Was challenged to post an accurate review here. It would be easy to slam the Riviera. Opted to average it out to 3 stars. Check out the summary...
Overall:
Pros - Much nicer than I expected from all the grim reviews.
Cons - But, it's still an antiquated down-market hotel that needs help, but not as bad a Circus Circus, which smells really bad.
Room:
Pros - New room that was well-appointed with no smells.
Cons - Lousy TV channel selection, especially no Food Network or Travel Channel. And, it was pretty noisy at night either listening to the screaming AC unit or loud music. Plan on using earplugs.
WiFi:
Pros - free!
Cons - spotty connectivity
Parking:
Pros - free
Cons - hard to find any open slots after 10pm ;-(
Service:
Pros - Helpful and pleasant staff
Cons - Poor follow-up, especially with housekeeping service
Food:
Pros - large portions
Cons - restaurants in hotel were not so great. In the Food Court, La Salsa and Indian Masala were pretty good. But, it's pretty cheesy 80's mall-like ambiance.
Pub:
Pros - nice setting and respectable English beers
Cons - bartenders were totally disorganized and it took a long time to get a drink and/or bill (we visited 4x on this trip and kept hoping they'd get it together... nope!)
Value:
We stayed here because our conference was booked here. For the $55 group rate /night it was OK. But, after a couple of days, we longed to get out and visit other hotels. (FYI - the Encore is only a 10 minute walk away!)
Probably would not stay here again.