Even a broken clock is right twice each day. In that spirit, I offer the following kind words about the Thames Riviera Hotel: * The room I wound up in was fine; and * The riverside location is attractive. And with that, the positives will end. I hiked 10+ miles to reach this hotel which a travel agency booked for me. As I approached I could tell, even from the outside, that the place had some deferred maintenance. Stepping inside clarified my observation: the carpets looked worn and the interior shabby and tired. The woman at the front desk told us to wait, pointing outside to a gentleman smoking. "He'll help you when he gets back" she offered. Help here is a relative word. The smoker checked us in, showed us to our room, and mentioned that he'd upgraded us to a river view. As he walked out I walked to the far corner of the room to look out the window. Turning my neck at a 90 degree angle I could see and hear the car-filled bridge and spot the teensiest slice of the River Thames. Opening the window revealed that the window hardware was broken and a quick look around the room revealed the same shabby, tired interior that had greeted me at the front desk. This room was not acceptable. A new room was requested (we blamed the traffic noise) and keys were given to a satellite building behind the main building. After hauling luggage up several flights and walking down a hallway with stained carpet and sour smells, I stood outside our new room. Its handle had a "do not disturb" sign hanging from it and I could hear people inside. This too was not acceptable (obviously). A return to the front desk brought a bit of attitude, as though this was some big favor, requesting not to stay in an already occupied room. The third room? It was fine. Also in the satellite building, it actually had a balcony, a river view from there, was quiet, and had no traffic noise. It was charmless but by this time it was clear that charm wasn't this hotel's specialty. Breakfast, like all places in the UK, is included and with the exception of the fresh fruit and the pastries this breakfast was my least favorite of any I had on this trip. I didn't care for the taste of their eggs or potatoes. Maidenhead (birthplace of Theresa May!) is an odd town but surely there must be better lodging options here than the Thames Riviera Hotel. For every reason above, I'd be very reluctant to recommend you stay here but if you insist, ask for an unoccupied room in the satellite building, one with a river view and a balcony, and plan to eat your breakfast elsewhere. read more

Thames Riviera Hotel & Blue River Cafe - The front of the hotel doesn't look quite as charming. - Hotels Near Me - Maidenhead, WNM

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Booked this hotel for three nights we turned up to book in at three o'clock the room wasn't ready had to sit in the lobby half an hour the room wasn't very clean sweet wrappers on the floor and a used pillows case it didn't look like it had been cleaned confusing air conditioning the room was very cold limescale on the chrome taps in the bathroom no privacy curtains in the room people walking past could see in and when you shut the curtains the room was very dark so hard to see when you were getting ready in the morning we were booked in for three nights but left after 1 it's a shame because it could have been a better experience with a bit more care and attention read more

I was in town for business and stayed a week. Check in was easy, the staff very pleasant and helpful. It was very nice to have the cafe on-site for breakfast and dinner. The staff at the cafe were very nice as well. The room was clean, the service was very good. The reason for 4 instead of 5 are simple, the pillows were not comfortable, I had to roll them up to slide under my head. The other reason, while clean, the hotel seemed a bit run down. I would stay again, sitting by the river and across from the park were lovely!!!! read more

Went on Sunday for afternoon tea. Lovely spot for an afternoon tea of you are on a budget, but want to go somewhere nice. Parking is not an issue. Cost £12.50 each and we were served 3 sandwiches, 3 desserts and 2 scones each, with unlimited tea and coffee. We were pretty much full way way though, so the quantity is enough. At first the tea was not served strong, but they rectified this for us. After this, we had get up to call for assistance, which was annoying as it seemed the waitresses were pre-occupied at the back most of the time. We waited some time to pay and in the end we got up, paid at the bar which is opposite to the restaurant. We were seated in a quite cosy spot in the restaurant with a view of the Thames. We went for a girls catch-up and had a great time. read more

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Be warned! Terrible. I haven't been here for five years, it used to be very good. Now it is a shambles. When we arrived we heard two tables complaining they had been waiting for 30mins to order. We ordered four meals, three arrived (after a long long wait) the fourth didn't. Turns out they had run out of chicken and nobody had told us! It seemed lost on the staff that three people had food now and the fourth person had nothing. The food was ok. Not great just ok. Nice place for a drink on the Thames but avoid the food. read more

