Nestled away from the city center, tucked down an unassuming dirt road surrounded by trees and rice fields is one of the most beautiful resorts I have ever had the privilege to be a guest at. But before we arrived at this extremely special destination, we had a quick 30 minute smooth flight from Phnom Penh with views of the beautiful Tonlé Sap lake out of our windows. Shortly afterwards, we arrived at Siem Reap, Cambodia’s brand new international airport terminal about an hour outside of the main city. After piling into the resort’s luxury mini van (with a comfortable car seat happily provided), and after an hour-long drive through luscious green fields and numerous temples and pagodas, we finally arrived at our home for the next few days – Zannier Phum Baitang.
I first visited Siem Reap in 2019, and I immediately fell in love with the city and its surroundings. Siem Reap is a major cultural hub for the kingdom of Cambodia, with the historical and iconic Angkor Wat temple being the main focus of tourism in the city. Siem Reap itself is shrouded in rich history, some of that history being extremely dark and horrific back in the 1970s during the reign of the Khmer Rouge. In the early 2000’s, tourism to the historic site of Angkor began to grow, and in recent years Siem Reap and Angkor have welcomed millions of visitors each year. In 2015, Zannier opened their first Cambodia property just outside the city center – Phum Baitang.
Our Villa
Upon arrival at Zannier Phum Baitang, we were welcomed inside the covered outdoor lobby and treated to fresh, cold drinks, with little bean being doted upon almost immediately. After a brief welcome, we were whisked off into a large golf cart that was happily waiting for us to escort us to our villa. We stepped out the back of the lobby and found ourselves outside, staring at the gorgeous property we would be calling home for a few nights. A long wooden trail leads through the resort’s own rice paddies, and they use their own grown rice at their restaurants. Tucked away from the main buildings are the resort’s gorgeous thatched-roofed villas. Phum Baitang received the Green Globe certification in April 2022, recognizing its efforts for eco-tourism and sustainability.
Phum Baitang is an all-villa hotel. The 45 villas are all inspired by Khmer architecture, with either terrace villas or pool villas to choose from. For our first stay, the beau and I decided to stay at a terrace villa without a pool, only because little bean was still learning how to swim and we felt a little uneasy having an open pool at the villa. However, since the resort knew we were bringing our young daughter with us, they arranged for us to stay at the villa closest to where the resort’s water buffalo liked to eat and play, which meant every morning little bean got to say hello to them and every night she got to wish them sweet dreams.
We felt right at home at Phum Baitang. Little bean did, too. While she did enjoy jumping up and down on mommy and daddy’s large king bed, she was all set up with her own sleeping cot. The bathtub was exceptionally large, and even though I never found the time to have a good, relaxing soak in it, little bean sure did. From the windows right next to the bathtub, she could look out and see the water buffalo happily grazing under their shaded hut. Besides the extremely large, comfortable bed for mom and dad to completely pass out at the end of each day, our favorite spot was our private covered terrace. Once little bean was settled for sleep each evening, the beau and I would order glasses of wine to our terrace and have some one-on-one time as we listened to the nighttime insects, the distant rumbles of thunder, and the white noise of little bean’s baby monitor (we travel with this one which doesn’t require WiFi).
Leisure at Phum Baitang
After spending a few days exploring a lot of Phnom Penh, our visit to Siem Reap was meant to be more leisurely. We had two excursions planned outside of our hotel during our stay, which Phum Baitang happily arranged for us, but mostly we just wanted to swim, drink fresh coconuts, chase geckos, ride bikes, and lounge around. Little bean was still quite little at the time of our visit (she was just about to turn 2) so we didn’t want to overwhelm her with activities, but the resort was perfect for our family to unwind for a few days.
After spending our mornings either visiting rescued elephants or learning how to make Khmer pottery, we would happily change into our swimsuits in the afternoon before a delicious poolside lunch and then splash around for hours under the warm Cambodian sun. I lost count how many fresh coconuts and fresh passionfruit little bean and I shared, and I also lost count on how many passionfruit mocktails I kept ordering. Phum Baitang also has bikes to get around the property, so it was fun getting to ride around and wind through trails amongst the villas. Little bean mostly enjoyed looking for the water buffalo.
Dinner Dates at Phum Baitang
With a little one in tow, we decided not to eat dinner outside of Phum Baitang on each night of our visit, but that was perfectly fine because Phum Baitang features two restaurants that brought out all the romance and tranquility we were hoping for. We would always bring our stroller whenever we arrived for dinner, even though little bean is quite capable of walking or being carried. The reason why we brought our stroller is because this is where little bean would fall asleep after eating. Phum Baitang was always so extremely thoughtful when it came to little bean, ensuring that her order of Khmer noodle dishes or pasta was always put in right away and brought out as soon as possible, sometimes even before the beau and I ordered for ourselves, because around 7:30 pm would be when little bean would start to get sleepy.
I’d rock little bean in my arms underneath the starlit sky, with tropical insects singing their nightly tunes as I made peaceful shushing sounds that lulled her to sleep. Within minutes she would be fast asleep, and we would lay her down in her stroller alongside a peaceful white noise machine. As little bean slept by my side, the beau and I would get to have a romantic date night and indulge in our favorite Khmer dishes. We tried not to stay out too late, even with little bean peacefully sleeping, and so after a lovely dinner date we would quietly trek back to our villa, change a very sleepy little bean into her pajamas, and place her into her bed for a good night’s sleep.
Saying Goodbye
After 3 nights at Phum Baitang, it was very hard for us to say goodbye to our little escape from the world. After a very early wake up before sunrise, we found ourselves on the road to the airport again to head back to Phnom Penh. Phum Baitang was an excellent luxurious escape, and was the perfect home base for us as we gently explored more of Siem Reap with little bean. It’s very easy to see why the resort is award-winning, as it respectfully appreciates Khmer and Cambodian culture from the architecture to the excursions to the cuisine. But before we said our final goodbyes, the team happily handed us a large packet of rice that was hand picked on their property from their very own rice paddies, which are ploughed by the very water buffalo that little bean fell in love with. This certainly was not our last visit to the environmentally conscious resort, as we are already planning on returning one day. For now, we are enjoying the precious memories we made as a family at one of the most stunning places we have ever had the privilege to call home for a few days.
