Location
The Treeline Urban Resort enjoys a wonderful, breezy riverside location in the heart of Siem Reap, the unofficial tourism capital of Cambodia and the base for exploring the extraordinary archaeological site of Angkor Wat, the largest religious monument in the world. The treasures of the Khmer Empire’s 12th-Century, 400-acre temple complex are within easy reach of the hotel – just a 15 minute-drive away by car or tuk-tuk. Closer to home are some of city’s (more comparatively modest) attractions including the small, up-and-coming shopping district of Kandal Village (home to some fine boutiques and one of the best coffee shops in town – the Little Red Fox Espresso Cafe), and the Phare Circus, part of a social enterprise that supports arts training for disadvantaged children including the teaching of circus skills – an animal-free Cambodian tradition that dates back to the time of the Khmer kings.
Style & Service
While millions of visitors descend upon Siem Reap every year, from the moment you step into the Treeline’s lobby, you feel like you are entering another world, a sanctuary of cool calm away from the crowds and tropical heat outside. Effortlessly sleek and stylish, Treeline is a visually-arresting contemporary building that somehow manages to fit perfectly with the ancient heritage of its surroundings – a beautiful blend of large, open airy spaces designed with natural materials and a neutral colour palette, and dotted with jungly, green foliage. While Treeline is a shining example of minimalist chic in Siem Reap, the hotel is far from being ‘too cool for school.’ Service is professional, welcoming and gracious – a first-name-terms kind of place where the smiling, amiable, eager-to-please staff are one of the many memorable features of a stay here.
Rooms & Facilities
There are 48 bedrooms, including 12 suites, some of which overlook the inner courtyard garden. Spacious and calming, they blend minimalist brushed concrete with stone and timber, and are complimented by sculptural modern artworks, many by local artists. The hotel’s soporific beds are a revelation – truly the most comfortable I’ve ever encountered ensuring an unbeatable night’s sleep, but also quite hard to extract yourself from the following morning. There are lovely touches throughout – including banana palms that screen the bathroom from the outside world, as well as jars of home-made trail mix and hand-dried mango to savour with your tea and coffee. I particularly liked the use of handicrafts from a nearby Tonlé Sap Lake project which turns water hyacinths into basketware (to both control the invasive species and give women of the lake’s floating villages new earning opportunities.)
Elsewhere, the rooftop pool is spectacular – perfect for a lazy day on a sunlounger (visiting the temples can be exhausting), with the poolside Canopy bar for when the temperature rises high enough that the only antidote is to down something cold. To unwind further, there is a wide selection of treatments on offer in the haven-within-the-oasis that is the Suri Spa including body wraps, facials, massage, reflexology, and Khmer herbal scrubs.
Food & Drink
The two dining areas within the hotel champion dishes made with fresh, local ingredients (including plentiful plant-based options), beginning with the Asian-Western-fusion breakfast at Seed restaurant, which overlooks the tranquil courtyard garden – complete with its stone elephant statues peeking out from amongst the greenery. Romiet, with views across the river, is open for lunch and dinner and serves Asian-inspired plates that are perfect for sharing. One of the best restaurants in town, there are numerous stand-out dishes at Romiet including the miso-grilled glazed eggplant, the pork & shrimp ‘swallowing cloud’ dumplings with black bean chili oil, and its famed vegan cauliflower curry, made with cauliflower, cashews, star anise, kafir lime leaf and fresh coconut milk. As elsewhere, service at Seed and Romiet is unfailingly charming, polite and hospitable.
Sustainability
The hotel is a leading member of Collective for Good: a group of tourist-related businesses in Siem Reap committed to environmental, social and economic good practices. Under General Manager Joni Aker, the hotel has gone to great lengths to mitigate its environmental impact by planting trees, composting food waste and heating water with solar energy. Key though, has been eliminating single-use plastic from not only the building (there are no water bottles or throwaway bath products in the rooms), but also the entire hotel supply chain. To do this, Aker and the Treeline team undertook training from Plastic Free Southeast Asia (who support businesses in their efforts to become leaders in sustainable tourism), a process which also involves educating and incentivising the hotel’s providers of fresh food and clean laundry to take plastic out of the equation. In a sea of greenwashing businesses, the hotel stands out as an oasis of integrity, as it strives to set new standards in sustainable eco-tourism.
Fact box
Rooms: doubles from £160 per night
Web: treelinehotels.com
Address: Achasva Street, Wat Bo Village, Siem Reap, Cambodia