TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

This was a 'splurge' trip for my family as we were celebrating a special birthday. We chose Riviera primarily because it is newer and the proximity to EPCOT where we planned to spend most of our park time. I will get right to my PROs and CONs: PROs - Staff were overall super nice and made my birthday feel very special with some magic Disney touches in my room and at dinner (Topolino's). - The 1 bedroom villa was beautiful, spacious with a wonderful bubble tub I treasured for my sore legs after each day in the parks. - Location to the Skyliner for EPCOT and Hollywood Studios was excellent and the ride was fun! - Nice family greeting on the room TV upon first entrance into the room. - Cute artwork throughout the hotel. - Viewing areas for the EPCOT fireworks. - Decent food at the casual service restaurants, love the mobile order to go (saves time). CONs - I did not feel like I was in the Rivera. The overall building architecture was uninspiring (a huge blocky grey building, come on Disney, what were you thinking??). The other Disney hotels are superior to creating the atmosphere/vibe that reflects the theme but to me, Riviera did not pull of that immersive experience we expected. - The 'resort' view is pretty to see the pool area and lake BUT, what I mostly saw was the Caribbean Beach Resort. It was just weird the way the designers plunked this resort into a section of the Beach Resort without designing the proper set up to make you feel like you are in you own themed resort. - There are barely any trees to shade the area and the pool areas are super hot. And frankly, the pool design was the most uninspiring I have seen of the multiple Disney properties I have stayed at. - The bathroom pocket doors were a challenge to lock and you will have 2 doors to deal with on either side when taking a bath. - The overall resort had a large scale crowded feel to it. I was told by many to expect a nice quiet relaxed vibe compared to other Disney properties. in fact, it was quite busy and the public areas were not spaciously designed (you can see this with the cafe, gift/grocery shop, coffee shop, library room, and lobby). Tight and crowded. We felt very happy to come back to our room each day, it was our little haven to unwind from the Disney heat and crowds and we overall enjoyed our time there. In my humble opinion, I believe Disney took too many shortcuts in the overall design of this resort. Given the $$$$ price and design flaws, we most likely will not return but we are very glad we had this experience.

I’ve stayed at a good handful of DVC resorts over the past few years (thanks to my hubby) and I think this could be right up there with my favorites! We moved here after 3 nights at Kidani (Animal Kingdom) and I felt this resort was a thousand times bigger and I just loved the grounds. In an awesome, magical pixie dust moment, we were upgraded to a one-bedroom (from a suite) — and OMG it was incredible and could have fitted 20 people! Room was clean and spacious and had everything we needed — if not more! Hubby loved Le Petit Cafe (lobby level) and Primo. Housekeeping staff were super lovely and helpful. Fabulous 1.22-mile running track with amazing views throughout! No complaints all all :)

The grounds are perfect. Clean and friendly. Can see Hollywood Studios and Epcot from parts of the hotel. It is not too spread out and has a pool area for quiet, one for family and one for kids. Good restaurants and great staff. I would definitely recommend to my friends.

We chose this hotel because we wanted to have convenient access to the parks and Disney comforts, it didn’t disappoint. Customer service was great, our room was fully equipped with a kitchen, fridge, microwave, it even had a washing machine. Highly recommended!

One of Disney’s newest properties that screams European influence. The decor and elegance of luxury permeates the rooms. Our family stayed in a two-bedroom suite (sleeps 9), certainly bigger than most families but it was perfect for us. The living room had a large (Double/Queen size) pulldown Murphy Bed and a smaller single bed; so three people could sleep comfortably in the living room. The bathrooms and floors were marble and/or durable tile. The kitchen (full-size refrigerator with ice maker, stove/oven, and microwave) was very convenient for making meals; and the combo washer/dryer unit was convenient. The biggest positive is the resort’s proximity to the Skyliner with access to Hollywood Studios and EPCOT. Pros: Smells Nice Kitchen/Beds/Suite Pools (two pool areas, plus a kids splash pad) Skyliner Clean Coffee Shop/cafe Adult Bar Walk to Caribbean Beach Decor/Bougie Theming Able to see Epcot fireworks Running Trail Washer/Dryer 2-bedroom Suite/space/living room beds Balconies Fitness Room Outdoor Activities (Bocce Ball court/Connect Four/Chess) Feels like a compact resort (everything is close) Cons: Decor (may be too Bougie; doesn’t feel like “Disney”) Small Lobby/Too Loud/Crowded Check-in Small restaurant Small convenience store but does have all the bare necessities anyone might need. No bus when Skyliner is Out of Service Food options in cafe