Occupying the top 14 floors of the Vattanac Capital tower in downtown Phnom Penh is Rosewood Phnom Penh, the crown jewel of the luxury hospitality scene in Cambodia.
The Vattanac Capital tower is one of the most iconic features of Cambodia’s skyline. The multi-use tower is designed by famed British architecture firm, whose impressive body of work includes London’s Home Office building and Vauxhall Cross, Seoul’s Incheon International Airport, Beijing’s China Zun and South Railway Station, and a little project in Singapore called the Jurong East High Speed Rail Terminus.
Vattanac Capital itself features luxury shopping on the first floor, with brands such as Burberry and Bottega Veneta setting up shop. Offices take up the 2nd to 23rd floor, while the top 14 floors of this 37-storey building, as mentioned, houses Rosewood Phnom Penh. At its opening in 2012, the building – then only the second skyscraper in Phnom Penh, won the “Best Commercial Development (South East Asia)” award at the South East Asia Property Awards in Singapore in December 2012. It’s the perfect place to house one of Phnom Penh’s best hotels.
I would put Rosewood Phnom Penh in the same category as nearby Raffles Hotel Le Royal (both hotels are a 5-minute walk apart from each other) in that they stand out distinctively from the other 5-star hotels in Phnom Penh due to a stronger sense of identity, and the elevated offerings they have within their premises. Its excellence has been recognised recently when Travel+Leisure Asia lauded it as the Best City Hotel in Asia this year, a pretty impressive follow-up to 2022, when it placed at number ten for hotels in Southeast Asia by Condé Nast Traveler’s 2022 Readers’ Choice Awards. Rosewood Phnom Penh is also a fantastic events venue. It was the site of the launch of our sister title, Prestige Cambodia, who held their Prestige Evolution Launch Party within the premises.
There are many things that Rosewood Phnom Penh does well, but what truly sets it apart from other luxury hotels is its impeccable service and efficiency, its epicurean options, the sheer quality of its rooms and the magnificence of the Sora experience.
Gorgeous View, Better Cocktails: Sora Bar
The Rosewood Phnom Penh isn’t just one of the best luxury hotels in Phnom Penh and indeed, Cambodia. It is also the purveyor of the finest cocktails in the country, having played host to some of the most talented mixologists in the world. At the rooftop sits Sora, a sky bar that is arguably one of the most stylish lifestyle destinations in Phnom Penh.
Perched on the 37th floor of the building, Sora, which means ‘sky’ in Japanese, looks out to Phnom Penh’s cityscape and the great Mekong River. Its indoor area has the trappings of the most stylish modern speakeasy, with plush, premium leather and wood furnishings, while its outdoor area is a gorgeous cantilevered terrace with the stunning views mentioned earlier.
Rosewood Phnom Penh’s Director of Bars, Bob Louison, has aspirations of getting Sora into the World’s 50 Best Bars list, through a two-pronged approach of excellence and collaboration. In 2022, for example, it played host to an industry-defining guest session with Giacomo Giannotti, the master mixologist at Barcelona’s Paridiso, voted the World’s Best Bar of 2022.
But Sora isn’t just a pretty place — the cocktails here are world-class. Fittingly, the cocktails are chimeric in quality, combining Cambodian ingredients and Japanese folklore in expertly crafted cocktails. Highlights include rice-based cocktails such as the cognac-based concoction featuring toasted rice Jewel Princess and the God of the Seas, which features brown rice-infused London Dry Gin blended with dry vermouth and rice vinegar for an elegant and spirit-forward, the delicate rice notes lend a silky-smooth finish to this unique and smoky twist on a Dry Martini. The Tanuki is also a must-try for its distinct Cambodian palm sugar caramel notes, which goes amazingly with the Diplomático rum base. Our favourite has to be the Sora 75 — a twist on the classic champagne cocktail, French 75. The renowned Kampot Pepper of Cambodia makes the difference here. Globally revered as the world’s most aromatic pepper, it lends floral and spicy fragrances to this clean and refreshing drink.
For those who prefer to stick to the classics, Sora does them exceptionally well. We tried an Old-Fashioned and a Negroni — we asked the bar staff to surprise us with the base whiskey and rum respectively, and they surprised us with complex but palate-pleasing flavour notes.
