Chatt Rooms

Thi

nk of a trip to Cambodia and you think of Angkor Wat. It's not likely that you'll picture elegant seaside resorts. But that might begin to change with the opening of Knai Bang Chatt, www.knaibangchatt.com, an 11-room property that resurrects some of the oceanfront elegance characteristic of the French colonial era and popular with affluent Khmers until the outbreak of civil war. Nestled amid lush vegetation in the old resort community of Kep (or Kep-sur-Mer as it was known to the French), Knai Bang Chatt is a roughly three-hour, mostly coastal drive from Phnom Penh and is the brainchild of Belgians Jef Moons and Boris Vervoordt. While making their own pilgrimage to Angkor in 2003, the intrepid duo took a detour and immediately saw the restoration potential of Kep's decaying French villas. They bought up four adjacent houses and set about creating an unexpected haven.

Of the three residential buildings (the fourth houses offices and a kitchen), the most striking is the multiterraced Blue Villa. Designed in 1962, the structure is a splendid surviving example of New Khmer Architecture, the modernist style of building that briefly flourished after the country's independence from France. Guests can book a room there or in the other two villas. Each of the three properties can also be rented whole and have between two and five bedrooms each.

Although modest in size, Knai Bang Chatt provides all the activities of a much larger resort. Among these are excursions to islands lying close off shore, boat trips with local fishermen or tours of nearby Bokor National Park. Yoga classes, meditation sessions and Khmer massage are available. There's also an expansive sea-facing infinity pool. The French cuisine (with a Khmer touch) uses fresh local seafood and produce and is superb. Menus are drawn up in consultation with guests, and meals are served on terraces or in the open-air dining pavilion. The communal areas at Knai Bang Chatt are appointed with a mix of Art Deco ornaments and furniture and Khmer bronzes sourced by Vervoordt in his other life as an antiques dealer. But his best pieces are probably the comfy double canopy beds, placed on prime sand facing the Gulf of Thailand. As an antidote to the crowds and touts of Angkor Wat, you could ask for nothing finer.