Riviera Resort & Spa

w,e spent 3 weeks at the riviera for our birthdays and our 45th wedding anniversary,we were made to feel very special,with flowers wine and basket of fruit,its a first class hotel and the service from the management to the cleaners was excellent, we had a lovely room over looking the pool its a beautiful location with easy access to anywhere,by regular buses with cheap fares, also close to ferry to see Goso.we will return

Sep27/Oct 4th very nice hotel had a superb suit overlooking sea staff on reception to much talking, and dont smile, staff in the lobby bar and the downstairs bar couldnt care less, hotel run out of draught beer after 3 days,and didnt refill, food good staff in dining hall excellent.In general malta people dont seem to smile WHY.

First impressions are that you have indeed landed in a great 4 star hotel. It soon became clear this wasn't quite the case. For starters, the staff on the reception desk spent more time talking to one another and ignoring us than they did trying to help us check in. We booked a double room but got a twin room. Beds were quite hard and the pillows were as useful as a ball of cotton wool and similar in size! The bathroom was at best basic. Our main issue was the air con which was very poor to the point of non existence on a few nights. It was stifling hot at night and in the morning and made for a very uncomfortable sleep. When we complained we were told that the air con was only switched on between 4 in the afternoon and 1 in the morning! Believe me, even at that it was awful. On a brighter note, the pool area was quite nice. Unfortunately Sept is considered 'winter' (at 28 degrees!!) so the pool bar was not open every day which was ridiculous as the pool area was pretty full each day. The food was okay but there were a few scary moments - prawns not cleaned and raw chicken served at the buffet, thankfully not to me! On complaining about the prawns not being cleaned I was told they were frozen. Which apparently meant I was wrong. I've eaten prawns enough to know how they should be served. Not only did the extremely rude service manager try to argue with me, he did not offer me anything else when I told him I would not be eating them. That was the Bistro restaurant Sol e Mar. We did not return there. Which made life difficult as there few places to choose from. The riviera is very remote. Handy for travelling to Gozo and Comino but little else. The other two hotels in the area had more facilities for younger people and also small supermarkets, the riviera has only a pokey little gift shop. Overall we were disappointed and won't be returning or recommending this hotel. Perhaps at the height of summer the staff are more pleasant and helpful and perhaps the air con works properly but you only get one chance to make a first impression.

This hotel has a lot of hiccups that if they were smoothed out, it would be a great place. Firstly the air conditioning in the hotel is not the best. It was a common complaint amongst people we were talking to in the hotel. There was 2 nights out of 10 that we couldnt sleep properly due to the heat. We tried to sleep with the doors open but this didnt make any difference. Some mornings it was unbearable as the sun was beating on the patio and the air conditioning was very poor so the room was quite uncomfortable. I didnt think the staff were great. They didnt seem to know how to deal with a problelm properly. Any problem we had was met with "i'll fill in a report card and someone will deal with the situation tomorrow". This wasnt great to hear when you heard it about 3 or 4 times. It meant basically any problems you had, it wasnt dealt with. For people who like to snuggle up at night with a loved one and watch a movie - forget it. This hotel has only one channel in English, BBC Prime and thats it! There is a movie channel which shows one movie at 8pm and one at 11pm but they are old movies and they are usually in German. For a four star hotel little things were missed like shampoo's etc in the bathroom. All that was provided was a shower cap. The beds were quite uncomfortable. After requested a double bed there was only 2 twin beds left which we pushed together. That wasnt a problem but the beds themselves were quite hard and there was a few sore muscels in the morning. It is definitely not four star hotel standard and please please dont be disappointed if you think it is. Many of the problems we had, other guests had. My boyfriend liked the spa treatments in the hotel, I didnt. Everyone will have difference opinions about this. On a lighter note.... The housekeeping staff were great and always did a good job. The food in the bistro was gorgeous and the wine was very good. The Maltese wine in general if fabulous and very cheap also. Its a handy location if you want to visit Gozo. Its a beautiful part of the island, nice and queit and Hola Beach has some good entertainment on sometimes. I wouldnt recommend the Hotel Riviera or stay there again however unless it went through some air conditioning adjustments and the staff and management need to be better trained. Overall out of 5, I would give it a 2!

