For the amazing price of 40 USD a night this place has a great location near to the old town (5 mins walk to main restaurants and bars) and the superior rooms are a reasonable enough size. We stayed at City River on two separate occasions whilst in Cambodia and each time all members of staff were friendly, warm and helpful. The rooms were very clean and the breakfast was good with the best fried eggs we'd had in Cambodia. Once the pool has been finished being built later this year it will be even better although I suspect the prices will go up then too - not a problem as this hotel offers such great value for money. The only slight criticism I have is that it's all a bit teak-tastic although this seems to be the norm for mid-range hotels in Siem Reap. Would definitely return to City River.

This is a great hotel - good location (just 5 minutes walk to all the bars and restaurants by the Old Market), clean, good-sized room and bathroom, quiet, and good thick curtains so if you wanted a lie-in you wouldn't get woken up by the sun shining through!
The staff were helpful, but the breakfast could have been better - limited choice for us as we were staying five nights. But not too bad for what you pay, and if you do a sunrise start at Angkor just ask the staff to prepare a breakfast bag for you to take away so you don't miss breakfast altogether.
It's also walking distance to the FCC (just across the river) which is great for drinks and food, although rather pricey.

We stayed at the City River Hotel for about a week in November 2007, and the hotel was a great place to stay, in a great location near the river. The breakfasts were also pretty good, and mixed Western and asian cuisine. It was a cheap ride into the centre by tuk-tuk, but far enough away to feel a bit peaceful. When they finish the renovations and have a pool it will be even better.

The hotel had a free airport pick up as well, which was great. We were travelling as a group of 5, and they sent a car for us that turned out to be too small. However, this turned out to be very fortunate as they immediately said they'd get a bigger car, and we got an a/c van driven by Mr Tep Sithol (see http://angkordriverservice.blogspot.com/) to take us to the hotel. Sithol was so nice, and the van so good (we had 2 more friends joining us the next day) that we took up his offer for a drive to Angkor Wat that night, and then had Sithol as our driver/guide for the 6 or so days around all the temples. A stroke of luck, and all because we were staying at this hotel!

Wade from Brisbane

I booked this hotel thru the Internet mainly because of its’ rates and location. My boyfriend and I wanted a hotel near the Old Market area yet far enough to be quiet at night without paying several hundred dollars over at most of the large hotels by the airport road. Also we wanted just enough “local flavor and character” yet with the usual western amenities (A/C, hot & cold shower/tub, TV, etc.) and this hotel worked beautifully. The rooms weren’t lush yet it had all the basics we needed and was clean. Although the safe was quite small and bolted onto a movable night table (which could be easily carted away), we appreciated having it. The rooms could use some light renovations particularly the lighting (fluorescent lights are never flattering for dressers), the sliding glass doors (the locks were too flimsy and could easily be broken into) and the bed was ROCK HARD.

Airport pick-up and check-in went smoothly even though our flight from Saigon was an hour late. The lobby was small but clean and functional. On the first floor was an Internet area (access was good but a little slower than what I’m used to) and a restaurant. The breakfast selections were sparse but ok except the eggs were a tad salty. We ended up supplementing it with bread from a bakery called Blue Pumpkin (bread & ice cream lovers this is a little slice of heaven in Siem Reap) and our own granola.

The staff was super friendly but perhaps some of them could use a little more training in English. They helped us arrange our temple tours thru a wonderful, good English speaking tuk tuk driver named David. We wanted to explore the temples by ourselves without being herded around by a tour guide. David was neither too quiet nor too chatty, which was just what we preferred.

Part of the hotel is undergoing construction at the moment so there was no pool and it could be a bit noisy especially around mid morning to afternoon. That didn’t bother us though as we were out for most of the day.

Overall, I was very happy with this hotel and would definitely recommend it. But if you want a healthy breakfast, just pack your own cereal and buy your own bread.