Bored with Bali and tired of Phuket? Check out four up-and-coming but often overlooked regional destinations for the next wave of luxe travel. This is Cambodia.

Private island escape: Cambodia

If Thailand is the first country that comes to mind when the topic of private island resorts in South-east Asia is brought up, your outlook might need a little updating this year.

Neighbouring Cambodia, the elegant though much neglected little sister in the Indochina cluster, comes of age this month when it officially debuts its latest private island resort, Song Saa, on Feb 13.

The newly minted $21 million project is perched on a pair of islets of the same name (which means "sweethearts" in Khmer). It sits within the pristine Koh Rong archipelago and is accessible by boat from popular beach destination Sihanoukville. The largely untouched archipelago has been hailed as the next Asian Riviera, following the success of Phuket, Ko Samui and Bali.

Song Saa comprises 27 rainforest, beach and over-water villas, all with private pools, that cost upwards of US$1,300 (S$1,630) a night. For those who want their comings and goings shielded from prying public eyes or the paparazzi, the resort can fly you in via private jet from Phnom Penh or Siem Reap, or you can check into a two-bedroom Royal Villa that comes with an exclusive jetty.

If you have the cash to burn (in the range of the ten thousands), you can even book the entire island for a private party.

The Australian couple who own the place, Rory and Melita Hunter, have little hospitality experience under their belt (he was an ad executive, she was a set designer) but international media have already bracketed their baby with the best in the industry. The environmental sensibilities - produce and seafood are locally sourced from sustainable farms - have been likened to Six Senses, the rustic-chic style reminiscent of Amanresorts and executive chef Neil Wagner was transplanted from the six-star North Island resort in the Seychelles.

Although the most glamorous of the lot, Song Saa is neither the first nor will it be the last private island to grace the country of 15 million people. The Hunters plan to open at least two more Song Saa-styled resorts in the country in the coming years.

Meanwhile, five-year-old Mirax Island Resort on Koh De Koule island, also off the Sihanoukville coast, claims the title of the country's oldest private island resort. Its 12 custom-built suites are bedecked with antiques, Chinese watercolours and local hand-woven silks and prices stretch from US$400 to US$3,000 a night for its presidential suite, the epitome of tropical opulence.

Cambodian officials have granted 99-year leases to private foreign investors who plan to develop 11 of the 22 available Sihanoukville islands into swanky resorts for the well-heeled. The largest of them, Koh Pos or Snake Island, is slated to house a US$400 million development funded by Russian businessmen that will comprise a casino, restaurants, hotels and luxury cottages for families.

Koh Ta Kiev, under a Malaysian developer, is being turned into an eco-tourism resort with a golf course, marina and theme park.

And it doesn't end there. Cambodia has at least 60 more islands scattered across the turquoise waters of the Gulf of Thailand. Mostly deserted, or undeveloped at best, they offer secluded oases of virgin rainforests, tropical reefs and glistening white beaches - for now at least.

Get there quick because once the word gets out, they will probably be tarted up faster than you can praise them for looking like Thailand before the tourists ruined it all.

This article was first published in The Business Times.

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