+ 1 star for a very friendly staff + 1 star for very convenient location - 1 star for price (over $300!) - 1 star for shitty appearance and amenities - 1 star for overall unpleasant experience I would like to start off this review by saying that if we had paid $150 for this room it would have been 4 stars. Location is great, staff is nice, the property is a bit weird, but fine. But we ended up paying $340 for this room, due to false claims and advertisements, and it left me feeling pissed off about the whole thing. My husband and I decided to take a last minute trip down to Santa Cruz on a Saturday morning. We drove all the way down and found that most of the campgrounds were closed for the season and the other ones were full. After a bit of discussion we decided to splurge on a hotel room for the night. I did some Internet searching and found the Rio Vista Inn. I was drawn in by its beautiful photo and description "Upscale, adults-only hotel in a 19th-century mansion offering modern rooms & free breakfast." The price was listed as $190/ night, which was the upper end of our budget so I called and asked if they had any rooms available. The gentleman on the phone said they did in the River View Villa next door. He explained that it was the building next door that had four "suites" in it for $299/night. In my mind I was thinking, "Okay, I guess we can splurge for a suite for the night." So we booked the room. Fast forward to when we check in and find that the building next door is really just some cheap prefab looking house with small bedrooms. Whomever did the build out did a terrible job. There are holes in walls with wires coming through, the toilet isn't properly anchored so just getting on and off of it makes it wiggle, the showers are cheap shower heads with a janky-ass valve that wasn't installed properly so the temperature didn't match what was written on the handle. I don't know about you, but when I'm paying over $300 for a room I expect it to be nice. The bed was a cheap mattress with super cheap pillows. I woke up with my neck and shoulders super stiff from the bad bedding. Cheap pergo floors. There was nothing "suite" like about the place. The whole experience left us feeling bamboozled. read more

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My husband and I booked a room a the River View Villa "Hotel" as a last minute booking for a romantic weekend. This is not a villa. It was $189 and after fees it came out to $222. For this price you are renting a room in a cheaply renovated house. Yes there is a model looking kitchen with dining table and kitchen amenities. NO silverware. The room comes furnished with a HARD mattress, television, small table located in front of the television, microwave, micro fridge and air conditioner. Off season you can do off street parking but parking if that is not a possibility they use their front lawn as parking. The instructions for parking are coming hit the palm tree then turn the wheel hit the fence and back in. It does not look that easy. Front desk is not available after 9pm. While the location is convenient to both downtown and boardwalk there are what appear to be really shady characters in the surrounding apartments and hotels. Overall our stay was tolerable but we won't visit again do the price and shadiness of the area. NOT A ROMANTIC WEEKEND. read more

The staff was very kind and friendly. I got very well executed information about parking, breakfast, how the keys work and how the rules worked. The room felt very home like, well kept and very comforting. I like how, in the room I stayed in, there was a little kitchen area for everyone to be at, almost like a little diner. There was a big fridge to put your own foods and beverages in, even in your own room which I loved. The one thing that I did not like was my shower light. It seemed to turn off automatically every 20 seconds while I was showering, which got very annoying having to wave my hands or open the shower door for the light to turn back on. All in all I loved this spot to stay at and should be a higher star rating for sure....... hi read more

We were a group of 4 so we got one room in the main Victorian house and then one in the smaller regular house to the side. The history of the place is super interesting and they do a really great job highlighting it. The room in the Victorian was really nice. The whole place is renovated, clean and spacious enough. Note: the shower is in the room with no privacy, so if you're not comfortable with the person you're with seeing you nakie, then something to think about! Or at least this was true for our room. The location is great- close to the beach and downtown. I wouldn't waste my time with the side house if I had to choose between the two. BUT, it was completely fine. Clean and completely adequate. Just not charming like the Victorian and it's more of a shared space like you are renting a house with people and everyone has their own rooms, instead of feeling like you're separate as you do in a hotel (or how you feel in the Victorian part). But if you are cool with that and the expectation is set, it's a totally fine place to stay. We thought the breakfast selection was good, things were fresh and no compaints! Nothing fancy, but a decent continental breakfast. Overall we had a nice stay and I would imagine this place will be even better when it's warm out because they've done a nice job making the space lend itself to lounging in the sunshine outside. read more

Thank-you so much for a lovely stay this weekend! It was exactly what we were looking for! Modern, clean, wonderful and friendly service and close to the boardwalk and beach. We will definitely come stay here again on our next visit to Santa Cruz. I highly recommend River View Villa. read more

River View and the Rio Vista next door, have been lovingly renovated and are simply gorgeous looking hotels. For the River View, where I stayed, the furnishings are lovely, the bathroom was beautiful, the grounds are pretty...however, the River View had some flaws. First, the mattress was awful. Way too hard (and not just firm, but hard) and I found it almost impossible to get comfortable. Second, the water pipes made a sound like a fog horn from a passing ship every time you, or the neighboring rooms, flushed a toilet or turned on a tap. This was awful! 2 am, 3am, this fog horn sound just reverberated throughout. Needless to say, I got little sleep. And for the price of a Sunday night's stay ($174 total), I should have. Not too happy and would not stay at the River View again. read more

