Riviera Hotel

We went to Hotel Riviera on 10th-14th May for the Barcelona Grand Prix weekend.
Unforgettable experience and for the price we paid it was a good deal. The room was fine and Hotel close to the beach.
Make sure you confirm your transfer details on arrival as we missed a day of the racing because of miscommunication.
Apart from the pizzeria that was attached to our hotel (which was nice) there were very few other good quality eateries.
The food unfortunately was not good at all in the Hotel catered for the Germans and was usually cold. Luckily there was a burger King next door but obviously you don’t want to eat their very often.
All of the receptionists apart from 1, were usually unwilling to help and really struggled speaking English.
Pool was cold but to be expected.
If you’re looking for a quiet week in Spain then this was fine but if you want a bit of class or a lush holiday then I’d give it a miss!
Very close to the train stop that cost 6 Euros per person to get to Barcelona and takes approx. 1 hour.

It has been a few years since visiting this hotel for a holiday, in fact it was 2001 but it doesn’t let me go that far back on here. I went with my parents, grandparents and my best friend. Me and my best friend say it’s one of the most enjoyable holidays we have ever had.
The people around you i,e, the staff are very friendly and speak good English. The food was amazing - starters, mains, desserts and you could go up as many times as you like. Fair enough, we had to queue, but it was worth the wait and if you got the early you were fine.
There was plenty of things to do in the day. i.e. shopping, the beach, trips to Barcelona and also places to go of an evening, bars, clubs. If you don’t want to go out there are shows inside the hotel.
We made lots of friends and will most definitely go back at some point in the future.

My husband and I were not impressed with the Riviera Hotel.
We are usually easy to please and if a hotel is clean and serves decent food we are generally satisfied.
Our room was one which had not been renovated and was very dinghy. The floor had not been washed; there were empty water bottles on the balcony and a dirty glass in the bathroom.
The safe was not in the room, as we expected, but in part of the foyer. It was very small and unable to accommodate my small camera, so we had to carry it everywhere.
We were also not happy about using the safe in a public area.
At mealtimes we were prepared to put up with queuing hoping that the food would be worth the wait...we were disappointed! The food was dreadful and it was difficult to identify what was on offer.
We liked Santa Susanna, especially the stalls set out along the prom. in the evening. Malgrat is livelier if you prefer that.
Our stay was for 4nights and the highlight was a trip to Montserrat--it was spectacular.
We also went up the coast on the jet boat to Tossa de Mar, the trip took about an hour and was very enjoyable.
We would go back to Santa Susanna, but not to the Riviera Hotel.

1 reader found this review helpful

I feel moved to support this hotel after some very negative reviews on this site.
My family that is my hubby and our 3 kids aged 15, 8, and 9 absolutely loved this hotel.
Far from there being "nothing for kids" it in fact was the devils own job to get them to go to bed and most times they would not go until after midnight.
The small pool was full of toddlers and the graduated steps into the large pool meant my youngest who is a non swimmer could paddle safely. There was a mini disco after tea, and the playground was next to the outdoor terrace entertainment so the kids played on that whilst we sat and had a drink and watched the entertainment.
We had African dancers, flamenco show a male singer, and a duet.
OK so none of them were what you would get in a 5 star hotel and the playground was not state of the art and the kid’s animation guys were a bit hopeless, and yes two pool tables were not really sufficient for the size of the hotel but for a 3 star it was just right.
The food, well I don’t know about others but when I am abroad I like to try strange foods (if I didn’t I would spend my break in a caravan in England).
At night there was a choice of at least 2 meats fish salads, hamwiches (!) frog’s legs chips and different sorts of potatoes (and I have the videos to prove it...saddos arent we filming the food?)
Loads of choice of puds, fruit...my kids were in their element, and again, yes you had to queue but what the heck, if you could only find salad you must not have walked the lenghth of the restaurant.
In fact we went October to a 4 star in Pineda and we moaned about the lack of choice of food, the Riv was much better.
I ramble on sorry. The point is that this Smith family had a super holiday at the Riv for what we paid, a standard 3 star Costa Brava hotel, clean and friendly.
My kids say it is the best hol yet and we have been Ibiza Majorca Tenerife Lanzarote Greece and America, to name but a few so we are not first timers blissful in our lack of experience.
Try the Riv, you will only be able to comment when you have tried it, make your own mind up, and in fact have an open mind and a positive attitude! I hope you enjoy it!

