Farmhouse Resort & Spa (Smiling Gecko)
A Farm-to-Table Resort Where Every Stay Funds Rural Cambodian Futures
Photo: Pon Thhao
Farmhouse Resort & Spa (Smiling Gecko) — Quick Facts
- What is it?
- other — A Farm-to-Table Resort Where Every Stay Funds Rural Cambodian Futures
- Where?
- Kampong Chhnang , Cambodia
- Entry Fee
- Day visits possible; rooms from mid-range boutique rates
- Opening Hours
- Resort hours; restaurant and spa open to day guests
- Time Needed
- A meal stop, a spa afternoon, or an overnight escape
- Best Time
- November–February for the coolest countryside weather
- Don't Miss
- Sunset from "temple hill" over the campus rice fields, knowing the bill funds classrooms
What Makes the Farmhouse Different
An NGO That Runs a Resort
Smiling Gecko is a Swiss-founded development organisation working in rural Kampong Chhnang — and the Farmhouse is its hospitality arm. The resort’s profits are reinvested into the campus’s schools and training programs, and the staff serving you are often graduates of them. It’s one of the most direct ways in Cambodia to make a comfortable stay do measurable good.
Farm-to-Table, Literally
The 150-hectare campus includes working farmland, and the restaurant’s produce, pork and poultry come substantially from it. The cooking — Khmer and Western — has a reputation that draws Phnom Penh residents up for lunch on its own merit.
Bungalows, Spa and Slow Countryside
Khmer-style bungalows come with balconies over gardens and paddies; there’s a pool, a fitness room and a spa that has picked up regional awards. Activities run from bicycle loops and basket-weaving to picnics and the short walk up “temple hill” for sunset.
How to Get to the Farmhouse
The resort is in Sameakki Mean Chey district, southern Kampong Chhnang — about 60km / roughly one hour north of Phnom Penh off National Road 5.
- Private car or taxi from Phnom Penh: The practical option; the resort can arrange transfers
- En route: It splits the journey nicely if you’re heading on to Kampong Chhnang town, Battambang or Siem Reap by road
Practical Tips
- Book ahead for weekends — it’s a popular escape for Phnom Penh families and expats
- Day visitors are welcome at the restaurant and spa; call ahead
- Pair a stay with the pottery village and floating villages an hour further north for a full province itinerary
Nearby Attractions
- Ondong Rossey Pottery Village — the province’s famous red-clay pottery village, near Kampong Chhnang town
- Kampong Chhnang Floating Villages — Tonle Sap river hamlets off the provincial capital’s waterfront
Nearby Attractions in Kampong Chhnang
village Ondong Rossey Pottery Village
The Village That Gave the "Pot Province" Its Name
village Kampong Chhnang Floating Villages
Phoum Kandal & Chong Kos — Life on the Water, Without the Tour-Bus Crowds
experience Keat Farm (Sheep Field)
A Thousand Sheep in the Cambodian Hills — the Country's Pioneering Flock
nature Sre Ampel Waterfall
Clear Mountain Pools at the Foot of the Aural Range
Useful Links
Practical Info
- Entry Fee
- Day visits possible; rooms from mid-range boutique rates
- Opening Hours
- Resort hours; restaurant and spa open to day guests
- Time Needed
- A meal stop, a spa afternoon, or an overnight escape
- Best Time
- November–February for the coolest countryside weather
Getting There
Farmhouse Resort & Spa (Smiling Gecko) is in Kampong Chhnang, Cambodia.
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