Navutu Dreams Resort & Wellness Retreat
Siem's super spa
Rural outskirts of town
Navutu Dreams Resort & Spa hotel in Siem Reap feels like a blissful beach retreat, even though it's on the rural fringe of Cambodia's famous inland temple town. Light white-and-blue contemporary boudoirs nod to soothing Mediterranean style, while three pools, tropical gardens, smart Italian and Khmer dining, and an intimate spa make this a super-relaxing oasis.
Facilities
Rooms
28, including four suites.
Checkout
Noon; check-in, 2pm, both flexible subject to availability. The hotel will try to arrange late check-outs until 4pm when possible. Changing rooms are also up for grabs for guests who've checked out but want to hang by the pool.
More Details
Rates usually include a welcome drink, breakfast and one hearty fruit platter per stay.
Also
Mindfully stretch and de-stress with Navutu's daily yoga sessions; choose from Ashtanga, Hatha, Vinyasa, meditation and gentle flow classes.
Fitness Center
Free Internet Access
Laundry
On-Site Restaurant
Room Service
Spa
At the Hotel
Spa, gym, yoga lawn, boutique, concierge, free WiFi throughout. In rooms: minibar, own-label toiletries.
Our Favourite Rooms
We love the six upper-tier Grand Tour Rooms, divided into two sleek, white pavilions, each sharing a roof terrace with a dreamy day-bed for soaking up rural views at sunset. Set out like spacious apartments, they also sport enormous corner baths, a separate rain shower and walk-in wardrobe. The 12 entry-level Explorer Rooms offer showers only and a dash less privacy. For the best pool vistas, bag number 2, 3 or 4. All rooms feature a small terrace out front, for lounging alfresco.
Poolside
Navutu Dreams Resort & Wellness Retreat has not one, but three pretty pools, set around its central restaurant and fringed with shaded loungers, relaxation salas and white umbrellas. Exercise fans can swim up and down to their hearts' content in the linear freshwater lap pool, or flop around in the saltwater lounge pool. There's also the child-friendly plunge pool.
Spa
Book a pampering session in the intimate Navutu Spa, open from 9am until 10pm, where treatments span trad Khmer, Thai and tropical therapies inspired by the South Pacific, where Navutu's owners run a sister stay in Fiji. Go for a brightening coconut and papaya scrub, a hydrating aloe vera body wrap or a knot-banishing Thai massage.
Packing Tips
Bring snazzy swimwear, as the pools are front and centre here, so folk in the restaurant or glass-fronted rooms can check out your look. Leave space in your bag for buys from the smart lobby boutique, which sells quality Khmer scarves, handicrafts and bath products, as well as tribal art from Laos.
Also
Smoking is allowed on room terraces and in public areas only. The golden coconuts in your room double as Do Not Disturb signs.
Children
Very welcome, and Navutu's quiet setting, spacious gardens and pool make for a family-friendly getaway. Baby cots are free and extra beds for older kids cost US$20-25 a night. Babysitting costs US$12 an hour, ideally with one day's notice.
Gallery
Food & Drink
Top Table
Any of the tables at the restaurant's outer rim for aquatic views. We like the pew for two nearest the bar, overlooking the Sports Pool. For private dining, request a table on your terrace, by the pool, or for Grand Tour Room residents, up on your rooftop
Dress Code
Floaty linens and flip-flops will suit the relaxed resort mood.
Hotel Restaurant
Fringed by pools and gardens, simple, circular, open-sided Navutu Restaurant sits at the heart of the hotel, and is open day-long for tasty breakfasts of fruit and pastries, lunch, dinner and snacks. It offers the best of both culinary worlds, with delicious Italian fare inspired by its three owners Manfredi, Maddalena and Giovanna, and a creative southern Khmer menu whipped up by its talented local chef. Top Cambodian treats include grilled fish amoc wrapped in spiced nhor leaves, imperial curry in fresh coconut, and salad with mango, pepper and herbs. For European flavours, it's hard to resist the house-made tagliatelle with ragu' alla Bolognese, washed down with mango pannacotta or an affogato al caffé. Produce hails from organic gardens, and breakfast boxes can be ordered for sunrise temple tours.
