We stayed at the Villa Maria for 5 days in May-June 2011. We were very pleased with the hotel. It is located a bit off town center, but quite close, a 10 min. walk will get you to Piazza Cavour. The decor and furniture are minimalistic, most surfaces painted bright white and few, well placed, adornments. The effect is modern, clean and uncluttered. I liked it.
Our room was good. Also white and very clean. I cannot say it was big, but I have stayed in smaller rooms in Italy. The bathroom was comparatively big, with no problems at all. The street where the hotel is located doesn't seem to have a lot of traffic, so we had no problems with noise at night.
Breakfast choices were somewhat limited, at least compared with other hotels, but good enough, and the manager prepared us cappuccinos every morning, in a real espresso machine (we were in Italy, after all).
The manager was very kind and helpful at all times. I would definitely stay there again.

We stayed at the Villa Maria Hotel Garni for 7 nights in June 2011 based on the reviews on TripAdvisor and the hotel exceeded our expectations.

The hotel is in a quiet residential area which is easy to find if travelling by car and the free parking is a bonus, although it is tight for space if a lot of large cars arrive as happened when we got there. It is an easy walk to the old town and will take 10 minutes at an easy pace. We personally preferred this location to the other end of Riva, where a lot of the hotels are located, as it was much easier to access the old town where the majority of restaurants are located.

We had asked for a room with a balcony and we received room 107, which was to the south facing side of the hotel, with a view to the mountains and the balcony was more like a small patio with a table and 2 chairs and a soft artificial grass surface. The room was very modern and clean and had a fridge, aircon, TV, safe and an excellent shower. Towels were changed daily and the bed was changed at least once in our 7 nights. WiFi was available in the room as well as in the breakfast room and it was reliable and fast.
The breakfast was ample with a selection of juices, cereals, breads meats and cheeses. Good tea and coffee are served and we found it very acceptable.

Marco and Francesca are very nice and have an excellent facility at a great price and we would recommend this hotel. One thing to note is that some websites show older pictures of the hotel before its modernisation, and I think their own website (www.garnimaria.com) gives the best views.

Located in a quiet residential area near the Riva lakefront, Villa Maria is a very good choice for an overnight stay. Our room was nicely furnished in modern style, well lighted and sufficiently spacious. The building appeared new and in very good condition; the en-suite bath was excellent. There is convenient free parking on site.

A very happy 8 days stay in this delightful family run hotel
Marco was very helpful and kind - a real gentleman! A basic breakfast BUT plenty of it - you will not be hungry!
We had a good room with balcony - sat out twice to take in the rays and enjoy a gass of vino and do our crosswords!!
A short stroll to the lake each day was good exercise and the restaurants we dined at were all good too. BELLA NAPOLI, GOLDEN LION and ANCORA (The Anchor) were our favourites. The former seemed to closed more often due to lack of use - I suppose BUT our favourite nevertheless
Plenty to do from Riva - catch the ferry and tour the lake OR use the local buses - good fun
SO - do visit Villa Maria - you will not be disappointed!!!!!!!!!!!!!