Riviera on Vaal Hotel & Country Club

I've stayed at the Riviera many times. Staff were friendly. The view and gardens was beautiful. The room is spacious but the shower was dirty. Taps still had stains. There was loose hair in the shower. There was no way I was going to shower in there.

This an awesome location. My room (all rooms?) have a view of the Vaal River. The atmosphere makes you expect a vibrant resort teeming with people and activity. But no. There is far less activity than one would expect. The hotel and rooms were very clean. however, I got the sense that the whole facility needs a major refurbishment. The place was relatively quiet, perhaps due to low occupancy. Staff were quite friendly. My major disappointment was with the golf course. It was very poorly maintained. There is another golf course across the river which was in an immaculate condition when compared to the Riviera golf course.

Arrived on 3 January. Went to sit outside to have a drink. Hubby ordered a rock shandy. Received a steel worx in error. Asked what time the buffet would start, as it was advertised. Not going to have a buffet was the answer. We then asked for a menu. Ordered the seafood platter for 2, Sorry not available. Then asked for seafood pasta. Not available. So how about beef lasagne ? not available. In desperation, ordered a steak with baked potato. No potatoes. so settled for a steak and salad, and hubby a steak and chips. Hubby's food arrived. Really good steak, with the most withered chips I have ever seen. Mine arrived. a third of the size of hubby's and so well done that it could bounce off a wall. I had ordered medium rare. Salad turned out to be lettuce, as they had run out of tomatoes. Went to reception to find the manager, who had popped out for 20 minutes. I asked that he phone me on his return. 90 minutes later, got a call from reception to tell me to come down and speak to the manager. Asked that he phone me, as we were already settled in our room. He did phone, I gave him the rundown, he apologised, and deducted my steak off the bill, but also said we should keep in mind that there had been holidays prior to our arrival, so they were low on ingredients. The shops were open for tomatoes and potatoes !!!!. Next day was raining, so went to the pub in the afternoon. Ordered a drink, but couldn't have what we ordered, as they had run out of bitters. The waiters were embarrassed !!!! What a pity that the food and beverage is in such a mess. Our room was lovely, and breakfasts were good.