FCC Angkor Siem Reap Hotel Review Luxury Boutique Stay in Cambodia

Siem Reap greeted us with a haze of tropical heat and the weight of recent headlines. Tensions on the Cambodian Thai border were simmering in the background. Yet within hours, the city of Siem Reap revealed a very different face and we settled into the timeless elegance of the FCC Angkor, a sanctuary where Colonial history and modern Cambodia intertwine. Come along to see what our stay was like.

Our timing to arrive in Siem Reap is one that is not without its concerns. A couple of days before we flew in, tensions erupted between Cambodia and Thailand with most of the conflict concentrated along the border. Bundles of supplies are being loaded into army trucks by civilians and Army personnel destined to feed the troops at the border. Tensions have existed between the two countries for many years - the name Siem Reap actually means "Thai defeat" and references a conflict between Khmer and Siamese. Old rivalries die hard.

It's 9:20am when our flight touches down in Siem Reap. I'm tired from the early morning flight and sleepily watch as the car whizzes by cows grazing on grass and numerous rice paddies. Mr NQN has slept for the whole flight while I worked so he is busy chatting with our driver. An hour later, we arrive at the Foreign Correspondents Club or the FCC Angkor. The building was first built in 1917 as the French Governor's residence. In 2003 it became the Foreign Correspondents Club by Avani hotels which is part of Minor hotel chain (including Anantara). I've stayed at many Anantaras but this is my first Avani hotel. The chain is a younger, more modern 5 star brand compared to the established luxury of the 5 star Anantara hotel chain.

The FCC Angkor's location is excellent, sitting close to neighbours like the Royal Residence and it is a few minutes walk into the main town shopping and eating area. The hotel's footprint stretches across two properties adjacent to each other: the original Heritage residence and the newer addition of the Colonial residence. These two buildings are separated by a road and there is always a security guard to help guests cross the quiet street.

The anchor is the Heritage former mansion of the French governor. Today it houses the Mansion restaurant serving up modern Cambodian dishes along with pastas, salads and sandwiches.

It's lunch time by the time we arrive and unpack. We start with juices to quench our thirst. Mr NQN has a mix of dragonfruit and mango juice while I have a Scribe Frozen Wilds mocktail with pineapple, mint, lime juice and sugar syrup which has a light, natural sweetness to it from fresh fruit. We eat this with salad made with garlic tiger prawns, tiny dried shrimp, smoked fish, roasted peanuts and shredded green mango that is perfect for this warm and humid day. It has a light spiciness and they bring over some extra fresh chilli to spice it up.

Amok is one of the most well known Cambodian dishes and is often enjoyed at special occasions. The base of this is kroeung paste made with lemongrass, galangal, turmeric and makrut lime ;leaf combined with coconut milk then mixed with fish and steamed. There are countless version of Amok, many steamed in banana leaves but this one is made with seabass and noni leaves that are steamed and served in a young coconut. The fish takes on an almost soufflé like texture and is enriched with coconut cream and noni leaves that have a spinach-like flavour like a mild bitterness to them.

Normally we might share a dessert but there are a couple here that sounded tempting. The Nam Plai Ay is glutinous mochi balls with a surprise filling of palm sugar. It is served with grated coconut and coconut ice cream. I love the chewy texture of the balls and the texture of the grainy palm sugar when you bite into it.

Wat Chocolate is Cambodia's first bean to bar chocolate maker and they use beans exclusively grown in Cambodia in the Mondulkiri province. The chocolate tart and rich chocolate ice cream on chocolate crumbs are absolutely delicious. Usually I prefer fruit over chocolate in hot weather but this is so good I finish it all.

At the hotel, we are staying in the newest room category, the Colonial Pool Access rooms across the road as the main building is closed during our stay. Our room #143 is a ground floor room with direct pool access from the balcony. It's gorgeously outfitted with burnt orange tones, a copper sink and accoutrements that reference its past as a gathering place for journalists and scribes. An old fashioned typewriter sits on the table a retro style speaker and phone complete the look. Each room has complimentary coffee and tea made with either loose leaves, a coffee machine or drip filter coffee.

