Disney's Riviera Resort

The hotel is beautiful, done in soft blues, yellows and cream. It is clean and of course the staff all have the Disney warmth, knowledge and superb customer service. There are two lovely pools, wonderful places to eat and drink and a small bakery/coffee shop and a small store all in residence. The location is great also. You can easily walk to the Skyliner and get to Epcot or Hollywood very easily. Also, while my husband and I are a senior couple, we saw a wide age range of people staying at this resort and all were happy. There are some activities in the green area for all ages as well as a splash zone for the younger set. We will definitely stay again. Read less

I recently returned home after a ten-night stay in the Riviera, and I’m disappointed to say it didn't live up to expectations. I've read many positive things and booked that hotel, thinking I was in good hands. Being Disney's newest hotel and one of the most expensive, I hoped I wouldn't need to worry about trivial issues. I was wrong. First, it's worth stating that I paid cash for this stay, not with DVC Points. It shouldn't matter how someone stays at this hotel, but there is a big difference between DVC and cash customers, and that's the price. I paid $30,000 for a ten-night stay in a three-bed grand villa (3BGV). Before this trip, I'd only ever stayed at Value Resorts in Disney World, but bringing my parents for the first time, I thought I'd treat them, knowing, realistically, they'd likely never get to do this again. I'll start with the positives. The hotel location was exactly what I wanted. The Skyliner worked flawlessly, and the buses were quick and efficient. The food options in the hotel were great, and the room layout allowed for a very comfortable stay. The staff at the hotel were also incredibly friendly and nice. Now for the not-so-good. On the day of check-in, we arrived in the lobby at around 3 p.m., hoping the room would be ready. Unfortunately not. We waited past check-in time (which was supposed to be 4 p.m.) before I raised the issue with various Cast Members. The first told me that the room would take extra time to clean because it was large. I don't know how that's my problem. By that point, the room had been vacant since 11 a.m., but I politely accepted the explanation, hoping it wouldn't be much longer. Forty-five minutes later, I raised the matter with another Cast Member, who was very helpful and called management for an update. She advised that the room would be ready very soon and said she'd arranged for us to get Genie+ the following day for our first park day at EPCOT, which was greatly appreciated. The room then became available at 5:28 p.m. That evening, we waited for the family to arrive and settled in. It wasn't until the following day that I noticed minor issues. Firstly, when preparing breakfast for the family, I realised there was no bread knife. We only had two large chef knives and two smaller paring knives. Have you ever tried to cut sourdough bread with a knife that isn't serrated? Let me tell you, it's no fun. I also realised we needed a chopping board. So here's me, trying to cut sourdough bread with a non-serrated knife on a folded-over piece of cardboard from a pizza in the freezer to avoid damaging the bench top. I don't know how a "fully equipped kitchen", as quoted from the Disney website, doesn't come with a knife block or something similar. We then noticed the doorbell didn't work, and a plug in one of the sinks in the master bathroom went down but wouldn't release to drain as the mechanism behind the tap was broken. Most embarrassingly, a family member soon realised the bathroom, which serves the second bedroom and living area, didn't lock. We found this out the embarrassing way for two family members walking in on each other, so that was an awkward start to the holiday. I reported these issues to a Cast Member on reception at 8 a.m. the following morning after we checked in. They said they'd have them addressed. I also asked the Cast Member if we get a full daily service (knowing that as we paid cash, we do), and they initially said no. Then, when I said I was paying cash (which they should have known), they checked with a manager and said we, in fact, would get a daily full service. I knew at that point that this would become a thing. On the first theme park day, we headed to EPCOT. I was the last person in the room and closed the door behind everyone. I was the one hurrying people out. The privacy sign was not placed on the door and remained in the drawer of the small table in the hallway of the room (I know because I put it there). The whole family was with me all day, so I was surprised and disappointed when we returned, and none of the issues I raised at 8 a.m. had been addressed, and the room had yet to be serviced. I saw I had a message on the phone from housekeeping telling me they'd noticed the privacy sign on the door and to call if we wanted a service. They also said they would come and do the management check if they don’t hear back by 3 p.m. I didn't know what this was and was confused, so I called housekeeping. I looked