This Hotel has the facilities of a 4 star but is far from that. The main issue is that the Staff don’t have the necessary training and with the exception of the Hola Bar team are not polite. It’s almost like you are a hindrance being there and are processed accordingly. Additionally the whole place could do with a good clean. The Riviera make you pay the accommodation up front and it’s clear why. We booked a double room and were given a self catering twin room which was in reality a time share room. We were advised this by our neighbouring room who had a time share in the Hotel. On a positive note the view is great if you get a Sea View however that’s where it ends. I found every aspect of the hotel very very poor and the meal we had in the Sol E Mar Resteraunt (a Pizza) was the worst, tasteless Pizza I have ever had. They hadn’t washed the mushrooms. When I discussed with other customers and mentioned this to other residents in the hotel, they all agreed the food was awful. Breakfast was very poor and badly organised. The tables were not clean there were many flies. We were very glad we didn’t have to have anything other than Breakfast in the Hotel. The Ramla Bay Resort and Spa is a short walk away and we found many of the Riviera clients eating in this Hotel instead which I can fully understand. You can also take the bus into Mellieha and a Taxi back. There are some very nice restaurant’s there. We stayed in 4 hotels on this vacation. The Grand Hotel in Gozo, the Radisson SAS in St Julian’s and the Corinthian in St Julian and they were all great. The Grand in Gozo was 4 star and fabulous. It was night and day difference between the Riviera. The Riviera Resort & Spa is the worst Hotel I have stayed in for many many years and can think of no reason why anybody would stay in this Hotel. If you want to be processed insulted and pay extra for every little thing (security safe extra, pool towels extra with clean next day pool towels extra also) in a Dirty Timeshare full of German package tourists this is for you. If you want to stay in this particular location then treat yourself to a real Hotel and check in the Ramla Bay Resort. When you arrive and walk to have a look at this hotel, you’ll be annoyed you didn’t. Don’t stay here your worth more!

We booked this hotel based on a number of reviews read here- we wanted a peaceful, chilled out resort with good facilities on site and sea views and thats exactly what we got! We got a good deal on one of the suites for 5 nights and granted it was spacious and had beautiful views of the harbour, Comino and Gozo but I really didn't think it up to 4 star standard. A previous review said something along the lines of "good 3 star, not a 4 star" and I'd agree with that. On the plus side, the staff were efficient, helpful, friendly and impressively multi-lingual. The food served in the restaurants, particularly the bistro was to a very high standard, though I thought the menu was a bit limited. As an alternative to eating in the hotel, try out the beachside restaurant on Hola Beach next door- they do a great rib-eye steak cooked just the way you want with lots of crispy potato wedges, onion rings and coleslaw. With a glass or two of the local rose as the sun goes down, listening to chilled out beats, there's no where else you'd rather be. Back to the hotel itself: the public areas, including the lobby, pools and pool decks were spotless and well maintained and there was no problem bagging a sun lounger any time of day. Large beach towels were freely available from reception- once signed for- and spending a few hours by the pool on the first couple of days was extremely relaxing. A dip in the Med is made easy by way of ladders afixed to the rocks along the shore or an elogated jetty off of Hola Beach. Then we got bored and in the case of the other half, burnt, and decided to explore a bit on the buses having forgotten drivers licenses for the hire car. On the negative side, the decor is a bit dated, the furnishings a trifle worn and there was a feeling and smell of dampness about our room along with evidence of recent work on the masonry- new plaster on a large section of the bedroom wall was half-heartedly concealed by a curtain and a pile of broken concrete and plaster obviously from the repair was swept into a corner of the balcony and left there for the duration. We had to request tea and coffee facilities and no milk was supplied- I was gasping for a cup of tea all week!!! We got the mini bar stocked up with local wine and beer so we were happy enough with that! Also disappointing were our room balconies: they were quite narrow, overlooked and didn't get any of the evening sun the way the balconies both above and below us seemed to. We were on the third floor with a seaview- the balconies of those rooms facing the sea on the top floor (4th) and the second floor balconies below us (which were huge in comparison and jutted out some way) seemed to get sun into the late afternoon and evening. We weren't spending a whole lot of time in the room anyway so it wasn't that big a deal. Would have been a nice place to kick back with a few beers in the evening though! Overall a nice place for a restful break. Though it might be a bit too quiet for those wanting a variety of bars, restaurants and clubs, we loved the general area and we'll certainly be returning to Malta. I'd say we'll self-cater in future- fresh food is so freely and cheaply available and barbecuing would be a great option! The bus network is good, but would recommend a car- everywhere seems to be well-signed and there was no evidence of maniacal driving that you associate with the Med. Our taxi and bus drivers were polite, considerate of other drivers and knew how to indicate along with how to negotiate roundabouts and I can tell you that coming from Ireland, I was a shocked! Overall, a success!

