CDSHotels Riva Marina Resort

Review Riva Marina Resort - CDSHotels We returned on Friday after spending a week at Riva Marina Resort, booked through BA. We usually travel in May or June, but that wasn't possible this year, so we booked the second week of July instead. Before booking, we read lots of reviews on Google and TripAdvisor, some very positive and some quite negative. In the end, we decided to see for ourselves, and overall, we're glad we did. Room We requested a quiet room and were pleased that our request was honoured. We stayed near the entrance in the older part of the resort, which suited us perfectly. The room was comfortable, the bed was good, and although we had an issue with the air conditioning, it was fixed very quickly. Food The food wasn't particularly exciting, but I always found something I enjoyed at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. My husband would have appreciated a bit more variety, but overall we never went hungry. Restaurants There are four buffet restaurants, although they are more like large dining halls. We had a table near the entrance, which worked well for us. Because the resort was at full capacity (around 2,000 guests), the restaurants were understandably very busy and extremely noisy. They're functional rather than relaxing—you eat and then leave—but given the number of people they have to cater for, it's understandable. Rooftop Restaurant Once during your stay, you can book the rooftop restaurant through the app. We highly recommend doing this. It's much quieter, more intimate, and a lovely change from the buffet restaurants. We really enjoyed our evening there. Entertainment The animation team worked incredibly hard and were always friendly and enthusiastic. Most activities are aimed at families with children and are conducted in Italian, which is worth knowing if you don't speak the language. While it wasn't really our thing, it was lovely to see how much the families were enjoying themselves. In the afternoons, the main pool area is lively, with music and activities, and every evening the entertainment team puts on a show near the bar by the restaurants. We enjoyed watching the performances while having an aperitivo. Pools & Beach The main pool was simply too busy for us, but that's to be expected in peak season. We much preferred the smaller pool, although it became busy at times too. The beach is beautiful, and the little train that runs throughout the day makes getting there very easy. We wouldn't have wanted to walk in the July heat, so this was a great service. Bars There are two bars—one by the restaurants and one by the main pool. The staff work incredibly hard. At busy times there can be queues, but we never had to wait too long. The afternoon pizza at the pool bar is very popular, so expect a longer wait if you want a slice. Language Some staff spoke excellent English, while others spoke very little, but everyone was friendly and we never had any problems communicating. Overall We had a lovely holiday and are pleased we ignored some of the harsher reviews. The resort is very much geared towards Italian families, which gives it an authentic atmosphere. If you're looking for a lively family resort, you'll probably love it. The only thing we would do differently is avoid visiting during the peak Italian holiday season. We would happily return, but next time we'd choose May or June when the resort is likely to be quieter.

I was super excited about staying here - the pictures looked amazing. We booked 2 weeks. I am here, day 3 and unfortunately have to agree with some of the negative comments. What people want when they book an all-inclusive 4-star resort is to relax. To be unburdened. What doesn’t get me this feeling is having to pay € 5 if I want fresh beach towels. Or to pay € 3 for a mandatory cap to enter the pool. The rooms in the yellow block are small and smell moldy - probably because the bathrooms have no windows. I do have to give compliments to the cleaning staff - they are super fast and mop the floor every day. Both the main pool and baby pool have the bottom peeling off and the floor is covered in all that debris. It’s time for a pool renovation I would say. What also doesn’t give me an unburdened feeling is that it’s not stated on the website that wearing a beach cap in the pool is mandarory and if you don’t have one, you can buy it for € 3 per piece from the life guards. At the same time in the website photo gallery there is a photo of a family in the pool all without beach cap. All these sneaky extra charges remind me of a Ryanair flight. EDIT AFTER THE FULL 2 WEEK STAY: yes, the towels are free after paying a deposit of € 20 per towel. But it would still suit a 4-star hotel to let you exchange them for free at least twice a week as a service to your guests. The animation staff is amazing - they have 6 professional and classical trained dancers. Those shows are always my favorites. Also the kid animation is great. The food in the restaurant is nice - especially given they cook for so many people, they still manage to cook the pastas all dente. The breakfast buffet could be more varied, it’s literally the same every day.

Far too big. Food was very nice but "restaurant " was more like a work canteen. Room was lovely but shower was ridiculously over the top and hot water took a very long time to arrive. Long way to walk from accommodation to reception, bar and restaurant. Not enough indoor seating in bar. Long way from beach - fortunately there was a frequent land train. Not a hotel but a huge resort distant from anywhere.

In short: we’ve been feeling stranded in a very boring place. Hotel staff is barely able to communicate in English, the only “attraction” is water aerobic in a pool to very loud disco blasting every day. Rooms ale clean, but bare: no electric outlets in a living room, ancient tv. Service in a bar or a restaurant is on “what do you want from me?” level, I felt like apologising for making any requests. Excursions outside hotel are limited: the pile of rusty metal they call bike rental inspired me to check my tetanus shots status, taxi is quite expensive and must be booked in advance.

Disappointing overall. Our package was B&B with evening dinner all inclusive drinks. Not possible to get any kind of light snack at lunchtime unless you paid €25 to dine in main dining area. Inclusive drinks only available at certain times throughout day at one bar area. This included coffee too! Which means from 9:30am-7:30pm there was nothing available. My friend was unwell one day, could not manage breakfast & so went from 7:30pm the night before until 7:30pm the following day without any access to any food. The resort is huge & was very busy but lacks enough facilities. Noisy, crowded dining room. Any hot food always luke warm on cold plates. Unappetising & unappealing choices of food. Puglia is 'famous for its bread' but sadly not available in this resort! Bottom bed sheet on first night had damp mould spots. Sheets changed regularly after this. Significant amount of walking needed to get from accommodation to the main resort building for reception/dining room etc. No cover if raining & a very slippery tiled open space to walk across to reception. Especially hazardous for people with mobility issues. Staff were helpful & the resort appeared to have a good compliment of staff available. We booked a buggy service to help with luggage on last day. This service did not appear. We were forced to manage ourselves. All in all hugely disappointing for my first experience in Italy.