reviews of riviera travel

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Riviera Travel   Reviews

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Reviews 4.6.

3,933 total

Most relevant

Very personable and helpful booking…

Very personable and helpful booking agent who provided all the necessary information. This is the second time I have booked with Riviera Travel - both times very easily.

Date of experience : May 07, 2024

Reply from Riviera Travel

Thank you Graham for sharing your experience of our booking process; we look forward to welcoming you again.

Excellent customer service

Booked a holiday by telephone rather than online as I wanted to use discount codes from English Heritage and it was a prerequisite to book by phone. The young man I spoke to was pleasant, courteous and extremely helpful and the booking process was very easy. Excellent customer service.

Date of experience : April 29, 2024

Thank you for sharing your experience of our booking process; we are delighted you were satisfied with our service and look forward to welcoming you soon.

Speaking to one of the Riviera team…

Speaking to one of the Riviera team about the holiday and getting all the questions answered in a very friendly way.

Date of experience : May 03, 2024

That's great to hear and many thanks for sharing.

Lovely company to deal with

Lovely company to deal with. The staff are so helpful & nothing is too much trouble. This is our 3rd booking with Riviera Travel & we are looking forward to many more.

Date of experience : April 23, 2024

Thank you for sharing your experience and we are delighted you are satisfied with our service. We look forward to welcoming you again.

The company has excellent staff.

The company has excellent staff to discuss and talk you through the booking process by phone. I felt confident that the operator was doing their best to give us exactly what we wanted. Website also easy to use and set up an account. Prompt confirmation with detail.

Thank you for sharing your experience and we look forward to welcoming you on your holiday.

All questions answered…

All questions and concerns answered professionally, Claire also unstood issues I had and held the holiday for me until I was able to sort things out.

Date of experience : May 08, 2024

Thank you Steve for sharing your experience of our booking process. We look forward to welcoming you on your holiday.

An easy to navigate web site

An easy to navigate web site, with detailed descriptions of the holidays I was interested in. Laurie rang to discuss my requirements, and held the holiday for me for two days whilst I mulled it over. I booked the holiday on line, which was easy to do, and opening an account so that I could enter all the personal info in my own time was also very straightforward. Prompt confirmations at every stage.

Date of experience : April 24, 2024

Thank you for sharing your experience of our booking process and we are delighted you were satisfied with our service. We look forward to welcoming you on your holiday.

Friendly helpful person on the phone

Friendly helpful person on the phone. She could answer all my questions and it was easy to book exactly what we wanted.

Date of experience : May 02, 2024

Thank you for sharing your experience, Mrs Castle. We look forward to welcoming you on your holiday.

Process was dealt with in an efficient

Process was dealt with in an efficient, friendly and courteous manner, speaking to a real person.

Thank you for sharing your experience and we are delighted you were satisfied with our service.

Knowledgeable, friendly, helpful and efficient

Booking a group holiday for 8 friends is not always easy and I have just booked our fourth river trip with Riviera. They have excellent holidays, excellent value for money and make the whole process as easy as possible. We will be using them again.

Date of experience : April 28, 2024

That's great to hear and many thanks for sharing your experience. We look forward to welcoming you again soon.

Just back from the blue danube cruise…

Just back from the blue danube cruise it was excellent yoanna and pamela were excellent the food drinks and staff were excellent couldn’t fault anything it was our second riviera cruise and it didn’t disappoint thanks to everyone

Date of experience : April 25, 2024

Thank you for sharing your experience and we are delighted you enjoyed your cruise.

Experience with Riviera Travel is always a positive one…

Experience with Riviera Travel is always a success. To book this holiday I spoke to two different ladies who were both efficient, helpful and friendly. Over the years I have travelled with Riviera this has always been the same. Even correspondents with your Managing Director have always been successful in sorting out a problem

Date of experience : April 26, 2024

Thank you for sharing your experience and we are delighted you are satisfied with our service. We look forward to welcoming you on your next holiday.

Michelle was so patient to get the…

Michelle was so patient to get the right holiday for us as the options were quite varied . Not an easy task for her , but we got there in the end .

Great to hear and many thanks for sharing.

Gemma made booking so easy

Gemma, who took our booking, is a star. Very friendly and helpful, and clearly knew everything about the booking process and our chosen holiday. She went the extra mile in dealing with our special request, and phoned back with the answer to our query. Lovely lady.

Thank you for sharing your experience. We are delighted to hear you are satisfied with the service you received and we look forward to welcoming you on your holiday.

Had an Egypt river cruise this year

Had an Egypt river cruise this year - firstly the rooms weren't ready with work still being done on them. Inaccuracy's as to the ship from advertising and also a major issue with the water on board (it was green) Complained to the rep who didn't do much - complained to Riviera who basically believed the ship owners - the is the 2nd and last tour we will be doing with Riviera

Date of experience : March 18, 2024

Good afternoon Mr Bell, we are very sorry to learn that you remain unhappy with our investigations into your feedback and also our response. Please may be assured that we consider all customer comments seriously, particularly in regard to your concerns with the cabin water. However, if you wish us to conduct further investigations, please do reply to your last correspondence with our customer relations agent and we will be happy to revisit this for you. Best regards, Riviera Travel

Great customer service

I was struggling to find the holiday I wanted going from Gatwick online, but when I called Jane sorted everything in no time! As I was booking for 2 couples she held the booking until I had spoken to our friends and thought about requesting hotel rooms near each other too.

Date of experience : April 22, 2024

Very helpful staff

Very helpful staff. I'm a repeat customer, which really says everything.

Hi Viv, that's great to hear and many thanks for sharing.

I don’t have the energy to argue the…

I don’t have the energy to argue the decision an employee made on behalf of Riviera. All I had hoped for was a solo holiday, not with 23 couples, following the death of my husband, which is clearly what I asked for. Riviera has compensated a fellow traveller with £650, a woman in the same position as myself, but myself just £300, I actually feel insulted. My children are all for me challenging this but I simply haven’t got the inclination, but I guess that’s because I am an older person who wants to live her life as grief free as I can. I don’t feel that I have been offered good customer care 🥲

Good morning Mrs Scott, thank you for your comments. We are sorry that you remain unhappy and seek to reassure you that your compliant was investigated thoroughly, and whilst we cannot offer comment upon other guest bookings, we are confident that your complaint was handled fairly and any gesture given was relevant to the conclusion of our investigation. However, if you have a change of heart and decide you would like to challenge this decision, please do contact us again, were we can offer further advice and support. Best wishes, Riviera Travel

Phone was answered quickly and…

Phone was answered quickly and Riviera’s Harry who dealt with my booking to Pompeii was extremely polite, helpful and personable. The booking was straightforward and stress free, made all the better by Harry’s efficiency and clear speech. Thank you Riviera and especially Harry.

Thank you for your review and we are delighted you were satisfied with the service you received from the team. We look forward to welcoming you on your holiday.

Booking experience

I spoke to Jane, via a phone call as I always prefer to speak to a person. She was very helpful and professional booking my cruise without any fuss. I received confirmation promptly. I am a returning customer of 10 years standing and have always found Riviera to be excellent in dealing with any problems too.

Date of experience : April 20, 2024

Thank you for your review. We are so pleased to hear that you have always been satisfied with our service and we look forward to welcoming you on your next trip.

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Reviews 4.6.

3,933 total

Most relevant

Felt like a valued customer.

Just booked 2 river cruises for next year. Really appreciated being able to book on the phone, as I was able to ask questions along the way, which is not an option when booking online. Gemma was very helpful and made me feel like a valued customer.

Date of experience : 02 April 2024

Reply from Riviera Travel

Thank you for sharing your experience and we are delighted you are satisfied with our service. We look forward to welcoming you on your cruise.

Helpful and thoughtful service

The young lady I spoke to - Elaine - was really helpful. I started off with very vague requirements, which she helped me navigate and then gave me some helpful personal advice on the places to visit.

Date of experience : 28 March 2024

Thank you for your review. We are so pleased you found our service helpful and we look forward to welcoming you.

Excellent service

I have been on holidays with Riviera twice before and they were excellent. Having browsed a tour of classical Italy I was tempted to book it there and then, but wanted to discuss it with my husband, who was away, first. I was a bit concerned as I know that this holidays sell fast. I later received a call from one of the company's sales executives, Laurie Mathieson. He was really helpful , answered all my questions and offered to save to holiday over the weekend until 6pm on the Monday. I've now booked. Thank you Laurie and Riviera!

Date of experience : 22 March 2024

Thank you for sharing your experience of our booking process. We are delighted that you were satisfied with the service you received and we look forward to welcoming you on your holiday.

This is my third booking with Riviera.

This is my third booking with Riviera. Every time I've had a very good experience. Friendly and helpful staff. Sending out confirmations and information as soon as an enquiry or booking is made.

Date of experience : 25 March 2024

Thank you for your review. We are delighted you are satisfied with our service and look forward to welcoming you again soon.

Sending many clients my way to my shops…

Sending many clients my way to my shops - Thank you!

Date of experience : 01 May 2024

Thank you for your review.

Friendly efficient and fair

Friendly efficient and fair. A pleasure to book my holiday with. They are very good at making it a pleasurable experience. Very knowledgeable and excellent choice of holidays.

Date of experience : 15 April 2024

Thank you for your review and we are so pleased to hear you are satisfied with our service. We look forward to welcoming you on your holiday.

Great advice and useful answers to all…

Great advice and useful answers to all questions. Booking is super easy and you are never held waiting for the phone to be answered. Always great to quickly speak to an actual human being rather than be referred to online. Fantastic customer service.

Date of experience : 15 March 2024

Thank you for sharing your experience and we are delighted to read you are satisfied with our service. We look forward to welcoming you.

I have booked with Riviera a few times…

I have booked with Riviera a few times now and have always found my dealings with the company and its agents positive. Agents are always helpful and well informed to guide one through the booking process

Thank you for your review and we are delighted to hear you are satisfied with our service. We look forward to welcoming you again!

Efficient and Helpful

No long wait to speak to an operative on the phone line. Gemma was friendly, informative and helpful. The booking process was simple, although the website needs improvement.

Date of experience : 29 March 2024

Thank you for sharing your experience and we are very pleased you were satisfied with the service you received from the team. We would welcome your feedback regarding your experience of our website so please do make contact with us at [email protected] with more details. Many thanks.

A very helpful and comprehensive…

A very helpful and comprehensive booking experience. I appreciated the personal touch and the confidence this gave me to book and look forward to my holiday.

Date of experience : 27 April 2024

Thank you for sharing your experience. We are delighted you were satisfied with our service and look forward to welcoming you on your holiday.

Excellent advice

From the point of initial contact Riviera have been extremely helpful with advice and guidance towards our forthcoming holiday. The brochure for European Tours sets out fully the extent of the various itineraries and the ease of which to follow is a bonus. Looking forward to our next escorted tour very much.

Date of experience : 21 March 2024

That's great to hear and many thanks for sharing your experience. We look forward to welcoming you on your tour.

Very helpful assistant

Very helpful assistant, nothing seemed too much trouble and time was taken to explain everything.

Date of experience : 12 April 2024

Thank you for your review and we look forward to welcoming you.

Always helpful with special requests.

Always helpful with special requests. Return calls as promised.

Date of experience : 25 April 2024

Thank you for sharing your experience and we are delighted you are satisfied with our service.

Absolutely amazing

We returned last week from the Icons of Japan tour. I had wanted to go to Japan for a long time and the tour was absolutely great. It was very full on with a lot crammed into a week and would not have missed it for anything. We were both very happy with our guide Carlo and would have no hesitation in recommending Riviera Travel to other people

Date of experience : 06 March 2024

Thank you for your review and we are delighted to read you so enjoyed your holiday. We look forward to welcoming you again soon.

The consultant who took our booking by…

The consultant who took our booking by phone was knowledgeable, helpful, efficient and was an asset to Rivera Travel. Her name was Lusia. HOWEVER Rivera Travel's marketing is idiotic. We are previous satisfied customers from Australia who wanted to book another holiday with Rivera but each time we go to access your website it just takes us to you Boat Cruise holidays which we have absolutely no interest in. We phoned your office in England and the helpful guy told us we had to hide our vpn to see your other holidays. In the end we looked at Guardian holidays and stumbled across Rivera's tours on there. Having found a holiday we wanted we phoned and booked it. Why you just trying to sell cruises to your Australian customers makes no sense to me. You have satisfied customers and then you make it really difficult to give you repeat business. Nonsense. Regards Geoff Cox

Date of experience : 16 April 2024

Thank you for raising this issue with us and we apologise for the inconvenience you’re facing when trying to book a touring holiday with us. The reason you only see our River Cruises on our Australian website is because currently we only price our River Cruise product in Australian dollars, and therefore only want to display products that have relevant pricing to our Australian guests. We will highlight your issue with our product and marketing teams to see how we can make this a better experience in the future. In the meantime, we’d be happy to send you digital versions of our brochures so that you can see our full product range. Many thanks and best wishes, Riviera Travel

River Cruise

I only gave 4 stars because I was disappointed that after making my booking online I didn't receive any communication as to the booking being confirmed or just to say the booking had been received and was being dealt with. I appreciate I did the booking at a weekend but still would have liked to receive something. Also when I printed off the booking confirmation the document type is done in blue and grey, blue is legible but the grey type does not print out well and is difficult to read, can you please use black ink for all the document, not grey. Communications via phone have been good and staff helpful and knowledgeable .

