Bill, also affectionately known as the “Willy Wonka of Design,” is an award-winning architect, landscape designer and painter. He tells me why he chose to stay in Asia to focus on hospitality.
How did you land the idea of studying to be a landscape architect? Were you inspired by someone?
I was born in California to English immigrants. My family had a small farm where we were pretty much self-sustaining. I raised bees, quails, chickens, ducks, rabbits, mushrooms, a huge variety of veggies and of course a compost heap. We would travel with our little family trailer almost every weekend to a camp spot close by and in the summers, we would travel all over the states. So, you see, I grew up with a great love for the wilderness and certainly learnt how to sustain our family with food. It makes me smile to hear the word sustainability used so frequently these days as though it is a new idea! As for inspiration, in High School, we had a Careers Day to help kids like me figure out what the heck we were going to do with our lives.
A talk by landscape architect Rocco Campanozzi triggered the lightbulb moment for me. On my invitation, he visited my high school one afternoon with a spectacular slide show of his work at Knotts Berry Farm. This amusement park, like a western Disneyland, was just a stone’s throw from my high school and I had been visiting there since an early age. So the idea of actually getting to design a place that brings on a daily basis so much fun and joy to thousands of people was the lightbulb moment. I knew I had to be a landscape architect. I was smitten, hook line and sinker. I am still in touch with Rocco to this day and often thank him for his time some 42 years ago now.
After studying at Cal Poly Pomona and Harvard, I am so glad I made that big leap across the Pacific to Asia in the early 1980s when hospitality development was in its infancy.
What year did you take on your first job in Asia and did you recall it was for which project?
When I first landed in Singapore in the early 1980s — having hitchhiked part of the way there after university in the U.S. — I had exactly 300 dollars in my pocket and not much of a plan. But within two days, I found myself hired by an American architecture firm and found myself designing landscapes for resorts across Southeast Asia. One of my first major assignments was in Bali, working on hotel gardens. I quickly realised that hospitality design allowed for an extraordinary marriage of nature, narrative, and function — it wasn’t just about plants or buildings, but about crafting entire experiences. That Bali project opened the floodgates. I fell in love with the freedom that hotel design offered. After adding architecture and interior design qualifications to my toolbox, I was then shaping entire properties – not just the gardens — and that’s when I knew this was my path.
Was it then you decided to make Asia your home? Where is home now for you?
When I graduated from university in the United States, I felt a strong pull toward Southeast Asia — a region I had long been fascinated by. I remained with that American architectural company for five years, and while I gained a great deal of experience, it became increasingly clear to me that their priorities were largely driven by profit rather than by design integrity.
That realisation became a turning point in my life. I knew I needed to chart my own course — one that placed creativity, sustainability, and storytelling at the very centre of the design process. That conviction led me to establish my own studio. From the beginning, I was determined to create an environment where design came first — not bureaucracy or bottom lines.
To that end, one of the first things I did was abolish time sheets. I’ve always believed that creativity cannot be measured in billable hours. I wanted my team to be free to think big, to dream outrageously, and to work not by the clock, but by passion and purpose. And that philosophy — valuing imagination over administration — continues to shape everything we do to this day.
How do you balance the client’s demands and the need for preserving nature and sustainability?
You know, when a client first comes to me with a vision, I don’t see it as a battle between profit and preservation — it’s more like a conversation between the land and the guest. Let me share a few stories to explain how I make that work.
One of my favourite examples is Shinta Mani Wild, deep in Cambodia’s Cardamom Mountains. That land was at risk — poachers, logging, and even mining. Instead of letting that happen, I bought it with my business partner Sokoun Chanpreda. We saved hundreds of hectares, some waterfalls, wild rivers — the whole ecosystem.