The Rio Vista Villas are right next door to the Rio Vista Suites. The Rio Vista Suites represented these rooms as comparable to the main building (I intended to book into the suites). I hope not! The small room had not a single hook or hangar to hang your coat.....only the floor! Water pressure is terrible. Your are greeted in the common area with a vacuum along the wall, and an array of cable boxes and wires. Parking is on the lawn, and it takes 2 to navigate your car to the spot. Breakfast is meagerly similar to what you'd get at a comfort inn or holiday inn express. Nothing about this is luxury, and the place is clearly an add-on to their main building with poor planning and no pride of ownership evident. Really? I think not! read more

Wonderful staff, great location to downtown and boardwalk, yuou can pretty much walk anywhere from this spot. We got there late(11pm late) But Antonio was really understanding and helped us. They offer breakfast, like bagels, cereal, and yogurt along with coffee and juice. They location is clean. Restrooms are clean. Very cute. Only thing is the bed is a bit to hard for our taste. But besides that amazing location! read more

First of all, this place is not a hotel, it's a house that they rent the rooms. Reception is not available after 9 pm. There is no phone in your room. AC is so loud that you can't sleep without ear protection. There is a kitchen outside your room that people seating there and talking and it looks like they are in your room. Breakfast start at 8 AM and actually this the time that front desk should also start working but I went there at 8 AM to get a coffee. Nobody was there and coffee pot was empty and you can't call what's there a breakfast, The water for the shower wasn't warm enough! I paid around $200 for this room. Generally terrible experience! read more

This place is fantastic! Stayed here for one night, but if i come back to Santa Cruz, I would stay there again. The staff is super friendly and helpfull. The rooms are really nice, everything is new and fresh, and really high standard. This breakfast is good and the hotel is located very central in Santa Cruz. Allover awsome place! read more

The location of this hotel is great! It's near everything my boyfriend and I wanted to do. The staff was great and very friendly! The downside to this place (and it's a huge one) is that there isn't adequate parking! All the spots in the lot are reserved for the people staying next door at the rio vista inn, so you have to park your car in the very narrow driveway or park on the grass in front of the place. I don't know about you, but I am not comfortable parking my car in a very narrow space on some grass. I didn't mind parking in the driveway as much, but it still made me uncomfortable because it is such a narrow driveway and guests are continually walking past your car and could potentially hit/scratch your car if they're carrying anything big and bulky like luggage. My boyfriend and I attempted to park in the grass one time because another car took the driveway spot and let me tell you, THERE IS NOT ENOUGH ROOM! I drive an SUV and when we tried to back into the grass we were going to hit the gate. When we drove again at a different angle one of my wheels was in some dirt and the other would have hit some bricks that are alongside the grass. We decided to give up and I told my boyfriend that I was going inside and asking if there was another spot we could use. When I asked the guy in the front he was nice, but he said that he had some tips and tricks for parking in the grass. I told him I just wasn't comfortable and I was leaving at 630 in the morning then next day. After I said this he finally gave me a parking permit so I could park on the street. OMG FINALLY! I do not understand why they don't offer you this in the first place! If we are paying money to stay here, I feel like you should be given a parking pass! My boyfriend and I were so frustrated with the parking situation we were about to say "screw it" and park on the street without a permit and just get a ticket. If this place fixed the parking situation it would be a great place, but it sucks so that's why I gave 2 stars. I wouldn't recommend staying here if you value parking as much as I do. read more

DO NOT STAY HERE! sure, it looks okay from the outside but it's impossible to sleep here. the pipes bang so loudly every time anyone on property uses the water (sink, toilet, shower), it sort of sounds like you are in the middle of a harbor and there are massive tugboats surrounding you. I can sleep through anything, earthquakes, sirens, you name it. but this was ridiculous. we told the day manager, Antonio, about it and he seemed concerned and said he had never heard about this before (a later thorough review of online reviews says otherwise though). then I tried to explain this to the owners son, Chet Patel, upon checkout and he really didn't seem to care at all. he said I signed something upon arrival so I had to pay the full amount no matter how awful my experience was. when I asked for a copy of what I signed he got angry and said it was his form and not mine to have a copy of. he then called me stupid for not reading in detail what I had signed. I'm assuming the form didn't say "you will be unable to sleep due to the insanely disruptive noises all through the day and night" but since he refused to give me a copy I can't be certain. ;) what a terrible experience in an otherwise fantastic town. read more

We were a little disappointed with this room. It was not especially clean, so I had to spend a little bit of time cleaning the table tops, baseboards and bathroom floor. There was also a strange humming that continued whenever anyone in the house flushed the toilet or turned on the sink. It was very distracting. It is located very close to the beach and Antionio was really friendly and spent a lot of time checking us in and making sure we didn't have any questions. He get an A+ from us. read more