The Quay

A coolly stylish but surprisingly cosy cocoon in Phnom Penh

Step into the crumbling, sweltering, diesel-fumed chaos of Phnom Penh - and step right out again. The Quay is how modern Asians feel they ought to live, all slick, smooth, minimal surfaces, vast LCD TVs, everything recessed, and no hint at where in the world you might be. There’s not a shape in sight here that isn’t ergonomic, from the inflatable-looking ceiling fans to the Arne Jacobson bucket seats, and not a vase placed anywhere without at least 2 same-but-different sisters to keep it fashionable company. The little rooftop bar alone has generated more pages in regional style magazines than the whole of the rest of Cambodia taken together. Stars have posed here, and not just the once.

This tightly run ship is all about first-class service and carefully thought-out facilities, with just 16 rooms. On top, the hotel is big on environmental awareness, with low-impact or recyclable materials and the use of halogen and strip lighting instead of incandescent bulbs, for a better, brighter, cooler future.

Highs

• Adorable, impeccably trained staff
• Smart but surprisingly comfortable minimalist design, with meticulous attention to detail
• Panoramic river views from the suite balconies
• A stylish rooftop bar and good restaurant downstairs
• A carbon neutral hotel - offsets its own output and calculates guests' carbon footprint then suggests local schemes they can follow to offset
• All the mod cons money can buy, from DVD player to large Samsung LCD TV, with WiFi access in all rooms

Lows

• The hotel has changed hands since our last visit and we're yet to experience a stay under the new owners
• Laminated surfaces aren't the most practical choice in the tropics, and already there is evidence of wear and tear
• Studied characterless design, so you could be anywhere in the world, probably on MTV
• Sisowath Quay is busy and bustling, seemingly 24 hours a day - bring earplugs
• Slick design has its flaws: no windows in Standard Rooms, no way to control the icy ambient illumination on the balcony at night, and the waist-high balustrade blocks the view when you’re sitting down