Riva Marina Resort

Hire a car and exit the dual carriageway for Specchiola turn LEFT at the end of the exit road. The road bends then runs parallel to the main road. The resort is a little way down on the right. The staff were excellent. The rooms spotless. The restaurant is noisy because the Italians seem to travel in large groups and enjoy each others company. We were more jealous than bothered. The resort is massive and a lot of concrete softened by trees and gardens.. The local restaurants had closed for the season but we had no problem with food in the hotel. The only diet drink available was Coke Zero in the pool bar dispenser. Strangely no Lemonade. Breakfast is continental. Pizza by the pool in the afternoonr. The evening meal is a choice of two pastas, soup followed by a choice of 3 mainsand fruit or pastries. Specchiola, is seaside but drab. Most of the local beaches do have rocky areas and seaweed. The resorts beach is easily walkable and they lay on a 'train' from the back of the resort to the beach returning regularly. All inclusive gets you two beds and an umbrella on the beach and there is also an all inclusive bar. Get trains to Lecce or Bari. We booked on Trainline app and it was so cheap. Research the wonderful cities and towns before you go. Don't trust the SatNav - roads get closed on market days. Excursions are available, I think we would be bored without a car. Finally, the Italians have a set dance routine to everything, a bit like line dancing, so sit back and enjoy.

We just came back from a very pleasant all inclusive stay at Riva Marina Resort in Italy. We loved the clean room, food and friendly staff (eventhough most staff didn’t speak English). There was a playground and a separate swimming pool for babies/toddlers. We loved the free pizza every day at the swimming pool and the drinks. We had to pay for bottled water, chips and ice cream, but that was okay for us. The resort also had a private part on the beach, which was only a 5 minute drive away with the resort-train/bus. We have a lot of respect for the members of the animation team, who were always friendly and chearful. But also respect for the cleaning staff, restaurant staff and everybody else who are working very hard to keep the large number of guests happy. We had great time and we will definately return to Riva Marina Resort! *** Family room: Pros: * clean and spacious * air conditioning in both living and bed room * free wifi at request * free baby bed at request Cons: * dated shower Restaurant: Pros: * fixed table * extensive choice of food * friendly staff Cons: * noisy because of large number of guests

The hotel is lovely, so clean and very family friendly. This hotel is very popular with Italian families and you are in the minority if you aren't Italian, but after all you are in Italy. The pool is amazing, very clean and big. There ISN'T constant entertainment as previously commented. There is entertainment for a couple of hours in the morning and the afternoon. You do have to wear swimming caps you can buy these there for 2.5euros from the lifeguards, I would recommend buying them there as they are lot comfier than our swimming caps. The Italians would go for a siesta from about 1-4pm, so the pool was very quiet as these times. There is a little train that runs every 20 mins or so to the beach, its only a short journey. We didn't go to the beach much as the kids preferred the pool, but it was lovely. There is a little bar on the beach and toilets. The food was lovely, fresh pizzas during the day and buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner. They griddle fresh meat at lunch and dinner too. Not a massive selection, but what was on offer was lovely. You are assigned a table at the start of your holiday, which we thought was a fantastic idea so you were rushing down to get a table. Rooms- fantastic, very spacious and clean. we had a clothes horse outside which was perfect. I would highly recommend hiring a car, the hotel is only 20 minutes drive from Brindisi Airport. We visited Bari, Lecce, Monopoli, Brindisi and Alberbello which were all within an hour's drive from the hotel. It's very dissappointing reading some of the reviews having only given this lovely hotel 1 star because they wanted a relaxing break away with no children, surely thats not the hotels fault you haven't researched properly and why haven't you book adults only? Saying no one spoke English is not the case at ALL, the host Giarriamo (not sure about spelling) spoke multiple languages and a lot of the staff spoke a little English. If people bothered to learn basic sayings it would be a lot simpler for them. When staff spoke to my family in Italian we simply replied 'Non parla italiano' and they then replied 'English?'.....simple!