Into the wild: Bensley Collection – Shinta Mani Wild launches natural spa
Cambodian luxury jungle camp Bensley Collection – Shinta Mani Wild has launched its all-natural Khmer Tonics Spa, enhancing the wild experience even further and underlining its position as a game-changing model for tourism conservation.
Nestled deep within the wilderness of the South Cardamom National Park, a short stroll from the camp’s 15 extravagant Bill Bensley-designed tents, the Khmer Tonics Spa is the perfect oasis after a day spent traversing the waterways on the camps bespoke riverboats, foraging with the chef or accompanying Wildlife Alliance rangers on an anti-poaching patrol.
The refined treatment menu celebrates Cambodia with chemical-free tonics made from a unique mix of medicinal plants, herbs and spices all of which are present in the surrounding rainforest. About as wild as you can get, the spa’s two treatment rooms are set high up in the tree canopy amid dramatic natural boulders, but the river takes centre stage, too.
Guests can enjoy a river-stone foot massage while soaking in a waterfall pool. Alternatively, guests can experience the traditional Khmer art of healing during a full body massage which employs a range of acupuncture techniques and passive stretching. The spa offering, which also includes natural heat healing, a full-body scrub and a detoxifying facial, can be enjoyed anywhere guests desire, whether that be on the deck of their tent, atop a peak in the jungle or aboard a custom Bensley expedition boat. Unlimited spa treatments are included in the room rate at no extra charge.
Perched over 1.5 km of river and waterfalls, Shinta Mani Wild’s 14 one-bedroom tents (100sqm) and one two-bedroom tent (140sqm) were meticulously designed to evoke Bensley’s vision of what it might have been like to be on luxury safari in the jungles of Cambodia with Jacky O’, who travelled throughout the kingdom with King Sihanouk in 1967. Creative luxury adventures include exploring the untrammelled waterways of South East Asia’s last wild estuarine ecosystem aboard a custom Bensley-designed expedition boat; or joining Wildlife Alliance rangers on anti-poaching patrols.
Described by Bensley as a utopia of sustainability, Shinta Mani Wild’s comprehensive conservation and community programmes are spearheaded by the Shinta Mani Foundation, and include the provision of long-term employment opportunities to local inhabitants where there are minimal infrastructure and fewer work prospects. Bensley Collection – Shinta Mani Wild, in conjunction with the Foundation, will nurture its natural environment through partnerships with respected conservation organizations including Wildlife Alliance and the Cambodian government.
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