I would advise anyone to stay at the Ambassador Hotel, it is situated about 25 minutes walk from the town but it's a lovely stroll down the lake front to get there. The staff are very welcoming and although it's a continental breakfast there is plenty to choose from. A must whilst there is to take a trip on the cable car from Malcesine up Monte Baldo the veiws are out of this world. The local buses are easy to use and a lot cheaper than planned tours (E.g. 2 Euros 40 cents) one way to Malcesine, (Planned trip 35 Euros). Overall we really enjoyed our stay in Riva.

Overall the hotel was good, the room was big and clean, and included a sofa (pull out bed), and a well stocked mini bar. The garden area was nice with various types of seating, and a hot tub as well as the hotel pool. We didn't end up using the pool as it was constantly full of rather loud children - this is no criticism of the hotel (or of the children for that matter), however as a couple it wasn't our ideal surroundings! Having said that, the kids all seemed to have a great time so for families I think this hotel is ideal. We were also a 5 minute walk from the lake front and the closest beach areas.

Although some reviews say that you are a 15-20 minute walk from the centre, this really refers to the old quarters of Riva where all of the tourist shops are and the more interesting parts of the town. The nearest shops and restaurants to the hotel however are only a 2 or 3 minute walk, there is a co-op just 5 minutes away where you can get cheap water and snacks for the beach, and there are plenty of restaurants lining both sides of the road.

We did have a couple of issues on arrival, the room had not been vacated so they were unable to accommodate us for the first night. We were given a room at the hotel next day (the Savoy), and a free breakfast the next morning, this wasn't ideal but the hotel did the best they could to manage the situation. The only thing they could have handled better was to inform us that our room would not be ready until around half 10 the next morning, we turned up at 9am and had to wait around for our room to be ready (cleaners dont start until 9).

Air con is charged for, however if you specify that you do not want it you wont get charged - this seems to be an opt out situation as it is provided in your room regardless. The welcoming information states that you cannot use the mini fridge for any personal items, which they seem to take rather seriously as we were followed from the lift by one of the hotel staff when we walked in with two large shopping bags. He then knocked on our door 5 minutes after following us up to our floor and watching us enter our room - this was very insulting (we had in fact bought lunch and souvenirs!) and has put me off ever staying again if I ever return to Riva.

Overall I would recommend this for families, however if you are a couple looking for a quiet retreat I would suggest researching hotels elsewhere.

We stayed here for a week with in July. The apartment was a good size and very clean. Dishwasher in the kitchen and linen change once midweek. The bike hire is free if you stay in ahotel room but NOT free if you are staying in an apartment, as we were. The bikes are a good way to explore the lake front, and the terrain is quite flat so its not hard going.(4 euro half day, 7 euro full day)
Room safe has an extra charge of 10 euros for a week and there was also an extra charge of 64 euros for the week for a/c. The weather was so hot while we were there that we could not have managed without the a/c so it does seems a little mean not to include it in the price, as its not a cheap place to stay.
NIce hotel/apartments..about a 20 minute walk to riva town centre. The walk by the lake front is a much nicer route than the street route. The cycle tracks make this an ideal bike ride and the breeze from the lake is welcome on hotter days. Another family friendly track runs from Riva to the beach in Torbola. (about a mile or so along the lake front.) The beaches are stony, so rubber soled swim shoes would be a good idea if you want to be able to walk into the water.
We found Pizza Trieste in Riva to be an excellent restaurant. The Venice by Night excursion is a stress free way to see Venice, though the coach trip is very long with all the pick-ups and drop offs- about three and half hours each way, with one rest stop on the outward journey.
We enjoyed our stay at the Ambassador, and would recommend it as a relaxing holiday stay. The pool is lovely and never too crowded. A quiet place at night with mainly families on site.

just stayed at this hotel for 1 week bed and breakfast, hotel room cleaned very thoroughly each day, posistion of hotel in relation to walking into riva or torbole very good, 25 min walk each way, excellent breakfast choice, ist class pool, freindley staff recomend this hotel to anybody