Review: Shinta Mani Wild

Set the scene.
A zip-line brings you soaring through the canopy of trees to a bar beside a waterfall, and a flamboyant tented camp, vintage in style, as if pegged there for passing royalty back in the day. A shot of tequila in an iced pineapple cordial is offered before you have time to step out of your harness.

What's the story?
Cambodian hotelier Sokoun Chanpreda and daring hotel architect Bill Bensley won a parcel of hardwood forest in a logging auction. Their goal: to not chop down the rosewood, ironwood, and teak trees. So they set about drawing plans for this tented camp. Shinta Mani Wild is the fourth property for Chanpreda (his first three are in Siem Reap) and the second in partnership with Bensley.

What can we expect in our room?
There are just 15, each flamboyantly designed with a vintage feel and a few contemporary pops of color among the brass fittings, dress-making mannequins, old-fashioned fans, trunks, and leather-bound books. Room 1 is the furthest from camp, which also makes it the most private, and there's a seductively romantic roll-top bathtub on the deck beside the white-water river. It's all sumptuously comfortable; there's even a maxibar with cocktail accessories and the tech is remarkably good across the property.

How about the food and drink?
Perhaps the biggest surprise is how good the food is here, given the remoteness of the hotel and Cambodia's lesser-known reputation for cuisine. Under the guidance of the culinary director, Patricia Yeo, there's an impressive daily changing menu. Breakfast is irresistible; lunch is crisp cold soups and salads such as pomelo, shrimp, and cashews; while the Khmer menu in the evening has greens, mushrooms, and fruits foraged from the forest. Everything’s included in the rate.

Anything to say about the service?
Endearingly eager-to-please. Check-in and check-out is unnoticeable; one simply arrives by zip-line and the adventure begins. There’s a dream team of guides on hand for activities and excursions: mountain-biking on dusty trails and kayaking down narrow streams, orchid-hunting and anti-poaching patrols, and fly-fishing with Tulga, Bensley’s personal attendant in Mongolia, who is based here for stints throughout the year.

Who comes here?
Experienced travelers fresh from the temples at Angkor, comparing notes at the communal dinner table and sharing stories about backpacking in the 1980s.

Anything you'd change?
Air-conditioning seems incongruous in a tented camp, especially one that espouses sustainability.

Anything else we should know?
There are unlimited spa treatments (included in the room rate) and a sensational black steel bathtub-shaped pool. No spa; instead there’s hiking, mountain-biking, and kayaking. The minimum age of guests is 13 and there are always butlers around if supervision is required.

Is it worth it? Why?
It's expensive but worth it. This pioneering tented camp is raising the bar for the region, as well as pledging serious commitment to conservation.