Riva Hotel Nisantasi & Spa

An extremely disappointing and unacceptable experience. Most of the staff were extremely rude, unprofessional, and showed a complete lack of respect for guests. The cleanliness of the hotel was absolutely terrible and far below acceptable standards. Unfortunately, this hotel fails to meet even the most basic expectations of hospitality, hygiene, and customer service. I would never recommend this hotel to anyone.

Warning: Possible theft during stay. I understand Turkish and personally heard a housekeeping staff member admit to taking our belongings and later returning them, but some items were still missing. We informed the hotel that we were travelling to Bodrum for a few days and would return, and when we came back, no check-in procedure was done. Staff simply greeted us and asked how our trip to Bodrum was. The hotel later claimed we had checked out early, but there is no proof, no paperwork, and no record of any checkout. Even if that were true, where are our belongings? The manager also refused to share or review CCTV footage with us. This was a very upsetting experience, and I cannot recommend this hotel.

My previous stay at Riva Hotel in June 2025 was excellent, which is exactly why I returned a year later. Unfortunately, this visit turned into one of the worst hotel experiences I have ever had, largely because of one manager working the daytime shift during most of our stay between 27 May and 5 June 2026, his name was Mr. Billy or Milly I’m not sure. The main issue started before we even arrived. When I called to confirm our late arrival, I was informed that one of my rooms would be different from the others despite all rooms being booked together under the same category. Instead of trying to resolve the issue, the manager repeatedly suggested that I cancel my reservation if I was unhappy. He also insisted that the hotel was completely full and that all rooms had already been assigned. When we arrived at approximately 4:30 PM, we were left waiting until around 10:30 PM despite having confirmed reservations. During that time, I personally witnessed several families arriving after us and being checked into rooms without any difficulty. Another staff member genuinely tried to help and informed me that the manager had instructed him not to provide us with the same category room. I also personally overheard a phone conversation where the manager suggested calling the police. As a tired guest arriving after multiple flights, this was shocking and completely unacceptable, and I had no energy to argue, was listening in shock. Eventually, I accepted a different room, only to discover that the air conditioning was not working properly and the refrigerator was extremely dirty. After I showed photos of the condition of the room, they were immediately able to provide a room within the category I had originally booked, leaving me wondering why the issue could not have been resolved correctly from the beginning as long as the room is still available at 10:30 pm. Unfortunately, the problems continued throughout the stay. My room key stopped working multiple times, requests for assistance were met with a dismissive attitude, and even a request for a short late checkout was refused despite room availability being visible online and I had to book an extra night just to be able to spend 2 more hours. Throughout the stay, this manager was consistently cold, unfriendly, and unwelcoming. He rarely acknowledged guests, never returned a simple greeting, and often made guests feel like an inconvenience rather than valued customers. What makes this review particularly disappointing is that every other member of the Riva Hotel team was excellent. From reception and housekeeping to the bell staff and security personnel, everyone else was friendly, professional, and genuinely committed to ensuring guests had a pleasant stay. The hotel itself has great potential, but unfortunately one individual ruined all. As someone who has visited Turkey for more than 25 years and stayed in many hotels, I can confidently say that this behavior does not reflect the warmth, hospitality, and professionalism that Turkish people are known for. I sincerely hope management reviews this incident seriously, because no guest should have to go through an experience like this.

We had a pleasant stay. The room was clean and comfortable, and the staff were friendly and helpful. Breakfast was good and had enough variety. The location was convenient, too. We would definitely consider staying here again.