Riviera Hotel

We arrived from Newark airport at about 2 AM, tired after two days without sleep and with only $400 for our family of five. The man who answered the door said there was no night check-in and we had to wait until 11 AM. I asked if he would let us in, and he did. We slept on a lobby couch, which was a real help. At 11 we rented a room and got some rest. The area looked strange and a little dangerous, but we walked around without any trouble. This was the first place in the USA that took us in, and I'm grateful. I'd still give them five stars.

We were stuck sleeping here because the other hotels were booked for at least a couple more hours, and we left early the next day as soon as a better hotel had an opening. The bathrooms were horrific. When I arrived, the building looked like a run-down apartment block, the surroundings seemed awful, and the people there looked either like they were on drugs or extremely shady. My agent had booked the cheapest place after I asked them to, a choice I regret for the rest of my life. I hear the building is now a homeless shelter. Good call, because that dump should never have been called a hotel. Never again 😡

At least transient people have somewhere to stay. They need all the help they can get, and I wish they had everything required to provide the best care. Maybe the best care isn't even a real thing, just something I imagined. Sometimes having a place to be has to be enough.

The whole hotel smelled awful, including the lifts and lobby, and the bathroom had plenty of cockroaches. The flush was horribly loud, and the bedside lamp didn't work. I was lucky to find roadside parking and didn't have to pay for the hotel's lot. I regretted this choice after checking in late in the evening and even looked for other nearby hotels. I should've trusted the Google reviews instead of just looking at the entrance and photos. The building gives off a bad feeling, and as other guests have said, the reception is ugly. This was the worst hotel experience I've had in the States. It needs a serious renovation, better staff, and better service.