Amazing serenity

After quite exhausting visits of Angko temples, once back to our hotel room in FCC we could feel fully relaxed the rooms design and attentionate care received from the SPA and room personal gives an amazing feeling of serenity. In the restaurant, the colonial style remains very unique. It was not our first experience in FCC Angkor, but if the hotel is offering more rooms and services, the feeling remains the same: we meet here the traditional cambodian hospitality in a very special environment. It gives you a taste of the past in a confortable and unique setting.

Very Poor Service at FCC

Like the previous reviewer we booked this hotel because of the reviews and also wanting a boutique hotel. We arrived at Siem Reap airport from Phnom Penh and waited for our car to pick us up .... nothing arrived even though I had booked it directly through the hotel. WE got in a taxi and arrived at the hotel reception. I stated that no one picked us up, to which the response was well we didn't have your flight details', to which I showed the confirmation email from FCC and the flight details. 'Oh' was the reply ..... sorry would have been nice.

We had a pool room, which was nice and the pool was good, apart from only having the sun in the morning. Also the hotel isn't very well located to the main part of town around 'Pub Street' which has some great restaurants.

The bar area was nice. But overall the service was very poor and after 1 night we checked out of the hotel and moved to Hotel De La Paix, which is a member of Small Luxury hotels of the world. WOW what a difference, the service and the people were just amazing. This hotel has a great location close to Pub Street and has only opened 3 weeks ago. The pool area is stunning the pool attendent is great and the service you get is like nothing experienced before. If you stay in any hotel, it simply has to be Hotel De La Paix ... amazing. The other element to the hotel is that is is the same company that owns Shinta Mani, when the street kids are trained up during the 1 year programme they are then employed by De La Paix, which is a seriously luxurious hotel. 9 of the kitchen staff at the hotel help run the local school in their spare time.

FCC never, never again. Go to De La Paix

What a disappointment

I booked the FCC Angkor based specifically on Trip Adviser reviews and my desire to try a boutique hotel for a trip to the Angkor temples, having stayed at the Raffles Royal Ankgor just a year ago. At a price comparable to the Raffles, I was sorely disappointed. None of the poolside rooms has twin beds (I was traveling with my 21 year old son) and the "garden" rooms--a small two story block reminiscent of a Howard Johnsons, are poorly situated. I was not advised of this despite having alerted the hotel to my travel companion. Yes the rooms are sleek but provide petty annoyances: no hooks or towel racks in the bathroom, a bar of soap that disintegrates the first time you use it, and no spares provided, a "TV" consisting of a computer screen with very bad reception and frequent power failures. The breakfast, a stingy continental breakfast where you have to ask to get a top-up on your coffee, compares poorly with the lovely breakfast buffets at other South East Asian hotels. The kitchen had no capacity to provide a packed breakfast (just two croissants in a box) for early morning forays to the temples. Pool is pretty but chaise longues don't move and strangely there are no tables beside them. Pool waiter didn't understand English. Front desk directed us to a restaurant which purportedly had a traditional Cambodian dance performance but on arrival, we found that it never has one on that particular evening. And so on. On the plus side, I had a very nice massage. I have worked and traveled in remote parts of developing countries, so have no problem with absence of amenities, but at $140 a night, one can do much better (loved the Raffles!).

Tranquil Oasis for the Senses

Without a doubt, the FCC Angkor leads the pack in providing a chic, cool place to escape from the sweltering heat of the day in Siem Reap and a very convenient location to explore the Old Market and Pub Street. We were initially booked for a stay at the Shinta Mani but transferred to FCC after just one night at the Shinta Mani after we fell in love with the ultra-chic facilities and the rooms at FCC. At US$90 a night (excl taxes during off peak season), we found the experience extremely difficult to beat. We will definitely stay here again on our next visit to Siem Reap.

Really recommend this place!

This is a new design hotel, reminiscent of Metropolitan hotel style. Each room is named after an exotic fruit / herb and overlooks the gorgeous pool. Sleek minimalist furnishings, herbal toiletries, citrus scented candles in the bathroom, fresh orchids on your pillows at turndown, flat screen tv. Jurlique products in the spa.

Food in the restaurant is excellent (e.g. green papaya salad and fish in banana leaf) and whilst the service can be a bit absent-minded sometimes, this is mostly due to the fact that it's packed to the brim with diners. Service always with a smile. Great varied menu and good portions, very reasonable.