Thank you for your review and we are extremely sorry that you were disappointed with your online booking experience. Please allow us to further investigate; the process of confirmation can be delayed depending on the type of flight associated with your booking, and in some cases this can take up to 72 hours after the initial booking - however this should have been advised at the time. Thank you for your feedback with regards to the confirmation itself and we shall share this internally for review. Please accept our sincerest apologies once again. Kind regards, Riviera Travel

Very helpful service.

Very helpful service. Answered all our questions

Date of experience : 23 April 2024

Great to hear and many thanks for sharing.

Not the first time and will not be the last

What we wanted and a very reasonable price. When contacted the person provided all the answers. More importantly when we told a friend we are going on the trip they extolled the quality of the trip they had also made.

Date of experience : 26 March 2024

Thank you for sharing your experience and we are so pleased you were satisfied with our service. We look forward to welcoming you on your holiday.

A quick and easy process.

A quick and easy process. We made the booking over the phone to ensure we could ask any questions. It was a very positive experience. Our Riviera contact was very helpful and was a delight to talk to.

Thank you for sharing your experience. We are delighted you were satisfied with our service and look forward to welcoming you.

Special thanks to Lucia and Jess who…

Special thanks to Lucia and Jess who helped with our rather complicated requests and took the initiative to get back to us and help sort things out.

Thank you for sharing your experience. We are delighted you are satisfied with the service you received from the team and look forward to welcoming you.

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Reviews 4.6.

3,933 total

Most recent

Easy to book

Easy to book, good choice of cruises, immediate confirmation. Very helpful on the phone .

Date of experience : 02 December 2022

Reply from Riviera Travel

That's great to hear and many thanks for sharing your experience!

Everything went smoothly and no hassle

Everything went smoothly and no hassle, Elaine got everything sorted and we were pleased with the outcome

Thank you for your review and we are pleased to read you were satisfied with our service.

Excellent Booking Service

Polite and experienced agent enhanced the booking experience.

Date of experience : 01 December 2022

Many thanks for sharing your experience and we look forward to welcoming you on your holiday!

Riviera were so accommodating

We phoned to check availability but we were unable to book until our cat was booked into the cattery. Riviera held the holiday initially for 72 hours then extended that period until we were able to book. They were so accommodating and helpful we were well impressed.

That;s lovely to hear and many thanks indeed for sharing your experience. We look forward to welcoming you soon!

well informed and very…

Laurie was well informed and very helpful. He answered ally questions clearly and efficiently.

Date of experience : 06 December 2022

Thank you for your review and we are delighted to read you were pleased with our service.

Fantastic customer service

Didn't have to wait long for answer Helpful and informative and happy to take questions.

Date of experience : 05 December 2022

Thank you for your kind review and we are so pleased to read you were satisfied with our service.

Elizabeth was helpful and made booking…

Elizabeth was helpful and made booking easy

Date of experience : 20 November 2022

That's great to hear and many thanks for sharing your experience.

2nd trip lacking complete experience.

2nd trip this year with Riviera travel excellent River Duro cruise but lacking on transfer out and especially return - I could have got back from Canada easier. Our Flight was changed in June 2022 but wasn't communicated to Taxi service instead of flying back from Porto had to go to the capital which was appalling standing room only and minimal food at the airport then herded by animals to a previously delayed flight. Complete disaster to what would have been a good holiday. Need to look at the whole experience!

Date of experience : 03 November 2022

Thank you for your review and whilst we are pleased to read you enjoyed the cruise, we are extremely sorry to hear of your experience with regards to the transfers and airport. If you would please be able to provide more information and your booking reference at [email protected] we can look into this in more detail for you. Please accept our sincerest apologies once again. Kind regards, Riviera Travel

Two trips this year

Two trips this year, Iceland and Naples. Both excellent. I will comment on the Naples, Sorrento, Herculaneum, Pompeii, Capri and the Amalfi Coast trip. Well managed from booking, the whole experience, hotel, trips and the brilliant guide Sarah. Apart from arriving in the rain we enjoyed a lovely sunny week. Our forth trip with Riviera and will book Puglia next year. First class travel company in our experience.

Date of experience : 04 November 2022

Thank you for sharing this review. This is one of our most popular escorted tours which we have been operating since 2003! It's wonderful to hear you so enjoyed it and we look forward to seeing you again in 2023!

Excellent service

Helpful, efficient and friendly staff.

Date of experience : 23 November 2022

Thank you for sharing your experience and we look forward to welcoming you!

Support when booking .

I tried to book the river cruise online with the 3 day extension I was unable to do that so the online chat help service suggested I put my phone number in for a call back to complete the booking over the telephone. Iy worked perfectly .

Date of experience : 22 November 2022

Thank you for your kind review and we very much look forward to welcoming you on your river cruise plus extension tour.

Great Customer Service

Sometimes it just so much better talking to a real person when booking. The agent was very friendly, helpful and responded sympathetically to our needs.

Date of experience : 25 November 2022

That's lovely to hear and many thanks for sharing your feedback. We look forward to welcoming you on your holiday!

Laurie took a lot of trouble

Laurie took a lot of trouble to find me and my friends the holiday we were looking for and he was pleasant while doing it.

Date of experience : 26 November 2022

Thank you for sharing your experience and we look forward to welcoming you soon.

Patience and time to be heard

Patience and time to be heard. Accomodation of my needs. Simply excellent service.

We are delighted to read you were so satisfied with our service and many thanks for sharing your experience.

Little delay in getting through on the…

Little delay in getting through on the telephone and an efficient consultant.

Date of experience : 28 November 2022

Thank you for your review and we hope to see you soon

Excellent service as always.

Thank you for sharing!

A quick response from the office to my…

A quick response from the office to my phone call and a very helpful booking agent. The booking process was simple this way.

Date of experience : 27 November 2022

Thank you for your review and we are pleased to hear you found our service satisfactory. We look forward to welcoming you!

Good first impression.

Our booking was very efficiently handled by your staff, a very good first impression indeed with our first ever holiday with Riviera. Polite, well informed and the phone answered very quickly indeed. Altogether a pleasant experience.

Date of experience : 24 November 2022

Thank you for your review and we are pleased we made a good first impression! We are looking forward to welcoming you on your holiday!

Knowledgeable

Knowledgeable , friendly and helpful staff. All my queries were answered

That's lovely to hear and thank you for your review!

Easy to book.

Friendly service with only a short wait on the phone. Couldn't have been easier.

Thank you for posting this review and we are very pleased your found our service satisfactory. We look forward to welcoming you!

Riviera Travel

Global operator

Service level

Travelers age

Trip prices

$609 — 3,549

Tour languages

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Editoral Review of Riviera Travel

In the travel business since 1984, UK-based Riviera Travel started as a small agency running bus trips to France, and has grown to become ones of Britain’s largest purveyors of overseas guided tours, offering packaged land tours and river cruises in many parts of the world.  

What Makes Them Stand Out?  

With the motto “passionate about travel,” Riviera sets a high bar for itself, but its comprehensive attention to detail seems to back up the claim.  

Who Travels With Them?

Their clientele are mostly British aged 60-plus who prefer taking guided tours to traveling on their own, and who seek good value for the money. 

Where Do They Operate?

Riviera Travel runs guided tours of Europe, North and South America, Central America and the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, India, Australia, New Zealand, and southern and northern Africa. River cruises in Europe and Asia are one of their specialties. 

How Does It Work?

Riviera does all the work. All you have to do is show up. But if at some points in the tour you want to do some exploring on your own, that’s fine, too. 

Why Travel With Them?  

Riviera Travel oversees every aspect of their tours, personally picking the local guides, the lodgings, the dining experiences, and the attractions to visit. They train their tour managers rigorously and pride themselves on getting the logistical details right. And they never add surcharges or hidden fees to the prices, which are all-inclusive. The prices don’t change no matter when you book. 

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About the company.

In 2015, Riviera Travel celebrated an astounding 31 years of providing high quality escorted European & Worldwide tours and river cruises plus offering unrivalled value for money.

We are incredibly passionate about our holidays, river cruises and service, and our entire staff both in the UK and overseas is dedicated to ensuring that we meet, indeed exceed the expectations of our discerning and loyal customers.

From our roots organising simple coach trips to Paris, we have evolved to be Britain’s largest overseas escorted tour operator offering a fascinating range of European and Worldwide holidays and experiences spread across four Continents and of which we are all extremely proud of.

Which?, probably the country’s most respected not-for-profit consumer organisation, voted Riviera Travel one of the UK’s finest Holiday Companies awarding us their coveted ‘Recommended Provider’ for a fourth year in a row and we achieved a maximum score in 4 out of 5 categories, with our score being 92%, higher than last year so we are getting even better!

Riviera Travel Trips & Specials

Bruges Tour

Laos,the Mekong & Thailand Tour

Lake Como, St Moritz & the Bernina Express Tour

Moscow & St Petersburg Tour

Cruise the Heart of Europe

The Blue Danube River Cruise

Victoria Falls, Botswana Safari & Cape Town Tour

Vietnam & Cambodia Tour

No Specials at this time. Please check back later!

Want a tailor-made trip instead?

Your trip, your way, planned by an expert:.

• You choose budget, destinations, activities, transport & lodging type
• Expert designs the itinerary for you, and once approved, takes care of logistics

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Riviera Travel   Reviews

In the Tour operator category

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Write a review

Reviews 4.6.

3,933 total

Most relevant

Easy to book by phone

Easy to book by phone - all staff are very helpful and friendly.

Date of experience : 26 April 2024

Reply from Riviera Travel

Great to hear and many thanks for sharing.

Great friendly service. Made the reservation over the phone and…

Made the reservation over the phone and Nicki C was very personable and helpful. Discussed various options and reserved a ‘no obligation’ place for a week so I could discuss with my friend.

Date of experience : 03 March 2024

Thank you for sharing your experience and we look forward to welcoming you on your holiday.

Friendly, helpful and easy booking.

Really helpful - getting answers for all the missing information on the website! Chatty friendly and knowledgeable. Holiday booked and sorted for Spring 2025.

Date of experience : 25 March 2024

Thank you for sharing your experience of our booking process and we apologise that you could not find all the info you needed online. We are pleased we were able to resolve efficiently on the phone however and we very much look forward to welcoming you in 2025.

The easiest booking, before departures were on sale.

Harry was really helpful, found the answers to all my questions, gave my every departure date available, and helped me choose to best option for me.

Date of experience : 11 March 2024

Thank you for sharing your experience and we are pleased you are satisfied with our service.

Stress free & efficient

The travel assistant was very professional, effective & efficient. The booking was completed with her support & advice in a well organised, straight forward manner. It was stress free. Thank you

Date of experience : 02 March 2024

Thank you for sharing your experience and we are looking forward to welcoming you on your holiday.

Holiday information

I had a long discussion with many questions about the cruise we have chosen. The team were helpful, friendly and were able to answer my questions with clarity and in depth knowledge of the trip.

Date of experience : 05 March 2024

Thank you for sharing your experience and we are delighted to read you are satisfied with the service you received from us. We look forward to welcoming you.

A very good travel company

Have travelled with Riviera on many occasions and always found them good value, professional and great holidays. Easy to book on the web site.

Date of experience : 06 March 2024

Thank you for sharing your experience. We look forward to welcoming you again soon.

Fabulous company holiday.

Fabulous company to go on holiday with.

Date of experience : 01 November 2023

Great to hear and many thanks for sharing!

Rhine River cruise

The agent was informative and helpful. I’ve travelled with Riviera many times and their service is always excellent. I would definitely recommend them.

Date of experience : 18 March 2024

Thank you for sharing your experience. We are so pleased to read you have always been satisfied with our service and we look forward to welcoming you again soon.

Lovely booking experience with Gemma

We have booked with Riveria Travel several times before and we find Gemma very knowledgeable, professional and curious, she explains the itinerary extremely well, no rushing, gave us enough time before we booked. Mentioned about passports, insurances and door to door service. It was a lovely booking experience with Gemma, will definitely recommend Riviera Travel for future holidays.

Date of experience : 15 March 2024

Thank you for your review and we are delighted you were satisfied with the service you received. We look forward to welcoming you on your holiday.

Great company

Great company, sort things out and answer all your questions. Only suggestion, update the "mange my bookings" to be more user friendly.

Date of experience : 01 March 2024

Thank you for your review and suggestion. This section is under review and improvements will be made. We look forward to welcoming you!

Terrible experience of booking a river cruise

Tried to book a river cruise on the website. But after entering all requirements and passenger details it quoted a price. The website did not allow payment but asked to phone instead. The telephone staff required all the information again, but said the cabin I had selected was for a single traveller, even though I had clearly stated 2 passengers (it should not have shown as available to me on the website). The price of the holiday had increased. She volunteered to seek her managers input about the price and put the booking 'on hold'. The automatic confirmation for the booking advised a yet higher price. I had to wait to the following day to get confirmation of the correct price (not the one initially shown on the website) and had a wait to get through to the person dealing with me. The whole process took far too long though Niki on the phone was friendly and tried to resolve the difficulties.

Date of experience : 15 April 2024

We are extremely sorry that you had this experience when trying to book. We did fully investigate this and we regret to say it seemed to be a glitch in our system. We realise this will have been frustrating for which we are sorry. Please accept our sincerest apologies. Kind regards, Riviera Travel

Great service

Quick friendly and efficient

Easy to navigate website

Well designed website and easy to navigate booking process. Telephone access to the helpline is refreshingly quick and very helpful and friendly staff.

