Ohana Resort, formerly Riviera Resort This rating and review is in response to the poor customer service my family and myself have received during the Pandemic. I understand these are challenging times, but not taking calls or saying you have to check with the manager then weeks go by and there is no follow up is unacceptable. Our family hosts a reunion here every several years, we have people coming from all over the United States. the older family members LOVE it here, their Uncles owned the resort over 50 years ago and being here brings back fond memories. HOWEVER they are the precise reason we cannot come to the resort, even if the Governor opens up by Father's Day weekend. We cannot ask family to fly, we cannot ask family to who are high risk to attend a function, we cannot ask those with small children or newborns or expectant mothers to attend. We just cannot take that chance right now. No matter what side of the COVID 19 you are on we just cannot take the chance in early June. We cannot even get a phone call to ask about booking next year. Very disappointed in the lack of response. Their refund policy needs to be reevaluated during a pandemic. read more

June 30-July 2: The only reason Ohana Resort is getting 2 stars instead of 1 is because of the sandy play area my grandchildren enjoyed. I wish I had done more research and read the reviews prior to booking this place. Our penthouse and studio units were filthy and run down. I wish I had taken a picture of the kids' feet after walking around the unit. They were black. All the posts are accurate. I even messaged Chris asking her about the reviews: "Hello! My family and I are excited to vacation at Ohana Resort starting the 30th. I wanted to touch base with someone who could explain a little bit about the negative comments I've been reading about the lack of cleanliness there. That concerns me a great deal. There are comments about dirty carpet, musty smells, broken furniture, etc. I saw some great comments about the staff which is great, but I need to know if things are any different than the comments I've been reading. My family would never want me to book anything that is not clean and for $560/night, they should expect clean, odor-free rooms. Can you speak to all of that please? Thank you for your time!" Her answer: "Cindy Our place is clean, we are doing upgrades all the time. Our staff works very hard to maintain the whole Resort. Thanks Chris" . Had it not been for the reviews asking to cancel and their policy stating NO REFUNDS, we would have turned around and walked out. We made the best of it by washing the minimal kitchen items they had, everyone was forced to wear their sandals the whole time and we put our own sheets on the old, dirty couches. There were window handles broken, some the windows did not have screens and couch was rigged up with wooden blocks. Because of the broken and bent cookware and limited dirty dishware, we bought plates, bowls, napkins, plasticware, paper towels and cleaning supplies. The 2 kitchen towels in the unit were so heavily stained, we only used them to clean. Like other VRBO units, we were disappointed with the lack of amenities. Very few kitchen utensils,  minimal broken and beat up cookware, no S&P shakers, no napkins, no cleaning supplies, etc. The units were dark, dirty and musty. I would not recommend staying here. My lesson... vet these places sooner and thoroughly, and believe what you read, especially if it's listed more than once. (Zoom in on some of these to see t the filth up close.) read more

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We have stayed here twice and will be staying again next summer. The location is amazing! Being able to sit in your own living room or balcony looking out over the lake from on a hill, drink your coffee in the morning, the breeze off the lake, fantastic. Nice to have the extra space with kids or to have family come with and have a kitchen too. In my opinion, these are the perfect lake cottages, clean, cozy, plenty of towels, everything you need. Highly recommended! read more

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My friend just came back from a well-planned getaway with a horror story, and a crazy one at that! 1. The beds were old 25 years ago... 2. Springs were visible and the beds were unsleepable 3. Complaints were ignored 4. My friend asked the manager to have the owner review her formal complaints, and sadly, cut her trip short. 5. The manager not only refused to help in any way, he tried to shut her down (saying he would call the police because she said she would write up a negative review on a site like this!), and is refusing to take off the charges that would reasonably be assumed to be relieved from her responsibility. Please, JUST SAY NO to this place, as even a remote or second-option Possibility! read more

Good restaurant if you are looking for a laid back atmosphere. After driving there in the boat, my wife and I had a nice relaxing dinner looking out at Houghton Lake. They have docking slips specifically for the restaurant so docking is not an issue. The food is good and service was very good. I would recommend this place to anyone looking for a nice meal. Place is clean, so are the restrooms. read more

This has to be one the most poorly run hotels ever. The one little old lady, who runs the hotel for a local family, is crazy and rude. She told us we couldn't move some chairs for our wedding rehearsal dinner. She talks in circles and is unhelpful. She sat down to talk to use about the wedding rehearsal and spaced out at the table, excused herself, said she would be right back and then never returned. We finished our meal and then walked over to her at the front desk and she drew a blank about who we were. You are not allowed to talk to anyone else except for her. She won't give you her bosses name or number. You cannot get refunds for your room, even if you book and cancel 6months ahead. Once you pay, that is it, you are stuck. My wedding guests keep calling me about the "bizarre" lady that they have talked to on the phone when booking their rooms. I'm not sure what the real deal is with this place. Is it a tax shelter for another business? Because they are not in the Business of making money or customer service. read more

The Riviera restaurant offers an excellent variety of food. Prices are high for the area but overall pretty reasonable. Had their fried artichoke hearts as an appetizer and they were incredible. Great food, good service, and a cozy atmosphere overlooking Houghton Lake. Definitely worth checking out. 4/5 stars only because the prices are a bit high for the area and their hours aren't ideal. Food and service is outstanding though. read more

