Thailand-based hospitality designer Bill Bensley’s newest project, Shinta Mani Wild, is a luxury tent resort in the remote jungles of Cambodia. He cites similar motivations as Fujita Kanko’s Yoshihiro Ise – “introduce travelers to undiscovered places and revitalize these local communities” – behind the development of the camp (see main story).
Contributed by Andrea Guthmann
“This country is only known for Angkor Wat. I want to change that,” says Bensley, who acknowledges he may never make a profit on the camp. “I’ve done lots of unique, pretty hotels. Now I want to do unique, pretty hotels with a purpose.”
Bensley says glamping gives him opportunities to break the boundaries in hospitality design. That extends to pushing travelers out of their comfort zone as well. Shinta Mani Wild guests arrive at the resort via zipline and are invited to join rangers on motorbikes as they patrol the surrounding forest.
“The traditional idea of hotel luxury, a lobby full of flowers changed every 2.5 minutes, is not enough anymore,” says Bensley. “Luxury is comfortably enjoying the wilderness in solitude, being awakened by the clamor of bird calls in the morning.”
