Phnom Penh’s Hotelier

Alexis de Suremain, a French native, first left his homeland to work with Pharmaciens Sans Frontières (http://psfci.acted.org/), a non-governmental organization (NGO), in a few of the former Soviet republics. Southeast Asia and former French colonies were on his mind and he asked for a transfer, landing in Phnom Penh, Cambodia back in 2001. With some schooling in graphic design and international business Suremain quickly set off into business and has never looked back, taking Phnom Penh by storm.

Many foreigners set up bars, restaurants and hotels in up-and-coming destinations like Phnom Penh, but few with as much style, enthusiasm and innovative zeal as Alexis.

I first met him back in 2005 while developing our Classic Cambodia adventure (http://www.smilingalbino.com/adventures/classic-cambodia/), having heard of his famous parties at Elsewhere (http://www.elsewhere2.asia/) on the last Friday of every month. Operated with his wife Elsewhere quickly hit a pulse with the city’s foreign residents who flocked to its pool and lush tropical environment. Alexis hasn’t looked back since, and in many ways has become Phnom Penh’s premier hotelier.

A city on the move and hitting travelers’ radar early in the millennia, he identified a number of critical travel needs in the city, coupled those with his love for colonial buildings that had fallen under disrepair, and opened his first hotel, the 25-room Pavilion (http://www.thepavilion.asia/). The concept was a quiet, easy-to-run, romantic place for adult travelers, all at a very reasonable price. A signature of his properties is large, lush public areas with a good-sized swimming pool. He also adopted a very visible policy against sex travelers, something the country was known for some years ago. Not to leave families out, he soon opened the Kabiki (http://www.thekabiki.com/) specifically for families with children. Business has been gangbusters and he’s gone on to open Blue Lime (http://www.bluelime.asia/), The 240 (http://www.the240.asia/home.htm), set the bar for sipping cocktails with the very stylish Chinese House (http://www.chinesehouse.asia/) and is currently working on his biggest hotel to date, The Plantation (http://www.theplantation.asia/), a 72-room colonial hotel in the heart of the city, set to open its doors in 2011. The Plantation will expand upon Alexis’ focus of eco-friendly and sensible practices.

Eco has always been at the top of his mandate. It’s not only good for the environment but a great way to save money according to Suremain. Things like open-air restaurants and lobbies greatly reduce electric bills while putting guests in touch with their environment, something that’s key to a rich travel experience. With an eye to the future and setting the bar even higher he’s ambitiously been working on a first-of-its-kind floating hotel.

“Floating structures are mobile, you can move them if the location turns out to be not efficient. Floating hotels are original, romantic, different, give an adventurous feeling, explains Suremain. “The idea was to setup a floating village half way between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap and use existing mid-sized boats to shuttle between those two cities at half the price offered by the large cruise boats. One does not sleep in its cabin on board but gets a larger floating bungalow, with its own private pool.”

Perhaps the most innovative part of this project is that bungalows will be entirely powered by solar, which will in turn air condition only the bed.

“The solar panels feed an air-conditioning compressor when the sun is shining. The compressed gas is cooled by the river by a heat exchanger much more efficiently that with the traditional air cooled units. Compressed gas is then released in a heat exchanger inside an insulated tank located above the bed, cooling 1,500 liters of water. At night, a sliding door above the bed is opened, releasing the fresh air to the space contained by the mosquito net.”

While electricity is saved, the cost of this technology is far more than electric bills. Alexis looks at the real benefit being pushing the industry forward, setting trends and gaining good amounts of PR from doing so. Cambodia has the most expensive electricity in all of SE Asia, an important reason to reduce consumption he says.

While many hotels preach being green, while putting in large bathtubs and cooling rooms 24-hours per day whether you’re in them or not, Alexis is proving simple steps can not only save money, but create interest, spark innovation and drive sales. Next time you’re in Phnom Penh, ask us to put you at one of his hotels and see what the fuss is about.