We stayed at riviera for the weekend. It was a great experience. We were in one of the 2 bedroom cottages. It had a kitchen and a modest living room. We were two families with a total of 3 kids. It worked out just fine. The gas grills outside next to the lake were great. The place was exceptionally clean. Kirk the manager was very helpful and friendly. Area is nice. We are already planning for our next trip to the lake soon. The restaurant is not operational now though which was fine with us as we love to cook anyway. read more

please disregard any negative reviews about this place as the Rivera it is now the Ohana it is under new ownership new management. they are working their butts off to make it fabulous! we were so impressed with our stay. Chris the manager, Audrey the assistant manager, the entire staff.. went above and beyond to accommodate our large group the food is amazing in Blake's! the hospitality is truly some of the best we've ever received! we've already booked our return cannot wait to come back! We were so impressed, I'm telling anybody who will listen, to please check them out! if you have any issues, with any of the rooms or Cottages, let them know they will address them immediately! highly recommend the Bloody Marys or any of the cocktails with the nerds in the bottom yum so randomly delicious!! truly a must stop if you are anywhere in the vicinity! read more

Stayed at the Riveria for 2 nights for a wedding. We stayed in the cabins. Place was very, very dirty. Towels had dried up paint on them, couch smelled terrible, sheets were musty, fridge was disgusting and bathroom wasn't clean. When we asked Kirk about cleaning the room he said it was only like that was because they open the windows to let it air out between guests. No hand soap was provided. He gave us hand soap as a body wash. Definitely not worth $230/night. Wouldn't stay again if it was free. Only good part was the view. read more

I see they have two new managers which are amazing great service they made sure that our stay was always the greatest and kept everything fun. read more

We visited this restaurant over the 4th of July and it was one of the worst experiences I've had in years. The saga is long but suffice it to say that after much work and patience on our part we finally reached the owner who's attitude was basically "tough". We'll never go back!! I'd post zero stars if I could! Stay away if you want good service or an effort at delivering value or customer satisfaction read more

Our family had a very disappointing experience with The Riviera Restaurant with food and service. Too many problems to write for this review. We certinally will not return. Save your precious time and money. read more

This was the worst place I have ever stayed. We shared a cottage with another couple at $150.00 per night. The sofa beds were in terrible shape, springs broken off and the mattress horrible. We ended up sleeping on the floor. Can not believe that we spent so much for so little. Pictures of the cottages do not show all the cobwebs and dirt. Can not believe that this place is rented out as dirty as it was. The restaurant had good food. Went to the office to complain before we checked out and there was no one to be found to speak with read more

Over all the resort is nice and very spacious. The rule that you can't play ball by the sandbox seems a little over the top. They have a game area by the parking lot/road which seems a little unsafe for kids. They have WiFi yet it won't work unless your on the office porch which is very inconvenient. I suggest they expand the WiFi and then the review would be better. read more

As far as mom & pop hotels on the water in Houghton Lake this is a great one. My family used to rent cabins but we don't need a cabin just for a long weekend. Which makes this place perfect. The rooms I've stayed in here have been nice, clean and spacious. The grounds were nice and they have plenty of room so people can spread out. The restaurant is nice too, and the food is good. The people working have always been helpful and friendly, I've never had a bad time at this place and we've stayed here going on a few years in a row now. read more

Poor staffing, lousy service and inconsiderate of lengthy wait times. This place should stick to renting rooms and row boats. Go elsewhere if you desire good food, service and empowered management. read more

Recent visit found everyone complaining about the slow service and food. Table next to us received some sort of pasta dish floating in grease that spilled off dish as it was returned to the kitchen. Sent back my food and took another half hour to receive it. Management didn't seem to care. Can't really recommend this place. Make sure you read all the filtered reviews also. read more

Terrible place with terrible management, we called it the can't do resort, signs all over the rooms and resort telling you things you can t do. I have stayed at many resorts in Northern Michigan and I have never felt so unwelcome anywhere. Their were a group of women in their 50 s staying in one of the cabins and they were calling the hotel manager the hotel Nazi. One of the cabins our group stayed in was infested with mice. Had to fight with the manager for hours to get a refund, then it was only a partial refund mailed 6 weeks later after some more fighting with them over the phone. read more

Called ahead and made reservation for a large group. Restaurant was completely understaffed and inattentive once we arrived. The ceiling started leaking all over our table and we had to bring it to their attention. After approximately 45 minutes, moving tables and changing waitstaff on us 3 times, we finally got our drink orders. Ordering and receiving food took over another hour. Some of the food was cold or overcooked. Several of the orders were wrong. My toddler was served the most disgusting looking chicken nuggets ever. A trip to the restroom found no doors on the stalls and no toilet paper. After complaining to the "manager" they stalled and made phone calls to "upper management". FOUR hours after arriving at this restaurant they handed us "comment" cards and offered to remove the drink orders and incorrect food and refused to allow us to talk to "upper management". Whoever these people are, they are completely inept! read more