Date of experience : 22 February 2024

Thank you for your review and we are delighted you are satisfied with our service. We look forward to welcoming you.

Friendly, courteous efficient

Once again my booking was dealt with in a courteous, friendly and efficient manner. I would happily recommend Riviera Travel.

Date of experience : 28 February 2024

Lovely to hear and many thanks for sharing.

Very friendly staff

Very friendly staff. Visited Greece with Riviera in March, and enjoyed it so much, are off to Seville with them in September

Date of experience : 29 March 2024

Great to hear of your experience and thank you for sharing. We look forward to welcoming you again in the autumn.

Each person I have had contact with…

Each person I have had contact with were very helpful.

Date of experience : 17 April 2024

Thank you for sharing your experience; we look forward to welcoming you.

Easy to book as usual.

Easy to book as usual. However thought there wouldd be £100 off advertised prices due to booking before end of April, but was told the prices already reflect this.!?! I will check next month to see if prices go back up by £100, if not I will complain to

Date of experience : 16 April 2024

Thank you for your review. The offer is on until the end of April with prices going up on May 1st. Kind regards, Riviera Travel

Excellent experience

Michelle was extremely helpful and made the booking process very easy.

Date of experience : 05 April 2024

Very easy to use online and quick…

Very easy to use online and quick response to queries on chat.

Date of experience : 14 April 2024

Great to hear and many thanks for sharing your experience.

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Reviews 4.6.

3,933 total

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Very personable and helpful booking…

Very personable and helpful booking agent who provided all the necessary information. This is the second time I have booked with Riviera Travel - both times very easily.

Date of experience : 07 May 2024

Reply from Riviera Travel

Thank you Graham for sharing your experience of our booking process; we look forward to welcoming you again.

Excellent customer service

Booked a holiday by telephone rather than online as I wanted to use discount codes from English Heritage and it was a prerequisite to book by phone. The young man I spoke to was pleasant, courteous and extremely helpful and the booking process was very easy. Excellent customer service.

Date of experience : 29 April 2024

Thank you for sharing your experience of our booking process; we are delighted you were satisfied with our service and look forward to welcoming you soon.

Speaking to one of the Riviera team…

Speaking to one of the Riviera team about the holiday and getting all the questions answered in a very friendly way.

Date of experience : 03 May 2024

That's great to hear and many thanks for sharing.

Lovely company to deal with

Lovely company to deal with. The staff are so helpful & nothing is too much trouble. This is our 3rd booking with Riviera Travel & we are looking forward to many more.

Date of experience : 23 April 2024

Thank you for sharing your experience and we are delighted you are satisfied with our service. We look forward to welcoming you again.

The company has excellent staff.

The company has excellent staff to discuss and talk you through the booking process by phone. I felt confident that the operator was doing their best to give us exactly what we wanted. Website also easy to use and set up an account. Prompt confirmation with detail.

Thank you for sharing your experience and we look forward to welcoming you on your holiday.

All questions answered…

All questions and concerns answered professionally, Claire also unstood issues I had and held the holiday for me until I was able to sort things out.

Date of experience : 08 May 2024

Thank you Steve for sharing your experience of our booking process. We look forward to welcoming you on your holiday.

An easy to navigate web site

An easy to navigate web site, with detailed descriptions of the holidays I was interested in. Laurie rang to discuss my requirements, and held the holiday for me for two days whilst I mulled it over. I booked the holiday on line, which was easy to do, and opening an account so that I could enter all the personal info in my own time was also very straightforward. Prompt confirmations at every stage.

Date of experience : 24 April 2024

Thank you for sharing your experience of our booking process and we are delighted you were satisfied with our service. We look forward to welcoming you on your holiday.

Friendly helpful person on the phone

Friendly helpful person on the phone. She could answer all my questions and it was easy to book exactly what we wanted.

Date of experience : 02 May 2024

Thank you for sharing your experience, Mrs Castle. We look forward to welcoming you on your holiday.

Process was dealt with in an efficient

Process was dealt with in an efficient, friendly and courteous manner, speaking to a real person.

Thank you for sharing your experience and we are delighted you were satisfied with our service.

Knowledgeable, friendly, helpful and efficient

Booking a group holiday for 8 friends is not always easy and I have just booked our fourth river trip with Riviera. They have excellent holidays, excellent value for money and make the whole process as easy as possible. We will be using them again.

Date of experience : 28 April 2024

That's great to hear and many thanks for sharing your experience. We look forward to welcoming you again soon.

Just back from the blue danube cruise…

Just back from the blue danube cruise it was excellent yoanna and pamela were excellent the food drinks and staff were excellent couldn’t fault anything it was our second riviera cruise and it didn’t disappoint thanks to everyone

Date of experience : 25 April 2024

Thank you for sharing your experience and we are delighted you enjoyed your cruise.

Experience with Riviera Travel is always a positive one…

Experience with Riviera Travel is always a success. To book this holiday I spoke to two different ladies who were both efficient, helpful and friendly. Over the years I have travelled with Riviera this has always been the same. Even correspondents with your Managing Director have always been successful in sorting out a problem

Date of experience : 26 April 2024

Thank you for sharing your experience and we are delighted you are satisfied with our service. We look forward to welcoming you on your next holiday.

Michelle was so patient to get the…

Michelle was so patient to get the right holiday for us as the options were quite varied . Not an easy task for her , but we got there in the end .

Great to hear and many thanks for sharing.

Gemma made booking so easy

Gemma, who took our booking, is a star. Very friendly and helpful, and clearly knew everything about the booking process and our chosen holiday. She went the extra mile in dealing with our special request, and phoned back with the answer to our query. Lovely lady.

Thank you for sharing your experience. We are delighted to hear you are satisfied with the service you received and we look forward to welcoming you on your holiday.

Had an Egypt river cruise this year

Had an Egypt river cruise this year - firstly the rooms weren't ready with work still being done on them. Inaccuracy's as to the ship from advertising and also a major issue with the water on board (it was green) Complained to the rep who didn't do much - complained to Riviera who basically believed the ship owners - the is the 2nd and last tour we will be doing with Riviera

Date of experience : 18 March 2024

Good afternoon Mr Bell, we are very sorry to learn that you remain unhappy with our investigations into your feedback and also our response. Please may be assured that we consider all customer comments seriously, particularly in regard to your concerns with the cabin water. However, if you wish us to conduct further investigations, please do reply to your last correspondence with our customer relations agent and we will be happy to revisit this for you. Best regards, Riviera Travel

Great customer service

I was struggling to find the holiday I wanted going from Gatwick online, but when I called Jane sorted everything in no time! As I was booking for 2 couples she held the booking until I had spoken to our friends and thought about requesting hotel rooms near each other too.

Date of experience : 22 April 2024

Very helpful staff

Very helpful staff. I'm a repeat customer, which really says everything.

Hi Viv, that's great to hear and many thanks for sharing.

I don’t have the energy to argue the…

I don’t have the energy to argue the decision an employee made on behalf of Riviera. All I had hoped for was a solo holiday, not with 23 couples, following the death of my husband, which is clearly what I asked for. Riviera has compensated a fellow traveller with £650, a woman in the same position as myself, but myself just £300, I actually feel insulted. My children are all for me challenging this but I simply haven’t got the inclination, but I guess that’s because I am an older person who wants to live her life as grief free as I can. I don’t feel that I have been offered good customer care 🥲

Good morning Mrs Scott, thank you for your comments. We are sorry that you remain unhappy and seek to reassure you that your compliant was investigated thoroughly, and whilst we cannot offer comment upon other guest bookings, we are confident that your complaint was handled fairly and any gesture given was relevant to the conclusion of our investigation. However, if you have a change of heart and decide you would like to challenge this decision, please do contact us again, were we can offer further advice and support. Best wishes, Riviera Travel

Phone was answered quickly and…

Phone was answered quickly and Riviera’s Harry who dealt with my booking to Pompeii was extremely polite, helpful and personable. The booking was straightforward and stress free, made all the better by Harry’s efficiency and clear speech. Thank you Riviera and especially Harry.

Thank you for your review and we are delighted you were satisfied with the service you received from the team. We look forward to welcoming you on your holiday.

Booking experience

I spoke to Jane, via a phone call as I always prefer to speak to a person. She was very helpful and professional booking my cruise without any fuss. I received confirmation promptly. I am a returning customer of 10 years standing and have always found Riviera to be excellent in dealing with any problems too.

Date of experience : 20 April 2024

Thank you for your review. We are so pleased to hear that you have always been satisfied with our service and we look forward to welcoming you on your next trip.

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Cruise review: Riviera Travel’s Douro Splendour on Portugal’s Douro

A voyage along portugal’s douro is a river cruise like no other, a journey from civilisation to wilderness and back again through a world of wine and port..

There are plenty of reasons to experience a river cruise along the Douro. The Douro Valley in Portugal is a Unesco World Heritage Site thanks to the historic vineyards that cloak the twisting, turning river’s steep and hilly banks. And yet that’s only half the story, the half that runs up to the Spanish border from Portugal’s interior.

The section from the coast is a different kettle of fish, starting at the picturesque city of Porto with mighty bridges of iron and stone leaping the tall hills on either side that are swathed in historic buildings and cobbled streets. From there it winds past beaches and resort towns, extravagant, contemporary holiday homes and little villages.

The river is 560 miles long but only 130 miles of this is in Portugal, the rest of it increasingly canyon-like, first marking the border with Spain then disappearing into the country. Cruises run only in Portugal thanks to the Spanish dam without a lock that acts more efficiently than any border patrol to keep outsiders at bay.

How to do it

A number of week-long river cruises run from Porto or, more accurately, Vila Nova de Gaia, technically a town, on the opposite bank of the Douro (and a mile from the Atlantic) with its dock and historic port warehouses, many of them now restaurants and bars as well as places for port experiences and tastings.

These cruises have only been running since just before the millennium when the last of five huge dams made the waters navigable for bigger ships and even now cruise ships are smaller than those on other European rivers.

Douro day by day

Given the relatively short length of the Portuguese Douro, cruise ships can get from end to end in a couple of days, so this is slow and beautifully soporific, the chance to sit back on deck and appreciate the constantly changing panoramas. This cruise, on contemporary 121-passenger Douro Splendour, is an excellent way to do that while including excursions to places of interest.

Porto’s Dom Luis I bridge at night

After a 30-minute coach ride from Douro airport, we’re crossing the lofty Ponte da Arrábida bridge with views over the city and river, then snaking down tiny, winding streets lined with forbidding stone walls to the quay. A gin and tonic on deck as sunset on the Dom Luis 1 bridge, an iron giant with tram lines and a walkway at hilltop level, the road bustling with tourists at riverbank level, then dinner – I go for roast octopus, the first of the week’s many Portuguese dishes. In the warm October darkness, we stroll along the quayside, alive with revellers.

The beauty of Mateus Palace and its gardens

By daybreak we’ve left Porto for a leisurely cruise twisting through the forests and pretty towns – due to the difficult navigation, only daytime sailing is allowed so plenty of time to take in the scenery. By afternoon we’re at Régua, a town with its own set of stirring bridges – foot, road and motorway – clustered together. The coaches that shadow the cruise take us to Mateus Palace, the Italianate home mostly known for being pictured on the stubby Mateus Rose wine bottles, for a walk around the gardens. Dinner is special, at the hilltop Quinta da Pacheca winery; a glass of rich white port while we stroll outside then steak (and free-flowing wine) in the glass-walled restaurant.

Sandeman’s sign stands tall near Regua

Sailing again as the scenery turns into one port wine vineyard after another, famous names – Sandeman’s, Graham’s – shouted from the hilltops with Hollywood-style signs. In between there are rugged, rocky stretches and spots where the river narrows to a single lane as gannets swoop and herons stand motionless. While there’s no riverfront path, the rail line from Porto almost dips its wheels in the water. From tiny Pochino (the rail line’s end) there’s an afternoon jaunt to the medieval mountaintop village of Castelo Rodrigo. Pretty for a wander and with tiny store selling local produce – I buy a bottle of rather nice almond liqueur (around £9) and varied bags of almonds to nibble. Back on board we reach Vega de Terron, a dock actually in Spain, albeit barely. Dinner then watch the moon glint on the water.

Salamanca’s Plaza Mayor

Our big day out, a two-hour drive to Salamanca, a gorgeous Spanish city well on the way to Madrid. There are 12th-century university buildings, an extravagant cathedral, a Roman bridge across the Tormes river and the ornate Mayor Plaza, seen on a tour with a local guide. A particular treat is the tapas lunch (with wine) and flamenco show at Casino de Salamanca, a Renaissance icon just off the Plaza. On our return we find our ship is in Portugal, at the village of Barca d’Alva, although Vega de Terron is visible on the other side of the road bridge.

Regua’s trio of bridges

Pointing towards the coast we see the scenery in reverse and it’s like being in a different world. We see little wineries we hadn’t noticed, fishes dancing in the sunlight and splendid vistas. By early afternoon we’re back in Régua. No time to explore (and, to be honest, there’s not much to see) as we’re straight on the bus to head back where we’d come on the narrow, sometimes hair-raising road above the river back to the busy town of Pinhão. More port, at Croft’s Quinta da Roêda estate. The chance to wander among the vines before a swift glass of both white and red.

