The Royal Sands Koh Rong delivers the feeling of a private-island escape, with an all-villa resort, 550 metres of white sand and open-air spaces designed around the sea. From locally sourced timber and bamboo villas to sunset drinks at Bonfire Lounge, this is a place for slowing down and letting the island set the pace.
The journey starts before you reach the shore
The Royal Sands Koh Rong is an all-villa resort on Cambodia’s Koh Rong island, where the experience begins with the feeling of leaving the mainland behind. After travelling across the water from Sihanoukville, you arrive at Sok San Beach to find a resort shaped around the coast rather than built over it.
The property stretches along 550 metres of white sand, with tropical greenery, open-air spaces and the Gulf of Thailand providing the backdrop. Its design uses locally sourced teak, bamboo and limestone, creating a natural connection between the villas, the beach and the landscape beyond.
There’s no need to fill every hour here. The appeal lies in the space between plans – a slow breakfast, a swim before the heat builds, a book beneath the shade of an outdoor sala and a walk along the beach as the tide moves in.
Your villa gives island living room to breathe
The accommodation is designed around open-air living. Each villa includes an outdoor sala, giving you a private place to sit, read or watch the changing light across the water. The choice of room categories lets you shape the stay around the setting you want, from ocean views to direct beachfront access and private pools.
The Ocean View Villa sits higher than the surrounding landscape, opening towards the Gulf of Thailand, while the Ocean View Pool Villa adds a private swimming pool and outdoor daybed. For the closest connection to the sand, the Beachfront Pool Villa opens directly towards the beach, making it easy to move between your room, the water and the shade of your outdoor lounge.
Inside, the materials keep the atmosphere light and tactile. Timber, natural textures and uncluttered spaces make the villas feel suited to their surroundings – comfortable enough for a proper stay, but never so enclosed that you forget you’re on an island.
You can eat with the sea in view
Open-air Ocean Restaurant is the resort’s main dining setting, with breakfast served beneath the pavilion as the morning light spreads across the water. In the evening, the atmosphere shifts towards candlelight, seafood and Khmer-inspired dishes made with locally sourced ingredients.
For a more casual setting, head to The Chill, the resort’s beachfront restaurant, bar and lounge. It’s the kind of place that suits an afternoon pause, whether you’re looking for something light after the beach or a cocktail as the sky begins to change colour.
Then there’s Bonfire Lounge, where the shoreline becomes the setting for the evening. Find a seat near the sand, listen to the water and watch the last light fade across the Gulf before dinner.
Senses Spa makes time slow down
Senses Spa is designed as a quiet extension of the island, with a semi-open-air sala for foot and Khmer massages, an outdoor yoga sala and private treatment rooms. The most distinctive detail is beneath you: glass floors reveal a koi pond below the treatment rooms, bringing a small, living piece of the surrounding environment into the spa experience.
The spa is open daily from 10am–10pm, so you can arrange a treatment around the rest of your day rather than building the entire schedule around it. Start with a gentle stretch, return after an afternoon by the sea or book an evening treatment once the beach has emptied.
The island rewards curiosity
While the resort makes it easy to stay close to the beach, Koh Rong is worth exploring beyond the shoreline. Kayak through mangroves, take to the water on a paddleboard or join an island excursion to discover sandbars and quieter stretches of coast.
The resort’s official island tour follows the mangroves to a pristine sandbar, with the option to see bioluminescent plankton after dark. It’s a reminder that the island’s appeal changes with the light – bright and open during the day, then quietly atmospheric once the sun has gone down.
By the time you return to your villa, days become a sequence of small decisions – swim now or later, walk before dinner or after, watch the sunset from the beach or your own outdoor sala. At The Royal Sands Koh Rong, that freedom is the point.
