Rialta Apartahotel

The cleaning staff made a real difference to my stay. They were lovely and always greeted me warmly. I think one of them was Toñi, and they went out of their way to help. I also liked the rooms, the view, and the hotel’s own bus. Still, the service at the lobby could use work. Check-in took a long time, and nobody warned me. I speak Spanish, so the negative replies to my friends’ small requests didn’t happen to me directly, but they found staff’s responses blunt and often impolite. They asked about switching dinner for lunch at the same price, among other things, and were turned down. I tried the food for one day and didn’t care for it. The meal plan seemed expensive for the quality, so I’m glad I chose not to pay for it. Cooking with groceries seems a better option, since most rooms have kitchens. Three friends were refused refunds for their meal plans. That’s just my perspective, but Rialta has a lot going for it and some clear customer service issues.

The noise made it impossible to sleep: teenage boys ran through the halls, moved furniture, shouted, and partied from 11 PM to 4 AM every night. I stayed at Rialta in A Coruña, Spain, while teaching at UDC’s international summer school, and it was the worst place I’ve ever stayed. It felt like what I imagine prison would be like. I paid for breakfast, but it was inedible, just bread, browned old fruit salad, and stale cereal. I had to pay two weeks in advance. When we asked the manager to refund breakfasts we hadn’t used, she first said it couldn’t be done. After we explained our rights, she eventually returned the money, but only after several days of repeated requests. She was rude and unhelpful throughout. The single-bed rooms are tiny, with dirty bedding and awful mattresses. There’s a horrible smell from the bathroom that makes the room unbearable. The kitchen has hardly any equipment, not even a kettle or toaster. If you’re going to Erasmus or teaching at the summer school, do what you can to stay somewhere else. This is a frat house pretending to be something else. Seriously, don’t stay here!

Getting around is a hassle. There’s only one bus stop nearby, up a very steep hill, and no shops or supermarkets in the neighborhood, just houses and the highway. The rooms are way overpriced, and when winter came I spent over two weeks begging reception to fix the heating. The plastic foam mattress didn’t help, and I sometimes found hairs on the bedsheets, as if they hadn’t been washed. I lived in these dorms for a semester during Erasmus and wouldn’t recommend them. Most reception staff weren’t helpful, and the food ranged from mediocre to completely inedible. They lock the building doors after 1am on weekdays and 4am on weekends, so students can’t go in or out even though we’re adults. I find that dangerous, especially with just one security person holding keys for all six buildings. Don’t waste your money.

The staff were very nice and helpful, and whenever something went wrong in our room, they fixed it quickly. Still, I wouldn’t recommend this residence to other Erasmus students. It’s quite far from the city centre, there are no buses after 22:30, and the nearest grocery store is a few kilometres away, so you end up relying on taxis. The residence also shuts over Christmas. In 2023 it was closed for more than two weeks, and you can’t stay there during that period without getting any rent discount. The rent itself seemed unreasonable too: a kitchen room for two cost about 350€/person, with laundry charged separately at 3€ to wash and 3€ to dry.