Patio touches all bases as a boutique retreat – nestled in the heart of fashionable BKK1, stylish open-plan rooms, a permanent installation of artwork by British watercolour painter David Holliday – but its winning feature is what hotel manager Sam Maity calls the “surprise”. The “surprise”is an infinity pool on the roof, above the tastefully appointed seventh-floor bar, with views of WatLangka and even the Royal Palace in the distance. “We occupy a limited area here – just 300 square metres – so we wanted to do something special with the roof,” says Maity. Open just six months, according to Maity, occupancy rates in the hotel’s 45 rooms are already hovering at steady 90 per cent, largely fuelled by word-of-mouth recommendations on popular internet booking websites, such as Agoda and TripAdvisor. Like the seventh-floor bar and restaurant, which offers Khmer-Western fusion tapas and mains – as well as Western dishes – the hotel has a tradition-meets-modern-minimalism theme throughout, with fittings made from attractive locally sourced timbers, making it a perfect place to put out of town guests. Phnom Penh insiders tip: Head over for Patio’s Happy Hour, two for one from 5-7pm for some of the best views of Phnom Penh and check out the infinity pool while you’re there.