Then, we built — but very, very lightly. Fifteen luxury tents, raised on stilts, so the forest floor literally breathes underneath. We didn’t bring in heavy machinery to flatten the site. Not a single tree was cut down during construction. And the design? It’s inspired by a glamorous 1960s safari — Jackie Kennedy on a royal expedition, crossing rivers, exploring jungles.
That’s not just story for show. Every stay actually helps fund conservation on the ground. Rangers — many of whom are former poachers — patrol the forest, check camera traps, and protect wildlife. We hired local people, gave them purpose, and made sure that this camp was part of a larger conservation mission.
Then there’s Capella Ubud in Bali. Originally, the client wanted 120 rooms — a more typical hotel development. But I convinced them to scale down, to go with 23 tents instead. Why? Because by doing so, we didn’t disrupt the land’s natural drainage patterns, and we left the forest largely intact. We used a lot of local materials, upcycled antiques, and even incorporated traditional Balinese hand-painted ceiling panels using natural dyes. That way, the environmental impact stayed minimal, but the guest experience — well, that was elevated. High yield, low impact — that’s one of my core mantras.
Another story: the InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort in Vietnam. We were working on a steep slope inside a coastal rainforest reserve — habitat for rare primates called douc langurs. Instead of clearing land, we worked with conservationists to build “monkey bridges” — rope-and-bamboo walkways — so the monkeys could move freely across the forest canopy. We also integrated rainwater collection, natural filtration, and passive cooling; and we used local materials to minimize carbon footprint. It wasn’t just a resort — it was a habitat, a commitment.
Of course, it’s not always smooth sailing. There are times when clients push for something more glitzy or intrusive, but I try to steer the conversation early: show them the benefits of working with nature, not against it. I often talk about what I call “minimal intervention” — when you read the lay of the land, build between or around the trees, rather than raze them.
And then there’s the practical stuff: composting, in-house farms, closed-loop gardens, reusing water — all those systems I push for in my designs. I even published a white paper on this: Sensible Sustainable Solutions. It’s full of ideas that are both creative and pragmatic.
Are hospitality projects your forte? Would you accept residential projects too?
When people ask whether I’ve dabbled in residential work, the answer is a very definite yes. In Singapore alone, we’ve had three rather interesting assignments: shaping the outdoor sculptures and landscape for Coral Island on Sentosa, designing a private home on the island, and crafting the interiors and gardens for Twin Peaks.
Beyond Singapore, the homes take on lives of their own — a private residence in Manila, the penthouse atop Bangkok’s Mahanakhon Tower, another Bangkok home with plenty of personality, and Howe’s Homestay in Chiang Mai, which is a wonderfully intimate villa wrapped in the Mae Rim valley’s greenery.
And next, something large enough to keep my pencils busy for a while: Downtown 25 in Mumbai. Five towers, generous public spaces, lush landscapes, and the chance to create interiors for owners who want their homes to feel unmistakably Bensley.
Additional notes:
25 Downtown is set to be Mumbai’s most coveted address in the city. A five tower development by the 25 Residences group, it overlooks the prestigious Mahalaxmi Race Course and unique greenery of the Willingdon Golf Club – Mumbai’s equivalent to Central Park. The design pays tribute to the elegance and sophistication of Art Deco, a style that is emblematic to the city, seamlessly blending the grandeur of the past with the aspirations of a modern, forward-thinking community.
However, it is Art Deco with a twist: drawing inspiration from Vaastu (India’s answer to Feng Shui) and Ayurveda, the towers are designed to bring harmony, peace, and prosperity to their residents. There is also a touch of playfulness, brought on by Bensley’s idea of Wild Deco. For the project, the renowned design studio is meticulously crafting Interior Design for the Lobbies, and four floors of every Amenity one could desire – as well as beautiful gardens with Bensley’s unique take on landscaping. They have also designed show apartments for 3000, 5000 and 8000 sq foot apartments: of which almost all are already sold…
Not forgetting Bill’s own home. The Bangkok home, lovingly named Baan Botanica, pays tribute to the more than 15,000 species of plants growing in its gardens. There, he and his husband Jirachai, designer and horticulturist retreat from the bustle of a busy studio with their five Jack Russells, amidst exotic objects and mementoes from travels all around the world. Here Bill tests out his funkiest design ideas, and on the weekend is often found painting friends or hosting wild parties in the garden oasis.
