReserve,neartheAngkortempleofBanteay

Srei,withhotels,villas,educationcentresand

naturereservesplannedarounda 35-hectarelake.

AnothertwoglamorousislandresortsinKoh

Ronghaveopenedrecently:SixSensesKrabeyIsland,

with 40 poolvillasona 12-hectarejungleisland

withrockycoastline;andAlilaVillasKoh

Russey,wheremysuitelooksovera beach.

Thetwoislandsareaccessiblein 10 minutes

byspeedboatfromprivatejettiesonthe

outskirtsofSihanoukville.Theregionis

beingpromotedas “thenewCambodian

Riviera”,a referencetotheFrenchcolonial

élite,thentheinternationaljetset,who

oncepartiedinbeachfrontvillasalong

thecoast,andtoa newjetsetdrawntothe

laid-back islandvibeofKohRong.Mostwill

use Sihanoukville as their gateway – Thai

AirAsiarecentlylauncheddirectflightsfromBangkok,

andBangkokAirwayslaunchedinJanuary– though

thecity’sreputationasanoverdevelopedenclaveof

Chinesecasinosandindustrialzonesmeansmany

travellerswillheadoffshorequickly.

AlilaVillasKohRusseyis a sereneparalleluniverse.

Thetransitfromthemainlandtobarefootlunchat The

BeachShackis swift,theeffectofsand,sunandcoconut

palmsimmediatelysoothing.Thegeometricwood

panellingintheloftylobbypavilionexemplifiesthe

resort’sstyle:sleek,contemporaryandinfluencedby

Cambodiancrafttraditions,inthiscasethechequered

patternofa traditionalcottonkramascarf.The

mainrestaurant,facingtheshowpiecelagoonpool

andthebeachbeyond,hassimilarDNA,itshuge

featurewallstuddedbyrecycledoffcutsoftimber.

CertifiedbyEarthCheck,a Brisbane-basedtourism

advisorybody,theresortoccupiesa beachfrontplot

surroundedbybambooforestonthe24-hectareisland

ofKohRussey.Its 50 pavilionsand 13

two-andfour-bedroompoolvillasare

spaciousandprivate.Guestscanpractise

morningyogabeneatha banyantree,head

toa privatecovefora beachpicnic,and

arrangedaytripstoKep,knownforitscrab

market,andthepepperfarmsofKampot.

I catcha longtailboatfromKoh

Russey’sjettyonesultryafternoonand

hopbetweenneighbouringislands– tiny,

bristlingwithjungleand,likeCambodia

itself, adventures waiting to happen.l

LuxurytravelcompanyLightfootTravel

arrangesbespoketripsthroughouttheworld.

LightfootarrangedGT’s traveltoCambodia,

includingstaysatBensleyCollection- Shinta

ManiWildandAlilaVillasKohRussey.A

seven-nightitinerarycostsfrom$8500per

personincludingreturnflightsbetweenSydney

andPhnomPenh,accommodation,transfers

andexperiences.Extensionstovisitthe

templesofAngkorandnearbySiemReapare

highly recommended.lightfoottravel.com/en

Getting

there

124 GOURMET TRAVELLER

DiningatAlila

VillasKohRussey.

Below,fromleft:

thearrivaljettyat

KohRussey;

geometricwood

panellinginthe

lobbyofAlila

Villas Koh Russey.