Letter From the Editor, October 2015

Excursions by launch, bicycle, kayak and oxcart took us to remote areas, where Cambodia’s traditional culture survives gloriously intact.

Although I review cruise ships infrequently, sometimes a new vessel comes along that is so exceptional it merits prominent coverage. The Aqua Mekong riverboat debuted last December and voyages between My Tho in Vietnam and Siem Reap in Cambodia. We signed up for a three-night cruise that began in Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh. The Mekong is a floating hideaway that accommodates just 40 passengers in exemplary comfort and style. Thanks to the oversight of Michelin-starred chef David Thompson — whose restaurant nahm in Bangkok is justly regarded as one of the finest in Asia — the food was consistently delicious. And excursions by launch, bicycle, kayak and oxcart took us to remote areas, where Cambodia’s traditional culture survives gloriously intact. At the end of our voyage, we concluded that this was one of the most enjoyable trips we have ever taken.

Disembarking in Siem Reap, we seized the opportunity to revisit incomparable Angkor Wat and the hundreds of surrounding temples. Although I already recommend two hotels in Siem Reap — including Amansara, long a favorite of Hideaway Report subscribers — on this occasion, we stayed at the new Park Hyatt, the brand’s first hotel in Southeast Asia. With striking art deco décor, suites swathed in Cambodian silk, and an ideal location close to the Old French Quarter, it provided an exceptionally pleasant sojourn.

We concluded our Asian journey with three blissful days of relaxation on Song Saa, an exquisite private island resort in the Gulf of Thailand. Although it was hard to tear ourselves away from our magnificent suite, we did spend a memorable morning in the resort’s Khmer cookery school, and an afternoon snorkeling in the pristine waters of the surrounding marine park.

I seldom need an excuse to return to Bath, one of my favorite English cities, but the July opening of The Gainsborough Bath Spa, a 99-room hotel located within steps of Bath Abbey and The Grand Pump Room, made a visit almost mandatory. The centerpiece of the property is a remarkable spa, built on the foundations of a Roman bath complex, to which thermal waters are piped directly from the nearby Hetling Spring. The Spa Village Bath is a spectacular facility, but much of the pleasure we experienced came from the knowledge that, 1,700 years ago, the city’s Roman inhabitants were relaxing in exactly the same spot.