The Beige

Set into forest near Angkor Thom, The Beige occupies ten hectares of land ten minutes from the temple by road. Only seven tents stand across the grounds, each built from a sailcloth-like fabric with no vinyl or plastic. It is a quiet base, not a hotel block. Every tent has air conditioning, wifi, a private bathroom, and a terrace looking onto the trees; furnishings lean antique, a nod to the French influence still visible across Cambodia. The resort's pool is its clearest feature: an infinity edge suspended five metres above the ground, framed by canopy on one side and sky on the other. A library holds books on Angkor's history and temples, useful before or after a day at the ruins. Meals draw on Khmer cooking and produce grown on the resort's own farm, served with an eye to reducing outside ingredients. In the evening, guests gather at a fire pit above the Siem Reap River, where the forest catches the last colour of the sunset. Rambai, the resident elephant, comes to the restaurant most mornings for feeding and photographs. Angkor Wat is roughly 18 minutes away by road, Angkor Thom nearer still. The setting favours quiet over convenience: seven rooms, one elephant, a stretch of land between temple and river.