The Riviera Hotel is in a cluster of budget hotels at the end of the renowned shopping on Robson Street. It is very well sited.

The Riviera is a fairly small hotel, having 11 floors of rooms. Each floor has 4 rooms, each comprising a corner. You have an expansive view in one direction, and in the other a smaller view accompanied by a balcony off the living area. The top floor has two "penthouse" rooms. These have no more floor space than the others, but have an enlarged living area at the expense of the kitchens of the other two models. They are a little higher priced. Both have a microwave but only the more expensive has a fridge. I viewed these and would not recommend either.

On the fifth floor and below, each room, which is quite large (1/4 of the floor), has 2 double beds. There is no couch and no separate bedroom. The kitchens are quite nice, having a range/oven, good-size fridge, microwave, toaster, electric tea kettle, plates, mugs, and flatware. Each unit has a small dining table with 4 seats. Each sitting area has a couple of small arm chairs.

I would recommend for most travellers the rooms on the 6th to the 10th floors, which have very nice views, better on the side facing northeast towards Burrard Inlet and North Vancouver, away from Robson Street (with room numbers ending in 3 or 4). These rooms have a separate bedroom with a double bed and a large mirrored closet. Iron and ironing board are inside. In the hallway entering the living room there are two smaller mirrored full length closets for hanging clothes. With the desk in the living room there are storage drawers. The bedroom has a dresser for storage and end tables on both sides of the bed. The living room contains a couch, a table in front of it, two upholstered chairs with a table between them, and in the corner next to the kitchen a small dining table with 4 chairs. The kitchens are as described above. The suite was clean and tastefully furnished. The oriental-style throw rug in the living area adds a note of ambience.

Parking behind the building or underneath in a garage comes free. There is a self-serve laundry in the hotel. The nicely paneled and mirrored elevator was small and smelled like smoke, but it was quick.The room was quite clean, if you ignore a few slightly discolored areas of the rug. Our kitchen had one countertop with a few dings in it, but other than that the condition of the room was very good. The staff was quite pleasant. I would venture to say that for the cost of the room, the Riviera offers an exceptional deal. I live nearby in Bellingham, Washington, and am quite familiar with Vancouver. At this time I would say this is the best choice of a budget hotel if you want to stay in the downtown Vancouver area. I would completely discount the negative review submitted in 2005. If you are unluckly you will be in the hotel at the same time as a few ruffians, but the customers we encountered were all quite civil.

Should you wish to stay at this hotel, but cannot locate it on a travel website, don't hesitate to call the hotel directly. I wasn't able to book it on the standard websites, but there was room in the hotel. I used a website which dealt specifically with BC hotels, but you can call the hotel directly, as I don't think the internet sites offer any discount. The March rate for our room was $99 CAD. With taxes the price comes to $100 US, but you can apply for a GST refund and save a few dollars on that.