We used to visit Bournemouth very often and know the town well. When we looked through the tourist brochure prior to making our booking between Christmas and the New Year, the Hotel Riviera was attractive because it is close to the West Cliff and thus only a short walk to the sea. It also offered spa facilities at the nearby much grander establishments (Highcliffe - 4* and Wessex 3* ) for a small extra payment. Another plus: many of the rooms at The Rivieraa offer a sea view, which is not as common as you might think in Bournemouth.
We arrived in the early afternoon of 27th December 2011, we were given a warm welcome by the Receptionist and a choice of rooms to view. We chose the one with the bath on 2nd floor and lovely bay window within sight and sound of the sea. Everything in the room was comfortable and welcoming. Not smart, but not lacking anything either.
After our sauna and swim across the road at the other hotel, we returned to the Riviera, wondering about a bite to eat/supper. The Receptionist said - no need to eat out - and encouraged us to help ourselves from the lunchtime buffet - food laid out on the bar - at no extra charge! The bar staff quickly made us a tray of coffee and we tucked in.
The residents' lounge next door was equally welcoming with a generous fruit bowl and lots of comfy chairs to relax in. We felt very much at at home and chatted to the guests while leafing through the Guest Book - testimony to many satisfied customers over the years
After a good night's sleep, and the lulling sound of the ocean waves breaking on shore, we had a really splendid breakfast, served in the old-fashioned way with waiter service - no buffet scrum here, thank you! We chose the fish options (poached haddock and kippers) and each came served with a very freshly poached egg on top!
Guests who were staying for the Christmas/New Year break are very loyal - and with good reason. Hotels like The Riviera are a dying breed - a family-run business whose proprietor and staff really enjoying looking after their guests to ensure they have the holiday they deserve.
We look forward to coming back to The Riviera and hope that many of our friends will also enjoy staying here in the years to come.
Thank you, John Warwick and Staff for keeping up standards of the industry that are not based on shareholder satisfaction and the profit motive, but rather on customer satisfaction and good old-fashioned hospitality. It makes a very refreshing change to stay in an establishment such as yours.

I took a coach party of 47 from our Royal Naval Association Hanworth Twickenham and everyone without exception enjoyed their stay at this lovely Hotel Riviera.
The welcome was homely and the rooms were clean & comfortable.

The food was excellent and plenty of it, well done to the staff for looking after us in a most pleasant manner, they couldn't do enough for us, that's why we have already booked for the same again next year. Terry Lowden

We had a very comfortable stay at the Hotel Riviera. It was very clean (very important) & the staff were very friendly & helpful, as Melvyn B stated it "exhudes friendliness", a lovely relaxed atmosphere. The food was very enjoyable, lots of it & am pleased to say it was hot too. It has a great location, we had a seaview view which was wonderful. The hotel also has a lift to all floors. We strongly recommend this to all. You are only a slow 15 minute walk away along the beach front to the pier & town shops. I must just say if you do not know Bournemouth, please note that is hilly, but unless you have problems with your mobility, this is not a problem, in fact great exercise. To get to the beach from the hotel, there is a zig zag slope which makes going down the cliff easy - there is also a cliff lift further along the cliff top if needed.

We spent 4 nghts here over Christmas and what a wonderful time we had. The public areas are spacious and the staff are everything you could ask for(superb). The food is absolutely great, plenty of choice. Would recommend to anyone.