View over Lamego from Sanctuary of Our Lady of Good Remedy church

A delightful morning jaunt to Lamego, a town that sits under the grand gaze of 18th-century Sanctuary of Our Lady of Good Remedy church, 691 stone steps above a tree-lined avenue (we started at the top and worked our way down). There’s also a pretty ground-level cathedral and a castle on a hill, reached by what appear to be cobbled footpaths amongst ancient homes but which turn out to be roads.

Having neared Porto, evening entertainment on board is local fado folk music: a singer and three impressive guitarists.

Douro Splendour back in Porto

We’re swiftly back in Porto/ Vila Nova de Gaia. There’s a coach/walking tour but we simply head off and wander the lovely streets. We pass the cathedral, then Livraria Lello, a 1906 bookshop with twirling wooden staircases that were an inspiration JK Rowling’s Harry Potter settings (and with a queue to get in that’s as unreal as the stories), and meander down to the river. For €7 return we get the ancient clackity (but with free wifi) tram along the bank to the beach at the sea. An ice-cream, a paddle and we head back. It’s a final celebration dinner on board.

Flight’s not until the afternoon so we take a breezy morning walk the two miles along our side of the river, sometimes a boardwalk hanging over the water, sometimes a wide promenade, to Afurada with its own beach and yacht marina, opposite yesterday’s beach. The perfect finale. Back on board for a coffee then head home…

Best seats in the house…

Contemporary and cool on the outside – a subtle metallic green against the white of most ships on the river – Douro Splendour is comfortingly woody on the inside. Rooms have big beds, windows that slide down to open up the whole place like a balcony and walk-in shower. TV with some UK news and sports. The dining room on one level, bar and lounge on another. Small spa offering treatments and a little gym.

The sundeck has plenty of loungers and table and chairs, some in the sun, some under a large awning. There’s a nice pool, room for a few people albeit not for swimming. This is a cruise for adults but while the average age might be higher, it’s just as enjoyable for younger couples.

Four-course dinners with plenty of Portuguese cuisine including lots of fish. Full English breakfasts plus lots of fruit and pastries. Lunch involves a choice of pasta, varied hearty salads – niçoise, potato and olive – plus wraps and sandwiches.

Relaxing and stunning – the river trip for those who don’t want to simply get off and explore every moment, every day. And the five dams are stupendous, Valeira’s 109ft drop, one of two topping 100ft, in a massive funnel of steel and concrete. Ever-changing scenery and plenty of time to take it in.

What does a river cruise along the Douro cost?

Riviera Travel runs weekly cruises on Douro Splendour and its sister ship Douro Elegance from April to October 2024, from £1,699 including flights, meals, and excursions. And to mark the company’s 40th anniversary in 2024, all passengers get a Superior Drinks Package giving wine and beer with lunch, then open house from 6pm.

You might also like: A whirlwind tour of Porto

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CAPTURED TRAVEL

Cruise Review: Riviera Travel – Rhine River Cruise

The Rhine River in Germany evokes romantic feelings, with each twist and turn taking you further into a fairy-tale land voyage. The banks are full of picturesque castles, quaint towns with towering cathedrals and formidable fortresses presiding over the river from the surrounding hilltops.

In the early morning, when a dawn mist wafts gently over the river, you can hear the sound of the birds twitter cheerfully from the riverbanks. Breaking through the mist are castles and ruins of heavenly towers. As the day breaks and the first rays of sunshine shimmer on the gently flowing waters of the Rhine, the sun’s sparkling highlights bounce off the fine droplets of dew covering the vineyards.

The magical and romantic atmosphere of the Rhine is almost impossible to resist. Even around 200 years ago, painters and poets of the Romantic period discovered the fairy-tale beauty of these river landscapes between Lake Constance and the Dutch border. Philosopher Friedrich von Schlegel was impressed by the “proud castles on wild cliffs”, while poet Heinrich von Kleist spoke of the “most beautiful expanse of land in Germany where our great gardeners have so clearly worked con amore”.

Painters such as William Turner picked up their brushes to capture the magic of these landscapes for posterity. Poets including Friedrich Hölderlin and Heinrich Heine were inspired to pen lyrical verses. With artists in the role of pioneers, the Rhine’s reputation as a travel destination grew. By the start of the 19th century, a visit to the Rhine region was the highlight of the “grand tours” by English high society.

The sight of the Middle Rhine between Bingen and Bonn, carving a narrow passage through the Rheinish Slate Mountains, with vine-covered slopes, knight’s castles, magnificent palaces and quaint fishing villages thrilled the hearts of the early romantics. Today, the Upper Middle Rhine Valley from Bingen to Koblenz is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Lorelei and the legendary slate rock near St. Goarshausen, on which the blonde-haired woman is said to have sat, are the epitome of Rhine romance. The legend was invented by poet Clemens Brentano, and made famous by his literary colleague Heinrich Heine. In the version widely known today, the hapless maiden sits high on a rock, combing her blonde hair and waiting for ships that she can lure to their doom. She is wreaking revenge on her lover, who had betrayed her and attempted to escape on the Rhine. The story also has a very real background.

The place where Lorelei is said to have wreaked her mischief sits at the narrowest and most hazardous point of the Rhine, and in days gone by countless mariners capsized here in their compact flat wooden boats known as “barks”. Today, the 132-metre-high Lorelei slate rock is a viewpoint with a visitors’ centre. Breathtaking panoramic views over the Rhine Valley, the towns of St. Goarshausen with Katz Castle, and the neighbouring town of St. Goar and Rheinfels Castle are guaranteed.

There is no better way to experience this captivating river region than with Riviera Travel on board a river cruise. The 8-day Rhine, Strasbourg and Heidelberg cruise on MS George Eliot takes you on the Rhine River to explore on guided tours including Strasbourg, Heidelberg, Cologne, Rüdesheim, Boppard, Mainz and Koblenz, and a visit to Colmar.

With all cabins boasting river views, you only need to unpack once while visiting multiple destinations. Everything is taken care of with all meals on board from dinner on your day of arrival through to breakfast on your day of departure, welcome cocktails, a welcome dinner and the Captain’s Dinner.

If you are travelling solo, there are exclusive deals so you won’t feel left out, and between the other guests onboard and the friendly staff, you will never be alone.

Cruise Itinerary Name: Rhine, Strasbourg and Heidelberg departing on 05 October 2022

Cruise Ship: MS George Eliot – Built in 2019 – 36 Crew – 132 Passengers – 5 Star Rating

Departing From: Cologne

Cruising To: Cologne on the Rhine River

Ports of Call: Koblenz, Boppard, Mainz, Mannheim, Heidelberg, Speyer, Strasbourg, Colmar, Rüdesheim, Cologne

Cabin Booked: Diamond Deck (Upper), Cabin Number – 307

Before your departure, Riviera Travel provides you with a detailed portfolio of your cruise. This includes the ship’s contact details, a map of the arrival port and how to get there, the daily itinerary and useful information like health regulations, money, phone, what to pack and more.

Checking in is done on the day onboard the ship, where you will receive your cruise card used as a room key and for going on and off the ship. Guests are asked to contact the ship on the arrival day to re-confirm the mooring point, as these are occasionally subject to change. In this instance, we were told that the ship had not reached the embarkation point on the day and we were to embark at a different city location. The Riviera Travel and ship staff were fantastic in keeping us up to date on this, contacting us constantly via phone and messages.

The five-star MS George Eliot gets her name from one of the leading English novelists of the 19th century. Measuring 110 meters long, the ship is like a luxury floating hotel with its elegant lobby and marble floor. Its exquisite furnishings include sustainable hardwood furniture, intricate wrought-iron work, polished copper and brass railings, soft leather seating and tasteful Italian fabrics.

With different seating areas, inside and outside, there is plenty of space to relax and enjoy your voyage.

The five-star ship is further enhanced by the five-star service from the English-speaking crew and knowledgeable local guides, including the Riviera Travel cruise director and concierge. In total, there are 36 staff onboard and when full, just 132 guests, making it an intimate cruising experience.

From anywhere on the ship, you have views of the spectacular scenery so you won’t miss a thing. I found the best place to get 360-degree views was the top deck. Here there is plenty of seating ranging from deck chairs to sofa lounges. There is even a plunge pool (heated) and a mini golf course for added entertainment.

Although it is a luxury cruise, there is a casual approach to the dress code with smart/casual acceptable. For those who like to dress up, the Captain’s Dinner offers the opportunity to wear dressier attire.

The electrical sockets on board are all European electrical sockets, 220 volts (except for the socket in your bathroom, which is both 120 and 230 volts). There is a gift shop onboard where you can purchase souvenirs and even a hairdresser, with bookings essential.

Cruising on MS George Eliot is a full-board service, with all meals included. You can purchase a drinks package, allowing the choice of draught beer, non-alcoholic beer, soft drinks, juices, red, white and rosé house wines; and recommended wines from the menu, all by the glass. Drinks on this package are available with lunch and dinner in the ship’s restaurants. Any drinks not listed above along with all drinks ordered in the bar are charged to your onboard account.

In the morning a full buffet breakfast is available, lunch is a buffet and dinner is served a la carte – all on a free seating policy. The welcome dinner and the captain’s dinner are served at a single sitting, whereas other dining times may vary according to your itinerary and daily excursions. The ship caters for most dietary requirements and a vegan menu is always available.

Located on the Diamond Deck (Upper), the Standard cabin is one of the Riviera Plus cabins (upper deck cabin, deluxe or superior suite). These include a little touch of extra luxury with L’Occitane en Provence toiletries in your bathroom, a bottle of chilled prosecco on arrival, a platter of fresh seasonal fruits during the cruise and drink vouchers each evening for a drink outside of the restaurants.

The cabin features floor-to-ceiling glass doors that slide away to create a French balcony to enjoy panoramic river views. At 16 square metres in size, these cabins are spacious and even include a small table and chairs alongside the giant double bed. The bathroom is just as spacious with plenty of room to shower and move around.

Also in the cabin is a smart handset, which is like a mobile phone, loaded with maps, a translator and currency converter and unlimited internet use. This helps when going ashore and using it as a wifi dongle when away from the ship wifi.

In total, there are 70 suites and cabins, which all feature an en-suite bathroom with shower, individually controlled air-conditioning, flat-screen TV, hairdryer, safe, minibar, telephone and facilities for making tea and coffee.

The itinerary begins in Cologne and journeys south to the historic town of Koblenz, sitting at the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle rivers before continuing to the beautiful old town of Boppard.  It is then time to wind through the beautiful world-famous Rhine Gorge onto Mainz, which is famous for the ‘Gutenberg’ Bibles. Taking in a guided tour of stunning Heidelberg, this journey follows the route of Europe’s ‘Grand Tour’, nestled by the picturesque river Neckar.

Crossing over from Germany into France, the next stop is Strasbourg, a city with its centre largely unchanged since the 14th century. Wander through the mosaic of winding alleys and lanes lined with quirkily crooked, half-timbered houses. Learn about the history of Strasbourg, which has been both German and French, and today you can see this influence in its language, cuisine and appearance, creating a truly individual city. A stop at Colmar is always a favourite, as this quaint medieval Alsatian town oozes perfection.

Returning downstream of the Rhine, the stops take in Rudesheim before continuing through the Rhine Gorge again to Cologne.

• Don’t forget to pack your swimwear as there is a plunge pool on the top deck that is heated – making it an ideal place for a dip while watching the scenery go by.
• I also recommend spending the day on the top deck when passing through Rhine Gorge as there is a high concentration of historical structures in this region.
• Lastly, don’t miss the famous Lorelei and the legendary slate rock near St. Goarshausen, on which the blonde-haired woman is said to have sat, singing sailors to their watery grave.

To book your Riviera Travel cruise, you can contact them directly at the below details or visit your preferred travel agent to book.

Website: https://www.rivieratravel.com.au/

Phone Number: 1300 857 437

The writer cruised as a guest of Riviera Travel. These opinions and words are a true representation of their experience and have not been endorsed.

Disclosure: The writer Kate cruised as a guest of Riviera Travel. These opinions and words are a true representation of their experience and have not been endorsed.

Book your travel now

Kate Webster

Kate Webster is the founder and owner of Captured Travel Media. She is a world traveller, ocean lover and conservation warrior who is determined to make every moment count for not only herself, but the world around her. An editor and travel journalist, Kate travels the globe in search of vivid imagery and compelling stories that capture the essence of the people and places she visits. She is a passionate conservation advocate, sustainable traveller and always travels with reason and cause.

Great article, Kate. Brings back memories of my trip to the Rhine region pre Covid. Wonderful experience. ❤️

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Debuting in time for the summer season in the South of France, Château de Théoule is one of the most anticipated boutique hotels to open on the Côte d’Azur.

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Gaelle Le Boulicaut/Courtesy of Chateau de Theoule by Millesime

My first seven years living in France, Nice was my home. I crisscrossed the coast by bus, bike, and train; road-tripped throughout Provence’s lavender and sunflower fields; took ferries over to Saint-Tropez and the Lérins Islands; and hitched rides to shop at the Friday market in the Italian border town of Ventimiglia.

The Riviera I’ve always known has an invisible border in Cannes, where the local train line from Nice arrives at its final stop. The other side, en route to Marseille and the Calanques — jagged limestone cliffs encasing fjord-like aquamarine coves — is like entering an entirely different region of France. On the train ride down to Cannes from Paris in mid-April, I couldn’t quite place the seaside town of Théoule-sur-Mer — a name I’d only seen flashing past as the high-speed TGV train whipped through the tiny station without stopping.