The bed is extremely comfortable with pillows that really sink down and there's a surplus of luggage space which is always a welcome feature. The desk is also a very good size to spread out. The bathroom area has a side that divides the room from the shower and WC and has lemongrass scented toiletries by Bodia. There's also a survival kit provided with herbal mosquito repellant and after bite roll on oil (which are both excellent at keeping these pests at bay).

The pool on this side is smaller than the hotel's main pool and there is a bit less privacy as the pool is right next to the road although it isn't a busy road. Out of the two pools the main pool is much more popular because of its size as well as the more developed foliage that really makes it feel like a lush tropical forest.

If you're staying on Wednesday and Saturdays night, head to the FCC Botanicals tasting room located just next to the Scribe bar where guests of the hotel have a complimentary tasting of the handcrafted spirits made expressly for the FCC. Emma explains that they have four spirits produced for them: a herbal gin, FCC gin, vodka and a rum type of product. All but the rum are produced for them in Cambodia while the rum is made in Thailand.

Gin lover Mr NQN enjoys the Herbal gin made by Sophary Unn and her husband Guilhem of Herbal Kulen made with pandan, juniper, galangal, lime leaf, marigold, juniper, butterfly tea, long pepper and dried chilli.

I try the vodka made with cassava with the distinct flavour of lime leaf. This is made by Marco and Tania from Seekers Spirits along with the FCC Gin. Usually vodka doesn't have much flavour but I love the aroma of the lime. I follow this with the FCC botanical rum the has the aroma or flambeed bananas and made with 100% organic Thai sugarcane by Marine and Thibaud in Phuket. Emma adds some Coke to the rum and some tonic to the gin and we take them to the Scribe bar for a pre dinner drink.

Dinner is at the Mansion this evening where they offer a range of menus including a 3-4 set menu focusing on Khmer cuisine, Western cuisine or vegetarian cuisine. The three courses are $42US and the four courses $49USD. We go for the 4 course Khmer cuisine that starts with a tuna saku A4 sashimi cut into fine cubes with avocado, cucumber broth, caviar vinaigrette, zucchini and mint oil. This is a very fresh and delicate starter.

This is followed by one of the best tom yum soups I've ever eaten (and I've had a lot of tom yum soup over my time). Tom yum us a soup that I think is fine but it has never really hit the heights for me compared to other soups. This has mushroom, galangal and lemongrass with milk and two butterflied deep fried prawns inside that make this soup exceptional. It comes with lime, fish sauce and chilli but it's perfectly seasoned and all we add is a little chilli.

The halibut fish curry is cubes of halibut with carrot and other vegetables with local spices and coconut milk. This is served with steamed brown rice and is a comforting delicious dish.

One other dish that we added on was the beetroot salad with pomelo and grapefruit. This is so refreshing and balanced with a wonderful dressing. It's actually paired with sweet hazelnut biscotti (which at first I thought was tempeh). Although I've never had beetroot salad with biscotti it absolutely works.

And to finish there is a matcha cake filled with mascarpone cheese on a strawberry compote and a delicious coconut ice cream. I would have loved a bit more strawberry to balance the matcha but if you love matcha on its own then you will enjoy this.

And when we retreat back to the cool air conditioned comfort of our room, some mendiant chocolate lollipops are waiting for us as well as a turndown service.

Breakfast is a buffet spread full of Khmer and western choices. There's a range of half a dozen freshly cut fruit as well as breads, cakes and pastries. Despite not being hungover Mr NQN has a "hangover cure" special with a crispy hash brown, bacon and a poached egg on top, fresh fruit and yogurt.

I go for the congee and a Khmer soup called Nom Banh Chok the green curry coconut soup with rice noodles with some prawn siu mai and chilli sambal on the side. All of this is with fresh pineapple juice, watermelon juice and coffee. And with breakfast done, we are ready to revisit many of the places that we last saw over 10 years ago.