Rooms need a major upgrade. The pool/lounge area and proximity to the beach are what make this place desirable. The curtains in our room had mold on them, I found a piece of parsley floating in our son's bath (it was def not from us), and the toilet was loose and shook when you sat down. Night time was LOUD, the walls are paper thin. We would go back due to the pool and lounge area plus how close to the beach it is. I hope they put some $$ into upgrading the rooms, especially the bathrooms. read more

It saddens me that we have been priced out of our 25 year tradition going to our favorite Rio Sands to get away from the city... Nothing fancy...just a queen bed MIDWEEK for the night is now over $440.00 for 2 nights. What a shame. We'll miss it : ( On the plus side, for those that can afford to stay now, I hear their hot tub is now open during the week and it seems they are now serving their mini breakfast in the fireplace hall again. read more

We stayed here and there were ants all over the bathroom, the floors and the rooms were so noisy. The heater was going off all night and we weren't aware of it. The upstairs has no insulation because you can hear people clearly walking around loudly and talking. It was very hard to sleep. And sadly the pool closed at 9 on a Saturday...why? We won't be back. read more

Last minute booking turned into a pleasant surprise! I read a lot of bad reviews for this hotel after I made my non-refundable reservation so I wasn't really expecting much when I checked in. But as it turns out, the Rio Sands Hotel is a classic example of "don't believe everything you read online". Some of the reviews from 1-2 years ago warned travelers to stay away because of run down facilities, dirty floors or rude employees. I didn't see or experience any of that! Check-in was a breeze and took maybe 10 minutes. I was given a ground floor room right across from the pool. Yes, it was noisy but it's summer so I can't hold that against the hotel. The room itself was very spacious. It had a king bed, separate sitting area with sofa bed, a full kitchen, and private lanai. Everything looked clean and the bathroom passed my inspection. The location of the Rio Sands is the cherry on top. Literally steps from the beach, it's also conveniently next to some places to get food and drinks or pick up last minute supplies. I would totally stay here again and recommend you give the Rio Sands a chance! read more

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We decided to give Rio Sands a stay for my wife's birthday weekend. Needless to say we are saddened and disappointed at the lack of service. It started w a phone call requesting early entry, Maggie said everyone wanted early entry and that she'd call me back, she never did. We got a kitchenette and assumed it was like it used to be. We never thought we'd have to pay additional money to use the pots and pans, or anything else associated with the kitchenette besides the two towels provided. We essentially wasted our money and time. The gentlemen at the counter resonated with my confusion regarding extra charges for the kitchen wares stating the reason for even more charges was housekeeping didn't want to wash pots and pans anymore. I asked for a room change to lower my costs as the suite had turned out to be a waste. He told told they were fully booked, however, upon walking back to our room there were open drapes and plenty of empty rooms with lights on at 9pm. Our kids grew up vacationing at Rio Sands, needless to say we won't ever come back due to the above mentioned. The room was stuffy and smelled as well. So unfortunately a former family favorite getaway will only be distant memories as this experience was way over priced for a kitchenette without wares and under serviced with signs saying front counter staff was busy cleaning rooms. When they were present they were short, unwelcoming and rude. read more

Rio Sands Hotel - Here's the response from Rio Sands after I sent them the same review on Facebook messenger as I did on YELP. Sums it up. - Hotels Near Me - Aptos, California

