Pop Mircea
Riolavitas, a hotel advertised as Ultra All Inclusive with 5 stars, is in reality barely a 3-star establishment (according to the travel agency from which we booked our tickets, and which recommended it as a 5-star, told acquaintances that the hotel is actually 3-star).
Arriving at the hotel at 10 PM, the receptionists mixed up our rooms and gave us the wrong ones. At 11:30 PM, the restaurant opened for a late dinner. After a long day, we were hungry, so we waited for the meal. Upon entering the restaurant, there were only five miserable dishes left over from dinner: stewed beans, yes you read that right, we went to a 5-star hotel to eat stewed beans because it was the most decent option out of the five available. There was also boiled corn, boiled broccoli, and chickpeas. That was all the food available. We asked a chef if there was anything else, but he answered disinterestedly that this was all the food and wished us to enjoy our beans.
The hotel room looked nice, spacious, but the details were lacking; dust on the lamps was a daily occurrence.
The food was vast but the same almost every day and of poor quality. Better to have a small variety but good, but here it was neither good nor tasty.
Flies were everywhere; I think every day we had flies on our food.
In the evenings, they had barbecues, and the smoke was so much that if you were in the pool around 5-6 PM, you would breathe in just smoke.
The pool was very small for the hotel’s capacity, with no corner to sit quietly, and the loungers were also insufficient. The pool hours were until 7 PM, but if there was live music by the pool starting at 4:30-5 PM, the hotel staff would start collecting the loungers, not respectfully asking if they could collect them. No! They would gather your things from the lounger and place them elsewhere, continuing until they had collected everything and made you feel bad and leave. The music was also loud at 5 PM, signaling it was time to go, even though the schedule was until 7 PM.
The restaurant staff were very poor; they saw you had no cutlery and would turn and walk away, or if you asked for something to drink, they would say okay and never come back.
Another thing that personally seemed unacceptable was that the hotel staff ate where we, the guests, ate, and did not wait for the guests to finish their meal. No, they would come and take their plates and whatever they wanted from the food. I have no problem with this, but as a paying guest, I have priority; I shouldn’t see hotel staff eating and taking whatever they want from something I paid for.
The beach is small; it’s not far, a maximum of 5-7 minutes of relaxed walking, but there are two golf carts that take you to and from the beach area until 6 PM. There are enough loungers, but the beach is narrow, and the entrance to the sea is steep, making everyone stay at the shore, leaving no room to enter the water.
The food on the beach is the same as at the hotel, only it is set out at 10 AM, while the meal service starts at 12 PM.
The bathrooms in the hotel, in the restaurant area and the pool area, are horrible, with a very bad smell, so bad that you can smell it just walking by. The staff probably aren’t interested in placing some air fresheners or anything in the area.
As for entertainment activities, the hotel scores a zero. The 4-5 staff responsible do not engage with the guests to see if they want to participate in games. Besides darts, we played nothing else.
I do not recommend the hotel due to the poor food quality. The rooms are beautiful and modern, but you don’t go on vacation to stay in the room.
Devang Shah
Absolutely Disappointing Experience – This is NOT a 5-Star Resort!
My parents recently stayed at Riolavitas Resort and Spa for 7 nights on an all-inclusive package, expecting a relaxing 5-star experience. What they got was a disaster. This place is FAR from what it advertises.
**First off, the service is HORRIBLE!** The staff barely speak English, and it created a constant language barrier that made every little request a nightmare. Rude, dismissive, and clearly not trained to deal with customers. It's like they didn’t care whether we were there or not.
**The food?** What a joke. There was no variety at all! Every single day, it was the same bland, tasteless dishes. A 5-star resort is supposed to offer a range of fresh, delicious meals, but instead, it felt like a cheap cafeteria. And the cleanliness? **ZERO!** The dishes were dirty, tables were not wiped down properly, and the whole dining area felt disgusting. Hygiene doesn’t seem to be a priority for them at all.
**The resort itself is NOTHING like the pictures.** They mislead you with wide-angle photos to make it seem like this big, luxurious place, but in reality, it’s TINY. There are only 1 or 2 swimming pools, both ridiculously small. And forget about an adult pool—**it’s absolute chaos** with kids everywhere. No peace, no relaxation, just noise.
If you’re considering this resort based on the glamorous photos online, **DON’T!** It's all a facade. This place doesn’t deserve more than 2 stars, let alone 5. **Save your money, your time, and your sanity, and look elsewhere.** Riolavitas Resort and Spa is a complete letdown.
Bilal Khan
Overall we had a really nice stay at Riolavitas Hotel. The bedroom was a good size and had everything you need besides an iron, the hotel do provide a ironing service for a charge but would of preffered if we had our own.
The breakfast buffet, lunch and dinner was really good and yes it can be repetitive but their is a lot to choose from still and . Some nights they have specials such as seafood or grilled food which we really enjoyed.
