Rio Sands Hotel — Hotel in Capitola

Stayed here recently with a group of people in multiple rooms. We found it to be a family-friendly hotel in a nice location, a short block from the beach. Nearby there is a great little deli, a decent (though slightly pricey) restaurant with some good seafood/steak, coffee shop, and market -- pretty much everything you need for an extended stay.

The pool area/grounds were clean and had BBQ pits available to us, which I thought was neat.

Some of the rooms appeared to have been completely renovated and had that great "new furniture and hardwood flooring" smell, and in general were the kind of rooms you'd expect in a higher priced hotel in the area. The rooms yet to undergo the renovation were clean, comfortable and well maintained, but obviously not 'new' like the renovated rooms were.

Staff was very nice and accommodating. The breakfast area was nicer than most similarly priced accommodations in the area offer (also appeared to have been newly redone) and the continental breakfast selection was satisfactory. Free wifi internet access was of great quality and allowed me to get a little work done while we were resting between outings.

Only real complaint would be the noise from occupants on the floor above us. Either they were exceedingly heavy footed, or the hotel could benefit from some sort of noise reduction between floors. And I suppose a minor complaint would be that one of the rooms our group stayed in had no ceiling fan or AC (not generally a necessity on the coast, but nice for those who prefer to sleep in a cooler environment), and it felt a little stuffy at night with sliding door closed (ground level). That said, the staff did provide a fan for the room when asked the rest of the stay was comfortable; kids loved the bunk beds.

Either we had an exceptional experience, or it seems management has been improving their service and accommodations. Overall, we wouldn't hesitate to stay here again and likely will...

Check in was easy and front desk help were friendly. However not trained as well as they should be, as they struggled to give me a cash receipt. Room was very nice and clean. Clearly rooms have been remodeled recently. I liked the bed as it was firm, and king bed came with four large pillows. They all have balconies or back porch. I would probably recommend downstairs as porches seems nicer. Our room had a small refrigerator and coffee pot. Biggest complaints would be TV never worked. It would turn on but no signal for channels. We were not there to watch TV but like to watch the news. Called several times and were promised someone would come fix it. We stayed three days, and they never came. I see this in other reviews for them so it's clearly an issue that needs to be addressed. Pool and hot tub close too early 9:00PM. Other issue would be their continental breakfast. It's in a beautiful room and lots of seating. Has juice, coffee, waffle maker, toast and cereal. Some sort of yogurt machine that didn't work. So, no yogurt. I prefer something individually package in these situations and yogurt is a must for many people. Also, no flavored creamer, come on these days that's a must. We went and purchase some and left it. Location is good and beach is right there, however it's kind of dirty in that section. You really have to go down the beach a bit to find a nice spot. There is a nice restaurant right at the beach called Venus and I would recommend it. Overall, I would stay there again even though price was a little high for what we got. It's a cute place with friendly help and...

I stayed at this hotel on June 7, 2021 and will not be returning. When checking out I requested a copy of my receipt be emailed. Cynthia couldn't do this but said she would mail one. It's been over a week. I still haven't received a receipt. I called the same day I checked out realizing I had left a few items behind, indicated my room number, and again Cynthia told me she'd leave a note for someone and call me back. No call back after a couple of days I checked in again. No update per Cynthia, but would leave another note and call me. Today is June 15th and I called again and guess who I got- Cynthia. No news and nothing has been done. How hard is it to leave a note for housekeeping to tell them on the day of check out the room I stayed in belongings were left behind and to note this and place with lost & found so I could pick up on my next round. If Maggie, GM you're reading this please note your customer service sucks and there are too many properties that are available in the area, are nicer, more updated, and less expensive. I've stayed here more than a dozen times and will NEVER return. Lousy way to operate a business!!! And, I'm tired of the Covid excuse. Guess what, others are thrilled to be open and appreciate having return customers. Your property has fallen way short. Good some better follow through people at your front desk. I've done the hotel desk job in my earlier days. It's not that...