UPDATE FEBRUARY 2020 We've given the Rio Sands a few more tries but it just keeps getting worse. We stayed last weekend and got a "family" room. Be warned....these rooms are CRAMMED and not actually made for 5 like advertised. With the pull out "bed" pulled out , there was BARELY a one foot wide walking path through that room. The doors are blocked. It's not TRULY meant for 5 or to use the pull out. We showed up in February and our heater didn't work. We alerted the front desk and were told "No one is here to fix it, we'll get to it tomorrow". They didn't. The next day our toilet went out. Again, we were told "there's no one here to fix it" and my husband was handed a plunger to try to clear it himself. It was a dollar store plunger and didn't work so we had to go to the pool bathrooms to use the restroom. With a family of five, that got VERY inconvenient VERY quickly. On top of those two pretty major issues, the staff refused to provide enough additional blankets AND they turned the water off on the second day because of a leak in another room. Obviously there were plumbing problems that weekend. I asked the staff upon checkout about a partial refund and was told...YET AGAIN...."no one is here who can handle that". I reached out to the parent company, Allen Property Group (who also happens to own the Venetian which we frequent regularly) and they didn't respond and instead told the hotel manager to give us a 25% refund, which we've yet to see. I requested a 50% refund, and felt that was reasonable given that we didn't have heat or a toilet for a family of five. All in all, that was obviously the last time I'll spend my money here, and quite honestly I think it also means we won't stay at the Venetian anymore either. Super disappointing. read more

MOLD AND PESTS.......... .We were serviced wet towels .My husband returned a moldy pillow to front desk. .Under our bunks there were previous tenants garbage, it wasn't mopped under couch I found old food wrappers. .We reported ants. They offered to spray but I said absolutely not because we wanted to relax in our room not wanting to have to leave for a period of time for pest products to dry or air out. We left for 15 minutes to get food and came back to wet floors of chemical spray smell and bug spray we were not able to be in the room the smell was so overwhelming. Not to mention it's dangerous we traveled with our toddlers. I had to throw our toothbrushes out because it smelled so bad I was worried the chemicals would harm us but Maggie said it's so organic and it's straight grapefruit. They must not know what their maintenance crew is using because it smelled like a bug bomb. Grape fruit smell would have been lovely. .Marketing hasn't updated their website or emails. YOU DON'T GET THE BREAKFEST THEY MARKETED TO US. .Walking distance to beach and 3 restaurants. They're not being covid compliant. No hand sanitizer in pool areas or vending machines after all the people using the facilities and the cleaning crew was not wearing masks. But they won't service you unless you come in wearing a mask. Just so much inconsistency and it's a bummer They just need to get their customer service act together. Sorry for the bad review but it was a terrible stay and super rude for Maggie to say taking $20 off is fair. We believe in right and wrong and that's just wrong saying here's $20 bucks off. read more

Horrible service!! Do not book Rio Sands, Aptos A very young and immature girl by the name of Sylvia was very rude and incompetent when requesting to speak to a Manager due to the horrible service we received the night before upon check-in. We chose this hotel because of the location and affordable price. The rooms are tiny and they are very strict on noise. I have three small children and in a tiny hotel room we did our best to keep the noise at a minimum. The night shift worker came to us one time and threatened to kick us out if he had to come back even though the noise in all honesty wasn't that bad. I asked if anyone complained and he said no, but said he could see us on the camera coming in and out of the room, even though we had just arrived. They are also very strict on how many people per room. I had 2 queen beds with 2 adults and 3 small children. We also brought out air mattress. The next day our fan wasn't working so I had to call 3 separate times throughout the day, after being told someone would be by to look at it, only to be told there's nothing they can do and they were sold out so we couldn't switch rooms. This was not by any means a pleasant stay and the Sylvia girl proved they are only in it for the business, not the comfortability of the customer. read more

The rooms are very cute and clean. It is much nicer than some of the other 2 star hotels I have stayed in. Given it was the off season it was also very cheap ($80), and I had a balcony with ocean views. This is more of a motel but it is pretty nice with that in mind. Good value. read more

