August 5th 2007.
We returned from our holiday 28th July 2007, after a 2 week stay in riva del garda, Italy.
We had a good holiday over all(2 adults & 2 children, 5 & 2yrs). The hotel was clean,4 star rating, but it was really a 3 star.
The staff were nice, the food was ok for adults, but children found it hard, breakfast was only meat, hard rolls, solid boiled eggs and well done scrambled egg,with cereal, sometmes left over dessert from night before!
Lake Garda its self was a lovely place, just not a lot for children,but that was our fault for booking and not checking.
We went on a trip to the capital Verona and the dolomites, that was good.
If you are into wind surfing, this is the place to be and for those who are not (like us) they are fantastic to watch on the lake, late afternoon and into the night.
We would go back to Riva, with older children or on our own & we would use this place again maybe.

We have just arrvive back on Sunday night and it sounds like we may have taken over the room mentioned in the previous review.
Room no 31 in case anyone is interested. It was difficuly trying to squeeze your bags past the dressed in the tight corridor and the room itself was very small, but was cleaned everyday and the en-suite toilet was a good size with a decent powered shower. There was also a TV and air con.
We also asked to be moved and despite the alternative room been bigger but it was on the 1st floor and over looked the hotel car park and had no balcony so we stayed put.
We only did B&B as we enjoy going out to different places to eat and drink , but we did eat one night at the hotel which was nice enough and saved us having to walk into the old town of Riva.
The old town is 20 mins walk either by the road or a more pleasant walk was by the lake which we enjoyed doing as it builds up your appatite and on the way back allows you to walk of the food and drink, which for the most is excellant.
Be prepared to wait for drinks and food as they service is very laid back and relaxed and even sometimes borders on being annoying.
The weather was 30+ everyday and we would recommend hiring bicycles and cycling around , go towards Arca and also take the cable car up mount Balda at Malchesine which is worth it for the views.
The major downside to our holiday was having to leave on our last day at 13.40 form the hotel to catch a flight at 21.20 as we had to fly out of Malpensa airport which is near Milan and took over 4 hours by coach. A joke really as Verona which we flew into in only 1 hour and 30 mins away.
All in all we had a very pleasant time and the staff at the Royal were very nice except for one youngish guy who was very unhelpful.
We also booked by lastminute and our tour operaters were called Newmarket and excluding the journey on the coach from Verona to the hotel we never saw any reps at the hotel or on our journey home.
We wil go to Lake Garda again we hope but not for the near future as too many places yet to see.

Just back from a 'half board' holiday staying at the Royal Hotel Riva del Garda. It seems that if there was a corner to cut to save money, then this hotel did it! The 1st room we were offered was on the 3rd floor overlooking the pool. However, to squeeze between a dressing table and the wall to get to the bed was not an ideal start. We asked to change rooms and were given a bigger room overlooking the trailer park, but it was a lot better. Breakfast was not much better, with powdered juice and powdered eggs made to look scrambled, accompanied by slices of meat - not the best start to the day! Dinner was not great either, again powdered soup. The staff were, however, lovely, helpful and friendly. The pool was not very inviting as it was surrounded by red and white hazzard chain. No-one seemed to know why, but it wasn't to stop you swimming! The location of the hotel was to the East of the resort, about 20-25 minutes walk from the old town, where all the restaurants etc are. Riva itself is a beautiful resort, ideal for windsurfing, sailing, fishing, walking or just watching the world go by. You can take the frequent ferries down the lake to visit other villages. I would certainly go back there, just not to the Royal!