Hotel Riviera

We stayed at the Riviera hotel 6 june 2007, we have 3 kids aged 9, 14 and 15. We were self catering and put in the apartment blocks next to the hotel. In block "A" you can see the pool and sea providing you are on the higher floors, Block "B" has no views at all. Next to the hotel is a huge buiding yard which have generators going non stop. Our room was large but VERY basic, microwave was too small to use and rusty, there is a cooker top which took 25mins to boil water and no space to put anything. The maids came to our room twice, only to change the towels not the bedding and they did not sweep or mop up, the towels were full of rips and holes. The on-site Pizza restaurant was non existant, there was no air con, very noisy at night (including fights). So thats the bad, the good - bar staff and reps very nice, pool area good, some more umbrellas would be nice though. Kids entertainment is ok for very young kids, hotel entertainment done by the reps and is poor compared to others i`ve seen. Out and about - If you want to stay drunk , and club all night its fantastic, if you like soft sandy beaches, plenty to do for families, good entertainment, go else where. You can get a ferry across to sant antonio for just 2 euros, very good! and fun. But sant antonia`s beaches are nicknamed "poo beach" by locals due to the hundreds of boats dumping the human waste in the sea, the sea is also very rocky and murky, if you want to go to the beach, stay in the bay, it has some sand and the sea is clear, but rocky. For nightly entertainment, turn right from the hotel and walk for about 15 mins (i walk slow) to the cafe royal, very good entertainment for families and couples alike, dont miss the hypnotist, turn left at the hotel and the are pubs with mainly disco music and karaoke, we had a go at a few songs, there are trampolines and pool tables for kids no matter which way you turn, all booze is fairly priced, so getting drunk doesn`t` cost much. The water park in Playa den bossa (about 25 mins away) 25 euros in a taxi or 3 buses (takes about an hour) is very small, a few hours is more than enough time there, if you want the whole day book with the phone box, 36euro for adults 22 for under 12, they will take you and collect you. The phone box was also where we exchanged our money, honest and they have quite a few exchange shops around san antonio/bay. We went on the sunset cruise, its only for 2 hours (8pm-10pm) but its very good, good sights and views and they take you on a glass bottom boat, so its two for one on this trip. Needless to say we will not be returning to ibiza and definately not the riviera hotel.

just back from a week at the riviera with my husband and another couple. i am so glad we booked to go so early in the season, the first half of the week (20th-27th may) was great - plenty of loungers round the pool and no trouble getting a table at meal times (we were half board). but from the thursday onwards it started getting pretty overcrowded and noisy - id hate to see it high season! this is definitely a hotel geared towards families, with something going on for the kids all day long. hotel entertainment isnt really my thing so we headed for the west end most days and nights which is about a half hour walk round the bay or 7 euros in a taxi. i cant find many faults with this hotel, but if it was about half a mile closer to the town it would be ideal! id give the biggest thumbs up to the staff - the maids are round every day and seem very cheery, and the restaurant staff are great - cleaning tables and restocking the buffet constantly. in short, this hotel is very lively - not great for a peaceful holiday, but hey - its ibiza! but i think next time i would stay slightly closer to the town!

To be fair, the biggest issue for us, was that we should not have sold the holiday in the first place. But for the benefit of anyone considering a visit. The "entertainment" starts at 10am and runs to 0230am every day, if you are unfortuanate and have a front ish room, it is louder inside your room with the patio doors closed, than any sane person with severe hearing difficulties would ever choose to listen to music. The only food available, in the hotel and resort is "traditional english" breakfasts, pies, chips, pork chops, and fried eggs, clearly what we all go on holiday for. If its culture and new experiences you are looking for then keep looking if however, this still or now appeals to you. Go! you will be surrounded by very like minded people.

Well, my girlfriend and i stayed here at the start of Sep 06 and lucky for us it was amazingly hot most days. The hotel itself is well presented if a little dated, staff were friendly and polite and very gracious. Food was typical half board cuisine, always something for all palates, but they need to rectify the coffee yuck....My only gripe was that the quality of the guests and their chav-like behaviour wasn't something i had anticipated. Granted we all hear stories of notorious "San Antonio" but throwing bottles into the middle of the road from 6 floors up at 4 am is a bit much (a gaggle of peroxide blonde, bikini straining, sewermouthed, goodtime girls from the north of england. My eyeballs were constantly sore from all the eye rolling i was doing. My girlfriend and i stood out like sunburnt bingowings whilst relaxing watching the entertainment after the evening meal. If cheap shots,a full english and being able to watch Emmerdale in the local bar is your thing then by all means head on down. The only saving grace was going to Kumharas (especially for the sunset)Oh, how can i forget Peppers, gimme a break what a joke - straight outta blackpool For those who like a bit of class and who don't wear the stereotypical English attire when abroad then it pays to either get a taxi or bus into San An,Ibiza Townfir your entertainment.. All in all the Hotel is great for what it is. Chavs will love it. Bladedaddy