at my watch, wondering if it was past 3 p.m. it wasn’t; it was around 2:45 p.m. I asked housekeeping why my room hadn't been fully serviced, but just the bins had been emptied. At this point, I assumed the room may have had some level of service but not the full daily service a paying cash customer should expect. I was told that this was not considered a service but part of the management check. They take the rubbish out as part of that check. When I asked why, the voicemail said that it wouldn't be done until after 3 p.m. as they were still awaiting my reply to the voicemail. Housekeeping couldn't explain why, at 2:45 p.m., this had already been done. It is a small discrepancy that didn't really make sense, but coupled with the fact that there was no privacy sign on the door all day, I was suspicious that housekeeping, who are likely accustomed to predominately servicing rooms, paid with DVC points with basic trash and towel services on the fourth day of peoples stays only wouldn't be too keen to service a three bedroom villa daily and would therefor cut corners. On the same call, I raised the maintenance issues again, which I had noted with the front desk. The Cast Member said he'd raise them again. We eventually had these issues resolved, but at the expense of several people coming and going from the room later that day, as well as my time spent raising them. These are made worse by the fact that the doorbell didn't work, so I'm left sitting in the room asking the family to be quiet and to keep the TV low so that we can hear if someone knocks. So here’s me and other family members worrying if we've missed someone or heard the door for the few hours it took to resolve the issues. I later found that the maintenance issues had been resolved, but still no breadknife or chopping board. I spoke to reception again, and they had someone bring up another chef knife and a chopping board. So, for the first day of the holiday, I've got three chef knives, and I'm already exhausted from speaking to several people, reexplaining the issues and then having to be around for the several people coming to fix and drop things off. And despite that, the room still didn't receive a full service that day. Over the next few days, we started to notice more things, the type of things you'd only see after spending time in the room. For example, there are no scissors, I'd say that is a basic item to have in a full kitchen. Then we went to make cocktails only to find a single cocktail glass in the cupboard. I'd also stayed at Coronado Springs Resort for a night before we checked in to the Riviera, waiting for the rest of the family to arrive. There, I received a vanity kit, but not in the grand villa, not a vanity kit in sight. The doorbell also worked for a day and then stopped again. I didn't have the will to call and repeat myself. We still didn't have a full service after a few days of being there. When housekeeping had been done, they had done a fairly basic job of just cleaning things away and making the beds. My mother needed to vacuum the villa even after housekeeping had been done as it was still dirty. At this point, I was happy that we were getting at least some sort of daily housekeeping. For the next week, on some days, we'd have the villa serviced; on others, we'd already be in the room when they arrived and just asked for more coffee and the bins emptied. I had hoped that after a week, we could return to something that resembled a full service of the room, as in the glass doors covered in hand prints cleaned down, bedding changed, etc., but we didn't. After a week of this, knowing the bedding was never changed (I knew this because there was a rip in the bedding on my side of the master, and I looked at it every night while getting into bed), I raised the issue with the front desk. The breaking point for me was coming back after the room had been serviced to find a decoration of towels on the kitchen bench top. It was a nice touch, and the family appreciated it, but for me, the room was still a mess. There were still hand prints on the doors, marks on the narrow table behind the sofa, still no fresh sheets and worst of all, the thickest layer of dust across everything. I was frustrated that Cast Members were focused on making towel sculptures rather then cleaning the room effectively so I went back and raised these issues with the front desk. They told me the housekeeping manager would come to the room and speak with me, and he did. He was a great guy, very understanding and supportive, and he offered to compensate me for these issues. It wasn't much, but I appreciated the gesture. He said he would personally come and inspect the room after it had been fully serviced, the bedding changed etc. That day, we returned to find the room had been serviced and the bedsheets changed. I did, however, notice that the place was still covered in dust. Especially the edges of the balcony doors, on top of bedside tables and draws, etc. At that point, I just lost hope and assumed the hotel would never be able to meet the elementary standard I had expected. To my surprise, though, we left that evening