We are incredibly disappointed. I've been going to the Rio Sands since I was a child and now we enjoy bringing our 4 year old there. We've stayed there dozens of times, but this visit was different. When I checked in, I noticed a shelf was missing in the refrigerator and the remote for the TV was broken. I notified the front desk because I didn't want to be blamed after reading some recent reviews. The young lady at the front desk was very helpful and replaced both. Shortly after that, their hospitality declined. We were there with a few other families, which is always fun because they have a lot of outdoor space for the kids to play. But this visit it seemed that the staff was not happy that families were there. The staff members threatened to kick our friends multiple times without warning, for minor issues like too many kids in the hot tub, not closing the pool gate, the kids being too loud outside before quiet hours, and anything else they could blame us for. When we attempted to reason with them, they were hostile with us. We are not confrontational people and we were happy to comply when we were told we were breaking their rules. Unfortunately, the staff was incredibly hostile toward our group and seemed to have something against us from the beginning of our trip. We were respectful of the other guests, making friends daily. We often fed the other families staying there when we would bbq in the evening. We cleaned up after ourselves after breakfast, unlike some of the other guests there. We tipped the breakfast hostess and the cleaning staff. We kept the communal areas clean and always picked up after ourselves. When I checked out, I was met with hostility from the manager, Evelyn, who told me we were not able to return. When I asked why, she generalized that WE broke the rules. When I asked what rules MY family broke, she was not able to articulate that and just said that no one who was at the motel that weekend could return. She blatantly lied to my face about that. It was only our group that she was treating this way. She even threatened to call the police on me for trying to get clarification from her. I was calm, she was not. She was the most unprofessional person I've ever dealt with in hospitality. It's too bad, but we won't be returning there, by our choice. read more

Worst experience ever after going for 20 plus years. Assuming new ownership. 4th year going for Labor Day weekend and they did not want us there...clearly they don't want to be family friendly anymore..rude to our kids about everything from asking for pool towels. Manager Evelyn Florez was not helpful at all ...told us we are not allowed back next Labor Day or possibly ever ...threatened to call the police for no reason because we asked what we did wrong. Complaining that our kids were too loud before the sun was down when it's supposed to be a family friendly motel...blamed us for an old hammock breaking when our child was laying on it even though maintenance man said it's old and it always breaks...closed the pool down before pool hours were over because people were breaking the rules ....harassed us the whole time that they were going to kick us out even though they wouldn't state what rules we were breaking. If they asked us to stop doing anything we immediately complied. Pool gates do not self shut and latch and front desk blamed us even though we were not using pool area....front desk and manager extremely rude ...zero customer service...they kept saying they watched us on the cameras but did not say what we were doing that was against their policies....unfortunately lots of family memories there and we will not be returning. read more

We enjoyed our stay at The Rio. Was a special day 33rd wedding anniversary. The breakfast and the presentation was awesome.(my wanted to leave a tip) The stay cost us over $500.00 And we just received a call that we had stolen 2 pillows from the the room. My wife got upset, and they said they were going to check the cameras. Way to go, Bravo. read more

The Rio is open. Except no valet. And no room service. Over an hour to check in. Our baggage took several hours to get to our room. Nearly late to a friends wedding. Never made up our room. Finally got new towels at midnight. Half hour wait for the coffee shop. Another 40 minutes for the food and a $6 lemonade. The parking garage is filthy and disgusting and really far from your room. Very uncomfortable bed and pillows. And an a big ugly room. Never recommend this place to anyone. read more

Let me preface this review by saying that the room we stayed in itself was fine. However, the mattress was a little firm, and there is no adjustable air conditioning, so it can get warm if you don't open your sliding door. It had a microwave and mini fridge, so that was nice. The street it's located on is really narrow, and frequently visited so be careful.It was a fine room and a ridiculously short walk from the beach. It does the job. I'm giving this place 2 stars for their customer service, or lack thereof. First, because we had just gotten there from an 8 hour drive from San Diego, we called to see if we could check in early, as opposed to their 4pm policy. We were told that our room was not ready and that they would call us back when it was. We appreciated hearing that because we were exhausted. We NEVER received a call. Secondly, I called the day after spending the night because I realized I left my pair of leather rainbow sandals next to the bed and checked out. I know for a fact they were left there. I asked them to please check if housekeeping had turned in a pair of leather sandals. I was placed on hold and then told that nothing was turned in. I know for a fact that the sandals were left there, and expressed that to the front desk. I had already driven back to the hotel just in case and was parked outside waiting for their response so I could quickly pick them up and head on the long drive back to San Diego. I was then put on ANOTHER hold after she heard the anger in my voice. This hold lasted maybe 5 minutes and then I was told that housekeeping went to check again and even asked the guests staying there if there were any items left there. The problem is, because I was parked outside, I know that they did not, in fact, go check the room again because I was right outside and saw NO ONE go. I am not advocating for bothering guests that are already checked into the room, but don't blatantly LIE to your guests just to shut them up. If it wasn't housekeeping that took my rainbows, it was this front desk woman who should learn empathy and actual customer service skills. Spend your money where they don't steal your things and lie to you on the phone. read more

