
Love among the ruins
DeparturesBensley designed his first hotel in Cambodia in 2003, in Siem Reap, the resort town that serves as a portal to the temples of Angkor. Over the next decade he partnered with Sokoun Chanpreda, a Cambodian entrepreneur with a philanthropic bent, on the 39-room Shinta Mani Angkor and the 66-room Shinta Mani Shack, both Siem Reap boutique hotels with typical Bensley flair: lavish gardens, extravagant accommodations, and vibrant decor in high Cambodia style.