Small, owner-run and usually the best value in the country.
In short
Boutique hotels are where Cambodia is strongest. Converted villas and small design-led properties in Siem Reap, Phnom Penh and Kampot offer a level of service and character that costs several times more elsewhere in the region.
Kampot accommodation divides between the small colonial town and the riverside stretch west of it. Riverside properties are quieter and better for sunsets; town puts you within walking distance of dinner. Both are a short drive from the pepper plantations and the road up Bokor.
Riverside
Bungalows and small hotels along the water west of town, best for sunsets and swimming
In town
Converted shophouses in the small colonial grid, walkable to restaurants and the night market
Getting between
Ten to fifteen minutes by tuk-tuk; most riverside places will run you in
Phnom Penh's boutique hotels are concentrated in BKK1 and the streets around it, many of them converted mid-century villas with a courtyard and a small pool. They put you within walking distance of the city's best restaurants and away from the riverfront traffic.
Where
BKK1 and the surrounding streets, with a few near the river
Typical shape
A converted villa, ten to twenty-five rooms, courtyard and plunge pool
Why BKK1
Tree cover, wide pavements by Phnom Penh standards, and the best eating in Cambodia
Boutique hotels are Siem Reap's strongest category. Small owner-run properties, many of them converted villas with a courtyard pool, cluster around Wat Bo and the lanes off the river. They cost a fraction of the resorts and are usually the better experience.
Where they are
Wat Bo across the river, and the lanes behind the Old French Quarter
Typical shape
Fifteen to thirty rooms around a courtyard pool, often a converted villa
Why here
Land was cheap enough to build small and green, and the market rewards character
