Rihga Royal Laguna Guam Resort

RIHGA is away from the main resort area, but if you don’t have a rental car, trolleys run all day to take you there. I stayed for 18 days at this quiet resort. The ocean view was wonderful, though there’s no beach. Rooms are small but clean, and the pools are wonderful.

The longer I stayed, the less comfortable I felt in the room, and I won’t come back. It looked nice at first, but the bed skirt was dirty, the sheets had small tears, and both the glass bathroom walls and tub were dirty. The tub wouldn’t drain properly, and neither would the sink. Water also got everywhere because of the shower and showerhead setup. I should’ve listened to the reviews saying this used to be a beautiful resort but hasn’t been maintained.

There are plenty of lovely outdoor areas, including several pools and trails with great harbor and ocean views. The main pool is an infinity pool overlooking the ocean, with a small deck and lounge space. There’s an evening bar there, and a separate family pool with a waterfall and slide. Some water features around the grounds aren’t being used, though, and the hotel’s large size means there’s a lot of unused space at the moment. The ocean is reachable on foot, but that stretch is rocky, overgrown, and not well kept. Breakfast was included, but I found the selection disappointing and the room a bit rundown. The buffet could have been maintained better. The property is clearly older, though I can imagine how beautiful it must have been when it first opened. My room was a decent size and clean, if dated. Overall, it was a nice stay, 8.6.

We spent three full weeks here for work, and it was one of my worst hotel stays. The staff were consistently kind and helpful, and I want to be clear that my complaints are about the owners’ lack of attention to the business, not the staff. The location is one of the island’s best, and the infinity pool is nice. But the hotel’s cleanliness was terrible: mold in rooms, bugs everywhere, peeling paint, and sheets with dirt and scuffs that looked like they’d rarely been washed. The furniture seemed as old as the hotel itself. The cafe downstairs charged far too much for the quality, even by Guam standards. Below the pool, the “swamp” appeared never to have been cleaned and brought too many bugs in the evenings. The indoor mall-like pools were drained the entire time I was there and looked trashy. This place has real potential, and I hope they manage to turn it around.