If Khmer authenticity is what you are seeking amongst the boutique hotels in Battambang, then the simple beauty of Les Maisons Wat Kor Hotel, Battambang can offer you exactly this, as well as the excellent boutique hotel standards that travellers have come to expect from Secret Retreats. This authentic wooden Khmer dwelling has been sensitively updated and offers comfort, a beautiful setting, a variety of outside spaces in which to relax and an experienced and multi-skilled team to cater to your every need.

Experience life on the river from the comfort of your hotel in Battambang

Whether you are an action-seeker or boat-tour enthusiast, there is something for everyone to enjoy along the banks and tributaries of the Sangkae River and the hotels in Battambang Cambodia are perfectly placed to share this fascinating river life with visitors to the region. Flowing through 27 communities and finishing in a lake (the Tonle Sap), this really is the way to experience Cambodian country living, away from the big cities and attractions. Your Secret Retreats hotel in Battambang can arrange a bespoke experience for you – whether you wish to go kayaking or take an organised tour of the river region, Les Maisons Wat Kor, Battambang will be delighted to organise this for you. As with all Secret Retreats properties, all staff are employed from the local communities and they are proud to share their home with guests. From watching children delightfully jumping and playing in the river, to exploring rural villages and getting to see how essential the river is to the communities who live here. Watching the fisherman who work the river and passing rural farming communities providing food for the region and beyond (Battambang is a major rice-growing region and supplies much of the nation’s staple ingredient) you are seeing a lifestyle unchanged in centuries.

Hotel Battambang style to ancient temples Battambang style

No visit to South East Asia would be complete without taking in the wonder and beauty of the temples, whether Buddhist, Hindu or in the case of Cambodia the modern day Buddhist temples alongside the magnificent Hindu/Buddhist structures from the Khmer Empire. Many of these enigmatic Khmer ruins that surround Battambang date back over 1,000years with their shrines still visited by locals. They remain active working places of worship, repositories for the hopes and dreams of the Cambodian people for a 1,000years or more. From what we consider the best hotel in Battambang, the staff at the resort can organise a visit to the Wat Ek Phnom, an 11th Century temple on a small hill approximately 11 kilometres from the centre of Battambang. During a wander through these atmospheric ruins you will discover the remains of Buddha images and an inside carving of an ancient tug-of-war with two teams pulling on a serpent – we won’t say any more but the losing team appears to have come to quite a gruesome end. If you are seeking something altogether more colourful and intact, then a visit to the Ta Dumbong Kro Aung Statue is a must. Both places are a major draw for local people and there is nothing the Khmer people like more than an outside gathering and a celebration, so you might well see groups of locals, sitting on raffia mats, sharing food and laughter reminding you of the simple pleasures that life has to offer. Ask the team at your hotel in Battambang City for recommendations on when would be the best day and time to visit.

Uniquely Battambang experiences await the Secret Retreats guests

The resilience and inspired pragmatism of the Cambodian people is to be celebrated, and perfectly exemplified by Battambang’s ‘Nori’ or ‘Bamboo Train’. There is a train line from this region that runs all the way to Phnom Penh but sections of the track ran into disrepair during and after the years of the Khmer Rouge regime. The Battambang section of the track is 7 kilometres in length and the locals devised a unique system to navigate it. The ‘Nori’ (probably originating from the word ‘lorry’) is a vehicle unique to Cambodia. Constructed in villages they are vehicles that are essentially a bamboo flatbed truck, set on wheels designed to make use of the railway track and jerry rigged to tractor engines. Truly unique, you won’t find a railway journey like this anywhere else in the world. And as you sit directly on the bamboo platform with the wind racing through your hair, should another Nori approach you from the opposite direction (there is only one track), you may well become an active participant in lifting your own transport from the track to let it pass. Jungle pragmatism at its best. Your Secret Retreats concierge is ready to assist you with selecting the best of the hotels in Battambang Cambodia for your visit and ensure you don’t miss any of the unique, fascinating and fun experiences that await visitors to Battambang too. Do not overlook the province of Battambang when planning your visit to Cambodia and definitely treat yourself to the comfort and style of our gorgeous resort in Battambang. It has the Secret Retreats seal of approval that you just know you can trust.