Location is good Clean Good beds We will stay here again Free wi-fi was excellent which is unusual for a motel Rates very good Sunday - Thursday read more

The customer service here is crap. My boyfriend and I booked this hotel for our Santa Cruz vacation and were greatly disappointed at what we found. There is no security room to room on the balconies. You can easily climb underneath the balcony walls and get to another person's room wasn't complete ease. In addition there was no air-conditioning in the room which is not mentioned in any ad we found either on the site we booked our room on nor the hotels personal website. In order to get any cooling in the room you have to have the sliding glass door to the balcony opened. Neither of us felt safe doing that because of the lack of security room to room. We brought our security concerns to the front desk they basically laughed in our face. Needless to say we did not stay here and they refused to refund our money because they found our security concerns ridiculous. read more

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I wanted so bad for this to be our new place to go in Aptos. What started out as what could possibly have been a great stay ended bad. The first room we were assigned had a HORIBLE CHEMICAL SMELL that immediately started making us SICK to our stomachs. The lady at the front desk was friendly and helpful. She immediately changed our room. The room itself was cute and the hotel grounds are pretty, but even that room had a weird smell to it. Unfortunately we had to leave due to a family emergency and were only there a couple of hours. When we checked out we were told a credit would be applied the next day. When I called a few days later they said they could not refund any of our money because it was a holiday weekend. So we were charged $250 dollars for 3 hours at this hotel. So disappointed that no refund at all was offered, not even an "I'm sorry, I hope everything is alright". read more

Ugh I have such mixed feelings about this place. On the one hand, I adore it. It's so close to the ocean, and away from the insane crowds. The rooms with poolside patios are pretty great. I've stayed here many times. But also, it's funky. And this trip left something to be desired. First, they now charge $50 for a "dish kit" for the kitchen. Not a deposit. A FEE. But they didn't tell me this when I booked the room, so i couldn't bring my own. I was shocked. But then they ended up not charging me because I complained. So that was cool. The dishes made no sense. A tiny ass pan and one pot for a room that sleeps six. Hmmmm. The walls are PAPER thin (i got to listen to our neighbor's television until 1am) and there is NO ventilation whatsoever in the room. No fan. No AC. So stuffy and gross for 6 people. And it was tiny. We got the "family suite" with bunk beds and a king, and a sofa bed. Would never stay in that room again. Microscopic bathroom. On the other hand, you walk two blocks and you're at the beach. And the staff is nice, if not rather unhelpful in rather critical ways. Why wouldn't you mention an astronomical and ridiculous fee to use cheap ass pans and dishes?! We'll never know. We'll be back though. It's just that kind of place. But do NOT pay their full price. Go off season or during a special. Disappointing at full price. And i hope they get their shit together so I can update this review to 4 stars. read more

