Knai Bang Chatt

Le Corbusier-inspired villas, an infinity pool with a view over the Gulf of Thailand, and world-class seafood, in a quaint Cambodian fishing village.

• The KBC rooftop candlelight dinner offers guests a chance to dine under the stars on the roof of the iconic “Blue Villa” (once owned by the governor of Kep.) This private, four-course, wine-paired meal can be arranged for up to eight people.
• Just next door, the Sailing Club rents Hobie cats, windsurf boards, and two-person kayaks, for exploring Kep’s curvaceous coastline.
• Proximity to Kep’s famous crab market makes Knai Bang Chatt a culinary heaven for seafood lovers. Don’t miss Kimly Restaurant, all the way at the end of the market’s row of waterfront crab shacks, for ultra fresh crab prepared just about any way you can imagine.

Knai Bang Chatt (which means “rainbow” in Khmer) is a colorful waterfront property consisting of five Modernist-style villas painted in playful shades of blue, red, and brown, which together offer 18 stylishly appointed rooms. Three of the villas were built in the 1960s during Kep’s heyday as a popular getaway for wealthy French and Khmer vacationers and were owned by the governor of Kep, a friend of King Sihanouk, and the Head of Customs. After the Khmer Rouge occupation in the 1970s (when Kep became a battleground), the villas were abandoned and fell into great disrepair. Only in 2003 were the buildings now belonging to Knai Bang Chatt restored to their former grandeur. At this time another villa was built in the same clean-lined Modernist-style as the original architecture and in 2012 a fifth villa was added to the property.

All of the rooms at Knai Bang Chatt are light-filled and elegantly furnished with local antiques including mid-century modern wooden dressers and bookshelves as well as more ancient artifacts like handmade clay pots and vases. The mix of traditional Cambodian and modern French-inspired designs gives Knai Bang Chatt a unique aesthetic, but the interior décor intentionally takes a back seat to the natural surroundings. Despite their hard geometric lines, the villas blend in with the luscious trees and landscaping and the best rooms are considered as such because of their sea views. Room number 13 on the upper floor of the red villa (originally home to Kep’s Head of Customs) offers a stunning vista out over the pool to the narrow palm tree-lined beach. The hotel’s most luxurious accommodation, the Knai Bang Chatt suite (room 18), takes over the entire second floor of the newest villa and treats guests to a glorious sea view from a spacious private terrace.

While the rooms are comfortable and stylish, guests at Knai Bang Chatt will likely spend much of their time lounging and loafing outside. The hotel’s seafront property is sprinkled with plenty of cozy, private nooks for reading or napping including shaded daybeds, comfy lounge chairs, simple hammocks, and rattan swings. Children will enjoy playing by the pool or along the small sandy beach (not a swimming beach). And for those who need help unwinding, the on-site spa is open from 10am until 10pm and offers traditional Khmer massages as well as treatments featuring local products such as the “Kep salt scrub” and the “KBC organic rice scrub.”

Sporty types can rent sailing equipment or bicycles from The Sailing Club next door and explore the small and charming village of Kep by land or sea. The hotel can also arrange guided outings by car whereby guests will discover more about Kep’s unique landscape, history, and culture. Those interested in architecture may choose to tour some of the abandoned Modernist villas in the countryside, including the former residence of King Father Norodom Sihanouk. Beach lovers, on the other hand, might opt for a day trip to Rabbit Island (Koh Tonsay) for some snorkeling and a private beach BBQ of fresh seafood. Seafood fans, meanwhile, can book an excursion on a local fishing boat where they will learn traditional fishing techniques and can have their catch of the day prepared for dinner at The Sailing Club.

Dining is a main event at Knai Bang Chatt and when hunger strikes, there are multiple options: order snacks by the pool, to your room, or amble over to one of the hotel’s two restaurants. The Strand, a bi-level restaurant just in front of the reception, offers fine dining for lunch and dinner (this is also where breakfast is served each morning.) Guests can sit upstairs in the white tablecloth dining room and enjoy an air-conditioned vantage over the outdoor restaurant and the beach below, or on the main level, which features a long wooden communal table as well as two-tops and four-tops protected from the sun and wind by a peaked thatched roof. Chef Janine Fourie’s ambitious menu features local ingredients in a variety of traditional Khmer dishes as well as familiar Western preparations, ranging from Khmer-style steamed crab to tamarind palm sugar glazed pork belly. A romantic dinner for two can be reserved for a private driftwood table lit by hurricane lanterns on a small area of sandy beach in front of the restaurant. A more casual option for lunch and dinner is The Sailing Club, a relaxed seaside restaurant/bar housed in a former fisherman’s cottage. Decorated in nautical blue and white, the spacious wraparound deck is the perfect place to enjoy delicious crab cakes and a sundowner during happy hour (5-7pm, daily.) The Sailing Club’s chill-out beach bar vibe is completed by the indoor pool table, outside Ping-Pong table, and rattan globe lanterns that cast golden reflections over the sea.

Driving distances

• Sihanoukville to Kampot: 1-½ hours
• Kampot to Kep: 45 min.–1 hour

Those looking for an off the-beaten-path destination that doesn’t lack for comfortable accommodations, will appreciate the harmony of Knai Bang Chatt’s low-key luxury and Kep’s charming fishing village vibe.

The closest airports are in Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville. Kep is approximately a 2-½ hour drive from Phnom Penh and a 2-hour drive from Sihanoukville, mostly on well-paved scenic highways. An air-conditioned taxi can be organized through your hotel. If you are coming to Kep from the airport in Sihanoukville, the two-hour drive on National Highway 3 will take you past roadside villages and markets, cattle herds, and rice paddies. The Bokor Mountains will be visible, in the distance, off to the left. On the way to Kep, or even as a ½-day or day-trip from Kep, it is worth stopping off at the riverside town of Kampot, known for its colonial-style buildings (some grand, some crumbling) and tree-lined quays along the north bank of the Teuk Chhou River. The surrounding province offers natural wonders also worth exploring including Bokor National Park, salt flats, and uninhabited islands. The region is also known for its pepper and it is possible to visit a pepper plantation in the area. At the very least, while in Kampot, epicureans should sample a traditional lok lak (spicy beef) or amok (mild curry cooked in a banana leaf) made with the piquant local delicacy at one of the many riverfront restaurants.

Once in Kep, you will not need a car. You can rent a motorbike or bicycle to get around town on your own, or there are plenty of tuk-tuks for hire. The famed crab market is a 10-minute walk from Knai Bang Chatt and if you opt for an excursion that will take you further afield, the hotel will arrange a diver and/or guide.