i booked a family room and upon arrival upgraded to a seaview since the view of the sea and of gozo is something one should not miss. The room was clean and the hotel service was also good. The pool area is very nice and great for anyone with children. The food at the hotel was also very good. We also spent a day at hola beach which is right next to the hotel. Renting out a car is a must since it makes travelling round the island much easier and a visit to Gozo is also a must!! Overall great service and extremely helpful staff.

We stayed at the Riviera for a week and had a fabulous time. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to vist malta. They do a fantastic BBQ on a friday night at the hotel and on a Saturday night at hola beach with a Theatrical performance. The Theatrical performance is not of the same as a west end show quality, but none the less entertaining. I would recommend going on a boat trip to the blue lagoon, but leave on the first boat at 9am as it is very popular and gets crowded( the boat leaves directly opp. the hotel). Mellieha bay is fantastic and has lots to do for everyone in the Family. If you want a bit of history I can recommend Medina/Rabat. We are deffantly going back there!

Being our first time to Malta my husband and I decided to spend our holiday in a good hotel with a spa and close to the beaches as we love staying outdoors. We could not have been luckier. We specifically looked for a good hotel in the north part of Malta and found the Riviera that met our criteria. The hotel has a nice decor with plenty of daylight and open views of comino and gozo. The room was of a good size, comfortable, very clean with a nice balcony overlooking the beach with palm trees. We booked on BB and dined once in the main restaurant were buffet is served. Food is good but it was a bit crowded and could only eat indoors. The a la carte was lovely and we dined outside on the terrace. Luckily we saw the beach with palm trees from our room so we went there. I don't know why but this beach, Hola beach is not well advertised in the hotel. The sunbeds are free but you have to pay Lm1 for the umbrella for the day. They play great chillout music and buddha bar music all day and evening. We had some great lunches and dinners under the palm trees. Try the ribeye there its' marvelous! They have a good selection of cocktails to choose from. Wine is really cheap there starting from Lm2.50 a bottle! Beer costs 50c!!! Service at the hotel was quite good although the waiters tend to be always in a hurry. We were surprised that we always found sunbeds by the pool although the hotel seemed full. However we really loved the beds at Hola beach. We hired two beds with mattress, sheets and pillow for Lm2.50 a day. Great way to relax and fall asleep listening to nice music and sipping a cocktail! The bars are good at the hotel with limited outdoor seating. The downfall is that they close at midnight which we found a bit odd. Thank god the bar at the beach stays open till late so we were always there for drinks. The hotel was generally clean and luckily this hotel does not take students so it was not noisy. We had some treatments at the Spa which were great. My husband also had a great massage on the beach as they do massages only on sundays. This is what we really wanted for our holiday and we are really glad that my husband does his research well!! We'll definitely go back!! Cats.