The area’s main attraction is the fantastical, bubble gum-pink Palais Bulles, fashion designer Pierre Cardin’s former “Bubble Palace” that could have been a stand-in as a set for Barbie . But the opening of Château de Théoule , French hospitality group Millésime Collection’s first property on the Côte d’Azur, is setting out to make this sleepy seaside town a destination of its own — a more intimate version of nearby Hôtel Belles Rives in Juan-les-Pins . Both spots have rich histories (F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote “Tender Is the Night” when he lived at the home that would become Belles Rives), but Château de Théoule’s story feels like the plot of a Juliette Binoche film that veers off in five different directions.

Operating initially as a savonnerie , or soap factory, when it opened in 1630, it quickly shuttered so it wouldn’t compete with nearby perfume capital Grasse. The first renovation didn’t occur until the end of the 19th century when the child of wealthy silk merchants from Lyon (the city once was the capital of the European silk trade and where Hermès’s ateliers are still located) took over the property.

In 1910, Scottish Lord M. Harry Crowford added the heavy-handed finishing Tudor touches in the form of turrets and serrated ramparts before moving with his mistress to the twin castle across the bay, where he could still keep a watchful eye on his wife and children (the property is now a vacation residence for French electricity company EDF).

The French aren’t shy to share stories like this (in one version I heard, the mistress was the nanny) — it’s all told very matter-of-fact in the same way you might mention the château’s two-year-long renovations, a collaboration between ML Morand Legrix Architectes and the Bâtiments de France architects, the state-run organization dedicated to preserving historical monuments and sites.

“The history of this place — that was my fil conducteur (common thread) for the design,” explains Millésime’s decorator, Marie-Christine Mecoen. “This château passed through so many eras — I wanted to highlight the history but push the story in a new way.”

Courtesy of Chateau de Theoule by Millesime

Over my three days here, I settled into a slower pace of life than I’m used to now in Paris. On morning strolls along the sea with my dog, restaurants received their catch-of-the-day and carefully etched menu additions in cursive on chalkboard signs. Sailboats bobbed in neighboring Théoule harbor, empty masts forming a chorus of windchimes as an occasional breeze rustled. My former home in Nice overlooked a superyacht-lined port, but this one had a sense of calm.

Looking out toward the Bay of Cannes, star-studded La Croisette is just a 20-minute drive away, but the two locales couldn’t seem further apart. You won’t see flashy designer labels and sky-high stilettos here — there are plenty of other places nearby if you want to see-and-be-seen.

While it wasn’t beach weather (temperatures remained a steady, crisp 50 degrees), there was a pre-season energy that felt almost like the last day of school as everyone was preparing for summer days geared around rosé by the water. But shoulder season has always been my favorite time to be in the South of France — and Château de Théoule was the perfect base for exploring a different side of the Riviera.

Château de Théoule

• Elements from each of the château’s owners are woven into the modernized take on the 19th-century structure — think draped silk headboards, boudoir-inspired fringe lamps, and Second Empire-style furniture and antiques.
• Each room revolves around its own theme, so no two are alike, and the design is anchored around a sole antique.
• The private sandy plage (a welcome departure from the Riviera’s pebble-covered coast) opens up to rows of sun beds spilling out along the shore at La Plage Blanche.
• The convenient location to the region’s gateway airport in Nice places guests equidistant from Monaco and Saint-Tropez, which are about an hour away by private boat.

The 34 rooms and 10 suites are spread across the original château and two adjacent villas. Each design and color palette highlights a different aspect of the château’s history and signature notes in fragrances like my second-floor duplex room dubbed La Valérianne (a nod to the valerian flower used in perfumes). Rattan palm tree light fixtures crown each side of my bed, and rich textures like plum velvet armchairs and woven rugs blend harmoniously with the ochre-colored walls.

Gauzy, custom-made eggshell-white linen curtains from Parisian interior design company Maison de Vacances hang over the floor-to-ceiling window that doubles as a built-in glass balcony. Curtains also separate the bathroom (outfitted with KOS PARIS toiletries) from the rest of the room, and a custom scent crafted in Grasse wafts throughout. In the main château’s rooms, Mecoen, a former antiques dealer, blended antiques sourced throughout France (“There’s a spot in Nice I’ve been going to for 40 years that is like Ali Baba’s cave,” she says) with more modern touches like mirrored armoires (mirrors are a common theme throughout), walk-in double showers (this is her signature), and circular soaking tubs.

Rooms in the Art Deco villa next door are softer and coastal-themed, with pastel shades inspired by colors of the seafloor, 1930s-style seashell light fixtures, and glass-encased showers facing the Mediterranean. All rooms show off views of the Bay of Cannes, but only some have balconies or outdoor patios opening out to the pool or gardens. (None of the duplex rooms have an outdoor space.)

Gastronomic Italian eatery Mareluna, in the Art Deco villa, spills out onto a terrace, giving Taormina vibes. The design is playful yet coastal chic with burnt-orange velvet crescent-shaped couches, mosaic-clad walls, and statement pieces like a Julius Caesar bust. With young chef Francesco Fezza at the helm, the team is off to an ambitious start on their mission to secure a Michelin star. (Fezza cut his teeth alongside Ducasse protégé Jocelyn Herland at Le Meurice in Paris.)

The Amalfi Coast-raised chef sources ingredients on twice-weekly visits to Cannes’s Marché Forville and from other local producers for a menu that integrates the hotel’s theme of fragrance and scent (starters are referred to as top notes, mains are heart notes, and desserts are base notes). Dishes blend Provençal flavors with Italian touches for plates like ossobuco tortellini, squid ink tagliatelle with Menton lemon and smoked herring roe, and pigeon with stuffed morel mushrooms.

Even if you sip one of the cocktails with a small plate, like a truffle croque-monsieur or pissaladiére onion tart at the bar, you’ll still go on a gastronomic journey. Cocktails — which are also available at beach club La Plage Blanche — shake up classics for versions like the Bloody May Day, squid ink-infused mezcal with a tomato and olive oil vinegar and Strawberry Fields, elderberry-infused gin blended with strawberry purée, vanilla syrup, tonic, and egg white. 

During my visit, it was too early in the season for the few beach bars in the area, which is in full swing about now, thanks to the Cannes Film Festival. The hotel’s private beach club, La Plage Blanche, was open only on weekends when I visited, but in high season, the restaurant and bar will be open daily for lunch and dinner (beach chair reservations start at 45 euros and are open to outside guests). As the weather warms, the lounger-lined pool will also feature a bar that stays open until 11 p.m. Even though I couldn’t lounge beachside, I spent my afternoons soaking up the sun at a table in the garden while reading and sipping a glass of rosé.

From the hotel’s private boat slip in the neighboring harbor, you can depart on a full- or half-day cruise to clear-as-glass coves and underwater sculpture parks between the nearby Lérins Islands, where you can dock for lunch at celebrity hotspot La Guérite . The rust-red Massif de l’Estérel mountain range that descends to the sea is also carved with hiking trails and staggering cliffs great for trekkers and climbers. 

Millésime’s signature wellness concept, Éc(h)o Spa, is extensive for such an intimate property. Treatments like the 90-minute signature hot seashell massage — Coquillages d’Azur, performed with polished tiger clam shells and ending with a rejuvenating LED mask — are offered in three treatment rooms (one is outdoors at the beach club), or guests can opt for a massage in-room. The finishing touches were being added when I visited, but now that the spa is complete, plan to spend a whole morning or afternoon soaking in the indoor jacuzzi or two outdoor Nordic baths overlooking the Mediterranean. A fitness center is also on the way, but in the meantime, guests can book a personal trainer or private yoga session.

All of the rooms on the second floor of the château are duplexes — except for the expansive Merveilleuse Suite, which extends out to a terrace crowned with a jacuzzi — and feature a twin bed on the upper level, making it an excellent option for families since the hotel doesn’t have connecting rooms. Near the spa, the 2,200-square-foot, three-room Maison de Pêcheurs (a converted fisherman’s house) takes over one of the hotel’s three buildings, giving families or groups of friends an onsite private villa experience.

Château de Théoule offers amenities for babies and children like a starfish toy and baby kit by French skincare brand Mustela. Pets also receive an in-room treat on arrival.

Château de Théoule’s sustainability initiatives focus on sourcing local ingredients and avoiding single-use plastics and packaging. The entrance, all public spaces, and the bar and gastronomic restaurant are accessible. Some guest rooms are on the ground floor, but travelers with reduced mobility can access upper-level rooms via elevator.

A 45-minute drive from the Nice airport or 20 minutes from the Cannes train station, the hotel is an ideal base for exploring the French Riviera by land and sea. Skip the traffic during the Cannes Film Festival or the bustling summer months and cruise over to La Croisette by boat (the Théoule-sur-Mer port is a three-minute walk from the hotel) or hop on board a water taxi to dine along the water at jet-set favorite Anjuna in Èze.

Château de Théoule is part of the boutique Millésime Collection, so it isn’t linked to a loyalty or points program. Rates in high season (mid-June to mid-September) are comparable with the rest of the French Riviera (read: pricey), so the best time to visit is in the low or shoulder season months (October, April, May), when rates are a fraction of the price, starting around 360 euros per night. Like most resort towns on the Riviera, the hotel shuts for the winter season in October and reopens in April.

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A Snob's Guide to the French Riviera

Whether you're in search of Fitzgeraldian glamour or want intel on the hidden gems no one knows about, there's something on the Côte d'Azur for everyone.

But still, at its core, the Riviera remains the kind of Arcadian utopia-by-the-sea so treasured by artists like Signac, Matisse, Picassco, and Bonnard. Luxe, Calme et Volupté (also the title of Matisse's 1904 work) will always be the prevailing vibe—and this applies whether you're the type who likes to swan around in Chanel Cruise at the Hotel du Cap, or spend hours stuffing your straw tote with bounties from the markets in Nice. No matter your tastes and preferences, there is something in this effervescent swath of the Mediterranean for everyone. The only prerequisite: a little joie de vivre.

For the Sybarite

Once you're past the gates of the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc , you'll immediately understand why celebrities, heads of state, artists, and royals have been seeking refuge in this Cap d'Antibes palace since the Belle Epoque . But a grande dame never rests on her laurels. The hotel’s latest additions include a contemporary revamp of the Eden Roc Pavilion’s sea-facing junior suites; a casual Italian restaurant, Giovanni's, open only to guests; a new pastry chef, Tarek Ahamada, whose last stint was at the Georges V in Paris; and a new Dior Spa with a private beach cabana for sumptuous alfresco massages with a view.

Further east is the aptly named Grand Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat , a Four Seasons property, tucked away at the end of a quiet residential street lined with fabulous villas hiding behind soaring hedges. You can have your own, too. Choose from two meticulously restored 1900s-era landmarks: the 5-bedroom Villa Beauchamp, with a Cocteau-inspired mosaic-tiled bathroom that is the stuff of Instagram dreams, or the more intimate Provençal-style 2-bedroom Villa Clair Soleil.

And for a chic retro nautical vibe, head to the just-opened Arev Saint Tropez , a 24-room jewel box of a property located minutes away from Place des Lices (translation: prime St.-Tropez real estate). Each suite is uniquely designed in saturated hues of reds, blues, and yellows by Madrid-based designer Luis Bustamante. Highlights here include the revival of the Strand, St.-Tropez’s oldest eatery, a Padel court, plus a lovely spa featuring a fragrant range of products by Maison ST, a St.-Tropez brand that uses only natural ingredients like sea salt and herbs, all sourced locally.

For the Gourmand

Built into a rocky bluff on the scenic Grande Corniche, Ceto , the penthouse restaurant at the strikingly modernist Maybourne Riviera , is so much more than another gastronomic haunt. Helmed by Argentinian chef Mauro Colagreco—the man behind the three-Michelin-starred Mirazur in Menton—this is a temple to seafood, complete with a state-of-the-art cold chamber lined with pink Himalayan salts specifically designed to mature fish for two months. Another reason to book a table: you'll get the most astonishing views of the coast this side of paradise.

Over in Nice's Antiques District, Onice , an intimate new bistro that just earned a Michelin star, is the place to go for impeccable creations featuring the freshest ingredients from the market, all masterminded by young chefs Florencia Montes and Lorenzo Ragni.

Nice has also become a veritable sweet tooth's paradise. In the vibrant Vieux Port neighborhood, which is humming with galleries, boutiques, and cafés, don’t miss a stop at Julien Dugourd ­ , a tiny shop run by the former pastry chef at La Chèvre d’Or—yes, it's his signature trompe l’oeil lemons you have seen all over Instagram. Our tip: book in advance for the private pastry tastings he does on Sundays. And while you're perusing the famous open markets at Cours Saleya, check out Colagreco's sustainable Mitron Bakery to sample the fougasse filled with almonds, raisins, and pine nuts, and those irresistible tartes au citron .

For the Hedonist

Watch the orange and pink sunset at the remodeled Bar Fitzgerald in the Hôtel Belles Rives , an elegant Art Deco gem that, in its past life, was the villa where Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald spent the summer of 1926. Pay tribute to their spirits by ordering a gin fizz (Scott’s favorite) or the signature Zelda cocktail made with champagne and peach liqueur.