Never Again..... We needed a last minute room for 4th of July so we could attend a party. At best, this was an $80/night room, not a $289/night room. Since other hotels were completely booked, we didn't have much of a choice. We chalked the high price up to the holiday and just went with it. We had previously checked out this hotel and we knew it had been renovated. The hotel has great proximity to Rio del Mar beach. The pool and lounge area were very charming. The staff were friendly upon check-in. If there was a continental breakfast offered, we were not told about it. Beds were comfortable, as others have stated and the room was clean but very dark even with the lights on. The room did not offer much in terms of amenities, which you would think could be included for what we paid. When we checked in, there was a large dirty laundry bag left near our door. In the evening we returned around 8:30. It was party central all around the hotel with hotel guests and also people in the places across the street. Illegal fireworks were shot off in the street right behind our car which was parked in the hotel lot. There were drunken people throwing food around by our car and arguing loudly. Nothing was done about this by the hotel staff. The noise level was incredible. The next morning, we awoke to bathing suits and towels strung all over the lounge area and the patio across from that area was littered with stuff everywhere and a tray of uneaten barbequed chicken was left out. I reported it to the office but it didn't seem to be any cause for concern with the staff. For the price we paid, I would have expected the staff to be more on top of things and be vigilant about checking the property in the morning after a holiday. I recognize that because of its location near the beach, there is a lot of activity, and it was a major holiday. This hotel certainly has lots of rules about parking and smoking but yet I didn't feel very protected as a guest and didn't sleep well because of it and the noise. We won't be returning under any circumstances. read more

Rio Sands Hotel - Guest Patio, the "morning after" - Hotels Near Me - Aptos, California

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By far the worst Hotel. Not only was it filthy, but Management would not even acknowledge the State mandated Orders to be open and operating during the Pandemic. The Hotel cleaning staff did not wear masks or gloves. The front desk girl wore a mask only but no gloves when handing out brown bags filled with "continental" breakfast. The guest in front of me was returning their bag because the fruit had mold on it. Then, the actual room I was given had 2 cockroaches, the bathtub had dirt in it, the night stand was had crumbs on it, the carpet was disgusting with multiple stains & the room smelled like mold. Needless to say, we did NOT end up staying here. And, after multiple attempts to get my money back with denial from Management, I am going public with this issue. I have already notified the Health Department and am hoping this property is shut down immediately. I have also contacted the BBB to report fraudulent photos of the hotel posted online. Nothing looks like the photos that the property advertises. DO NOT stay here...especially during a pandemic where sanitizing & cleanliness should be a top priority. @Nick Y-if you were so concerned with Customer Satisfaction, you would do the right thing & refund me for the room I couldn't even stay in. Shame on you as the proprietor yo turn a blind eye on the health & safety of your guests during this pandemic. You are just as much to blame. read more

Rio Sands Hotel - Dirty bath tub-cockroach was behind the shower curtain - Hotels Near Me - Aptos, California

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Stay away from the Rio Sands. They do not care about their guests, only themselves. They did not provide an anti slip mat for the shower and after I had a slip and fall in the shower they tried to deny that I'd even taken a shower. I have photos that prove it and yet they outright lie and won't admit their error. There are much better places to stay. read more

Unfortunately Rio Sands has made a couple cut backs, and their rates are high during peak season $970 for 3 nights ($150+ more a night than off peak). We have been staying at Rio Sands for over 10 years. This is a motel, not a hotel, each room enters facing the parking lot. There is not an elevator to the 2nd floor. We rent the kitchenette unit, they no longer stock the kitchen with any kitchen items, ex. cups, plates, utensils, pans. The pull out couch has been replaced with a narrow roll away bed, I wish the pillow knew to stay on the bed during the night. Rio Sands is outdated, but clean. The pool and spa area is clean, my kiddo enjoys the heated pool, I enjoy the hot tub. The majority of the staff is very polite, grumpy woman at the front desk excluded. They provide a full continental breakfast each morning, yogurt, pastries, toast, cereal, waffles, hard boiled eggs, juice and coffee. read more

Great location. Walk out and there is the beach and some places to eat and a convenient store. I love getting away here and enjoying the beautiful water and relaxed community of people. You get to slow down and enjoy the view here. The layout of the hotel is a little odd but has all the am amenities you and breakfast. One of my rooms had bunk beds and a small kitchen. I recommend this place! read more