The staff at the hotel are hardworking and attentive, always there to help. The entertainment team also work throughout the day and evening ensuring you have a good stay. They were really friendly and made our stay fun. Big shout out to Umut from the entertainment team!
Location is only thing I would say lets the hotel down. The beach is around a 5-7min walk and they have a dedicated path which is well lit at night. There is nothing around the hotel besides other hotels, we had a rental car so was lucky we could get out and about. I believe there are buses/shuttle services to take you to neighbouring cities/towns but i don't know how long or frequent they are.
Overall would recommend the hotel as we really enjoyed our stay.
_loo8
We were at the hotel in the middle of September. This hotel deserves at most 3 stars and falls far short of its advertised 5-star rating. While the rooms are modern and spacious with pleasant balcony views of the river and pools, the overall experience was disappointing. Noise was a major issue, with nightly karaoke by the pool lasting until midnight. This was disruptive and far from relaxing.
The hotel is located in an inaccessible place, practically in the middle of nowhere. The only place you could walk would be to the beach and back.
Their private beach is a 10-minute walk from the hotel, with a sidewalk set up for pedestrians. The sea is rough and the beach is fine sand all the way to the sea entrance. Once in the water, you'll hit rocks and the sea gets deep very quickly.
Back at the hotel, the pools were overcrowded and undersized for the number of guests, and the aqua park featured only three slides. Cleanliness in the rooms was acceptable but basic, limited to changing towels and sheets and mopping the floors.
The food was perhaps the most disappointing aspect. Despite offering a wide variety, most dishes were tasteless, and the desserts were repetitive and flavorless, with the exception of the baklava, which was genuinely good.
The a la carte restaurant was overcrowded, and we were unable to secure a reservation, which was disappointing given it was included in the cost of our stay. Sad, but here we assume we were perhaps too late for a reservation. As an idea, maybe create a larger restaurant if you have an 8-floor hotel that is full during tourist season, just saying.
The cocktails have absolutely no flavor, the only ok cocktail is the mojito, but even that has 2 tablespoons of sugar in it, probably why it's the most bearable. Ice in the cocktail? Think about it. Many times I was getting max 4 ice cubes in my drink, which is unacceptable for a cocktail. Without ice it will warm much faster and dilute the entire drink. I asked many times for ice and they won't fill the glass because "they ran out of ice". Luckily some bar staff understood our need for a good drink, and filled our glasses with ice (prepare some tips if you want ice to miraculously appear in your drink). The alcohol is the cheapest and lowest quality on the market.
The cherry on top, when you check in you'll receive a room access card and a towel card per person. We were a couple, which meant a total of 4 cards that you will receive in a card holder at the front desk. On the last day of our stay, just as we were at the pool and the rooms were being cleaned (we knew it because the staff were still there when we arrived), one of the room access cards went missing. We never take 2 cards with us, just so we don't wanna lose them. We only took one, and the other one was permanently in the card holder with the 2 towel cards. On the day of departure, we took the cards back to the reception and noticed that the card holder was missing a room access card, ironically, the only card that remained in the room while we were at the pool (the other access card was obviously with us, otherwise we could not enter the room, and the towel cards were in the spa area, where they were left in exchange for towels). At reception of course we were charged 10 euros for the "loss" of the card. I'm not saying someone took it, it just seems too much of a coincidence. But if this was the case, it means that this hotel is of questionable quality, considering that they offer training to employees to steal the cards from the rooms for 10-20 euros/room. Pathetic. So if you're staying here... ALWAYS TAKE YOUR CARDS WITH YOU!!!
All in all it was a stay with both nice and unpleasant things (the unpleasant ones being predominantly more). Unfortunately, not only did this hotel not live up to our expectations, but it absolutely does not deserve the title of a 5 star hotel.
I hope this review is taken as constructive feedback rather than criticism. Thank you.
Lavine Miller-Johnson
Hotel was not a 5*. The food was average and repetitive, Everything was stewed or fried. Salad selection was good though. Alcoholic drinks were weak and the soft drinks too sweet.
Our room was not clean when we first arrives and had to call reception for it to be sorted. They did deal with it straight away. The staff are friendly and kind, although we did not speak the same language, we were able to communicate well enough. The entertainment was hit and miss, we had to battle to find a sun bed by the pool as people go early in the morning before breakfast and put their towels down to secure thier space. This should not be allowed! The beach was lovely and was about a 5 minute walk away or you could jump on the little shuttle buggy. The gym equipment is very old and grime and needs updating, Some of the machines were not working or needed servicing. The location of the hotel was not too bad as the buses stopped right outside which was handy for going into town and tourist attractions such as Side Old Town and to the market strips for shopping. This was our second time in Turkey Side and won't be our last, however I will not to returning back to Riolatvitas.
My Booking
