I booked this hotel because they were giving me the 3rd night of our stay for free and the rates on the other 2 nights were pretty cheap. I had other hotel offers (through my job) but made the mistake of choosing the Riviera. With the 3rd night free I was also supposed to get 2 tickets to a show.

We checked in at VIP services as I was instructed when I booked my reservation. The gentleman that checked me in should not be working for VIP's. I don't consider myself a VIP but the promotion I booked said to check in there and so I did. I asked about the 'Welcome Package' I was supposed to get that would explain about everything, including the show tickets. The man at the VIP desk had no idea what I was talking about. I asked about the show tickets...again he was clueless. I pulled up the ladies name and number I had booked with and offered it to him. He called her and said she was not in the office and he could offer no further assistance other than to check with someone else (basically saying it was someone else's problem).

So I finally get the room key and I have to ask him where my room is. To me, if you do nothing else to help the person checking into a hotel, at least tell them where the room is! Ok, so we get to the room and it's ok. Nothing fabulous but not awful or anything. We were in the older section that had not been renovated yet as I required a smoking room and that was the only tower that had smoking rooms. Once we had gotten comfortable, I called the woman I booked my reservation with to try and obtain information about the free show tickets as I wanted to see it on our first night there. She was still not in and I left a message for her. Exhausted from the travel and the hassle of checking in, we were in the bed earlier than normal so we could get plenty of rest for the next day. At 8:30pm there was loud knocking on our door. My husband was asleep so I rushed to the door. I was a member of the housekeeping staff asking if my room was clean. I appreciate that they asked but we had checked in about 5 hours before so to me a call soon after check in would have been more courteous than loud knocking at 8:30 at night.

Day 2 was when I finally got a call back (voice mail as I had been in the shower when she called) about the show tickets. She told me I should have gotten a welcome package at VIP services. I tried to call her back only to get voice mail once again. By this point I gave up trying to get the show tickets since it appeared no one knew what was going on with the promotion I had been offered from their hotel.

Day 3 was the last day we would be there as we had a red eye flight that night. When we went to check out I went to the regular desk and the person there also had no clue about the promotion of getting the 3rd night free and I had to wait about 10 minutes while she checked on it. Once we got that settled, she gave me the bill. It showed only 1 night's charge. I was confused since I should have paid for 2 nights. Scanning the receipt in detail I saw that I had been charged the first nights stay when I booked the room a month before but I was never advised that I would be billed in advance. Luckily it wasn't an issue but adding it on top of the other issues just made me so glad to be leaving this hotel!!

The only other bad thing I have to add is that there was a pool tournament going on at the hotel during our stay and I would have appreciated being notified of this when I booked the room as it would have made a difference in my decision to stay there. The place was so packed with people it was hard just to get to the strip from my room and there was no room to gamble so we spent the days at other places and only returned to the Riviera for sleep and a shower.

The best thing about our stay was the departure. The gentleman at the Valet/Taxi area was extremely pleasant and helpful. I wish I would have looked at his name but I was just ready to be out of there so I can't tell you his name but he was great!

Upon returning home I waited a few days before deciding to say anything. I understand everyone has a bad day here and there but the more I thought about it, the more angry I became so I wrote to the Riviera with all the above concerns and to date I have not heard back from them. Terrible customer service and though the price may seem good, just remember you are paying for a hard time so I say spend a little more and go elsewhere!

Its a great place to stay at LV when you are traveling on a budget... Easy access to the strip and some great restaurants around...

Just got back from 3 night stay @ Riviera...checking into the hotel can be a task (especially during peak hours)...that aside, the hotel and casino is a great value considering how much other hotels are charging on the strip. I requested a non-smoking room, so they gave me a room in newly renovated tower...good sized room with all the current amenities( flat screen, ipod clock radio, etc.) I was given a room that was next to elevators, so i didnt get sleep first night...the next day i went down to guest services, and before i could even finish complaining i was given a nicer room. the hotel had great service and was clean. the casino floor was a bit smokey, but what the hell u expect, its vegas. the hotel has ok buffets, and there is great t-bone steak dinner special for under $13 24/7. I went on weekend, and was impressed with the crowd @ pool...was packed sat and sun. In terms of location, it is a bit north on the strip across circus circus. McDonalds right across street for early morning munchies. Bring walking shoes if you don't have rental car. Would recommend to college friends on budget....if you want in on the real vegas action look into the middle of strip, b/c it does become hassle getting to the hot nightclubs.

I stayed here with my boyfriend while meeting up with my parents who were at a conference. The hotel was being renovated at the time, so perhaps the rooms have had some upgrading style-wise since we stayed there. The rooms themselves are huge, at least ours was, and have blackout curtains. We didn't realize what those were for until nighttime came and the neon hotel sign was literally right below our window, heh.

The amenities were average, nothing special or extraordinary. I would recommend paying $5 or whatever it is for the VIP check-in, especially if you're going during a weekend. The line for check-in can literally take you hours otherwise. Make sure you ask about it, as I'm sure they don't always tell you about it, but they should.

The casino down on the ground floor is decent. Smoky, of course, but decent, I suppose (I didn't do a lot of gambling on this trip). The location is okay, but not as central as some other hotels on the strip. We had a car, so it wasn't as big of a deal.

All in all, a decent stay. The rooms felt a bit outdated, but everything worked, and it was clean.