After staying in a few hotels in the area due to my husband working here for a month, this one is our least favorite yet. Yes, the location is great...a block from the beach and great food and coffee, that's about it. Very dirty, dirtiest floors I've ever seen! I made my family wear socks the whole time...and the smell......the smell of mildew or towels that have been left wet for too long. Beds are surprisingly comfortable but for God sakes, change the carpets. I'll add photos of the standard 2 queen and the floors. read more

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I think this place would be more worth the money in the off-season when rooms are much cheaper. Pros: * The woman at the front desk is really attentive and wonderful. * Outdoor pool is apparently heated to 80 degrees. Though we haven't yet tried it, we surely will. * Easy walking-distance to the beach Cons: * We were "upgraded" to a kitchen suite, which has a king bed and a pull-out sofa. So, instead of getting a queen bed to sleep in, now my husband and son are on a pull-out sofa (so baby and I can sleep in the bigger bed). And everyone knows how comfy pull-out couches are. * There doesn't seem to be any AC in our room, and with no fan in here either, it's pretty warm. * The walls are paper thin. I've been listening to a baby cry for a while now. That baby is at least 2 doors down from me. * Because of no AC, we have to have windows open. This means that we are privy to some interesting conversations from outside. read more

I came to stay with a group of friends as a moving away gift. We came home late one night and both mangers came out and harassed us with racial slurs and profanity, completely unprofessional. The cops were called and I was accused of crimes I did not commit me and a large group of people will never stay at this hotel again.update just called because my mother is staying there and the crazy manager is looking room to room harassing people. read more

Cute and spacious with full kitchen. HOWEVER, I think it's pretty ridiculous that they have the full kitchen and NO necessary tools to cook with; i.e. dishes, utensils, pots/pans, etc. They do have them available for "purchase" at a rate of $50. Again, RIDICULOUS. That's like gifting someone a journal without also adding a pen. Especially at the rate we paid for just two nights, (almost $500.) SMH. read more

Clean, friendly staff, amazing location, new floors, great parking, continental breakfast! Also, was super impressed by their professional handle on a situation a brought to the front desk's attention. Guests were on the patio using a lice comb on their daughter's hair and examining the comb. The following day, we saw the staff removing the entire mattress and professional cleaners come in to sanitize the couch and fabrics in the room. We've been coming here since I was a child, through a few different owners & hotel names. This visit has been by far our best! read more

Good, clean hotel in a great location at a reasonable price. Just steps from the beach and some restaurants that are also pretty good.

It was an A-OK place. We stayed in a 2 bedroom suite. A better design would have the bathroom in a hall way so we wouldn't have to go into other bedroom to go to bathroom. The continental breakfast was ok; nothing special. Price was high, but it was down from the beach and cheaper than the one from last year by the boardwalk. read more

Two stars for the nice heated pool and the wonderful ladies who worked tirelessly during breakfast... My family and I enjoyed both the pool and breakfast. Other than that, nothing else. We booked the Family Suite for the weekend. The room was pretty cramped and beds were way too soft for us. The kitchen did not have pots and pans! The website did say $50 addition to stock kitchen. My thoughts were, stocked with oil, spices, dish soap and condiments. Never thought I'd have to bring my own pots and pans! It would be more reasonable to have a deposit to use pots and pans, not pay $50 to just use it! Eventhough that messed up our start of our trip, it didn't ruin it entirely. The weather was great, and the location was awesome! It was a block or two away from the beach! The SS Palo Alto can be seen once you reach the beach. I will not book this place again, I would rather pay an extra $200 for an Airbnb (since this hotel/motel is the only one in Aptos near the beach). read more

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Maggie and Cynthia took care of us.the customer service is top notch quaint and humble. I can wait to come back

