The Riverside Hotel — Hotel in Garden City

Completely disappointed, we staycation at the Riverside several times a year. It's close to home and down town to go out for drinks and dinner. We came in for Valentines weekend. I had made reservations several months ahead to male sure we got our favorite remodeled jaccuzzi suite we always stay at. Its off to the side of the property (away from the noise) and newly remodeled. When we came to check in at the front desk we were informed that we ( someone with all our info) had called and canceled our reservation that morning at 8am and the room was already occupied by some one else. I said that there must have been a mistake. They said the caller had my name, knew which room we were in and my phone number. That seems weird that someone had all our info down to which exact room to cancel. They passed it off as someone we know must have done it. None of our friends knew what hotel or room we were in. We believe it was someone on staff who had given our info to a friend or fam member to cancel and rebook for them. Seems odd that someone would cancel that specific room at 8am and it be rebooked by some one within 2 hours later. When we spoke to the front manager he was very courteous but said there wasnt anything they could do but get us another room at the normal rate ( $158 for the night) and a $50 card to be used at the property. Really after with all the issues, thats the best they could do? We reluctantly accepted the alternate room (where else could we go?) . Unfortunately the room they gave us was by the pool and there is basicaly a pool party with loud music at the heated pool till 10pm. Theres goes our quiet weekend without kids. The non remodeled room had an odd smell to it. We ordered room service from the special Valentines menu with our $50 gift card. The food was terrible, my wifes chiken dish was under cooked and not safe to eat. My pork belly tacos were something on par with mc donalds. When we checked out we asked for the GMs contact info. I reached out to her and explained our situation and told her we believed someone with access to our information working inside the hotel gave it out to cancel as a favor to some one else to get that specific room. She told me she would look into it and call me back. She called back an hour later and said there was nothing she could find and there was nothing she could do. Wow as a business owner myself there are plenty of things they could have done. Offering a 2 day comp to stay in the room we orginaly paid for would have been great, refunding our money for the room we stayed in that was loud and not upto the standards we were expecting wpuld have worked as well. 2 easy things that would have made everything better. The only redeeming parts of this place is the wonderfull consignment local art work on the walls and the good complimentary buffet breakfast they have. I used to like this place, we wont ever being staying there again and have told all of our friends the same. Unfortunately this review could have been avoided as well if they had provided some kind of...

My family and I have stayed at this hotel many times over the past few years. Our most recent visit was on 2/17/2024. I could write a book, but I will just highlight the issues we experienced.

1. The front desk Manager, Kendall, checked us in. She argued about the pet room we previously stayed in; to the point that I wanted to walk out an find another hotel. She kept answering the phone while we were trying to check in and select a room. She was so very rude and unaccommodating, that we had to ask for the hotel manager to assist us. He did make it right (for the most part). The front desk employees need some training on how to provide good customer service. I would say that at least half of the employees lack basic skills for the job in which they are paid to do. The whiteboard behind the front desk asks the employees to jot down their "toxicity". There was one noted, "venomous saliva". REALLY? So unprofessional. I have included a photo, but it's not really legible.

The hotel smells musty and the rooms are quite dated. The noise level from above is unbearable. We also had to endure marijuana smoke bellowing under the door from the adjoining room. It was so bad that we had to move rooms (clear across the the property). It really is a maze when trying to locate your room and find adequate parking.

The pool does not open until 4:00 pm. This is a real disservice for guests that have longer stays. We used the pool Saturday night around 7:30 pm. There were no towels and three of the propane heaters were not operational due to running out of propane. It would have been nice to have the heaters operational, as the temps were pretty chilly that evening.

There are no pet stations in the designated pet areas. This is obvious by the large amount of dog feces all over the property. They charge a $50 pet fee. Perhaps the hotel can use these funds to provide pet waste disposal bags and an area for the dogs to roam.

The complimentary breakfast was terrible. The line wrapped around toward the front hotel check-in area. The food was cold, and the selection was so limited. The hotel did not stay on top of replenishing the food they ran out of. Seems like many of the food options have been eliminated from just 6 months ago. We were given to-go boxes for our breakfast and was told we could eat in our room. There was such a bottleneck where the waffle maker is located. Guests had to wait for guests to finish making their waffle to access other breakfast items. Such a poor set-up! The hotel should have a waffle maker station with more than one waffle maker. There was a good amount of children there and we all know that most kids are going to opt for a waffle over other foods offered.

We really used to look forward to our stay at Riverside. It has really gone downhill and is not worth the room rate charged. Of course, we won't be back. There are better...

Overall, we had a great time but things could be improved with some effort.

It’s very confusing to find anything and I wasted a lot of time being lost. There’s no sign to the pool or fitness room. Good luck finding the fitness room! You’ll need a compass and map. I got exercise looking for it. You have to go outside behind the pool in a separate building. Follow sign to Sandlot which is the restaurant near the pool. Please management, put up signs! I found a maid who helped me find it. It was worth finding.

There are no elevators so you may have to carry all your things up a lot of stairs. It's not easy bringing your suitcase down them either. And you might get stares from people at a business event below.

They have a weird system for breakfast. I had a small plate of fruit. You need to wait to be seated and they give you a bill at the end and a voucher to cover it. I think, so you leave a tip. However, it’s self-serve except for the drinks. I didn't eat anything except fruit so I can't speak to it but I didn't see anything like cold cereal or pieces of fruit. But eggs, bacon, etc. and omelets made to order (I wish I was hungry enough to get one). Plus it has long hours - until 11am.

The pool is only open 4pm to 10pm when it’s not summer. I hear it opens at different time in May and it might be around 10am but it changes so check. It's worth checking because the pool is awesome.

The pool is very warm. It’s so great in the spring when no one else has a pool open, especially an outdoor pool. The hot tub is great too. The river is right nearby so the ducks might join you in the pool. The pool is also quite large and has nice large towels. Lots of pool furniture too. There's live music even during the week when we were there. I loved that! The restaurant had live music too that you could hear in the lobby.

The fitness room is roomy. There are coin operated washers and dryers in the fitness room.

You’re right next to the trail and they have bikes to rent for $10 an hour. Plus scooters you can rent along the trail. We went for an hour ride (30 minutes out and 30 back) and they let us use helmets. Loved it.

There are games indoors and out. Books, puzzles and a large checker game inside. Larger checkers and chess outside. A very thoughtful addition that makes it feel more like a guest house in those ways.

The heating system was cold and blew on my face until I turned it off. I wish they would replace the carpet on some of the stairs and hall (very worn). The business meetings are sort of integrated with everything else.

Didn't try the restaurants or room service so I can't speak to them.

If you read this Riverside management, PLEASE put up signs in the hall to the pool, the workout room and the stairs. It would save so much frustration. We don't know what...