We were picked up from the airport in a Mercedes that once belonged to the King & was as big as a loungeroom.
Our first sights of Cambodia were of smiley monkeys on motorcycles as we cruised by. We arrive to cold towels scented with lemongrass & a debrief on the lay of the land. The enclosed stone & garden compound was built by King Norodom Sihanouk, as a guest house. The King wanted Cambodia to be cool, and that he was. The modern circular building that houses the dining room & front pool of the hotel (or the 'other home' as it is referred to) was his screening room as hot looking people lazed around the swimming pool.
The interiors & fit out of his fleet of automobiles are subtle, simple & very Christian Liaigre in colour palette & approach: canes, black, ebony woods, soft khakis & clean, crisp whites with a background of natural stone, pebblecrete & terrazzo.
Over our 4-day visit we rode bikes through town, were driven in a convoy of 2 tuk tuks, jeeps & motorcycles, all fabulously fit out with beige umbrellas, refreshing towels & cold water served from a wicker basket attached to the back of each vehicle! I am officially now an Aman junkie.