The hotel arranges complimentary airport pick-up and is very efficient at organising drivers/tour guides. The Management of the hotel is excellent - we had an unfortunate experience with an external driver involving theft of our money and cellphone and they managed to retrieve all of it, tracking us down at the airport to return it to us.

Great Boutique Hotel Experience

We stayed 4 nights at the 2-story 31-room FCC Angkor in April 2005. For US$120 per night, we received breakfast (consisting of pastries, yoghurt, mixed fruit, juice and coffee/tea) every morning. Hotel even picked us up at Siem Reap airport. Room is spacious and very modern. Warm scented lemon grass aromatic oil and fresh lotus flowers in our room were a nice touch. We have the pool right outside our room. Every room has large sitting cushions outside and hotel will even supply you with mosquito-repellent incense while you are soaking in the sounds of Asia right outside your room at night. The night was literally filled with the haunting sound of cicada insects nesting on surrounding trees. You can hear the sound of nearby cockerels crowing in the morning...truly Asia! The FCC Angkor will rent you a car & driver from US$15 per day (depending on activities) and $25 for an English speaking tour guide + tips. All temples are about 1/2 hour away. We paid US$40 pp for a 3-day temple pass. Great location. Good restaurant. Everything in US$. Very convenient. People are simple and hospitable. They only charge US$5 for car back to airport. Experience in this boutique hotel unlike those you will find in regular hotels. Highly recommended.

Had a great time at the FCC

I have just returned from a stay in Cambodia and loved this botique hotel very trendy with it's day spa and black tiled lap pool it also has a great A/C system sadly lacking in most hotels in Asia, close to town and very well priced, the only problem I had was in paying the bill with my American express card so if you stay there you can only use Visa.

Great Value for Money

FCC Angkor opened their hotel section just a few months ago. At US$97 a night including breakfast, it's great value for money. Its location is superb. Despite the cab driver's 20km/h speed, it took us 15 minutes to get to the hotel from the airport (US$5).

There is no grand lobby nor grand entrance. But the whole hotel's external and internal deco, except the colonial style restaurant and bar (where the whole hotel was started originally), is built with a stylish and zen touch. The pool is nice and good enough for a decent swim.

The rooms face each other with the whole wall and a sliding door made of glass. Our room had no view anyway so that was not much a problem for us. Do remember to ask for a room without a door inside which can lead to the room next to you. We could hear every single word of the 2 girls next door. We moved room the second night.

The restaurant provides good food but not cheap. However, under the midday heat when we came back from the temples to take a break/nap, that's the best option available.

Massage is availabe at about US$28 (before 10% VAT) for hotel guest. I enjoyed it very much. Spa is also available but the spa tub is too open and too close to the swimming pool.

We hired a car and a driver at US$25 from 0500 - 1900. The car turned out to be a nice camry with powerful aircon - you really need that under the sun. Remember not to charge it to the hotel bill, pay direct to the hotel in cash separately. You can avoid VAT that way.

I enjoyed the overall experience there and would recommend it to anyone with a mid range plus budget.

Designer minimalism heaven

We recently spent 9 nights at the FCC. It has only been open for about 6 months, and has some more settling in to do. However, the low level contemporary design is a triumph. Our Pool View room meant that we were about 5 steps away from the black tiled wet edge pool, and closer to the sun lounges. Each room has a kind of verandah with a series of large padded upholstered 'stools' which make a kind of day bed. With the addition of a fan, this is a perfect place to read a book, or indeed work on your laptop using their wireless internet as I needed to do for work a few times. Being a small hotel, you get to know the staff, and have at least a nodding aquaintance with some of the guests, which makes for a much more personal experience than in the larger hotels. Staff are all smiles, and ever willing to meet our requests. They were not always as pre-emptive in their service as at other design hotels - but this will come I am sure. The organisation of cars and drivers and tour guides for Angkor Wat was faultless. We spent a session in the Visara Spa, and had one of the best facials I have had in a long time. The Bar is a great place to relax and watch the world go by. The menu is good - but needs a little more work, as does presentation, and the general service and atmosphere. For a holiday which consisted of touring the temples and laying by the pool, interspersed with a little work - I could not recommend the FCC highly enough.