Grand Hotel Riva

A Hotel displaying faded grandeur and certainly not 4 star. Our room did not have air conditioning and this is a must for the lakside Hotels as the humidity is high. However, the location is good and is excellent for the older or disabled travellers, as it is possible to walk to most of the town on flat ground or on gently sloping streets. You are required to book your evening meal at breakfast time, food is kept hot and if you take a late dinner the majority of the meal is spoiled. In an 8 day holiday - 7 dinners - we were only served vegetables once. These amounted to 6 green beans served with chicken at the Gala Dinner - they were the only vegetables served with a meal. I would suggest that a B&B package would be best at this Hotel as there are plenty of restaurants within a 5 minute walk of the Hotel. The Hotel employs the minimum of staff which causes problems and some bar staff only spoke Russian and a few words of Italian!

This hotel is a more traditional European style. The rooms are small and sparsely decorated. The bathrooms are also very small (by American standards). In our room, the water pressure was very low in the shower. We also found the staff help to be quite variable in quality, with some very helpful, others not able to speak English. Everything was clean, but not sanitary. The restaurant food was good, and the staff were friendly and helpful. That said, the location was terrific for Riva - a short walk to just about everything. Visitors used to mainstream American hotels may not adjust well, as the standards and expectations in Europe are much different. Still, we spoke with some "regulars" who had been visiting this hotel for many years. If you want a taste of typical European small hotels, this will offer it. But be ready for all the good and bad things that it means. You can certainly find more expensive hotels, but not many that are cheaper.

We arrived for our honeymoon only to be met by a dog and a none english speaking night porter, lobbies unlit, rooms dusty, linen old and holy, restaurant dirty, this hotelis badly managed and staff are very poorly trained, such a shame as an excellent location.

Tend to agree with most elements of previous reviews. Not a 4 star hotel - nearer 3 star. I found the breakfasts OK , a bit of a free for all as food is replaced randomly as it goes . Restaurant location on the 5th floor gives a fantastic view over Lake Garda. Evening meal set up takes a little getting used to as you have to order in the morning for each course of the 4 course evening meal but i found what i chose was probably what i would have chosen that night anyway so got used to it. It's true that the sweets are not replaced so it's first come first served but there was always something i liked. Rooms were good but , like most hotels in Italy, they DO NOT have tea & coffee facilities in the room like this country so you have to wait for breakfast for your first cup of the tea of the day. Similarly you can't make yourself one at night. Big tip:pay the extra & get one of the rooms facing the lake. I know it's about £70 per week per person ie £140 for a couple, added on to your holiday but it's worth it for the view and being able to sit out on a balcony in the evening. The rooms also overlook the park so it's very quiet. If you do day trips - do one around the whole lake to appreciate the different towns , the Dolomites (stunning) and a cable car trip to Malcesnie(?)- stunning views & worth 15 euros. Don't do Verona unless you get an all day trip 'cause half a day isn't long enough to see very much and definately don't do Venice , even if it's your best city in the world. It's a 3 hour trip along a busy motorway , then a half hour boatride- even if you leave early you'll be very lucky to get more than 4 hours their which is just about long enough to see 2 or 3 sites & then get lost . The thing this hotel has got going for it is it's location and it's comfortable but don't be fooled by the name Grande - that's it's name but it's not luxurious oppulance.

Spent a glorious week in Riva, its a shame the same cannot be said for the hotel Grand. How this hotel is rated as a 4 star is beyond me. I have stopped in better 2 star hotels. The rooms are very basic and dated and badly in need of decorating. The bathroom smelt of drains all week and the shower cubical was so small you couldn't bend down to wash your feet. The resturant is on the top floor and should command excellent views but during the evening the lights are so bright you cannot see anything. Warning, the food is not very good at all. The breakfast are basic, which you can live with but the evening meals are a joke.Very poor quality. You cannot get tea or coffee with your evening meal because they havn't got time?. Friday is Gala dinner night, no choice, but you do get a candle on your table.Yepee do.Stay at the hotel Sole,if you can, great hotel and excellent food

The Grand Hotel is in a superb location in Riva. We found the staff to be very friendly and helpfull and the food was great. It has to be said that the hotel is old and fairly shabby but was clean. We actually prefer more traditional hotels rather than new hotels so we did not mind the age of the hotel. The facilities in the hotel are limited but we like the cafe culture of Riva and the region so much that we did not spend a great deal of time in the hotel so my advice is to stay at the Grand for the location and the food and get out and sample the rest of Riva and the area. It should probably be rated as a three star.

Arrived jUNE 19TH 2005 We chose the hotel for it's location in Riva We were sorprised how poor the food was for a 4 STAR HOTEl. The breakfast was poor and if we didn 'get there At 7pm for the evening meal you would find some starter and desert plates empty as they didn't refill them. As we had a late flight home we requested a secure place to leave our case's but there wasn,t one.

Arrived this June 2005.Chose the hotel because of its location as it is overlooking the lake and the views are superb. The hotel is in need of urgent renovation.The decor/fittings that have been updated have been carried out on a very low budget.Air conditioning is only available in superior rooms and has no thermostat. There was a lack of staff which meant they were very busy( Just 2 waiters serving at dinner) and therefore did not have time to be friendly or helpful. We were given the menu's for the evening dinner with our breakfast which is very unusual for a 4* hotel.Unless you arrive as the restaurant opens at 7pm there is a chance that you wont get starters or dessert as they are not replenished when they run out.( Food is OK though if you arrive early) How the hotel rates their 4* is a mystery as they have no gardens,bar(only a public bar/cafe adjoining),swimming pool, fitness centre etc.

When we arrived we paid extra and up graded to a suite. This was a great move. View was first class overlooking the lake.The meals were well presented,and you could select different meals off the menu or request something if nothing took your fancey (Great for the fussy eater). the restaurant is on the top floor with fantastic views over the Lake. We would reccomend the Grand as the location is 1st class and the staff are great, but the hotel needs a little face lift.

Terrible hotel. The rooms were cold and noisy from the antiquated heating system. I have never been asked to decide what I want to eat the following day in any hotel before, and their Gala Dnner means that there is no choice of food. You either take it or leave it. I love Riva del Garda but the Grand Hotel is the pits.