Radisson Hotel Cincinnati Riverfront

The pool was dangerous. My husband took our son swimming in the morning and found a broken pool light underwater with its wire exposed. He had to shout for our son to get out. Thank God he wasn’t electrocuted. There weren’t any clean towels, either, so they had to walk back to the room soaking wet. I won’t return. The evening before, we waited nearly an hour for our table at Eighteen, despite having a 7:45 reservation and the restaurant being nearly empty. The appetizers were good, but dinner took another hour to order and another hour to arrive. It was freezing in there, and we had to go back for coats and a blanket. My son fell asleep at the table in his coat. Several main dishes were unavailable, leaving us to choose from an already limited menu, and the food arrived cold. The server apologized, and it clearly seemed like a staffing issue. We didn’t get back to the room until 11 p.m. Check-in was fine and the staff were pleasant, but the elevator was scary. The room itself was dated, though clean enough to sleep in, and the view was the only saving grace. If you’re after the amenities, including the rotating restaurant, it was awful.

The food was tasty and well prepared, but the portions were tiny, so don’t expect to leave full. The people and service were great. I’m not a fan of a spinning restaurant, though. Looking out the window made me dizzy when I first arrived, so if you have vertigo like me, try not to stare outside. I think I was here 40 years ago and remember having good soup, but that’s about all I can recall. Old-timers is setting in. I chalk this visit up to experience, and hope you enjoy yours.

Before I even got to the room, I got sick with food poisoning and was ill all night. Earlier, we’d arrived for dinner after booking rooms and reserving a table for the New Year’s Eve party we attend with family every year. We’d seen an ad when we stayed in November. They had canceled the party two weeks earlier and told nobody, though they emailed us two weeks before to say our reservation time had changed from 9 to 8. Once we arrived, they said the party had been canceled. As soon as we sat for dinner, the waitress said we had to order quickly because the kitchen closed at 8:30. My wife pointed out they’d reserved us for 8, and the waitress said, “Oh, that’s right.” We ordered salmon at $34 each, but the bills said $45. We complained, and the waitress took the bills back but only removed $9 when she should have taken off $18, then disappeared. The staff rushed us so they could leave for New Year’s Eve. The elevator was shut down before we could get to our rooms, and everyone was gone, so we didn’t know how to reach them. When I emailed about what happened, they said the timeline didn’t line up and that they were sorry I felt that way. Afterward I checked the reviews and saw every other one was bad. I wish I’d checked first. Be careful staying here. I didn’t even get to talk about the rooms or front desk.

The room was eventually comped after I showed the manager photos and explained what had happened, though I still haven’t received the refund. We were already two hours into check-in and room changes by then. First room had a clogged toilet and a bathroom ceiling coming down. Maintenance spent about five minutes “working” on it and left, but the toilet was still broken, so we moved. In the next room, the fridge was pulled out of the cabinets, dirty blankets and sheets were scattered around, the bed had no sheets, muddy footprints crossed the floor, and the desk was broken. Room number three had sticky, uncleaned counters and nightstands, a mystery liquid in the frozen fridge, and dead roaches in the stairwell. The elevator then got stuck on the fifth floor, forcing us onto the stairs even though I’d just had knee surgery. Staff didn’t tell the manager, so I had to. They offered a refund after the third room, but said it could take 3-5 business days for the money to return to the bank. Dinner at the rotating restaurant was mediocre. Everything looked dated and worn, with things broken or “fixed” by their apparent master craftsmen. We’re never coming back, and I’d warn anyone considering a stay to save themselves the headache.