Here are some key facts about the Riviera:
1. This hotel was probably the dopest thing on the strip circa 1986.
2. The casino and lobby are hideously out of date.
3. Some of the people are of the unsavory sort.
4. Stay in the Monaco Tower the rooms were just remodeled and are really nice.
5. Ask for an upgrade at the front desk and ye shall receive one.
6. The staff were really helpful.
7. You will save hundreds staying here because the ABC stores (99 cent liter bottles of water instead of 3$ at Ceasar's) are cheap and there are cheap good places to eat around (Korean BBQ)
8. Anywhere you want to go is less than a 12 dollar cab ride away.
9. 45$ a night in a hotel means a night out VIP at Tao, Jet, XS etc.

Just back from 5 day stay. Hotel very nice except for check in. Took 3 different changes to get smoking room ( no renovated rooms for smoking - 250 "fine" for smoking in non room). Room we got (Monte Carlo tower) was largest room of the three, reg bed and tv, great Strip view over pool.
Ate at hotel once ( breakfast at buffet) OK food, poor selection, Very Overpriced )
Casino small but uncluttered.
Overall great value for those who are looking for bed and bath and Strip location.Easy access to Strip and Downtown via Deuce bus stop in front of hotel and across street at Slots of Fun (try the $1.99 giant hotdog) Get $7 24hr card for bus at SoF or exact change on bus (best value)

I was booked into the Riviera as part of a conference that was being held there and except for a few minor problems I had a good experience there. I had a 5th floor non-smoking room in the Monaco tower which had obviously been recently renovated. It was a bit small for the two beds that were there, but it was very clean, everything seemed new, and the beds were very comfortable.

There were two things I didn't like. One was that the flush handle on the toilet was loose and eventually came off. The other was that there was no free coffee service in the room. Other than that, the room was great.

There were several wireless internet services available from the room, but my room was close enough to the pool that I was able to use the free service offered there, and so I didn't have to pay for internet, something which I really hate to do.

The hotel itself seems a bit dated, but is in good condition. It doesn't have the theme-park like atmosphere of some of the newer hotels, but of course it has a casino, where I managed to win a bit of money before loosing it all in the slot machines.

I received prepaid tickets to the World's Fare Buffet as part of the conference price, but the food was not that great and I ended up only using about half of them. They have several different types of food -- Italian, Chinese, Mexican, BBQ, and traditional American, but all were rather uninspired, stereotypical representations of those cuisines, something you might get in college dorm or a hospital cafeteria. The only highlight for me was the prime rib that was available for lunch and dinner each day, but how many times can you eat prime rib in a week without getting tired of it?

Other eating places at the hotel seemed to have very reasonable prices, so I was satisfied to eat there. There is a food court right off of the casino, near the Strip entrance to the hotel.

The staff of the hotel were all extremely friendly and easy to deal with, and the general ambiance of the place, while a bit dated, was warm and friendly.

The conference facilities were excellent. The only objection is that it is a pretty far walk from the hotel rooms to the conference room, but that was OK. I needed the exercise after all that fattening buffet food.

The hotel is located North of the main part of the strip, but all the action is just about a 15 minute walk away, or you can take the Deuce bus for $7 for 24 hours. I walked all the way from the Riviera to the Ballagio at the other end of the strip and back on Saturday night, and it was a very interesting experience with all the sights and the crowds of people.

Parking was good. There is a garage behind the hotel with free parking, and we were able to find a spot right near the door.

All in all, I was pleased with my stay at the Riviera, and would stay there again.

I was a bit worried after reading some of the reviews of this hotel but I was very happy after arriving. Check in was easy we had help from Toni, she was very helpful and pleasant. She upgraded us to a mini suite in the Monoco tower. All we had to do was ask. The room was great. VERY CLEAN. The bed was VERY comfortable and big. TV was very nice even though we did not use it much. Our view was not too good but I guess you can't have it all. I did not get a chance to check out the rooms in the other towers but I believe if you ask for non smoking you will get a remodeled room.

The locaton is not bad at all. You are away from the crowds yet if you were in the mood for more action it was in walking distance if you like to walk or if not the Duece bus stops right outside the hotel and you can take it to the strip or even to Fremont Street. Cost is seven dollars a person for 24 hours. The stops are plenty so you will always find the bus stop.

The service that we recieved as very good. Everyone was friendly and helpful. This was one thing I was worried about because of the reviews. We signed up for the players club and recieved free show tickets. We went to the ice show and it was Awesome. We gave the lady seating us five dollars and received front row seats. We were not in the room often so we did not need it cleaned every day. We let the cleaning service know that we would still need towels and they were very promt with bringing them every day. Also they made sure we had the bath and body works shampoo, conditioner, soap, and lotion every day. They were very nice people. We ordered room service one night, It was very late so we did not expect very promt service. But we had our food within 1/2 hour. We ordered the chips and cheese supreme and received more than enough for the two of us. It was a very reasonable price for all the food we got.

The ABC store in the hotel is very reasonably priced. You could get a can of pop for $.75 and a bottle of pop for $1.49 which was much cheaper than the hotels down the strip. One of the stores is open 24 hours. The food court is reasonable too. You can get an omlet breakfast for $5.99. There is also a Chinese place, Mexican place, and a Quiznos.
The Sahara down the street had buffets for $8.99.

The pool was nice and not too crowded.

As far as gambling it seemed that the Riviera and Circus Circus (not Slots of Fun) were the loosest slots and we gambled at New York New York, Rio, MGM, Sahara, Wynn, Encore, Treasure Island, and the Stratosphere, Golden Nugget, Fitz, and Fremont Street Casino. You must go to Fremont Street. The atmosphere is awesome if you just want to have fun. The light show is awesome also. They were celebrating the Summer of 69 the week we were there.

I would definietely return to this Hotel.