Across the bay, at the superbly restored Carlton Cannes , join the lively scene at Bar °58 — in lieu of dessert, we suggest the Sazerac Cocoa, a heady mix of Pernod absinthe, Bourbon, and white chocolate liqueur. And the Carlton isn't the only Cannes legend to have been resurrected from the grave: after five years and a €250 million renovation, Palm Beach , a 1929 landmark on the tip of La Croisette, partially reopens this month with a brand new saltwater pool, a lavishly updated casino, luxury boutiques and buzzy restaurants, and a very exclusive members' club.

For the Nonconformist

In search of hidden gems? Go west! To the spectacular rugged red rock stretch of Esterel coastline, to be exact, where you can stay at the new Château de Théoule , a 44-room boutique hotel, spa, and private beach club. The place used to be a soap factory in the 17th century before it was transformed into a turreted castle that became home to various aristocrats. Now it's a charming seaside property, where the photogenic suites and spaces have dreamed up by interior designer Marie-Christine Mecoen, who handpicked the eclectic mix of antiques, gauzy linens, and shell-themed décor.

Alternatively, start on the east side in Menton , the charming town near the Italian border, where you can indulge in a languorous on-the-water lunch at Loulou Pirate , once a festive '50s celebrity haunt frequented by everyone from Frank Sinatra to Gregory Peck. The relaxed family atmosphere and varied menu—pasta, pizza, salads, grilled seafood and meats—will cater to all palates; that killer view is a nice bonus.

And come summer, all eyes will be on the opening of the Hotel du Couvent , which is bound to take the city of Nice by (quiet) storm. This 2.5-acre property, set back on a hilltop in the Old Town, is a painstakingly restored 17 th -century convent with vaulted monastic-style rooms, Cloister suites, two restaurants, a bakery, Roman baths, two pools, and a holistic movement studio offering dance, yoga, and personalized herbal treatments.

For Art Aficionados

Hidden away in the vines less than an hour’s drive from Cannes, La Commanderie de Peyrassol was a hotspot on the sacred pilgrimage trail during the 13th century, when the Order of Knights of the Templars built a chapel there and called it home. Now it's a hotspot for oenophiles thanks to Belgian entrepreneur Philippe Austruy, who bought the property in 2001 and turned it into a sprawling wine estate —with museum-quality art (Austury is also an avid art collector). Peyrassol hosts seasonal exhibitions of renowned contemporary sculptors and artists, whose works are on display in the galleries or scattered throughout the estate.

Your perfect afternoon: a wine tasting of Peyrassol's superb vintages of Côtes de Provence, then see the new show by French artist Bertrand Lavier, and then savor a rosé-fueled lunch at Peyrassol's restaurant, Chez Jeannette, which is helmed by Michelin-starred chef Michel Portos.

The art and grapes theme continues on the idyllic government-protected island of Porquerolles (to get there, drive to Hyères and jump in a water taxi or ferry), home of Fondation Carmignac , a sleek exhibition space surrounded by vineyards that is owned by Parisian financier (and also avid art collector) Edouard Carmignac. This summer don't miss “Infinite Woman," an exhibition of female artists featuring masterpieces by the likes of Judy Chicago and Louise Bourgeois. Then pregame with a tasting of Carmignac's homegrown Domaine de la Courtade before an alfresco lunch under the pines at the restaurant.

And obligatory for architecture buffs (or anyone, really): a guided tour of the magnificently restored Villa E-1027 , Irish designer Eileen Gray’s visionary 1929 holiday home in Roquebrune-Cap Martin that juts out over the rocky shore like an elegant ocean liner.

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Royalton Splash Riviera Cancun, An Autograph Collection All-Inclusive Resort

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• Excellent 1,792
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" Love the comfort of the bed. Staff so polite and friendly. Resort manager, Caesar, very personable and helped make our vacation special. "

" Plenty of sunbeds available by the pool but would recommend going down about 7am to reserve some. Take your own straws. "

" Super hard beds. "

" Find Abel, he will be your best decision! "

" Great place for families with kids "

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ROYALTON SPLASH RIVIERA CANCUN, AN AUTOGRAPH COLLECTION ALL-INCLUSIVE RESORT - Updated 2024

Honest Hotel Xcaret Mexico Review: Pros & Cons 2024

Are you interested in staying at Hotel Xcaret Mexico and wondering if it’s worth it? You’ve come to the right place!

As a travel blogger that lives in Playa del Carmen , part of my job is getting to visit and review the top hotels and resorts in Riviera Maya.

I recently had the opportunity to stay at Hotel Xcaret Mexico and experienced both the highs and lows of this popular family-friendly “all fun-inclusive” resort.

In this post, I’m sharing my honest Hotel Xcaret Mexico review including its pros and cons and everything you need to know about the hotel’s location, rooms, amenities, service, and value.

So if you’re wondering whether Hotel Xcaret Mexico is really worth the price tag for your next vacation, I’m going to give you all the details you need to make an informed decision.

Ready to find out if Hotel Xcaret Mexico is right for you? Let’s get started!

Hotel Xcaret Mexico

Best Xcaret Hotel for Families

Free Access to Xcaret Parks

Free Airport Transportation

Gourmet Dining

Rocky Beach

Large property.

Discount : Up to 35% off for August 2024, November 2024, and March 2025

Hotel Xcaret Mexico Review: Quick Overview

First, let me start by saying that this Hotel Xcaret Mexico review was not sponsored and all opinions are my own.

Here’s a quick overview of the pros and cons that I’ll discuss further in this post:

• Free Access to the Xcaret Parks: Undoubtedly the biggest perk of staying at Hotel Xcaret Mexico is the unlimited access to all of the Xcaret parks and tours.
• Free Airport Transportation : As part of the all-inclusive package, Hotel Xcaret Mexico provides free transportation to and from Cancun International Airport.
• Great Location: Located in the heart of Riviera Maya, Hotel Xcaret Mexico is just a short drive away from Playa del Carmen and Tulum.
• Luxury Accommodations: The rooms at Hotel Xcaret Mexico are spacious, modern, and luxurious with amenities like a whirlpool tub and private balcony.
• All-Inclusive Gourmet Dining : Hotel Xcaret Mexico offers a wide variety of high-quality dining options at the resort’s 11 restaurants.
• Incredible Pools + Swim Up Bars: The resort has over 20 pools, most of them with swim up bars.
• Exceptional Service: As a luxury resort, the staff at Hotel Xcaret Mexico provides 5-star service and will go above and beyond to make your stay comfortable and enjoyable.
• Lagoons and Beaches: The resort has several emerald lagoons and sandy beach areas for guests to enjoy.
• Family-Friendly Activities: The resort offers various activities and facilities for families, including a kids’ club, a teen’s club, a small water park, paddleboarding, kayaking, and more.
• Oceanfront Spa Cabins: Hotel Xcaret Mexico offers unique spa experiences in cabins built over the ocean for a truly relaxing and rejuvenating experience.
• Expensive: Hotel Xcaret Mexico is definitely on the pricier side compared to other all-inclusive resorts in Riviera Maya.
• Rocky Beach: The resort’s private beach is quite rocky and not ideal for swimming, but the lagoons make up for it.
• Large Property: The resort has over 900 rooms spread out over an expansive property making it easy to get lost.
• Basic Room Service Menu: The room service menu is fairly limited and not as impressive as the dining options at the restaurants.
• Limited Nightlife: While the resort does offer nightly entertainment, it’s definitely not a party destination.

Is Hotel Xcaret Mexico Worth It?

In my opinion, Hotel Xcaret Mexico is definitely worth it if you’re interested in visiting any of the Xcaret parks. This is by far the biggest perk of staying at the hotel and is a HUGE value for families!

As part of the hotel’s “all fun-inclusive” concept, you get unlimited access to all Xcaret parks and tours .

This includes Xcaret , Xplor , Xplor Fuego , Xel-Ha , Xenses , Xoximilco , Xavage , Xenotes , Xichen , Tulum , and Cobá , which are some of the best eco-parks in Mexico.

Yes, Hotel Xcaret Mexico is a pricier option compared to other hotels in Riviera Maya, but it’s a 5-star hotel and you definitely get what you pay for.

And when you consider the luxury accommodations, exceptional service, access to parks, airport transportation, and gourmet dining included in your stay, you’ll quickly see why it’s worth it.

They make everything so convenient and easy for you that you can truly relax and enjoy your vacation without worrying about additional costs or planning.

Plus, they run frequent promotions where you can often score a discounted rate. Be sure to check the Special Offers page before booking!

Overall, Hotel Xcaret Mexico is a fantastic choice for families looking to enjoy a luxury all-inclusive vacation in Riviera Maya and experience the best of what Mexico has to offer.

However, if you’re not really interested in visiting the Xcaret parks, you may want to consider other less expensive options in the area.

Current Hotel Xcaret Mexico Promo Codes

Take advantage of these Hotel Xcaret Mexico promos to save money on your booking:

• Click here to get up to 35% off the regular rate at Hotel Xcaret Mexico for bookings in August 2024. Must book by May 31, 2024.
• Click here to get up to 30% off the regular rate at Hotel Xcaret Mexico for bookings in November 2024. Must book by May 31, 2024.
• Click here to get up to 31% off the regular rate at Hotel Xcaret Mexico for bookings in March 2025. Must book by May 31, 2024.
• Click here to get special advanced purchase rates at Hotel Xcaret Mexico. Must book by December 31, 2025.

Travelista Tip: You can typically save the most money by booking the Advanced Purchase rates on the Hotel Xcaret Mexico website at least 6-10 months in advance.

Hotel Xcaret Review: Quick Facts

Here are the quick resort details about the guest rooms, facilities, and amenities at Hotel Xcaret Mexico:

What Are the Hotel Xcaret Mexico Casas?

Hotel Xcaret Mexico offers 900 luxury adults-only suites divided into 5 different buildings, which are known as “Casas”.

These are the different Casas at Hotel Xcaret Mexico:

• Casa Tierra
• Casa Espiral
• Casa Viento

The adults-only Casa Fuego is considered to be the top Casa at Hotel Xcaret Mexico as it has an oceanfront location and an exclusive rooftop pool and restaurant.

Hotel Xcaret Mexico: Pros

Hotel Xcaret Mexico definitely has more pros than cons! These are some of the best things about the hotel:

Free Access to the Xcaret Parks

The best thing about staying at Hotel Xcaret Mexico is that guests receive an “all-fun inclusive” experience, meaning you get free access to the incredible Xcaret parks and tours!

There are 11 Xcaret parks and tours each offering unique adventure experiences, from underground rivers to ziplining to ATVs. They are incredibly fun and perfect for families!

The “all-fun inclusive” concept gives you unlimited access to the Xcaret parks: Xcaret , Xel-Há , Xplor , Xplor Fuego , Xenses , Xoximilco , and Xavage .

You also have access to the Xcaret tours: Xenotes , Xichen , Tulum , and Cobá . Plus, transportation is included so you can utilize the free shuttles to get there.

Check out my Xcaret Resource Hub for comprehensive park reviews and comparison guides!

Park tickets can be $100-$200 USD per person if purchased on their own, so this is a huge value add if you have any interest in visiting the Xcaret parks.

The Xcaret parks are some of the top attractions in Riviera Maya and ones that I would highly recommend!

You also get free tickets on Xcaret Xailing –Grupo Xcaret’s new luxury ferry service to Isla Mujeres .

I personally went to Xplor Fuego while I was staying there and it was so easy–all you have to do is hop on the shuttle and it will take you right to the park!

You can even hit up multiple parks in one day if you want! Definitely take advantage of this perk because it’s the best part of staying at the hotel.

Another amazing perk of staying at Hotel Xcaret Mexico is that you get complimentary transfers to and from the Cancún Airport.

The transportation is provided by a large charter bus and takes about 1 hour from the airport to the resort.

This is an incredible value as Cancun airport transfers usually cost around $150 USD if booked on your own. And this is one less thing you have to worry about!

Great Location

Hotel Xcaret Mexico is located in the heart of Riviera Maya, just 15 minutes south of Playa del Carmen , and just over an hour south of Cancun Airport.

The hotel is situated directly on the Caribbean Sea next to Hotel Xcaret Arte and La Casa de la Playa . As part of the Xcaret destination, it’s also on the same property as Xcaret Park, Xplor, and Xenses.

Free round-trip transportation is provided from the airport as well as the Xcaret theme parks, which makes getting around quick and convenient. And if you want to go to any other nearby destinations, taxis can be easily arranged.

Overall, the location of Hotel Xcaret Mexico is convenient and perfect for exploring Riviera Maya.

It’s close enough to Playa del Carmen if you want to go shopping on 5th Avenue , but still gives you the peace and tranquility of a private beachfront property if you don’t care to leave the resort.

Hotel Xcaret Playa del Carmen Mexico Map

Luxury Accommodations

One of the best things about Hotel Xcaret Mexico is the luxurious accommodations, which provide everything you need for a comfortable stay.

The hotel was built in 2017, so the decor is still very modern and chic yet still maintains an authentic Mexican feel.

Plus, all rooms comes equipped with balconies or terraces, traditional Mexican hammocks, comfortable beds with premium bedding and Egyptian cotton sheets, Nespresso coffee machines, jacuzzi tubs, and more.

