I had an extremely frustrating experience with Ella at Rio Sands Hotel. I called regarding a reservation I had booked through Trip.com, and she was unable to locate or complete the reservation on her end. What made the situation worse was her complete lack of interest in helping resolve the issue. No matter what questions we asked or what solutions we suggested, she seemed determined not to help. The entire interaction gave the impression that she took pleasure in being unhelpful and was more interested in shutting down the conversation than assisting a guest. Rather than making any effort to investigate the problem or offer alternatives, she repeatedly focused on what she couldn't do. Customer service isn't about having all the answers--it's about making a genuine effort to help. Unfortunately, that was completely missing from this interaction. read more

I was not sure about not having air conditioning and almost canceled, but we decided to bring a box fan and try it. It was actually very cool and the room stayed nice with the breeze from the slider. We for sure would request the same first floor location next time as we loved the patio and walking across to the pool. Location is just around the corner from the beach so location is awesome. The desk person was really nice and helpful. Just ask for extra towels or trash pick up if needed. We will for sure be back! read more

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My dad had to stay here for a couple weeks. It was the cheapest motel he could find in the area. Property itself was very ran down. He was very unhappy here. There was people up above him that were up all hours partying. It sounded like the roof was gonna cave in. There was mold in the shower. Bed was uncomfortable. And he thought that he saw bedbugs in his bed. He didn't even like to use the shower because it was so disgusting. Location was perfect tho that's why I gave two stars. Right next to the boardwalk. read more

No glasses in the room. So if you need water you need to know that you need to bro g your own or walk down to the front t desk? WTH? We paid $318 for one night. You would think you could have a glass of water at bed! read more

Wonderful location, literally 500 feet from the beach. Very pleasant staff, clean and quiet room. Free coffee in reception, no breakfast as mentioned on the website. But so many good local alternatives anyway. Reception staff were wonderful too. I'm not sure what people expect from a cheaper hotel. Some of the reviews on here are terrible. You want luxury, go to a Marriott. We will be back. read more

Loved it! I thought it was going to be straight ghetto but turned out not bad at all. We stayed 2 nights. It is super close to the beach and the pool hot tub area was great. Even had a place to grill if we had wanted to. Only thing I would say could have been better would be to have so cups. The place had a small kitchen with full size fridge. However absolutely no cups,plates, bowls, or silverware of any kind. read more

Rio Sands Hotel - Living room with rollaway bed. - Hotels Near Me - Aptos, California

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The worst management ever watch out for this guy he is not professional I would never write another hotel room from this guy again Don't know his name but he's especially rude to me when I went outside to go have cigarette in my car he said you can't go outside and have a cigarette car I said well I'm not smoking in the hotel room he and he's like I don't give a good duck duck go anyways I'll leave it at that cuz I don't want to curse read more

We've been customers for 11 years. We've seen this place go through management/ownership changes. We came for our summer trip with our friends and got several rooms in July. Over the last few years, they got rid of the breakfast that we all loved and one of the reasons we booked there where it had a really good hot breakfast that the kids all loved. Part of the fun was the parents sitting at the fireplace in the breakfast room drinking coffee while kids ate. They took that away and gave a small carb breakfast that is very basic. We let the front desk know over the year or two that it was very disappointing and kind of a highlight of staying there that they had a good breakfast before. They said they had new management and they took that away. This year they completely closed the breakfast room down.I asked about coffee and they said they have coffee at the front desk. They also removed the coffee makers out of the hotel rooms. The office does not open up until 9 AM if someone is on duty and they are not always on duty. They have coffee ready when you finally get in there but 9:00 is really late for a 1st cup of coffee and that's if they even open in time. They don't keep the coffee going, runs out often. I noticed other customers seemed frustrated too about the coffee. They don't offer liquid creamer but little powder hardened packets. They used to have a nice little selection of tea at front desk. Not anymore! The kids used to run and get cocoa and I would get something to drink at bedtime. The pool now shuts down at 9:00pm sharp. Now they have a very strict manager who comes out and demands that you get out immediately at 9:01 PM and she will stand there and wait. There's definitely some attitude there. So there's no relaxing with your friends afterwards in the Hot Tub area like all of the years we've come for over a decade. Additionally, they didn't really have any lights on or any welcoming spaces if you can't be in the hot tub where you can gather with your friends like we all have in the past. Normally kids were playing and having a fun time, adults were enjoying an evening cocktail and maybe Hot Tub. It was just really magical and they have taken away everything magical at this hotel. So if we weren't frustrated enough, the last two years when we've stayed and invited friends the highly coveted rooms downstairs were hard to get, because everybody like to be out on the patio. I thought this place must be really busy. So we made a reservation sooner and made it work. Well we got this there this year it was like a ghost town. There were no people enjoying the patio or being out. Maybe one or two other customers might come out and use the patio, but it was no longer a magical space that people enjoy at this hotel. Then I noticed that several of the units downstairs are being lived in by employees or I don't know who else is living there, but it makes all of the customers uncomfortable to walk by to get out to the beach if you pass by the rooms where people live. Some of these rooms look like a hoarder situation and they have missmatching furniture and plants outside and make it very obvious that someone is living there and it's not hotel customers. I don't know why in the world they would put their best rooms out for rent or giving to employees. Also, it came to our attention when we needed some help they do not have a maintenance on site. We had to wait until checkout to get help. It's just not fun anymore, they don't have food, and now they've taken away the nice morning & evening atmosphere on the patio and the pool and Hot Tub. Also, now they have this door where you have to swipe your hotel card to get in from the inner patio to the office. This is terribly inconvenient if you need to get a towel for the pool. Especially if there is someone not on duty, you can't get pool towels anymore unless you catch them when they're behind the desk. Then they will give you these teeny little towels that are not barely big enough to wrap around your body. If you don't turn them all in on checkout, you will get charged. I can't imagine anyone stealing these towels as they are so thin and not great. I asked why they would spend money on a door like that where they having a security issue or why would you have that on an internal door and they said the new owner was making some upgrades. Well I hate to tell you that door is not an upgrade. It is a pain in the butt and no one can get in or out easily. You can't get a towel easily and those people at the front desk, one of them was really friendly but one was not but they're only there about half the time. They are constantly taking long breaks and it's just really bad customer service. Our friends and us will not be going back. Rio Sands, you really need to rethink your situation judging by our last day, there were barely any other customers. read more