“I bought this little black and white house in the side streets off Sukhumvit from an American named Billy Bones – at first, I was more intrigued by the name of the owner than the house itself! It is a laboratory for all of my projects… Madness has always been a driving factor both at work and at home!”
“The veranda, for me, is the sweet spot. From there I can see every coming and going, set up my easel and paint away. I love everything about the house. It’s my sounding board, my refuge, my touchstone.”
Another interesting place is the Royal Palace in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia. “The palace was to be a private home but also fit to accommodate royal duties, such as having 1600 of the Sultan’s friends over for tea. This led to a palace featuring no less than 215 rooms, three kilometres of hallways, and majestic bronze doors three stories high and weighing 12 tons. It was a mammoth undertaking that allowed us to flex all of our design muscles in ways we could never have imagined – and it was buckets of fun.”
What are some of the changes you’ve noticed in hospitality after COVID?
COVID has certainly been a bit of a reshaping hammer on hospitality, hasn’t it? In my experience, it’s forced us all to slow down and really rethink what a hotel—or any guest experience—should be. Guests now crave space, both physical and emotional. There’s a huge demand for privacy, for outdoor living, and for nature. People want to feel that they can breathe, walk freely, and not be confined.
Sanitation, hygiene and cleanliness have, of course, become paramount. Technology has leapt forward too. Touchless check-ins, app-based services, even AI in concierge roles—these are no longer novelties; they are expectations. Yet, there’s also a counter-movement: guests crave human warmth more than ever. A smile, a story, a personal touch—it’s the soul of hospitality.
And sustainability? Well, COVID reminded us how fragile our planet is. Guests are more conscious, more questioning. They want to know you care about the land, the wildlife, the water they drink. It’s no longer enough to build a beautiful hotel; it must be a hotel that gives back. In short, I’d say post-COVID hospitality is about balance: technology and human touch, luxury and humility, design and nature. A hotel isn’t just a place to stay anymore—it’s a sanctuary, a story, a little bubble of magic in a complicated world.
What is the one thing you would never do?
I will never destroy Mother Nature. In every project I take on, the land comes first. If a design doesn’t respect the environment, it’s simply not worth doing.
And the one thing you always come back to?
No matter what, I always come back to this: how do we live on this planet with the smallest footprint possible? Every hotel, every garden, every detail—it’s about respecting the land, the wildlife, and leaving the place better than we found it.
What is your favourite hotel you’ve designed? And your fave hotel to stay in?
Choosing a favourite hotel I’ve designed is almost impossible, because each one is like a child—I’ve poured a part of myself into every detail. But if pressed, I’d probably say Shinta Mani Wild in Cambodia. It’s not just a hotel, it’s a living piece of the rainforest, full of wildlife, surprises, and a sense of adventure. Designing it reminded me why I fell in love with architecture and nature in the first place. And who doesn’t love the adrenalin rush of zip-lining over the forest canopy, a river and waterfalls on arrival? It never gets old.
As for hotels I love to stay in, I’m drawn to places that tell a story, that make you pause and notice the little details—a handcrafted door handle, a perfectly framed view, the way light moves across a terrace at sunset. It’s not about luxury for the sake of luxury; it’s about a place that makes you feel alive, that makes you want to explore, to slow down, and to appreciate the world around you.
Some of my favourite places to stay are: Awasi in the Atacama Desert, Huka Lodge in New Zealand, Hoshinoya in Kyoto, the Ballyfin in Ireland, and JACKS CAMP in Botswana. These are hands down heart stopping – all of them, because they offer such unique experiences.
