River View Villa

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!