I’ve had to comment on here after I read all the reviews of the hotel. I’ve been coming to this hotel for about 20 years and I got some dear friends that work here. Firstly most of the staff here speak excellent English.
The rooms are a lot better now they got air conditioning in them which they have only just got installed. Yes I agree a little about the food could be a lot better and yes the queues at meal times can be annoying, but if you get there early you’re okay.
I’ve been to a lot of the hotels in Santa Susanna and well Hotel Riviera I will always keep going back to.

Well where can we start! Recently visited the Hotel Riviera from what seemed outside looked absolutely beautiful with the reception area and the Staff of the Riviera Hotel was absolutely fantastic. But the one absolute Huge let down must have been dining for our food at evening and breakfast times.
The food at breakfast looked like it wasn't cooked and raw. You had to search for a decent fried egg! When they were served twice in a 10 day break. Well for dinner, we had to queue for nearly half an hour to get the decent food of what seemed to be SALAD AND CHIPS. and I don’t mean the full salad that we prepare ourselves. I mean only lettuce. the tomatoes were green and looked really unappetising.
They did not cater for English customer what so ever. it was all cheese and ham for breakfast and chips for dinner. It cost nearly 300 Euro to feed the family of 7 for the 10 days in which we were at the Riviera hotel. considering we saved for nine months to go on our first ever holiday abroad it really was a poor show.
The rooms were adequate but small. The maid service was excellent they were the most friendliest of the hotel staff. We would not recommend this particular hotel for children. Nothing for them to do except go swimming and the beach.
The entertainment was absolutely disgusting. We went to different hotels each night to get decent entertainment.
It was our first and last time at visiting the Riviera hotel.

My family & I really enjoyed our 1st holiday to Turkey. Our 3 teenagers loved it (19, 17 & 14) whilst our youngest (10) had the time of his life.
We couldn't fault the hotel. Staff were wonderful, hotel amazing. Location for us was fine but if you do like a base to explore from choose a different hotel. (We ski twice a year so truly just wish to relax in the summer... no mad shopping for us).
Already planning our return. There was a wonderful international feel with so many different nationalities represented.

After reading the other reviews about this hotel we were dreading it, but it wasn’t anything like they said. It was clean & tidy at all times and all of the staff were very helpful & friendly especially the bar staff.
Okay there were queues at the dining room every night but not once did we have to clean a table before we could sit down.
There was plenty choices of food and it was always hot and the chefs were there all the time making sure there was plenty of food at all times. So anyone going here and dreading it have got nothing to worry about.

I completely disagree with the bad reviews this hotel has been given and feel like I should stand up for it.
I worked about a twenty minute taxi journey inland from the resort over the summer and stayed in this hotel most weekends whilst on my days off.
I really enjoyed it and could not fault the place. I was only b+b or sometimes half bored so could not vouch for all the meals, but the ones I experienced were fine.
When my boyfriend came over to visit me I even took him there as i really enjoyed it.
I never stayed in the hotel in the evenings so cannot comment on the entertainment but there was plenty to do in the area so I never felt the need to.
The pool was great, the beach is close and really pleasant with lots of local activities.
If it was as bad as everyone says I would not of gone back week after week.

What can you say about the Riviera Hotel? The rooms are small but are cleaned daily. the main reception and bars are clean and tidy.
I went to Hotel Riviera with my partner and daughter of 5 years old. The food was bearable for about a week but then became the same over and over again great if you like cold smelly fish and limp salads.
The hotel pool was nice and the kids entertainment run by Kevin and Tim was good but a little un-organised. My daughter enjoyed her time at the kids club and mini disco.
I feel what let the hotel down was over crowding which led to long queues for dining (when you where brave enough to go down there!). too many guests which made it over crowded by the pool and almost impossible to get a sun lounger!
Santa Susanna is okay Malgret is better great English pub The Crown and Anchor which served fab food and is run by a lovely couple Trevor and Chrissie who make you feel most welcome and are really family friendly.