CDSHotels Riva Marina Resort

“Overall we loved it!”

We had a week based here, with Mistral Holidays. We were part of a group of 46, and all aged over 60. Having read some very negative reviews prior to travelling, we were pleasantly surprised by the hotel. The rooms were spacious, all individul with a small terrace or garden, and accessed via path... more

We had a week based here, with Mistral Holidays. We were part of a group of 46, and all aged over 60. Having read some very negative reviews prior to travelling, we were pleasantly surprised by the hotel. The rooms were spacious, all individul with a small terrace or garden, and accessed via paths bordered by lovely trees and shrubs. Everywhere was spotlessly clean.the pool was lovely. Considering the catering was for very large numbers, we thought the food was fantastic, especially the cold collation of starters so imaginatively created. The ambience of the dining space did lack atmosphere, but we were all having such a good time we barely noticed. Most of the staff were pleasant and we managed to communicate adequately though not Italian speakers. We were in Italy after all! The hotel is out on a limb so a car necessary. The beach is about a 15 min walk. Very quiet at this time of year but a few restaurants open for a reasonable lunch on the days we weren't on excursions . My only grouse was the use of plastic glasses. I heard this was because there had been an incident in the past where a fight had broken out amongst guests, and glasses broken. I don't think that should justify the use of plastic. Apart from anything else it is just not acceptable ecologically these days. The free drinks were mainly good apart from the still wine which was pretty rough, and no Rose. The gin and tonic, aperol spritz, and Prosecco all good.During our stay a large group of adolescents appeared for a few days. They were so well behaved, and one evening a few of us old codgers got up and danced with them. They didn't seem too embarrassed. As this was a tour guided holiday we were out visiting places on 5 of the 7 days, but our time in resort was very enjoyable. I would certainly stay here again.

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“Not A 4 Star Hotel”

Stayed here for a week half board + drinks package on a Mistral Holidays Puglia tour. Things did not start well as we arrived over an hour late at 00.30 courtesy of the joke airline known as Ryanair. Having not eaten since Manchester Airport we expected that there would be some cold food left o... more

Stayed here for a week half board + drinks package on a Mistral Holidays Puglia tour. Things did not start well as we arrived over an hour late at 00.30 courtesy of the joke airline known as Ryanair. Having not eaten since Manchester Airport we expected that there would be some cold food left out for our party as is the norm in such cases. The hotel informed that they were unable to provide anything on health grounds despite their being fridges in the rooms. As the hotel has a large footprint with the rooms scattered about the site we were told that golf buggies would be available to take the guests & their luggage to their rooms but these never materialised due to the "late hour". Instead they sent somebody with a torch to escort us as far as the path & were told that our room was "somewhere down there". I would not recommend this hotel to anybody with mobility issues as all room as distant from the main hotel & golf buggies are like hen's teeth. When we got to the room it was very spartan & I've stayed in better Travel Lodge rooms. The following day didn't improve my mood as the dining room was like a cross between a staff canteen & a motorway services. Food was plentiful but like most buffet restaurants not always warm. There are two bars on site & were often closed at the same time during the day with all drinks being served in small plastic tumblers. Being on half board lunch was a problem unless you were prepared to pay 25 Euros for the dubious privilege of eating in the hotel canteen. Fortunately we found a brilliant restaurant nearby that cost about the same for a 2 course meal with drinks. There is also a bar at the beach served by a train from the hotel & worked well until the latter half of the week when the hotel was full of noisy, rude Italians with no concept of queuing which made it like rush hour on the Rome metro. Overall it was not a pleasant stay & would be difficult to recommend.

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