Riviera Spa Resort - Adults Only

Lets start with the positives ~ check in was smooth with a welcome drink on arrival; our room was ready, but we did check in at 6pm!

Very clean room, we had a view over the pool; balcony was clean with a small table and chairs and a small drying rack - did not need anything else

Restaurant ~ variety of food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We were A/I and some of the drinks on the 'menu' don't show as Ai but if you ask the staff, they will let you know.

Pool area was generally ok

Lobby bar was comfortable and the staff here were great and so attentive with the best made coffee ~ and you can get iced coffee's here as well

Yacht Club bar was lovely and had outdoor seating with a beautiful view over the sea and the sunset each evening ~ we found the service a little slower especially when busy

There is a small gift shop which has some souvenirs

Now the room for improvements bit

Pool - there are two pools with a number of sunbeds but not enough individual parasols; the ones they have are large and cover a number of beds so you cannot manage these individually

The flooring was not always clean, especially under and behind the beds; the beds have soft cushions which were left every day and are needing a good wash

The pool bar opens at 10am; they have a set list for Ai, there was always a queue as its only a small bar and seemed quite chaotic

Both pools need refurbishment; whilst they were clean and very warm, the lining in both pools is coming away and its bumpy; also, one of the pools has blue paint around the edge which comes off onto your clothing or body if you lean against it (I cannot get this out of a costume or t shirt I wore in the pool)

Pool toilets are filthy and the door locks broken - toilet roll holders broken and no soap to wash hands

If you wanted food here, you have to wait until 2:30 before you can order a very small selection (couple of wraps or pizza only)

We had lunch in the restaurant and found the service for drinks very hit and miss and sometimes did not even get our drinks! Food wise - plenty of options but hot food was not always hot, I guess depends how long it has sat on the hot plates for

Rooms - the towels were small, and threadbare so take your own if you want a bit of comfort after a shower; the toiletries are small bottles of shower gel and shampoo and the soap is a small wrapped bar (Not sure why they are not using refillable containers to save on all the plastic waste) The toilet is squished between the shower screen and the wall so the larger person would be struggling here but not sure if all rooms are the same set up

Duvets had seen better days and the pillows were really hard/uncomfortable There were no spares of anything

There were a couple of mornings where the cleaners were in the rooms above and around and moving furniture to do their cleaning; possible on changeover day, but at 7am I think its slight too early for those on holiday !

Other points:

Bottles of water are not provided by the hotel, in the room - they have the refillable water machines on every floor (some are warm; the coldest was the one in the middle of the restaurant but this does spurt out everywhere) I understand they are trying to be more environmentally friendly, but they are still using throw away toiletries and plastic cups

Use the lobby bar for your coffee which you can take to the pool area as the coffee at the pool bar is vile (personal preference)

The hotel is remote, there is no supermarket within walking distance

We took a Bolt to Valetta rather than use the bus, this was approx 25 euro each way but is a 45 mins drive, so be prepared - we didnt use the bus but know it was very crowded

We did not head to the beach so cannot comment

On our return from Valetta, we were questioned buy a member of staff on what our room number was and he was very rude; it was clear we were staying there as we had our wristbands on

The Spa - is run by an independant company; we went to the sauna and pool - neither were a pleasant experience, it was not the cleanest or most comfortable of places to be

Whilst you might think there are a lot of negatives, don't be put off as the holiday was relaxing and was fine for a short break; but it is definitely not a 4 star hotel

My mum and I stayed here for a 3 night stay last week. We had a deluxe sea view room one the 2nd floor. It was a beautiful room and had the most amazing view out to the sea and Comino Island.

The staff at Reception were very friendly and Michael in Guest Relations was fantastic - he really is an asset to the hotel.

Food in the restaurant was as expected for an all inclusive - my only comment would be that the outside tables don’t receive enough attention and can be left with dirty plates for quite some time.

The pool area is lovely and clean, with a brilliant pool bar that serves cocktails of all descriptions - with most included on the AI menu.

The main hotel areas and bars are kept very clean and welcoming. Every evening had musical entertainment which we loved.

We really had a lovely few days and would definitely come back.