This is a Motel, not a hotel. Purchased a junior suite and it was NOT a suite, but had a partial wall separating the two queen beds from a 5 X 10 space that had a small love seat sofa, small refrigerator. Asked for a roll away bed, they gave me a three inch pad for the floor. They called it a futon. That is super misleading. Service was average. Had one helpful person at the front desk but when I called for the WiFi password she was rude and hung up. I would not recommend this place for the cost. read more

We stayed for a night in a the Rio Sands Hotel and I liked it. The set up of the room with one room separated from the rest is really convenient. read more

This place is "Classic, Clean & Comfy"!! We have a family of five (2 parents/3 kids) and this place comfortably suited our impromptu family weekend getaway to the beach. We were able to get the "family suite" which sleeps up to 6 people. Walking into the room gave me visions of what a motel might have looked like on the set of the movie "Dirty Dancing" set in the 60's. The place smells of an old hotel (paint, wood) but those are all good things. For us, this is what we expected the Motel experience at the "Hotel Price" in Aptos,CA...we actually got a great deal for the location $190/night; this area usually warrants a room no less than $250/night. This is a small room so don't expect much more than a very clean room, an insanely comfortable bed (comments to come) and a clean bathroom to shower up after a fun full day at the beach (which is like 100 steps away from the beach!!) Let me make this comment about the bed.... I missed the free breakfast because of this bed!! I did not expect that a motel would have such a COMFORTABLE bed (I'm sure this is a Tempurpedic!) I slept like a log and my back felt great after a good night/partial morning's sleep!! So, if for nothing else, my husband and I would come here again just to get a good night's rest...who says that when they stay at a motel???LOL! Okay, to end, the staff is great (thanks Paige, for booking us very last minute...you we so kind on the phone). We had a wonderful time, we will definitely be back!!! read more

I am here at the moment with my three children and it sometimes takes a while to check out. We called the front desk asking for a later check out like we do at all hotels and was told they cannot accommodate us. It surprised me because I have never been told that. We will never ever come back here again. read more

I got a last minute reservation for the Friday of Memorial Day weekend, with Saturday unavailable. The staff told me they'd call if anything opened up for Saturday. Something opened up, and they called and accommodated me very generously. Overall: Very clean, very pleasant, very friendly. Nice little pool and hot tub. Nice continental breakfast. It was very pleasant and I was very happy, and I would stay again. It's true -- we had no view of the beach from the room. But it's about 50 yards away. If you want to see it, just step outside. I don't travel to a beach town to look at the ocean from a motel room, but to be able to walk to it from my room, which I could. read more

This is a nice motel within short walking distance of the beach. Our family stayed there over Father's Day weekend. There is a barbecue area near the pool, and our rooms had a small kitchenette with a microwave, mini fridge and sink. They provide utensils, plates, bowls, knives, etc, so that you can make some basic meals there. Our suite had a small bedroom and a living room/kitchen area. A sofa and extra fold out cot gave us plenty of options to accommodate our family. The breakfast provided is Continental-plus. There were a variety of breads you could toast, fruit, two types of cereal, juice, coffee, hot chocolate, hard boiled eggs and pastries. All-in-all, not a bad place to stay. read more

My husband and I were a little concerned when we saw this is where "Priceline.com" sent us. But when we got there, we were so pleasantly surprised. We were actually only planning on staying one night, then move to Carmel, but we ended up staying for 3 nights! The only thing that bothered me was that the walls were pretty thin... but for the LOW price, we had an ocean view from our patio, it's only like 100 steps to the beach, FREE WIFI, FREE breakfast, a new Tempurpedic mattress and it was CLEAN. I would definitely stay here again. :) read more

The Rio Sands is a nice little motel about a block away from the beach. I've stayed at the Rio Sands a couple times now and have been happy with their service. They were very accommodating to our family and guests from all over the country coming to Aptos for a wedding. They allowed us to use their back garden and barbeque area for a private party. The rooms were clean and comfortable. They offer a large free breakfast each morning. They have a well-kept pool and spa. read more