Hotel Xcaret Mexico Room Categories

Hotel Xcaret Mexico offers a variety of room types, classified into these suite categories:

• Garden Suites: Suites with garden and jungle views
• River Suites: Suites with a view of the emerald river that frames the hotel
• Ocean View Suites: Suites with a partial view of the Caribbean Sea
• Ocean Front Suites: Suites with a full view of the Caribbean Sea
• Junior Suites: 1-Bedroom suites with a separate living and dining room area
• Master Suites: Larger 3-bedroom suites with a separate living and dining area
• Presidential Suites: Ultra-luxury 2-bedroom suites with living and dining areas and multiple terraces with pools and jacuzzis

Within each suite category, you can choose between Standard Suites or upgraded Spa Suites, Adults Suites, Family Suites, and Swim Up Suites with direct access to the pool.

Most of the standard suites have a king sized beds or two queen sized beds with a pull out sofa.

For families, I would recommend the Garden Swim Up Suites or the Junior Suites, Master Suites, or Presidential Suites to give you more space.

Travelista Tip: You can view interactive 360° views of each of the room types on the Hotel Xcaret Mexico website .

Hotel Xcaret Mexico Ocean Front Suite Review

I personally stayed in an Ocean Front Suite Adults Suite at Casa Fuego and it was absolutely stunning!

The room was spacious with modern Mexican decor, with a plush king bed, living area with a sofa and dining table, and a large balcony with a hammock and ocean views.

The bathroom was also very spacious and modern, featuring a double vanity sink, large jacuzzi tub, and a separate rainfall shower.

The bathroom also comes with bath robes and slippers and the toilet room even has a disappearing window!

The suites also have flat-screen TVs, free Wi-Fi, and a complimentary mini bar stocked with drinks and snacks that is refilled daily.

The only thing I didn’t like about the suite is that there is no mirror over the sink in the bathroom. There’s a sliding mirror behind the sink, which is fine but it just makes getting ready a bit more challenging.

Plus, for families, having the bathroom right on top of the bed may not provide much privacy. But overall, the Ocean Front Suite was perfect for my stay and I would highly recommend it!

Travelista Tip: If you’re not traveling with kids then I would highly recommend staying in the adults-only Casa Fuego. You’ll get access to an exclusive rooftop pool, another pool on the ground floor, as well as the Fuego restaurant. Plus, you get a butler assigned to your room!

All-Inclusive Gourmet Dining

Hotel Xcaret Mexico offers 11 different dining experiences, where guests can enjoy all-inclusive dining and elevated gastronomy.

I was blown away by the food quality during my stay! The restaurants offer a variety of cuisines, from traditional Mexican to Asian fusion to Italian.

The food at Hotel Xcaret Mexico is way better than your average all-inclusive resort. And the great thing is that they really cater to both kids and adults so there’s lots of food options for everyone.

Plus, you can choose from buffet dining, sit down a la carte restaurants, or poolside snacks depending on your preference.

They’re also very accommodating to allergies and dietary restrictions. I have a nut allergy and every restaurant knew about my allergies and were able to make accommodations for me.

Hotel Xcaret Mexico Restaurants

Here’s an overview of the Hotel Xcaret all inclusive restaurants:

• Bio : This restaurant is set in a cave-like setting and serves 100% vegan cuisine for breakfast, lunch, and dinner
• Cantina Los Faroles : A lively cantina serving tequila and cocktails alongside traditional Mexican food from the Oaxaca region
• Chibali : This kid-friendly colorful international restaurant serves buffet breakfast and a la carte lunch along with fun desserts like milkshakes, cotton candy, and ice cream
• Fuego : Exclusively for Casa Fuego guests, this oceanfront restaurants serves Italian cuisine with a touch of Mexico. Don’t miss the French Toast for breakfast–it’s basically a work of art and one of their most popular dishes!
• Ha’:  At an additional cost, this 9-course tasting menu was developed by Carlos Gaytán, the first Mexican chef to receive a Michelin star
• Las Cuevas : At an additional cost, this restaurant is set in a cave-like setting and serves traditional Mexican dishes and meats cut directly at your table.
• Las Playas : This casual restaurant serves comfort food where you can dine with your toes in the sand
• La Trajinera:  Named after the gondola-style boats at Xochimilco in Mexico City , this poolside Mexican restaurant serves cuisine from Mexico’s coastal areas
• Mercado de la Merced : A vibrant buffet open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner with international and Mexican specialties
• Teatro del Rio : With a focus on locally sourced ingredients, this 6-course dinner experience combines local gastronomy with dancing, music, and acting
• Xin Gao:  An Asian restaurants featuring four different Japanase flavors and culinary techniques such as Teppanyaki, Robatayaki, Fusion, and Omakase

Hotel Xcaret Mexico Bars

I was also really impressed with the drink options at Hotel Xcaret Mexico. It’s definitely not hard to get a drink as there are bars at all of the restaurants and scattered throughout the resort.

You can order top shelf liquor (which is included) or stick to the basics. They also offer fun cocktails like margaritas and mojitos, as well as non-alcoholic options.

If you feel like having a mimosa at breakfast or a glass of wine with dinner, they have a great selection to choose from.

And the drinks weren’t watered down like at some all-inclusives I’ve been to, so that was a big plus!

Incredible Pools + Swim Up Bars

One of the best things about Hotel Xcaret México is that no matter where you are on the property, you’re never far from a pool or swim up bar.

There are 20 pools throughout the resort, including adults-only and family-friendly options. And most of them have swim-up bars so you can enjoy a drink while taking a dip!

The main infinity pool next to the Trajinera restaurant is probably the most popular, with its beautiful ocean views and swim up bar.

There’s also the Pulpo (Octopus) Kids Pool, which is perfect for families with its shallow depth and water slides.

But my personal favorite pool was at Casa Fuego, which is adults only and exclusive to Casa Fuego guests. It’s a rooftop infinity pool with stunning views of the ocean.

Plus, this is where you’ll find the glass tunnel pool that you’ve probably seen on Instagram!

Exceptional Service

In addition to the luxurious accommodations and all-inclusive dining, Hotel Xcaret Mexico also offers exceptional service.

The staff is always friendly, attentive, and willing to go above and beyond to make your stay comfortable.

It really did feel like 5-star service, and I found the front desk, restaurant, and pool staff to be extremely attentive. They always remembered my name and food allergies no matter where I was dining.

And it was never hard to get food and drinks by the pool with ample servers and pool concierge available to setup your lounge chairs, take orders, and hand out cold towels.

And if you’re staying at Casa Fuego, you’ll also be assigned a butler (“mayordomo” in Spanish) who is available to assist with anything you may need during your stay.

You can chat with them on WhatsApp and they can help with things like dinner reservations, park reservations, or packing assistance.

The butlers assigned to my room were super friendly and responsive and continuously checked in on me throughout my stay.

I asked about a towel for Xplor Fuego and within minutes my butler had returned to my room with a pool towel on a tray just for me!

Lagoons and Beaches

One of the unique features of Hotel Xcaret Mexico is that it has beautiful emerald lagoons, rivers, and waterways flowing throughout the property.

These areas are perfect for kayaking and standup paddleboarding, which are both available for guests to enjoy.

And if relaxation is more your style, then you can take advantage of the man-made beaches and relaxation areas all throughout the lagoons.

They also have life jackets available for guests to use, which is great for kids or for those who may not be strong swimmers.

Family-Friendly Activities

Hotel Xcaret Mexico offers a variety of activities and entertainment options for families.

Not only is it one of the best Playa del Carmen family resorts with a water park but there fun family-friendly activities like:

• The Pulpo (Octopus) Kid’s Pool with waterslides and splash areas
• Kayaking and paddleboarding in the lagoons
• A kid’s club with supervised activities for young children
• A teen’s club for older kids with ping pong tables, pool tables, air hockey, fuse ball, and other games
• Tennis Courts and Paddle Courts
• Trajinera boats to Xcaret Park

Plus, as a family-friendly resort, they really cater to kids and you can find little touches like kid-sized dining tables at the restaurants and kid-sized lounge chairs around the pool.

And of course, the main activities for families to enjoy are the Xcaret parks that are included in your stay.

Oceanfront Spa Cabins

If you’re looking to relax and unwind, the Muluk Spa at Hotel Xcaret Mexico is the perfect place to do so. They offer a variety of treatments from traditional Mayan rituals to modern spa services.

But what really sets their spa apart is their oceanfront cabins. These cabins are set above the lagoons and look out over the ocean so you can enjoy your treatment while listening to the sound of crashing waves.

There’s also a hydrotherapy circuit with hot and cold pools, steam rooms, saunas, and relaxation areas that you can use for an additional cost.

Hotel Xcaret Mexico: Cons

These are the main cons about Hotel Xcaret Mexico that you should keep in mind:

Hotel Xcaret Mexico is on the higher end of the price scale for Riviera Maya resorts and may not be suitable for all budgets.

However, it is definitely a luxury 5-star resort and with Hotel Xcaret Mexico packages , you will get what you pay for in terms of service, amenities, and experience.

Plus, with so many value adds like free Xcaret park tickets and round-trip airport transportation, I really do think it is worth the cost if you take advantage of everything that’s included.

One of the downsides of staying at Hotel Xcaret Mexico is that the beach area is rocky and is not always suitable for swimming.

It depends on the weather conditions, but when I was there it was a red flag day and the waves were pretty big with lots of rocks in the water.

You can still relax on lounge chairs in front of the beach, but it is definitely not the most ideal swimming area.

So if you’re a beach person and dreaming of widespread white-sand beaches, this might not be the best option for you.

However, to make up for this, they have created a widespread network of man-made lagoons and sandy beach areas where you can swim and relax.

These beach areas are actually better for small children because they are shallow and protected from the sea currents.

Plus, there are plenty of pools onsite, including the main pool with a swim-up bar and several other pools around the resort.

Hotel Xcaret Mexico is situated on a massive property with over 900 guestrooms, which can make it a bit overwhelming to navigate. I’m not gonna lie–I got lost a few times!

There are also lots of winding pathways, steps, and some suspension bridges throughout the resort, so you will definitely do some walking to get from one area to another.

If you have mobility issues, this may not be an ideal place for you. There are still elevators and handicap ramps available, but you might want to consider staying in one of the Casas that is closer to the pools and restaurants.

Additionally, even though it’s a large resort it never felt overly crowded because there are so many different pool areas, hidden coves, and activities to explore.

Basic Room Service Menu

As great as the food is at Hotel Xcaret Mexico , I was a little disappointed in the room service menu options.

It’s pretty basic and limited compared to the variety of restaurants they have onsite.

I tried to order late night dessert and had trouble finding something that was nut free. I settled on vanilla ice cream and what I got was a tiny little container of melted ice cream.

So I would recommend sticking to the restaurants for meals, but room service is still available 24 hours a day if you don’t feel like leaving your room.

Limited Nightlife

Hotel Xcaret Mexico is definitely more of a family-friendly resort, so if you’re looking for a lively party atmosphere and lots of nightlife options, this may not be the best choice.

They do have some nightly entertainment like live music, mariachi performances, and shows at the Teatro del Rio, but it’s not as extensive as some other hotels in Playa del Carmen .

I got back to the resort pretty late after going to Xplor Fuego and it was pretty quiet with not much going on. I think Cantina Los Faroles is pretty much the only bar that’s open late.

But if you’re looking for nighttime entertainment, you can also consider going to the nighttime parks like Xplor Fuego or the Xcaret Mexico Espectacular at Xcaret Park.

Staying at Hotel Xcaret Mexico: FAQs

Here are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about Xcaret Hotel Mexico:

The main difference between Hotel Xcaret Mexico and Hotel Xcaret Arte is that Hotel Xcaret Mexico is family-friendly, while Hotel Xcaret Arte is adults-only.

La Casa de la Playa is a boutique adults-only hotel with only 63 rooms, while Hotel Xcaret Mexico is much larger with 900 rooms and is family-friendly. Both are operated by Grupo Xcaret and are located on the same property.

No, guests at Hotel Xcaret Mexico do not have access to Xcaret Arte. You must be staying at Hotel Xcaret Arte to access the facilities and amenities there.

Hotel Xcaret Mexico offers different types of rooms including Garden Suites, River Suites, Ocean View Suites, Ocean Front Suites, Junior Suites, Master Suites, and Presidential Suites.

Within each of these categories, you can choose Standard Suites or upgraded Spa Suites, Adults Suites, Family Suites, and Swim-Up Suites.

Yes, 24-hour room service is included at Hotel Xcaret Mexico.

Casa Fuego is the best Casa at Hotel Xcaret Mexico, as it is closest to the Caribbean Sea and offers the most premium accommodations with the best views, as well as an exclusive restaurant and rooftop pool.

Tipping is not required at Hotel Xcaret Mexico but certainly appreciated. If you receive great service from a member of the staff, tipping is a nice gesture to show your appreciation.

Hotel Xcaret Mexico is located about 15 minutes south of Playa del Carmen.

The closest airport to Hotel Xcaret Mexico is Cancun International Airport (CUN), which is located about 1 hour north of the hotel.

Hotel Xcaret Mexico is located about 1 hour south of the Cancun Airport.

Check-in is at 3PM and check-out is at 12PM.

Hotel Xcaret Riviera Maya has 20 outdoor pools.

Final Thoughts: Hotel Xcaret Mexico Review

I hope these Hotel Xcaret Mexico reviews have given you a good idea of what to expect during your stay at this unique eco-resort!

I honestly had a fantastic experience and would highly recommend it for families looking for a fun and adventurous vacation in the Riviera Maya.

Yes, it is expensive but I think the resort is a tremendous value for families because of the included Xcaret parks and tours, free airport transportation, as well as the exceptional service, gourmet dining, and on-site amenities.

