MODERN WELCOMING When you enter the building you arrive at a very tranquil and delicate reception area decorated with an antique elements that contrast the modern architecture at this part of the hotel.

It is early, around six o´clock in Siem Reap. The sun is steadily rising. In an otherwise normal street, a huge wall on one side is easy to hurl by without noticing. The anonymous, but clearly modern piece of architecture, is in fact an entrance to what is rated as a luxury retreat called Sala Lodges. When entering you go through a reception area and a neat little restaurant before the walls opens up and reveals an overtly green and lush estate scattered with old Khmer houses. The view in the tender morning sun is breathtaking.

– The idea of original traditional houses came from my wife Simone. In the Swiss Alps there is a little village called Ballenberg where all the houses come from different valleys in our home country.

Arne Lugeon is owner and General Manager at Sala Lodges. It is no coincidence that he and his wife Simone Lugeon decided to create a hotel far away from home together with another Swiss couple called Adrien Ruffy and Celine Goumaz.

– We are all travel enthusiasts. My wife has been in the travel business for 35 years and I grew up in the hospitality sector with grandparents and parents running hotels and restaurants. We moved to Asia with our three sons in August 2000. Adrien and Celine are alumni of the University of Lausanne and went to Cambodia in 2008 to run a boutique hotel in Battambang.

CLASSICS Owner Simone Luegon and interior Decorator Marina Cardis have chosen Eames Plastic Side Chairs with a wood base for the restaurant, originally designed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1950ties.

HERITAGE

Cambodia has slowly been rebuilding after Pol Pot´s devastating regime from 1963 – 1997, and has lately turned into one of the most popular travel destinations, hitting TripAdvisor´s top 10 list. The UNESCO site Angkor Wat is out in the jungle a short Tuk Tuk ride from Siem Reap and a must see for every tourist coming to Cambodia. What is to be noted is that the infrastructure in the country has not yet been properly established before the tourists started to flood in and foreign developers started to expand. This has created a situation where you as a tourist must be aware of what kind of footprints you leave behind.

Sala Lodges offer a unique atmosphere and the chance to learn a little about how you as a tourist can do god by spending money on initiatives that support local preservation, ecological production and education.

UNIQUE Sala Lodges have transported eleven old Khmer houses from the countryside in Cambodia to an estate in the middle of Siem Reap to use them as hotel rooms. All the houses are neatly situated around the plot with just the right distance between … — UNIQUE Sala Lodges have transported eleven old Khmer houses from the countryside in Cambodia to an estate in the middle of Siem Reap to use them as hotel rooms. All the houses are neatly situated around the plot with just the right distance between them to provide privacy.

TO BE PERSERVED

Sala Lodges consist of all together eleven old Khmer houses. The houses are from different time periods, the oldest dating back to the 1950s. Like at Ballenberg, which it is a museum, all the houses have been dismantled at its original site and transported here.

– The final eleven houses that you can see at Sala Lodges are from three provinces in Cambodia, Siem Province, Preah Vihear Province in the north and the area of Kampong Cham on the border of the Mekong River towards the capital Phnom Penh, says Lugeon.

The houses are typical examples of architecture for Cambodian laymen, which differ distinguishable from the palaces and architecture in the jungle of Angkor Wat, or the modern architecture that are popping up everywhere in connection with the rapid development of the country.

– The owners were farmers, rice traders, teachers and one of the houses even belonged to the Cambodian army and was the home for officers, says Lugeon.

COMMON Here is a typical example of a traditional house where the first floor is normally without walls and used as a working and hang out area during daytime. You can see the tall pillars that balance the second floor with the sleeping area. Here t… — COMMON Here is a typical example of a traditional house where the first floor is normally without walls and used as a working and hang out area during daytime. You can see the tall pillars that balance the second floor with the sleeping area. Here they have built in a part of the first floor for storage space.

BREEZE In this tropical climate it is important with lots of airy space in the shadow and underneath a roof during rainy seasons. Huge bamboo blinds on the house in the background have aged together with the house. An old bicycle is decorative as we… — BREEZE In this tropical climate it is important with lots of airy space in the shadow and underneath a roof during rainy seasons. Huge bamboo blinds on the house in the background have aged together with the house. An old bicycle is decorative as well as useful.

Traditional Khmer houses are elevated above ground level on pillars with walls made of wooden planks. The temperature and humidity give no use for walls during daytime and all outdoor activity is carried out under the roof in the shadow of the building. The rooms upstairs are used for sleeping. Being a tourists you don’t easily get that many chances to actually visit or stay in these traditional houses hence the most common tourist accommodation is in more western style buildings. Simone Lugeon´s idea to transform these old houses into unique hotel rooms is not only providing a unique experience for tourists, they are at the same time playing a part in preserving Cambodian architecture.

DEFINED The doors and windows give this concrete addition to one of the houses a retro touch. Props like the old suitcases and the daybed creates a specific atmosphere.