Cozy place to stay. Not pricy, but decent service. The restaurant breakfast is not as great, rather "healty." The room is clean enough to enjoy your sleep. I wish it was a bit closer to the town though. read more

Mid size hotel located right on the Thames River in Maidenhead. Rooms are smallish but clean and decently furnished. The older part of the hotel which is located in the main building tends to have smaller rooms with better quality furnishings and touches of character. The newer part of the hotel has three floors of larger rooms that are in need of redoing but are larger and much more private. Room service is decent and the continental breakfast is cold cereal, coffee/tea, croissant or toast. Would be nice if they offered fresh fruit and yogurt too. All in all service is dependent on who is at the desk which means it's pretty hit and miss. Comfortable, clean and nicer than the Travelodge down the street but if all you need is a room to sleep in save your money and make the walk. read more

Quaint old hotel. No lift. Small hallways and staircases make for fun taking luggage up to the room. No air conditioning but the view from the room is great read more

Thames Riviera Hotel & Blue River Cafe - View from room 305 toward garden and Thames - Hotels Near Me - Maidenhead, WNM

Visiting the Blues River Cafe for their special Mother's Day menu. 1. They could not locate our reservation. 2. Wine finally served only after I requested it when our Starters were already delivered (wine finally received 5 minutes after starters). 3. Soup starter served...without a spoon. 4. Lovely glass of lemon water poured upon seating, never an offer to refill. 5. Desert: could this be the saving grace? Appearances say yes, but in the end further disappointment. The meringue was hard and the lemon tart was still cold after pulling it out of the freeze. Furthermore the desert was served without cutlery, fortunately we had a fourth unused set to steal from. 6. By the way, do pig. Heels have the look and taste of slow cooked beef? They claim that is what sat next to the pork loin... read more

Thames Riviera Hotel & Blue River Cafe - Disappointing Mother's Day dinner - Hotels Near Me - Maidenhead, WNM

The Blue River Cafe at the Thames Riviera hotel is a lovely place to eat & drink in Maidenhead ( trust methere aren't that many! ) The restaurant looks out onto the Thames and the rowing club and the htoel has a lovely beer garden too in the summer. The food is excellent, every time I have eaten there it has been good and not too expensive for a hotel. Infact you don't even realise you are in a hotel! I have seen the bedrooms and they are of a good standard too - over in the new building by the car park. all in all a great place in Maidenhead read more

Food is solid. Rooms are fine by British standards. There seems to have been a massive turnover of employees at the same time. This is ridiculous, but the seasoned employees are fantastic. Food has been good. read more

I cannot commend you strongly enough NOT to go to this place. By all means go and admire the views but do NOT eat or drink there. Why? 1. Service - 15 minutes to get tap water, 20 minutes to order food then the first two meals to be brought up were wrong. They were left on the table while the waitress went to check. She returned, took the incorrect food away and then took it to another table. Second set of food brought over, she dropped chips on the floor and left them there. Last out was food for our two year old more than 50 minutes after arriving at the restaurant. 2. The Food - Where to start? Stale bread - not just a little stale but really stale bordering mouldy. Terrible chicken, chips which were not cooked through. Then the final straw was the kids meal - the bun looked like it has been eaten before, the baked beans congealed and disgusting and the pot they were served in too hot to touch (and given to a 2 year old). 3. The handling of complaints - we raised the issues to the manager who was very angry with us for complaining. Rather than calming the issue he escalated it. Please, please can I urge you not to go to this restaurant - appalling service, disgusting food with questionable hygiene standards and ludicrously priced drinks. read more

I'm just reviewing the bar and restaurant as I've never stayed. So, the plus points: the place is smart and modern-looking, and the bar's great for pre- (and/or!) post-meal drinks. The bar's pretty versatile too, with a few cosy couches, some small tall tables and a couple of TVs showing live sport. The food is no-frills and can be good provided that you go with something straightforward like the chicken burger, fish and chips or the fajitas. If you go for something more adventurous, you might be disappointed, as the menu is pre-prepared/frozen and doesn't cope well with anything delicate - the roast beef in the Sunday lunch, for instance, is watery and stringy. Mine was served with only a dab of gravy and the plate was cold, which didn't help! The restaurant can get a bit chilly in winter, but that's as a result of the big windows that let you soak up the sun in summer. Service is friendly and pretty good on the whole. I'd definitely recommend the Blue River Cafe, but there's room for improvement! read more