So you go to ibiza to party all the time and have fun, but you don't exactly go to hear 2 JMC reps bang out christmas tunes at 3pm and declare its 'christmas at the riviera!!' not when its early july and 30 degrees at least!!! the entertainment is annoying more than fun, especially when your room is above the louder than loud speaker and the reps continually warble rubbish over the mic like 'whats your best story from last night?' and play the most excruciating non-ibiza music like 'rock the boat' and 'bobby's girl' - it was like holidaying in heidi hi!!! at least the rest of the town has much more to offer. location is ideal, far enough away from scummy san an town but close enough to get a water taxi or a long walk to into the town. the hotel food is not just bland, its truly un-ediable, starting with stale cereal, ending in chewy meat!! and don' go near the orange juice! the hotel is very basic, and just about a 3 star but kept very clean. the maids are very good and even made sure they cleaned everyday whilst we were at breakfast which was appreciated. the other reps were good too although their excursions were overpriced!!!! if you can't stand the food, go to oasis cafe round the corner - every meal is delicious and very reasonably priced!!!

Just Returned from the Riviera in Ibiza last sunday and loved it! I went with 3 friends all in our 20's and we thought we got alot more then we payed for! The Hotel has 2 great swimming pool's, is very very clean and all the staff are great. The hotel is based just about a mile out of the main town but you can either get a ferry from the local beach for 2 Euros, or a cab for about 5 Euros. The food was also great, really impressed with the pasta dishes. Entertainment at night was also quite good, me and my mates would stay watching whatever was on till midnight then move into town as the price of a pint was half the price of when you got into town! The Hypnotist is definatley worth watching and there is also a funny drinking competition once a week. The rooms we had were very big and we had 2 bathrooms and balconies between us. Result!! Also right outside the hotel there is many bars, restaurants and shops so there is lots to keep you from getting bored! Overall i would recommend this hotel to anyone and me and my friends will be booking to go back again next year. I hope this review helps.

Just returned from Ibiza last week and have gone into the depressive state that i get when i have had a great time. This is the first holiday that i have been on in three years and the first one that my son has ever been on (he is 3). I was very nervous about taking him away at the peak of the summer as i did not know how he would cope with the heat. We all had a great time. The hotel was so clean and although this was the first time we have stayed in a hotel (always been self catering) i was very impressed with the fact that the rooms were cleaned every day. We did miss the facicitlies that you get when you go self catering but the choice of food and drinks were exellant and i could not have asked for any more. This hotel was busy and there was always things going on by the three very clean pools. The reps tried to get everyone involved if they wanted to and left you to it if you didnt. The entertainment during the day was for all ages. Although we were quite far from San Antonio town compared to some hotels there was plenty of ways to get there ie the bus stop outside the hotel (which we did not use) or the ferry taxi which was a five minute walk from the holet on one of the beaches. I felt that this was a great way to travel over as you got to see the lovely views from the water. We did walk it one day but in the heat it was a bit much as we were pushing a pram. The walk in itself was lovely as for most of the way you were walking along the beach. Although most of the pubs and clubs are in the town there is a strip of pubs and different places in the bay. With having a small child we found a place that was busy with atmosphere but also had a ball pool and trampolines to keep him accupied. The hotel food was really good and i found there was a great selection. I dont think i have ever seen my son eat so much. We did not struggle with the food at all. The pool bar and snack place was nice and all the staff at the hotel were really nice and tried to make you feel welcome. I would recommed this hotel to most people. If you are looking to have some quite time during the day by the pool it is not for you as there is a lot going on. Anyone with kids would enjoy it. I would go back at the drop of a hat. Heather, Chris and Christopher from Glasgow

