Cambodia Wellness Retreat: Spa, Yoga & Khmer Countryside

A typical day at the Farmhouse starts with breakfast in the main restaurant — the reviews repeatedly call out the food as the best guests found in Southeast Asia, with most of it grown on the farm you can see from your bungalow. Mornings are good for yoga; there are three shalas on the property, and the resort is regularly booked by groups running their own retreats. If you would rather start with exercise, the air-conditioned gym looks out over the turquoise saltwater pool, so you can watch the water while you train and then walk straight out for a recovery swim.

Afternoons tend to be for spa treatments or excursions. The Sanctuary Spa menu covers deep tissue, aromatherapy, Khmer massage and lymphatic drainage, plus facials, body care and Southeast Asian rituals. The sauna and natural stone plunge pool are a short walk from the treatment rooms and are one of the few facilities of this kind in rural Cambodia. The saltwater pool beside the spa is adults-only, which keeps it calm.

The excursion programme runs daily and ranges from a two-hour outing to a full day. Guests frequently mention the farm and school tour as the standout — you see the vegetable production, the school and the community projects that the resort funds. Other options include village visits away from the usual tourist routes.

Food is a big part of the stay. Chef Mariya runs the kitchen and guests single her out by name in reviews, particularly for the fine dining dinners and the cooking class. Meals are served in the restaurant, with a poolside bar for drinks — several with a local twist — in the evenings.

What separates this from a standard Cambodian spa hotel is the setup: it is a farm, a school and a resort on one site, and the room rates fund the project. The property is child-friendly, though the spa pool and some spa areas are kept for adults. Guests also note the pricing is on the high side compared with other Cambodian resorts, and that the money goes back into the project rather than a chain.

The location is Sameakki Mean Chey District in Kampong Chhnang Province, roughly two hours from Phnom Penh. It is countryside: green, quiet, kept paths and extensive gardens, with the nearest city a drive away. If you want nightlife or a beach, this is not that trip. If you want yoga, massage, farm food and somewhere genuinely peaceful to reset, it is.

What's included

- Accommodation in bungalows or traditional Khmer houses - Access to the 8,000 m² Sanctuary Spa - Use of three yoga shalas - Access to the air-conditioned gym - Use of the large saltwater pool and adults-only spa pool - Sauna and natural stone plunge pool - Daily guided excursion programme (two hours to full day) - Farm and school tour of the Smiling Gecko project - Meals prepared with farm-grown produce - Poolside bar access

What's not included

- International flights - Airport transfers - Spa treatments (booked separately) - Cooking class (booked separately) - Travel insurance - Personal expenses - Alcoholic drinks - Tips and gratuities