Villa resorts on private islands are increasingly common across the Asia-Pacific region, especially in the Maldives. But Song Saa, a $22 million project that opened last year, is Cambodia’s first. Owners are entitled to spend 30 days per year in their villas. At all other times the property manager, Song Saa Hotels and Resorts, rents them for $1,336 to $5,153 per night. Some villas that were purchased before construction yield a guaranteed 10 percent return for the first three years, and the guaranteed yield for the other properties is 8 percent for five years from the date of purchase. Rory Hunter, the company’s chairman, said the villas are a promising investment partly because they are considerably less expensive than similar-quality ones in the Maldives. And because Cambodia’s luxury real estate market is far less developed than neighboring Thailand’s, he added, reselling villas here will probably be easier. “As the country grows and tourism grows and becomes more developed, the value of those properties should only increase,” Mr. Hunter said. All of the planned 27 villas are completed, and 20 have been purchased since sales began in December 2009. The remaining seven — a mix of one- and two-bedroom villas — are on sale for $600,000 to $2 million. (Most investment contracts in Cambodia are written in U.S. dollars.) By contrast, at Soneva Fushi, a villa resort in the Maldives, two-bedroom villas are selling for $4 million, said Edward Gibbons of Brocon Investment, Mr. Hunter’s land-holding company, based in Phnom Penh. Song Saa lies 29 kilometers, or 18 miles, from the mainland and consists of two islands, one of which is uninhabited. Together they cover a total area of just seven hectares, or 17 acres. Some guests arrive via a 35-minute ride in a private speedboat from Sihanoukville, a port city of about 235,000 that lies about 180 kilometers from the capital, Phnom Penh. Others come by helicopter and land on nearby Koh Rong Island. Mr. Hunter and his wife, Melita, spotted Song Saa seven years ago on a tour of the Koh Rong archipelago. And in 2007, he said, his investment company signed a 99-year lease for the island. (Cambodia’s 2001 land law allowed foreign investors to control land through leases and concessions.) He said they initially approached international luxury brands, including Aman Resorts and Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, about managing the villas, but later opted to create their own company. The resort, which is powered by generators and has its own sewage system and water supply, lies on the fringe of a marine protected area in a pristine corner of the archipelago. One curving boardwalk connects the two islands, and another leads to an over-water bar and restaurant serving contemporary Cambodian cuisine. The villas, which are sold furnished, include elegant nautical decor, like wall displays made from boat hulls, and the staff strives to create an experience that offers luxury in an informal setting. Mr. Hunter said he and his wife, the island’s creative director, aimed to make the atmosphere sophisticated but not ostentatious. “People are interested because of the numbers, but what we’ve found is that by and large our investors then fall in love with the idea,” Mr. Hunter said. Leases for the villas fall under Brocon Investment’s 99-year master lease. Matthew Rendall, managing partner at the Phnom Penh law firm Sciaroni & Associates, said the arrangement was legally secure, and that it was highly unlikely the Cambodian government would ever breach Brocon’s master lease. The central risk for investors, he said, is that Mr. Hunter’s hotel management company is not an established international brand.
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