Delectable Epicurean Options
Rosewood Phnom Penh boasts four restaurants — Brasserie Louis, steakhouse Cuts, Japanese modern Izakaya concept IZA and Chinese restaurant Zhan Liang.
We had the lobster salad – the vegetables were noticeably fresh and crisp, and the lobsters were succulent and delectable. There is obvious care and deliberation in how they source their ingredients, and we were thoroughly impressed.
Brasserie Louis has an amazing continental breakfast spread, combining the best of Western and Asian options. The gravlax (exquisitely fresh salmon cured with salt, sugar and dill) was particularly amazing, as are the wide varieties of juices and breads available. Outside of breakfast, the menu comprises of French comfort food and Cambodian favorites, all crafted passionately with the finest locally sourced ingredients.
IZA, a Japanese Izakaya-style dining space, features three signature kitchens, the interactive robata-yaki grill, the sushi and sashimi station, and the refined noodle corner. That last part isn’t just a bit of marketing chest-puffing — there are some truly astounding ramen here, such as the Tokyo Tonkotsu Ramen (Soy), a delectable combination of egg noodle, creamy pork broth, Chashu pork belly, sweet corn, Ajitsuke egg in Shoyu soup or the Ninniku Ramen (Garlic Soy), which takes the same ingredients as above, but places them in a piquant garlic soup.
Our favourite among Rosewood Phnom Penh’s dining options has to be Cuts, a sophisticated steakhouse that specializes in hand-cut artisanal meats and has an extensive wine collection (over 3,000 bottles from 279 varieties). It is also one of very few places that serves the full blood Wagyu Mayura Beef, also known as “Chocolate Wagyu” — a truly rare epicurean delight. To earn this moniker, the cattle are fed a special diet that a blend of grains, including chocolate, which imparts a succulent and sweet flavor to the meat.
The full blood Wagyu Mayura Beef is part of Cuts’ spectacular five-course Tasting Menu, which also includes their fresh oysters and their amazing Chocolate Banana for dessert, an indulgent dish consisting of Milk Chocolate Mousse, Banana Cream, Caramel Popcorn and Vanilla Ice Cream. We highly recommend choosing the wine pairing option to fully enjoy all of Cuts’ amazing oofferings.
Spectacular Suites
But what truly defines Rosewood Phnom Penh — or any other hotel for that matter – are the rooms and the creature comforts they offer. There are three rooms (Executive, Premier River — both 50 square meters — and Grand Premier, the largest one at 62 square meters) and three suites (Mekong, Manor and Rosewood). Family rooms are also available — they are reconfigurations of the above rooms and suites.
The suites are each an exquisite statement in world-class hospitality. Each one comes with a grand living room featuring arresting contemporary artwork and decor, and a spacious bathroom with its own TV set (something I didn’t think I’d appreciate until I stayed at Rosewood Phnom Penh) facing a bathtub by the window.
The Mekong Suite is an elegant residential-style one-bedroom suite (65 sq. m) offering enhanced privacy and views of the Mekong River coupled with a complimentary four-hour city tour, evening drinks and late check-out until 2 p.m. The Manor Suite is a generously sized, natural light-filled one-bedroom suite, with elegant foyer and spacious living room (82 sq. m) and the same complimentary offerings as the Mekong Suite. The Rosewood Suite, perfect for C-level executives who need to hold meetings in their rooms, is a contemporary one-bedroom suite offering magnificent views of the Mekong River (95 sq. m), late check-out until 6 p.m., four pieces of pressing per day and unlimited evening drinks.
Above those are the Signature Suites — magnificent homes-away-from-home designed to accommodate society’s elite. The Monivong House is a one-bedroom suite offering a distinctly well-furnished living room and private study which occupies 160 square meters, almost twice the size of the Manor Suite. The other signature suite is the Norodom House, a vast 225 square meters urban retreat with bespoke furnishing and a refined sensibility, featuring a spacious dining room and dressing chamber.
With the bar, the food options and the amazing creature comforts, we found it incredibly difficult to come down from such great heights at the Rosewood Phnom Penh.
Rosewood Phnom Penh is at Monivong Boulevard, 66, Phnom Penh 12021. For reservations, visit https://www.rosewoodhotels.com//en/phnom-penh.
