For the price, I'd say this resort is above average. Most wholesale vacation companies rate this property a 3 and for a 3, I'd say it's pretty nice.

LOCATION- Great Golden Zone location. Nearby shops, dining, nightlife, etc. Within walking distance or short cab/pumania ride from anywhere you'd want to go. 35 pesos for a ride to anywhere in the Golden Zone was the going rate when I was there. You could often get it for cheaper though if you tried.

BEACH- There is a great beach that not a lot of the other properties have in MZT. Further down in the Golden Zone, the tide goes all the way up to the building, so there is no space for sitting on the beach. The Riviera Beach Resort is one of the only properties (besides Hotel Playa MZT) that actually has chairs and palapas on the beach for it's guests. The beach at this far of the golden zone was a little less busy then further down twords Costo de Oro and some of the other mid-zone hotels.

DINING- There is one restaurant and one bar. The drinks of course were delicious and the food was fine too. I got sick of the greasy mexican dishes, so by the end of my stay I was eating salads and tuna fish sandwiches every day. The good thing about the menu was there were always other options... if you didnt' like the buffet that day, you could order off the menu. There was always something on the menu that was good. Great helado!!!

POOLS- Two pools, one hot tub. I was there in Jan. so the pools were pretty cold. One is pretty much in the shade all day long, so that one was really cold. The beach is so nice, we never really sat by the pool anyway. They do have nice pool furniture though. At about 4pm the hot tub would be full of people.. that was always fun. Grab a few drinks and sit in the hot tub...

BUILDING- They were just beginning to repaint the building while were there, which is good. The exterior needed to be repainted. Don't worry when you pull up to the property on the street... from the street it looks like a dump, but it looks much better by the pool and from the beach side of the property. The building is shaped like a U and the pools are in the middle. Restaurant on one side and the big Palapa bar on the other side.

ROOMS- Average rooms, they were always very clean. Lots of closet space. Good blow dryer. Our room had an airconditioner that worked VERY well... it would get so cold if we were to leave it on for even an hour or so. On the other hand, I had other family who had a warm room because their air conditioning didn't work very well. We had rooms on the first floor, which was great. Everyone room has a balcony or porch.

SERVICE- The wait staff at this property is very accomodating. We were all-inclusive and they wouldn't let us lift a hand. They'd serve us on the beach, in the pool, hottub, wherever! One night we had a birthday party for a family member and Angel (one of the night waitors) went out of his way to set up a private dinner area for us next to the pool, hang up our pinata, cut and light candles on our cake... it was great. Cheers to Angel, Oscar, and the rest of the wait staff. The front desk staff weren't quite as nice... their english wasn't as good and I figure they were working for tips, so they didn't put forth as strong of an effort.

NOISE- at night, if you are on the right side of the hotel (when facing the beach), you will be able to hear music from Tony's Bar. We never had a problem - we'd just turn on our fan or air conditioning to muffle the noise.

CLIENTEL - Families, senior citizens, spring breakers.... a wide variety. Lots of Minnesota. We even saw two weddings while we were there.

Have a great time in Mazatlán! We sure did!

This was my third trip to Mazatlan and second stay in the Riviera. Both times that I stayed there the service was good but the beers were even better. For what you pay you get one heck of a deal. If your there to party and stay up up late and not worry about spending much time in your room, this is the place to be. It is a central location to all of the night clubs and there and numerous restaraunts within walking distance. Unfortunately people tend to fall off the balcony's, I should know I was one of them, but that hasn't dettered me from vacationing anymore to resorts. I cant remember the bellhop who found me, but a huge thanks goes out to him for recognizing me and getting me help. The Riviera will always have a spot in my mind.

we have been staying at the Riveria in Maz for over 20 years. The service from what we lovingly call "The Boys" has been the greatest. they really do know how to make us and our vacation special. They are the reason we keep going back to the Riveria. The rooms have been updated in resent years and the suites are one of the best in Maz.
Thanks Boys

Service was good, staff very nice. Hotel is a two star if that. Very noisy being that is located right on a very busy street with disco music blaring until 4am. There are way many better places to stay, keep looking. Its old Mexico, the city and beach is dirty. We had fun, but would stay somewhere else, that is a little more eye pleasing.