NOVOTEL SIHANOUKVILLE HOLIDAY RESORT
Sihanoukville, Cambodia
Completed 2024
Hotel 4 stars+, 214 rooms
The Perfect Castaway Experience
The Novotel Sihanoukville is inspired by the adventure of visiting the famous islands of the bay of Ream. While preserving the comfort of the reputed hotel brand, Bloom infused the guest experience with the spirit of traveling on a cruise boat, the sensation of being castaway at sea, leaving the land behind.
A white volume of 8 stories floats above a pristine white sand beach, right at the edge of the city, creating a curated transition to the seaside.
Architecturally, this latest hotel addition of the balnear city, famous for its harbor developed by King Sihanouk in the golden 60s of Cambodia, departs from the glass towers which have become the recent norm. It is a modern building but not a generic glass box.
Showcasing the spectacle of an azure horizon, offering unobstructed scenic views to unforgettable picturesque sunsets, the facade is composed as a series of softly curved balconies, with some being as wide as 5m, enough for a romantic private dinner or an impromptu kids playground.
While the resort recalls other prestigious international seaside destinations,
it is distinguished by the integration of local materials such as...
The upper floors are finished with fiberglass, a material which references the language of boat construction chosen to resist tropical storms
The balconies are animated by wooden partitions made of recycled wood from abandoned fishing boats.
The handmade cement blocks forming the balustrade, rendered to match the color of the white sand of Sihanoukville
The ground floor is covered with local sandstone
By detaching the guest rooms from an open public ground floor, Bloom proposes to make the amenities of the hotel accessible to the public and create synergies with the city, attracting visitors in search of a curated experience.
The lobby spills out to a lush seaside tropical garden, which forms a place for social interaction, with an infinity pool and a beach bar surrounded with local indigenous species of palms.
The intention was to design a seaside development that would benefit the whole beachfront. Bloom worked hard with the développer and the operator in order to achieve this goal.
Antoine Meinnel / Bloom Architecture
Team: Antoine Meinnel, Hen Darin, Nith Neary Rachna
Hotel operator: ACCOR
Interior Design: Studio 1-10 and Txture Lab
Project Manager: Archetype Group
MEP design: MEP-E
Structure design: GBC
Facade and BoH contractor: BSN
MEP contractor: Lotus Green
Landscape contractor: MAA