to watch the fireworks at EPCOT. When we returned, the room seemed to have been checked (we knew this because all the blinds were open, probably the manager checking for hand marks on windows), and all the other issues I had noticed, including the dust, had been addressed. I was pleased to know they had been addressed but really shocked that it would take a manager to come inspect a room to reach a standard that I would have expected without management's involvement. I was, nevertheless, just thankful the room seemed to have been thoroughly cleaned, to something resembling a "full service", especially after being there a week. I was quickly disappointed again when I went to bed and noticed a massive tear in one of my pillowcases. I couldn't believe someone would put that onto a pillow and not see. It's one step forward at the Riviera and one step back. It wasn't the end of the world, and I figured I'd leave it. My holiday had already been impacted more than I would have liked, and I didn't want this holiday of a lifetime to be overshadowed by yet more conversations with Cast Members and issues. But quietly, I was really disappointed that I didn't feel like I was getting what I expected and paid for. For the last few days, I started to look more closely at the room. Once you notice small things, you begin to see more, and I started to find that the room was just generally dirty in areas I wouldn't typically be looking. Yes, the dustiest surfaces in the room had been addressed, and the thick layer of dust on the lip of the balcony doors was removed, but the skirting boards were also covered in dust. I'm starting to think this is a systemic issue, not just an isolated case. Then there are the light fixtures where you can see they haven't been installed correctly, and you can see the unpainted ceiling behind. Then there are the lights in the living room, which still have sloppy white paint on them that hasn't been wiped off when the place was being painted (either initially or during regular maintenance). I wasn't expecting perfection at the Riviera, but this is basic stuff. With everything that had happened, it just made the hotel feel sloppy. The mirror in the master bathroom was also covered in dust and stains even after the full service and management checking. Worst of all, and this makes me feel sick thinking about it, I'd noticed the main balcony door had what looked like black paint coming off it. I just assumed that would be the case as the door has undoubtedly been heavily used, and paint may rub off metallic surfaces over time. I was horrified to discover, when my father pointed it out, that it wasn't paint coming off the door. The paint underneath the black substance was actually still there and fully intact. What was coming off the door was a thick layer of dirt that, upon closer inspection, could actually be scraped off using a fingernail. That sort of dirt doesn't take a few days to form. It takes weeks, months, maybe years. Knowing the whole family had been opening and closing that door several times a day and not realising it was that dirty makes me feel sick. The only way that could happen is weeks, months or years of basic room cleaning to allow a thick layer of dirt to build up. And it made sense, I hadn't had a full service since I'd been there, and when I did, it wasn't that great, so repeat that over weeks, months, maybe even years, and it explains why the room felt so dirty. On top of all of this, we had issues with the guests upstairs. When it came to the weekend, the people upstairs were clearly having a party. They were playing loud music, and it seemed jumping off the beds. I reported this to the front desk, and it stopped at 1 a.m. We then had another family move in who for the first day, sounded like a herd of elephants upstairs. I hadn't heard anyone complain about noise from other rooms (as is sometimes common in older Disney hotels) in reviews, so to experience this was also surprising. Now, I have to say, the room was disappointing in other ways. It didn't have any robes, which I'd expect from a hotel charging up to $5,000 per night for that room type. It also didn't come with anything like a fruit basket or concierge service, nothing basically—just free cleaning products, soap and shampoo and coffee. But to be fair to Disney, they didn't promise any extras, and I didn't expect that going in. It would have been nice if Disney could truly provide a premium stay for a premium price. But what I did expect was for the basics to be taken care of without me being so heavily involved. In my view, it seems Disney does a good job of providing the essentials for DVC Members who come maybe more prepared than the average hotel guest with items from home or have certain essentials stored in their storage box. I'm guessing DVC Members are paying for just the shell of the room and don't expect all the perks of staying in a premium hotel. I don't know. Maybe they do. I'm not a DVC Member, so I can't say. But as a regular guest, paying with money as I would in any other traditional hotel, I have to base this experience on what I could get when booking