My husband and I are in our late twenties and this was our 7th visit to Ibiza from 8th - 22nd July 06. We usually go self catering as we like to go clubbing a couple of times whilst we are on the island, but this time chose a hotel for a change as we are fed up with drunken Club 18-30 etc. teenagers jumping in the swimming pool in the middle of the night. I truly wish I had gone self catering. The hotel itself is lovely, spotlessly clean at all times. It has 2 decent sized swimming pools – one freshwater and one chlorine plus a smaller children’s pool with ample sunbeds (though you need to reserve one early!) It also has a large lounge / bar area and outside patio area and I believe all rooms have balconies overlooking the sea (ours was a lovely view). The rooms are very basic but clean. There is an air conditioning unit and tiny portable TV, but you have to pay extra for these. There were no hairdryers or irons provided – you have to hire these too. The walls between the rooms are paper thin and several times I thought people were actually in our bathroom – you could hear them have a shower, talk, spray deodorant under each arm, brush their teeth and even hear them go to the toilet with a dodgy stomach. Yuck! We also had the downpipe for all rooms by our bed so everytime someone flushed the toilet there was a gushing of water next to our heads! The Riviera is located almost at the very far end of San Antonio Bay, much further down than I expected and it took approx. 45 minutes to walk to San Antonio Town. There is a bus stop close by or you can get the water ferry across to the town for 2 euros. There are a few bars and restaurants nearby, but none that were very interesting. By 10pm it is dead – all the families have gone to bed and all the youngsters/clubbers have gone into the town. It is opposite a “beach” – I went here on the first day but didn’t bother again. The other beaches in the bay (by the Hawaii Hotel) are lovely. This was narrow, smelly, gravely with lots of seaweed etc. which is not what I was expecting and very disappointing. Cala Bassa beach is much better and a short bus ride away (cheaper to get the bus than a boat). But the biggest let down of all was the food. Breakfast was ok I guess, exactly the same every day – fried eggs, sausages, bacon, baked beans. 4 Horrible cereals (buy your favourite Kelloggs from the shop opposite!) Small pre-packed croissants (fresh would have been nice), some dry cakes, cheese & ham (!!) and a toaster to make toast. As a vegetarian I was very limited and would have liked more choice in cereal and pastries – or at least to have fresh ones. Dinner was awful – a very strange selection. It is served from 7.30pm – 9.30pm which is far too late. If you go before 8.30pm it is packed and is like a school canteen. There are a selection of salads for starters which are nice but you don’t want salad every day if you have paid for half board. The hot dishes leave a lot to be desired and if you are vegetarian you will struggle – there were several days I ended up eating just carrots and potatoes or carrots and rice as that was all there was. They put meat in everything that could be vegetarian – macaroni cheese and bacon, cauliflower cheese and ham, meat ravioli etc…. My husband, who will eat anything, was not impressed with what he tried and often left his food. On a positive note there was a good selection of desserts. We ended up eating out several times as we were so hungry which severely dented our spending money. It was nice to lose half a stone and fit back in my clothes again, but that’s not what I paid for!! They also don’t include any drinks with dinner, you even have to buy water and they make all the food extra salty to try and make you buy more drinks. I found the entertainment very tacky and average – bingo, hypnotist show, quiz, singer etc. And if you want a peaceful rest by the pool then forget it, all day long they are booming over the microphone playing tunes and games and even Christmas carols one day! If you have kids, then this is the place for you. There are 2 kids entertainers that are really good with them. All the families with kids seemed to enjoy themselves but if you do not have kids or are travelling without them, I would recommend you stay somewhere else. I saw several groups of girls/groups around the pool but never saw them around in the evenings. I only wish we had more spending money and could have gone out more (but we had to spend it eating out!) The prices for drinks in local bars I though had risen dramatically in recent years and they are more or less the same price as in England – it is no longer a cheap place to stay. One week here would have been more than enough for me, two weeks was unbearable. I would definitely not stay here again, based on the food and location. I will be happy to answer any questions you may have – leigh.booth@hotmail.co.uk.

Good location for familys however 4 young girls - we felt a bit out of it and needed to get Taxis everyday to where we wanted. We were really pleased with our room - we had 2 bathrooms, 2 balconys and 2 bedrooms so that was fantastic! Excellent view of the sunset. We were self catering however ate their twice and both times not so good very greasy. Pools nice and clean and good for children. Hotel good value for money however i think could do with some refurb.

My wife, daughter (11) and i had a great 10 day holiday at the riviera. The rooms were cleaned daily and the sheets were changed twice weekly. All the staff were brilliant from reception, cleaners, dining room and bar staff especially Tony who ensured we didn't go to bed without a 'nightcap'. The Reps really made the holiday, especially Dean (who is mad as a hatter), Steve the sensible one and the Kidsworld Reps, BFG and Nikki both of whom our daughter loved. The Summer Breeze trip was brilliant (but a little expensive) but we were lucky with the weather...not much fun if it rains. There are a couple of nice beaches 10 minutes walk from the hotel worth a look (down to the sea turn right). Overall, a very enjoyable holiday. The bad points were, swimming pools were freezing (mind it was october) there is no night time security in the hotel and stipulate you want a family hotel if you are taking children and not one that allows groups of teenagers. Anyone who takes a couple of kids may find the Kidsworld expensive as some of the club events are pay also (slumber party 7pm-11 cost 15 euros). Finally, we would ensure the reps were the same as Dean in particular kept everyone entertained and made sure everyone had a great time.