If you think about how much money you’d spend at the parks and tours, plus the cost of transportation to get there, it really adds up and makes Hotel Xcaret Mexico an even better deal.

The only real con for me was the rocky beach, but they do have beautiful lagoons and sandy beach areas to make up for it, which are safer for small kids anyway.

Now for adults, I would suggest staying at the adults-only Hotel Xcaret Arte next door, or you can book a room at Casa Fuego, which is the adults-only Casa at Hotel Xcaret Mexico.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my stay at Hotel Xcaret Mexico and highly recommend it for families!

I was blown away by the impeccable service, delicious food, and fun activities and honestly didn’t want to leave!

So, what do you think, are you ready to book your stay at Hotel Xcaret Mexico?!

The post Honest Hotel Xcaret Mexico Review: Pros & Cons 2024 appeared first on Viva La Travelista .

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Reviews 4.6.

3,933 total

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Easy to navigate website

Date of experience : March 14, 2023

Reply from Riviera Travel

Thank you for your review and we are pleased to read you found the booking process online straightforward - we look forward to welcoming you!

It was so easy and straightforward with…

It was so easy and straightforward with eash step being fully explained

Date of experience : March 10, 2023

Thank you for your review of our booking process - we look forward to welcoming you!

Amalfi Italy 2023

Booked again with Riviera Holidays again. Italy this year. Looking forward to it. We have confidence with this travel Co.

Date of experience : March 12, 2023

Thank you for your kind review and we look forward to welcoming you again soon!

Fairly straightforward but had hoped…

Fairly straightforward but had hoped signature trip could have been from the hotel I wished.

Thank you for your review and we are sincerely sorry that the hotel was not your preferred choice. We are pleased however you found the process straightforward and wish you a very enjoyable holiday.

First class customer service

We’ve just booked out first escorted trip with Riviera and the service was excellent. Laurie the agent I dealt with couldn’t have been more helpful, despite us changing our options twice in 2 days, and was very good at explaining everything. If the holiday is as good as the customer service we’ll be more than happy.

Date of experience : March 07, 2023

Thank you for your review and we are delighted to read you were so satisfied with our service. We look forward to welcoming you!

Neil was very helpful & explained

Neil was very helpful & explained everything clearly throughout the process. Very knowledgeable about the specific cruise and ship. Looking forward to our holiday.

That's great to hear and many thanks for sharing your experience!

Solo holidays with tour managers is…

Solo holidays with tour managers are ideal for me now and experienced my first one last May to the Italian Lakes, which was excellent from booking it to the actual holiday, my first foreign holiday for five years. The staff in the office are so helpful, the tour manager was excellent, the hotel and the trips were excellent so I can understand why company is highly rated by Which. I am going on a river cruise with family in May and have recently booked two further holidays with the company.

Date of experience : March 13, 2023

Thank you for your review and we are delighted to read you were so satisfied with our service. We look forward to welcoming you again soon!

Quick access

Quick access, involved and informed staff

Date of experience : March 15, 2023

That's great to hear - many thanks for sharing!

Understanding, informed and helpful

Understanding, patience and assistance The Riviera travel expert answered promptly, answered all of my questions and generally reassured. We booked our holiday.

Thank you for sharing your experience and we look forward to welcoming you on your holiday!

Very helpful and informed assistance…

Very helpful and informed assistance over the telephone.

Date of experience : March 01, 2023

That's great to hear and many thanks for sharing!

Excellent booking process

Excellent booking process - was good to be able to contact an adviser by telephone and email.

Date of experience : March 09, 2023

Thank you for your review and we are pleased to read you were satisfied with our service. We look forward to welcoming you!

Japan holiday

The booking experience was done with patience and professionalism

Thank you for sharing your experience and we look forward to welcoming you soon!

Signature Tour: Classic Greece

Holiday information detailed and clear on website. Booking by phone was very easy, as any questions could be answered without delay

Riviera Travel.....never again

We booked our special anniversary trip with Riviera Travel, payed extra for the flights as they were more expensive then the price shown on the website. 5 day later our British Airways flights (which we hoped to upgrade) were changed to Easyjet. The flights are to a different airport, so rather than a resort transfer of less than an hour, we now have a resort transfer of more than 2 hours. On the last day we were supposed to depart our Hotel late afternoon, we will now be leaving in the morning. Riviera Travel has downgraded our holiday and shortened it by a day, when I phoned to ask if we would be getting a refund for the downgrade I was told we would not. I then spoke to a manager and asked if I could cancel and have my deposit refunded as it had only been booked a few days ago, and was told I could not as they were within there terms to do this. Saga offer a very similar holiday, we chose Riviera because we would get more time in the resort, now we get less time. This special anniversary trip has been spoilt by Riviera before it has even started.

Date of experience : March 02, 2023

Good morning, thank you for your comments today and for supplying more information. Sadly, the change that took place as British Airways withdrew your original flight from their schedule. Therefore, our transport team will find the most suitable and available flight for all guests departing on this date. We have emailed you personally to offer our assistance further. Riviera Travel

Outstanding customer service

Outstanding customer service. I have now booked three holidays with the help of Laurie Mathieson at Riviera Travel. On each occasion he has been very pleasant, knowledgeable and efficient.

Date of experience : March 06, 2023

Thank you for your review and we are delighted to read you were so satisfied by the service received from Laurie. We look forward to welcoming you on your holiday!

Laurie Matheson is so integral to me…

Laurie Matheson is so integral to me booking my holiday and giving me the help and support to make everything special when I am away. I really rely on him I find Laurie friendly, always returns my emails that's why I travel with Riveria Travel so often. Great holidays always well organised with customer care like this why go anywhere else !

Date of experience : March 11, 2023

Thank you for such a wonderful review! We will ensure your comments are shared with Laurie and we look forward to welcoming you on your next holiday!

Program sent very quickly

Program sent very quickly. Well informed on the phone Very easy to make a reservation and to pay on phone fortunately(I am 86 and appreciate doing transaction by phone and not mail!!!)

Thank you for your review and we are delighted to hear you were so satisfied with our service. We look forward to welcoming you on your holiday!

Booking easy

Booking easy. Holiday details explained well and to the point

Great to hear and many thanks for sharing your experience!

Sicily return visit

Easy to book over the phone, professional approach and competent completion.05/03/2023 We now look forward to the trip and it’s busy itinerary.

Date of experience : March 05, 2023

Many thanks for your review and sharing your positive experience of our booking process. We look forward to welcoming you on your holiday!

Good experience

Your representative who dealt with me over the telephone was helpful, knowledgeable, courteous and fun! The booking was completed with no drama and the follow up email exchange was prompt and efficient. Hope the cruise and staff are as good as Katie was! Thank you, keep up the good work!

Date of experience : February 28, 2023

Thank you for your review and we are so pleased to read you were so satisfied with the service you received. We look forward to welcoming you on your cruise!

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How To Enjoy Cannes On A Budget: Tips For Making The Riviera Dream Affordable

Cannes: A Must-Visit Destination for Those Seeking French Culture and Relaxation.

• Updated - 2024-05-14, 12:53 IST

Cannes: French Riviera Lifestyle

What to do when in cannes.

• La Croisette : Stroll along Cannes' iconic "seafront palm-lined boulevard," where stylish boutiques, luxury hotels, and pristine beaches converge. This is the perfect spot for shopping, dining, and soaking up the local atmosphere.
• Public Beaches : Cannes' beaches are open to all, offering a chance to bask in the warmth of the sun without any additional cost. Soak up the Mediterranean ambience and feel refreshed.
• Luxury Resorts : For a more personalised experience, consider booking a resort or a seafront hotel with private beaches and luxurious amenities.

Cannes Dining Experience

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From To Catch a Thief to La Piscine , 7 Sun-Drenched Films That Will Transport You to the French Riviera

By Radhika Seth

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The sapphire blue of the Mediterranean, beaches dotted with palm trees, and grand boulevards lined with glittering boutiques make the French Riviera irresistible. Days spent soaking in the sun on super yachts, before partying long into the night, it's no wonder visitors from the 1920s to now have found it captivating. And ever since then, the unparalleled beauty of this coastline—which stretches from the gilded casinos of Monte Carlo, down to the lavish beach clubs of Saint-Tropez—has been immortalized on film. Just think of Grace Kelly driving Cary Grant up to a picturesque hilltop for a picnic in To Catch a Thief ; Jane Birkin laying poolside in La Piscine ; and Jean-Paul Belmondo and Anna Karina locking lips in Pierrot le Fou —an image so iconic that it adorned the official poster for the 71st edition of the Cannes Film Festival , the storied showcase that draws the world to the Côte d’Azur each spring.

Ahead of its 77th iteration, which kicks off on May 14, we look back on seven films which capture the dreamy, dazzling spirit of the French Riviera—and will have you booking a flight, stat.

To Catch a Thief (1955)

By Irene Kim

By Audrey Noble

There’s perhaps no film that better embodies the glamour, heat, and alluring, illicit dangers of the South of France than Alfred Hitchcock’s sun-drenched tale of a charismatic jewel thief (Cary Grant) who becomes the prime suspect for a string of robberies on the Riviera—except he’s retired, and the real culprit is a fleet-footed copycat. Cue an elaborate plan to catch the latter red-handed, which involves befriending a wealthy widow (Jessie Royce Landis) and her razor-sharp daughter (a luminous Grace Kelly). Dressed in chiffon ball gowns and monochrome linen separates, she swans around ritzy restaurants, sunbathes, swims, attends opulent galas, and speeds down cliffside roads in her convertible. Kelly herself certainly understood the appeal of life on the Côte d’Azur—by this point, she’d already met Prince Rainier III, and would soon become the Princess of Monaco (and an enduring symbol of the region).

How to watch: Stream on MGM+ , Paramount+ , or Prime Video .

And God Created Woman (1956)

The film that established Brigitte Bardot as the bombshell of her era, Roger Vadim’s scandalous romp casts the cat-eyed, tousled-haired fashion icon as a wild young woman with a voracious sexual appetite who breaks hearts and wreaks havoc across Saint-Tropez. Watch it for that dance sequence, as well as for the bicycle rides through picturesque ports, the frolicking on pristine beaches, and wandering through idyllic cobblestone streets—all scenes that helped to put this once sleepy fishing village on the map for tourists the world over.

How to watch: Stream on Max .

Bonjour Tristesse (1958)

With her gamine crop and wonderfully laid-back holiday wardrobe—think boatneck tops, linen shorts, and starched button-downs with rolled up sleeves, tied at the waist over square-necked bathing suits—Jean Seberg’s mischievous teenager, Cécile, lives the Riviera dream in Otto Preminger’s ravishing adaptation of Françoise Sagan’s seminal novel of the same name. But then, her long days of wild swimming, lounging in her palatial villa, and engaging in a summer romance are interrupted by the arrival of a worldly new love interest (a swan-like Deborah Kerr) for her rakish father (David Niven), one who threatens to turn our young heroine’s world upside down. While this landscape of verdant cliffsides and shimmering waters is filmed in glorious Technicolor, Cécile’s melancholic existence in Paris a year later plays out in subdued black and white—fitting, considering that once you leave the Côte d’Azur, everything else seems to pale in comparison.

How to watch: Stream on Prime Video or Tubi .

Pierrot le Fou (1965)

In Jean-Luc Godard’s madcap road movie, a verified French New Wave classic, Jean-Paul Belmondo and Anna Karina are reckless lovers on the run from Paris to the Mediterranean, escaping the staid cocktail parties and mindless consumerism of the capital for the wild, lawless promise of the coast. The views are sweeping, the satire biting, and Karina’s collection of cherry-red frocks and baby blue knits simply to die for.

How to watch: Buy on Blu-Ray or DVD .

Two for the Road (1967)

Several sojourns to the South of France over the course of a decade, as recalled by a dysfunctional married couple (Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney), are spliced together in Stanley Donen’s wistful, bittersweet rom-com. As their relationship blossoms, frays, disintegrates, and is eventually repaired, the chemistry is palpable and the laughs plentiful—to say nothing of the spectacular costumes. (Come for Hepburn’s showstopping Paco Rabanne paillette minidress , stay for her PVC suit, psychedelic prints, and Space Age sunglasses.)

How to watch: Stream on Apple TV , Prime Video , or YouTube .

La Piscine (1969)

From Jane Birkin’s louche shirting, gingham minis, crochet separates, and basket bags to Romy Schneider’s scintillating swimwear and printed cocktail dresses, Jacques Deray’s steamy thriller is a sartorial masterclass: the tale of a stylish couple (Schneider and Alain Delon) whose trip to a friend’s villa near Saint-Tropez is disrupted when an old acquaintance (Maurice Ronet) shows up with his always-impeccably-dressed young daughter (Birkin) in tow. Cue jealousy, obsession, raucous parties, and an endless supply of holiday style inspiration.

Priceless (2006)

The opportunity to see Audrey Tautou shed Amélie’s severe bob, kooky ensembles, and childlike wonder for low-cut dresses and stilettos to take the part of a chain-smoking, cocktail-swilling, world-weary gold digger? Truly priceless, in Pierre Salvadori’s charming romance, which sees her mistake a humble bartender (Gad Elmaleh) for a millionaire at a glitzy Biarritz hotel. They spend the night together, but once his true identity is revealed, she flees to the Riviera and he chases after her, determined to make it right. A flood of glittering parties, lavish dinners, and poolside flirtations follow, before enmity finally gives way to friendship and, later, love.