Opinion BEFORE vs AFTER your Riviera stay

[TinkB278]

We bought sight unseen during the pandemic. Based on videos and photos, I was confident we would like it but I did have some apprehension.

My doubts were erased after the welcome home visit. We have now stayed twice. We have stayed at many of the Disney deluxe resorts, Riviera is far and away my favorite.
The rooms were even nicer than my high expectations.
Close-up, in person, I actually found the entire resort to be more elegant and beautiful than in pictures. I understand the "drab block" criticisms when looking at the photos, but they just don't do justice to the resort. It really does have a French/Italian riviera feel through-out.
After visiting, I really appreciate how nice it is for the resort to be fairly condensed. Always a quick walk from any spot in the resort to the pool or the quick service. And I loved just how peaceful so many parts of the resort felt. The lobby wasn't nearly as small as suggested by what I had read online. The library and cafe are nice quiet respites. And I LOVED the pools and hot tubs.. even during ultra high crowds at WDW, the pools remained relatively quiet and peaceful.

Being objective and honest -- My one unanticipated negative -- the bus stops are a bit of a hike from the resort.

Only other negative -- I wish they would bring the dinner entrees back to quick service at Primo Piatto.

Yes!! They need to expand the menu back to what it once was!!

 

[Royal Consort]

have you tried Copper Creek? It does seem like your a short boat ride away to MK!!!!

Copper Creek is great. But I won't own there due to their studio availability problem.

 

[alohatok1986]

I went in expecting to like it more than GF but came out liking it less. It is a newer spin on the GF luxe vibe with a random (and I mean random!) smattering of French and Italian words and accents. They really should have just picked one, IMO, or themed towers towards each country... the mish-mash is so off-putting. The pools were too open for me, the grounds a bit sterile. I'm curious as to how the finishes are going to hold up in time. The GF is definitely more classic, and the monorail is such a luxury compared to the skyliner & makes more sense when you're paying those prices IMO. It's a hard no for me now.

 

[NVDISFamily]

Copper Creek is great. But I won't own there due to their studio availability problem.

Cabins! We bought more points than we should for those cabins…….. But I do see the wisdom for studios. I’m sure as we get close to retirement and can take more trips we’ll switch to looking for studio bargains to get more stays out of those points. Really surprised how much we liked our studio at SSR. But the kiddos are young and can share that bed for now.

I wish I was in a CCV cabin right now……. Need to get back to work

 

[Royal Consort]

Cabins! We bought more points than we should for those cabins…….. But I do see the wisdom for studios. I’m sure as we get close to retirement and can take more trips we’ll switch to looking for studio bargains to get more stays out of those points.

We are mostly studios at this time. There's only two of us, we dont need any more. Strongly considered buying a CCV fixed week in 2019 but we do change when we go in the Autumn. I'd rather have a chance at a well balanced RVA than fight/walk at CCV (I view CCV as having worse inbuilt restrictions). Booking VGF deluxe studios during this period of time already required walking and I don't want to contend with that. Resort Studios have fixed that problem.

 

[DisWeaver]

I just did a split stay. My first time at both VGF and Riviera and Riviera was by far my favorite of the two. I like everything about the place, except the transportation.

That, along with the restrictions on resale will keep me from buying there.