She bought a private island in Cambodia for US$15,000 and turned it into a barefoot luxury paradise - hero gallery
For hotelier Melita Koulmandas, what started as a mission to revive two forgotten islands in Cambodia’s Koh Rong archipelago led to the birth of Song Saa Private Island – a luxury resort that champions regenerative tourism.
Two decades ago in 2004, Melita Koulmandas was exploring Cambodia’s Koh Rong archipelago with her former partner on a rented fishing boat when, on the last day, the pair stumbled upon two tiny rainforest islands.
“A fisherman was living on one of the islands. He was describing how the waters have become so overfished that it was becoming harder and harder to feed his family,” Koulmandas, who is Greek-Australian, recounted.
Since the fisherman intended to move back to the mainland, he asked if Koulmandas was interested in buying the island. “It was just a very unexpected stroke of serendipity,” she said. “I said yes, for no other reason other than I had such an extraordinary experience [travelling around the islands].”
The cost? US$15,000 (around S$20,150). “I went up to Phnom Penh, did all the paperwork, came back to the island and put my thumbprint on a piece of paper. The family took the money in a brown paper bag and sailed back up to the mainland.”
At first, Koulmandas had no plans to open a resort. “The island was covered in rubbish. The reef was dying. I started speaking with the local community at a nearby island and learned quite quickly how fragile the ecosystem really was,” she said.
What ensued was a major regeneration and clean-up project. Together with local village chiefs, Koulmandas established Cambodia’s first protected marine reserve with the aim to safeguard the islands’ reefs and marine life. Song Saa Private Island then opened almost a decade later in 2012 with the aim to provide employment opportunities for local villagers and “to sustain the work that we were doing,” said Koulmandas.
“I had seen the impact of being able to pay people to help with the clean-up and how it impacted their livelihoods. For the first time, women were able to work because over the past 10 years, it was just men fishing. Seeing the impact that had on creating double income families who were able to put their children in school was really profound.”
“We also wanted to showcase the beauty of Cambodia and its islands,” Koulmandas continued. At the time, “Cambodia was only known for the Khmer Rouge. People couldn’t point it out on a map and those who could only heard of Ang Kor Wat,” she said. “This country has gone through so much; it’s a story of positivity, human resilience and healing.”
Today, Song Saa Private Island encompasses the two islands, Koh Ouen and Koh Bong, which are connected by a footbridge over the gazetted marine reserve. The resort is approximately a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Phnom Penh and a 45-minute flight from Siem Reap.
There are 24 thatch-roofed villas divided into categories of Overwater, Jungle and Ocean View, all built using sustainable materials. Each villa features all the ritzy elements one would expect of a luxury resort, from daybeds to indoor and outdoor showers and private pools. The overwater villas also feature glass floor panels for a view of the marine life.