Hotel Bar
Sharing space with the restaurant, Navutu Bar is the go-to spot for cocktails and an affordable list of tempting global wines, as well as juices, coffees, teas and soft drinks. Signature sips include passionfruit and mint caipiroskas and mango daiquiris, perfect for rewarding yourself after a hard day of temple-hopping.
Last Orders
Chef Ran keeps the kitchen whirring, with breakfast from 6.30am until 10am, lunch from 11am until 3pm, and dinner from 6pm until 11pm. The bar sees action from 11am until 10pm.
Room Service
Available from 6.30am until 10pm, free room service lets you raid the breakfast, restaurant and pool snacks menus. Favourites include salmon and avocado ciabattas or Asian starters such as Indonesian chicken satays.
Planes
Fly into Siem Reap International Airport (www.cambodia-airports.com), which receives direct flights from Bangkok (70 minutes), Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Luang Prabang (although not currently from Hong Kong), as well as domestic flights from capital Phnom Penh (40 minutes). For regional carriers, try Bangkok Airways (www.bangkokair.com), Silk Air (www.silkair.com), Air Asia (www.airasia.com), Jet Star (www.jetstar.com), Singapore Airlines (www.singaporeairlines.com) or Vietnam Airlines (www.vietnamairlines.com). If required, you can obtain a tourist visa on arrival for US$20 cash, plus one passport photo. The hotel is a 70-minute drive away and private transfers are available in a car for US$35 or in a van for US$45 each way.
Trains
There are no train connections to Siem Reap.
Automobiles
There's an on-site car park, but self-drive isn't permitted here, so we recommend hiring a chauffeur-driven car, tuk-tuk or moto (motorcycle) for getting around Siem Reap's bumpy, busy roads.
Worth Getting Out of Bed For
If you need a break from lounging by the pools, yoga or Pilates classes can be booked 24 hours in advance. Navutu Dreams' intimate spa is also a must. Guys should try the Royal Facial for Men, harnessing exfoliating sticky rice, a white mud mask and invigorating cucumber, or how about the honey-laced Queen Bee Facial for the girls? Coconut Shrubs body scrubs are just one of the tropical treatments up for grabs, or chill out with a Khmer, trad Thai or four-hands massage. Shopping addicts should hail a tuk-tuk to the Old Market to check out local produce and food stalls. For more take-home appeal, the Angkor Night Market's illuminated stands tout everything from scarves to jewellery and bags. You're right near many of the city's buzziest bars and restaurant. Obviously, visits to the jaw-dropping temples of Angkor are the numero uno activity in Siem Reap, with Navutu able to hook you up with tuk-tuk tours at sunrise, sunset or any time in between. For a more alternative experience if you're templed out, take a tour of the local villages of the Tonlé Sap Lake, where you can see crocodile and fish farms, houses, schools, temples and food markets all set on the water. The hotel can also arrange horse-riding, elephant safaris or bird-watching excursions, as well as cycling, dirt bike or motorbike rides, quad bike adventures or even Flomo tours (that's dune buggies for the uninitiated). As well as scoping outlying temples by funky forms of transport, you can arrange to visit villages, rice fields or remote jungle areas, or even take it all in from a helicopter or scenic flight. For culture vultures, there's the chance to check out the city's artisans, ceramicists, frangrance-cultivators or puppet-makers. Then again, you could just line up a game of golf...
Earn or Redeem Points with World of Hyatt
This Mr & Mrs Smith hotel participates in the World of Hyatt loyalty program. As a member, you can earn and redeem points and enjoy exclusive benefits for qualifying nights. .