ent on holiday with my best friend (2 single girls) Booked the Riviera due to other reviews and as it was close to the sandy beach in Malta. It is located in Cirkwena NOT Mellieha - which is about 5-7 minute drive away. It cost us 14.75 LM (about £21) in a taxi from the airport. We paid £362 for 5 nights with flights with Air Malta an B&B accommodation at the Riviera Hotel. The hotel was nice but what I would term a very good 3 star hotel - the rooms were the same as a good quality Travelodge in the UK - basic bathrooms with shampoo dispensers (as opposed to your own bottled toiletries) and every room came with a decent balcony. Our room had a queen size bed, tiled floor (essential due to the heat) dressing table and 2 bedside tables which weren't quite next to the bed (as it was a small bed) The only channel we made work was Sky news (which is very repetitive by the way) but obvioulsly we weren't there to watch TV :o) If you are going to be there on a friday, book ahead for the friday night BBQ, which was sadly fully booked when we tried to go. Its only 7.50LM (about £11) and very good value. We ate at the other 2 restaurants - can't remember the name but the buffet one (which is meant for diners that are half -board) was ok - the other a la carte, was lovely. The cocktail bar seemed popular with tourists and locals alike and would be nice for people to spend their first night if they are too tired to venture anywhere else. The location of the hotel is fine for people that want a quiet romantic getaway. There is Hola beach which had small pebbles instead of sand and sunbeds. The sandy small private strip a few hundred yards away appears to belong to the other hotel in the area, but we used it all the same. From the hotel, its a 5 minute walk to catch a boat to do a tour of Cominho and the Blue Lagoon - trips to the caves from this area departed on wednesday and saturdays (We used Blue Waves - Ian and his bro were very friendly) at 10am, 1pm and 3pm. I suggest taking a seas sickness pill before boarding as the waters can get a bit choppy and I felt a little seasick (although my pal was fine) Cominho / Blue Lagoon was RAMMED with teenagers who deaprt around 3-4pm so I'd suggest going later in the day than in the morning. The hotel is also a 10 minute walk to the Gozo port - which is nice for a day tour. I'd recommend taking your car if you have one - fare is reasonable for the 20 minute crossing - 2 Lm per person or 8.75 for a car with all passengers. Car Hire - we used a company called Billys in Mellieha and it cost us £135 for 4 full days - as we rented an automatic. I'd suggest booking car hire ahead of time, and filling up with petrol before you give back, otherwise they sting you for it! Booking a car is best idea as you can get around Malta very very easily (they drive on the same side as us) and its a good way to pack a lot in. We naviagated using a bus map given to us by the rental car company and were fine with that - Malta is very small and difficult to get lost! There are 5 spped cameras on the island, which the car rental company marked out for us on the bus map - but are very clearly marked on the roads, so you won't get caught out! Mellieha is about 5-7 minute drive from hotel - nice beach, really worth going at least once for beautiful clear blue waters. Beach sand is V hot, so make sure you have footwear. We rented sunbeds and umbrella which came to 3.75 (about £5) for 1 day hire. I wouldn't recommend staying in Mellieha if you are looking for a lively holiday - St Julians or Valetta would be better choices. However, if you have a designated driver, anywhere in Malta is fine. It took us 30 minutes to drive to St Julians from the hotel. Places to go in St Julians This place is Mayhem with so many people! Bars I recommend for those who are over 20 Plush - like name like place! Fuego - salsa latino bar with outdoor area which is nice In the village of Ta'Qali crafts village - there is an amazing outdoor club which is THE place to go on a sunday night - Its called Numero Uno and its technically in Rabat. Taxi drivers know where it is - you can get fast food there too! Anyway, lots to see Mdina lovely mysterious city which is easy to miss as it really is hidden behind walls next to Rabat. Valetta - worth 1-2 days. Gozo - defintiely worth 1 day - drive to Marscascala and you'll find some secluded areas on the beach that are just breathtaking. Hope you have a lovely holiday Mo xxx