What it's like to be Bill Bensley, designer of whimsical resorts and fan of gay pirates
What’s it like to be the designer of 200 whimsical resorts, including the new Shinta Mani Wild?
If you are Bill Bensley, the world that the rest of us know is not the only one you inhabit. For the prolific designer, each project has its own realm, based on a backstory he makes up and uses to inform every decision from wall art, to doorknobs and lobby soundtracks.
His latest, Shinta Mani Wild, is the fourth in his own Bensley Collection and has a wild tale to match. The exclusive, remote 15-tent eco camp in southwestern Cambodia’s Cardamom Mountains sits on a parcel the size of Central Park and was inspired by the true story of Jackie Onassis being hosted on a luxury safari in 1967 by former Cambodian monarch King Norodom Sihanouk.
Some of the designer’s backstories are full-on glam, others are downright silly and total make-believe. He explains the backstory for the forthcoming ultra-luxe Oberoi Maldives he is working on: “A long time ago, a band of gay pirates went pillaging. They were very fierce but they only took things that appealed to them from all over Africa and Asia. They liked anything that sparkled, and they made themselves a fabulous palace out of their shiny booty.”
At a Bensley-crafted resort, guests are buying a story as much as a stay. At Shinta Mani Wild, that safari-chic tale is told by bespoke, hand-painted furniture, the chance to zip line into the lobby and have a gin and tonic slapped into your hand, jungle sundowners served out of a vintage Land Rover, and wild animals wandering beneath the tents.
But Bensley’s favourite offering is the boats he designed for Wild. Built for two and luxuriously appointed with sun loungers, private captain and personal bar, the wood and chrome vessels are unlike what travellers can experience elsewhere.
Early reviews of the camp, which opened on December 21, have raved about it. That is no surprise as Bensley is familiar with high-end tents. He designed the Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle in Chiang Rai, probably the world’s best-known tented camp, as well as Legacy Yen Tu, Rosewood Luang Prabang, The Siam and The Slate.