another hotel at this price point, and I simply do not feel I've got what I paid for. From poor housekeeping to the room lacking the small things you'd expect at this price point, like vanity kits and robes or several knife options or scissors in a claimed "fully equipped kitchen". I understand I'm paying for the location and the room layout, etc., but that only goes so far. At this price point, you expect the smaller, more premium considerations to have been thought about, and it seems Disney is trying to go for the Deluxe experience but falling short at the last hurdle. Compare this to the tower room I had at Coronado Springs, which was clean with no issues, and you realise something is not up to standard at the Riviera. To say I'm disappointed is an understatement. Forget comparing the Riviera to other hotels at this price point. It still falls short when compared to other hotels within the Disney brand. I've had more relaxed and straightforward stays in Value Resorts. Not to mention the service I've experienced at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, which had everything I expected, plus turn-down service with Ghirardelli chocolates on the pillow, just to name a few. Most of the time, people would generally agree that you get what you pay for. But, in the case of the Riviera, that sadly can't be said. I’ve waited this long to see how Disney responded to these points. While apologetic, they compensated me in total (which includes the credit applied to the room by the housekeeping manager) just 2% of what I paid for the room. Please see the pictures attached. Read less

First time staying at the Riviera Resort and I'd definitely stay there again. Booked a 1 bed standard view villa and it was a great room, fantastic size and very comfortable. It was so helpful having a kitchen in our room and having 2 separate sink areas with a shower and a big bath. Both the master bed and the Murphy bed were super comfortable and the balcony was a good size. Even though we booked a standard view room we could still view the Epcot and magic Kingdom fireworks on a night. I requested a higher floor close to the skyliner but was close to reception instead but that worked for park buses. All the staff were wonderful and the food options in the hotel were very good. My only negative about the hotel is how for Epcot and Hollywood studios, you're stuck only with the skyliner, there's no buses from the hotel, not ideal on some days with bad weather or if we didn't want to ride the skyliner and just wanted the bus. On the occasion it was down for weather, staff at reception didn't seem to know when buses would run or how frequently which caused us to worry about a reservation we had in Epcot. Read less

First time staying on property and what a place to start with. We had a 1 bed villa and they are massive, we did a tour of other DVC hotels and the riviera definitely had the biggest one bedrooms with big facilities, nice balcony and pretty good view of Epcot, we could see Epcot and magics fireworks on the balcony, the bathroom being split into 2 rooms was surprisingly helpful, sink, shower and toilet in one room and sink and bath in another, room was clean and beds comfy, we used the main bedroom bed and the merphay bed in the living room, both slept very well. The staff here are also very nice and helpful, special mention to Mackenzie in the recreation room and stephenie on the DVC counter, there was also 2 female day receptionist we saw most days and where helpful along with 2 guys during the night, sadly i didn't catch their names as we always saw them when in a rush. The food her is also very good and good prices, we ended up eating here more than I think we planned but always enjoyed it, and the cakes in the cafe where good. There is some downsides, the skyline is very helpful but if it's closed due to weather they struggle to get the buses, because if the skyline is runnings there are no busses to Epcot or Hollywood studios ( the other parks have busses) on some occasions when we didn't feel great or it was very windy we didn't want to use the skyline as it did stop on us during a windy period and we moved around a lot, that evening we got a bus to magic and used the monorail to get to Epcot, we wished the buses where an option even if a lot less infrequent, also on extended park hour nights the skyliner was closed before the park closed, dispite the website saying it will stay open an hour after park close even on extended park hours nights. The reception was missing that wow factor some other Disney hotels have, it a much subtler Disney hotel with minimal theming which is nice but could have done with some extra wow touches. We had people in the room next to us and we could only here them when they lowered their Murphy bed, unfortunately the room opposite us where loud, they kept there door open most of the time with the kids running and screaming, nobody fault but when having a day time nap after early entry and late exit it was less than ideal. We still had an amazing time and miss it and the team already. But it seems every Disney hotel has pluses and minuses. Read less