Where to stay in Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh's luxury hotels sit either on the riverfront near the Royal Palace or in BKK1, the leafy district that holds the city's best restaurants. Traffic makes the choice matter: a kilometre in Phnom Penh can take twenty minutes at the wrong hour.

Riverfront

Views over the Tonle Sap and Mekong, walking distance to the Royal Palace and National Museum

BKK1

Quieter, leafier, and where you will eat best

Daun Penh

The old administrative quarter, closest to the main sights

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