The Quay

Rooms

There are 8 rooms and 8 suites, all fashioned from the same style bible. Each is a long single design unit with warm teak-effect panelling and floors alternating with pristine white walls, jet-black laminate, creamy vinyl and frosted glass. Most serviced apartments in Bangkok and Singapore aspire to look like this, though not all manage.

The 8 Standard Rooms have only a frosted glass panel to let light in; they lack windows to the exterior and don't have balconies. The 8 Panoramic Suites are magnificent; definitely worth the extra money. Their balconies are small clean decks with chairs and a table (but, being picky, the waist-high balustrade blocks the view when you’re sitting down, and you can't control the ambient illumination at night).

Inside, Arne Jacobson Swan chairs provide comfort, facing the large LCD TV and thunderous Bose speaker on its marble wall-mounted sideboard. A swirly-wallpaper painting breaks up the spare wall behind. The Minotto bed invites you to lounge in the daytime too with a hairy throw and matching cushions.

Where the kitchenette would be in a condo is a raised, tiled platform, a spacious desk overlooking your realm, with a minibar and coffee- and tea-making facilities on either side of you. The impression of a command post is heightened by a bendy reading lamp that looks like a microphone. You are also given a game of solitaire, the meatspace variety with metal balls.

The large bathroom wouldn’t be out of place in a swish nightclub. It has a small but deep bathtub and big shower cubicle, all arranged around a kind of central console with sink, behind which the loo modestly peeks out (with a water-gun, thank heavens). Walls are of dark green natural stone, interspersed with floor-to-ceiling mirrors. Interesting black soap matches the décor, at a guess made with tamarind.

Features include:

• Air conditioning
• Minibar/fridge

Eating

Breakfast is a generous choice of breads or cereal, followed by warm dishes, Asian or Western. The croissant with lemon curd was passable and eggs Benedict were excellent. A small English fry-up was also flawless. There’s fresh juice and tea or coffee.

For lunch and dinner, Chow, the in-house restaurant, serves impeccable modern Asian cuisine; the emphasis on the interplay of fresh ingredients and stylish presentation. Marinated duck salad with Asian vegetables was deliciously crunchy and came in dainty piles on a plate inspired by a prehistoric narwhal boat or some such. It was followed by juicy, deeply flavoured sirloin steak on a bed of onion and potato noodles, with young peppercorns and a little mound of chopped onion on top. Other dishes include Thai-inspired curries and soup. Desserts are of the soy-milk/coconut/pandanus variety that it takes a born Asian to appreciate.

For lunch, there's a set menu of crunchy starters and noodle-based mains, with a drink.

The décor in the restaurant is minimalist: large white chairs set around small round tables with a feature wall down one side, opposite the long bar. Due to the manmade surfaces and the indirect fluorescent lighting, some liken it to eating in an expensive fridge, one with a penetrating smell of lemongrass, to boot. Best to sit at one of two tables in the street, or ask them to serve your food under the stars at the buzzy rooftop bar.

For alternatives, simply wander along the riverfront and see what takes your fancy, or take a motorbike to Comme à la Maison, at 13 Street 57, for a classic French dinner.

Features include:

• Minibar/fridge
• Restaurant
• Restaurants nearby

Activities

By Day:

• Explore the sights of historic Phnom Penh. The National Museum with its Angkor-era treasures is a short walk away, and the Royal Palace (just) visible from your room. The Central Market with its billion cheap knockoff goods is also not far. A million tuk-tuk and motorcycle drivers are eager to take you to the Killing Fields and the Tuol Sleng prison museum, with their solemn memories of the Khmer Rouge atrocities. The hotel can arrange guided tours
  
  
• Wander around the old town, peer at the tenements and crumbling colonial mansions, watch fish die in the markets, or have a leisurely drink by the riverfront in any one of 100 restaurants and cafés
  
  
• Pay your respects at S-21, also known as Tuol Sleng. This erstwhile high school has a bloody past as the prison where the Khmer Rouge tortured many of its inmates before sending those who survived to their death in the Killing Fields. It’s not a happy place, but it is an important one, and it survives pretty much as it was 30 years ago
  
  
• Take a tuk-tuk to the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek. Just 14km southwest of the town, this was the final resting place of S-21’s prisoners. 17,000 people died here and you'll see mass graves plus a memorial tower filled with skulls. It's a shocking reminder of Pol-Pot's regime and well worth going to
  
  
• Shop for things you should, like ‘ethically’ produced fabrics and Angkor sandstone reproductions, from nearby shops like Sentosa Silk or the National Museum
  
  
• Shop for things you shouldn’t, from Valium and Viagra to the stolen intellectual property of starving artists like Phil Collins or Jerry Bruckheimer

• Meet people you should, like the clean-limbed independent travellers who throng the bars and restaurants along the river and beyond. This part of town goes to bed quite early
  
  
• Meet people you shouldn’t. For nightlife, the legendary Martini has moved to a distant part of town (about $2 on a motorbike), but in the murk under the sprawling trees unmentionable unions are still being formed, pool is being played with a vengeance, and ghostly blockbusters play on the dark projection screen. Gangsters still haunt Heart of Darkness ($1 on a motorbike), so by all means dance the night away to the ear-splitting R&B pop, but do move over if a local gentleman lodges a claim to your chair

Activities on site or nearby include:

• Nightlife
• Shopping / markets

Kids

Children are welcome, but in truth this is not really a great place for kids as there are no special facilities and it is set up for adults. However, cots, babysitting and extra beds are available on request. Kids 4-11 stay for free in existing bedding and are charged at 50% for meals; 12+ in extra beds are charged extra.

Family friendly accommodation:

Cots Available, Extra Beds Available

For more family-friendly places, see our Kids Collection

Location

The Quay is situated on Sisowath Quay on the northeast of Phnom Penh, on the confluence of the Mekong and Tongle Sap rivers, within walking distance to National Museum, the Royal Palace, the Silver Pagoda. It’s an hour's flight from Bangkok, 30 minutes drive from airport and around 10 minutes from bus and boat station.

By Air
Fly to Phnom Penh International Airport (10km). Most neighbouring countries have direct flights into Phnom Penh and a few from further afield. Click on the links below for airline information.

From the Airport
As a rule of thumb in Indochina you should book a transfer through your hotel from the airport. Public transport is confined to only the very biggest cities and taxis are not always reliable, however, a taxi will cost from around US$9.

Detailed directions will be sent to you when you book through i-escape.com.

More on getting to Cambodia and getting around