THE ORIGINAL TOUCH

There has not been used any outdoor painting or treatment on the building facades, but rather been focusing on keeping the original materials to enhance their ingenuity and bring forth their beautiful patina.

– The houses are made essentially of coko wood and needed quite a number of artisans with carpenter and roof building knowledge. We used the teams that dismantled the houses to remount them, says Lugeon.

The houses are carefully spread out giving privacy for each guest on small porches and verandas. When you stroll around in the lush garden you can compare building techniques and constantly discover new aspect about the different houses.

AGEING Small details like the blue in the window frame, and above the gutter, are small, but very distinct features in combination with the patinated wood.

SLEEPING BEAUTY

The interiors of the houses have the same variation as outside, making no sleeping experience alike. Everything from the wooden bedframe to old cabinets are neatly contrasted with bright white bed linen or curtains, maybe an Eames chair rocking in a corner or traditional braided tote´s hung up on the walls for both decoration and shopping purpose.

– None of us are from a design or architecture background, but we have been surrounded by very gifted people being in the architectural sector. We cooperated with Claire Campens, a French architect living in Siem Reap, Marina Cardis from Switzerland, who is extremely talented in interior design and decoration, Didier Faraud a French engineer living in Cambodia and Stephen Caffyn, the creator of our garden, who is a landscape architect based in Singapore.

MISTY A white canopy is contrasting the originality of the wooden walls and floors. There is no need for isolation at this hemisphere and the panel walls are simply the backside of the façade boards. The sun sifts through the slips between the board… — MISTY A white canopy is contrasting the originality of the wooden walls and floors. There is no need for isolation at this hemisphere and the panel walls are simply the backside of the façade boards. The sun sifts through the slips between the boards creating a misty light.

EARLY OUT All the employees are paid good salary and get education paid before they start working. This woman is carrying clean towels in the magical morning light.

In this humid climate they manage to keep the garden impressively green. But in spite of the neatly cut grass, the style of the vegetation feels somehow wild, with palm trees, flowers and green plants planted around and between the houses.

– If you come to Sala Lodges, you will see our chef and staff from the restaurant every morning collecting ingredients, flowers and fruits in order to provide delicious Cambodian plates and fruit juices to our internal and external guests.

At the far end of the estate a swimming pool is discretely sunk down into the lawn mirroring the surroundings. Here you can cool down from the intense heat or get some exercise.

EXERCISE A swimming pool looks like a floating mirror in one end of the garden.

CONSCIOUS TRAVELER

Traveling around in Cambodia is a relaxing experience. The Cambodians all try their best to speak English and there is no end to their smiles and hospitality. The remains after The Pol Pot regime seems often far away on a daily basis, but what is to be remembered is that a genocide has happened and many of the victims was people with education, leaving a huge part of the remaining population uneducated.

– All of our staff receives appropriate vocational education in excellent schools in Siem Reap, like Sala Bai or Ecole Hotelière Paul Dubrule, Lugeon informs.

POOLSIDE Delicate small gestures like small flowers stuck in the towel rolls enrich the day.

Being a tourist witnessing all the plastic rubbish on the ground it is important not to take this as ignorance from the inhabitants, but lack of better knowledge. Back in the old days they used to throw food on the ground that putrefied. Many Cambodians have continued this habit not contemplating that many materials will not be putrefied.

– We are doing our best to remove all sorts of plastics and other non-biodegradable packaging. And we buy most of our supplies from local markets and even directly from producers like for instance Eggscellent who produces eggs using sustainable agricultural methods, Lugeon explains.

Not every hotel, restaurant or tour operator makes this effort in Cambodia, but go the other way around and exploit the poorest in this society to get the most out of tourists. That is why it is important to check out what kind of place one support. Radom leaflets should not be ignored they might give valuable information about what to do and where to go. For those who cannot afford to sleep over at Sala Lodges, one can always visit. Hanging out in the lush garden and ordering a cup of coffee is an experience in itself.

Arne Lugeon is owner and General Manager at Sala Lodges. It is no coincidence that he and his wife Simone Lugeon decided to create a hotel far away from home together with another Swiss couple called Adrien Ruffy and Celine Goumaz.

– We are all travel enthusiasts. My wife has been in the travel business for 35 years and I grew up in the hospitality sector with grandparents and parents running hotels and restaurants. We moved to Asia with our three sons in August 2000. Adrien and Celine are alumni of the University of Lausanne and went to Cambodia in 2008 to run a boutique hotel in Battambang.

THE GARDENER The garden comes forth as extremely green considering the dry climate, but seeing the gardener work one understands that a dead leaf is not left alone for very long.

FLOURISH The green vegetation with palm trees, bamboo grass and plants give the impression that you are out in the countryside. Small paths made of stone bricks crisscross the greenery leading from house to house.

Traditional tranquility in Seam Reap