On the quiet Wat Damnak side of Siem Reap (so named after a landmark temple) sits a little oasis on a pedestrian side-street. The Rambutan is a three-pronged property: a main hotel with 16 rooms, a 10-room resort wing and five luxury apartments.

Vibe: “People feel at home here. With the pool in the middle and the rooms built around it, it’s like Melrose Place,” Tommy the manager says. “It’s not big, but there are enough corners that you can have your own quiet spot.” The hotel started off being super-gay, but now the clientele is very mixed. “We get the nice crowd, a mix of Americans, Canadians, Australians, Europeans, and those closer to home—Chinese, Japanese and Korean. We get a lot of solo women travellers, mostly older, who come back a few times a year.”

Rooms: The Rambutan style is instantly relaxing—a mix of Balinese, French, Khmer and Indonesian elegance—things the owner has picked up in his travels over time. “Every room is different,” Tommy says. “The palm wood we are using is not tropical, so it’s harder, and environmentally better than teak. All the tiles are handmade locally in Siem Reap—even the new ones look like they’ve been there forever.”

F&B: A fun little dining room churns out Western and Khmer dishes from a kitchen helmed by six young locals from the local hospitality schools. Local ingredients—the herbs are insane—give the menus an extremely fresh twist. We start off most evenings having the bartenders mix us sublime pepper-infused martinis.

Off-Site: Strike out in the morning for at least one full day of temple-trekking at Angkor Wat; you can fit three of the more popular ruins into the day’s agenda. You could easily spend a week combing through each of the temples. Counter your day in the countryside with a town day doing nothing but wandering the shops, buying exquisite handwoven fabric, fingering the plethora of handbags, disappearing into the spas—which range from the simple to the sublime—and sitting on patios. Go to Bar Code to watch a drag show, which, even on a weeknight, draws local men and women, expats and tourists alike.

Rate: $$

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Now that every single hotel in the world has a rainfall shower head, the folly of a quick dunk in an al fresco tub on the terrace really ups the game. Here are a few of the newer favourites on our radar.

RIVIERA MAYA, MEXICO: UNICO 20°N 87°W Hotel. Second-floor rooms in the Alcoba Ocean View category of this all-exclusive, all-inclusive, adults-only resort come with an outdoor spa tub right on the patio, looking out onto the whole resort and the ocean beyond. The upscale hacienda-style rooms are so beautifully designed, you won’t want to leave. As the tubs are on the balcony, you’ll have to dress appropriately for this hydra-therapy experience—unless the lights are out. $$$
UnicoHotelRivieraMaya.com

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA: Rambutan Hotel & Resort. This quaint gem on the quieter side of Siem Reap comes in three parts: a main hotel with 16 rooms, a 10-room resort wing, and a few luxury apartments. On the resort side of things, the Deluxe Terrace and Deluxe Rooftop Terrace rooms have their own private patio with an outdoor bathtub and splash shower. When you tire of traipsing through the nearby temple ruins, you can relax in a cool bath after a nice massage at the lobby spa. $
RambutanSiemReap.com

LONDON, UK: The Zetter Hotel. This Clerkenwell mainstay has been wowing the hip and happening crowd with its 59 boutique hotel rooms since 2004, with the nearby Zetter Townhouse joining the party in 2011. The art and design, the attention to detail, and the state-of-the art tech amenities keep people coming back. But the hotel’s recent refurbishment of its Deluxe Rooftop rooms on the fifth floor will garner even more fans thanks to private al fresco tubs on the terrace. A gin in the bathtub, anyone? $$$
TheZetter.com

BIG SUR, CALIFORNIA: Glen Oaks. Things are big in Big Sur, Al Fresco tub included. At the Big Sur Cabin at the magnificent Glen Oaks lodge, you and your significant other can embark on a romantic double-soak adventure in the outdoor tubs, witnessed only by the nearby redwoods and the cozy wood fire pit. $$$
GlenOaksBigSur.com

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