Our family has been staying at this motel for 20+ years! Our stay this past week has been the upmost disappointing stay ever! We have always had wonderful memories with our kids and now our kids are grown and come with their friends. The kitchen suites use to be furnished with microwaves, coffee pots. They had a free hot continental breakfast at 7:30am in their banquet building. The location is amazing as it is a block to the beach. Well, all of that is gone except the block from the beach. Our room had no coffee, microwave, hand soap, breakfast. There were four of us and only 2 bath towels. Coffee is not available until 9am in the morning in the lobby(WTH!). Our toilet broke at 6am and we were told to contact the emergency number which we did and the person was asleep yawning in the phone said no one is on the property until 9am so we would have to use the bathrooms in the pool area or banquet room. They have taken away most of the amenities that make the stay enjoyable. The name has changed from motel to vacation rentals. I felt like we were paying for an airbnb. No hospitality. Coffee should be a staple first thing in the morning at 7am! I'm pretty sure there are people living in some of these rooms as some of the windows were personalized with signs, trinkets, string lights, a note of one of the doors said please deliver all packages to the front desk. Is the motel getting funding for low income housing??? When you pay for a motel/hotel you're paying for service and hospitality. When I spoke to the woman in charge in the morning she said we would be compensated. Never apologized. I told her we were leaving early because we had no working toilet. Very sad, very disappointed. For newbies staying, if you don't drink coffee or don't know what the motel offered in the past, this will be ok to stay. read more

We stayed at the Rio Sands hotel because there was no rooms at the Seacliff Inn that we were attending an event at. But, honestly we got the better deal at Rio Sands. Our room was nice and clean. The customer service at the front desk was good. They offer a nice continental breakfast in the morning that had plenty of options and also in a big room. The best part, it is a few minute walk to the beach. The only negative was there was no mirror above the sink. It was to my right on the wall. So it made shaving a bit difficult We look forward to return soon. read more

Rio Sands has been a destination for our family for about 35 years. The hotel has gone through several owners and overall the improvements have been great. My latest stay had one disappointment after another. Starting with check in. If you wanted to get in early there was a 30$ charge. Went to complimentary breakfast in the morning only to find out they stopped offering it in September even though web site still lists it. No more coffee makers in rooms and yes there is coffee in the office which doesn't open until 9am. Pool now doesn't open till 10am. Love the location, staff is great, I just wasn't prepared for all the negative changes. read more

Rio Sands Hotel - No more free breakfast - Hotels Near Me - Aptos, California

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Nearly every summer, I took my children to stay here for a weekend at the beach, and it was wonderful. Now that my kids are grown, I decided to take a solo trip and booked a room here, since I had such good experiences here. This was NOT the same hotel we used to love. Maybe new owners? It seemed like there are people living in the rooms now, and it was a mess. My key wouldn't work and it took staff over an hour to get situated. My room was so hot and stuffy. No AC. No more continental breakfast, but even higher rates now. The pool and bbq area is definitely in need of some TLC. It was sad to see such a gem become what it is now. read more

Great location but the staff is NOT friendly and won't do much to accommodate you. Owner of this motel should probably rethink staff choices. Also, checkin time is ridiculously late and they won't allow an earlier checkin time unless you pay! Who's keeping the money? Whoever checks you in?? We'll stay elsewhere. read more

Location, location, location! Walkable to one of my favorite beaches. I remember going to this beach as a kid when you could walk in the now sunken cement boat. The place is clean and nice outdoor area by the pool to chill and relax. Affordable read more

We had a really disappointing and super inconvenient experience at Rio Sands Hotel. We originally booked and paid for a family suite, but our room had a strong gas smell--bad enough that we had to be moved. The front desk put us in a junior suite, which is significantly cheaper and smaller. We didn't ask for a downgrade, we were just trying to avoid a potential safety issue. Every time I asked the receptionist about the price difference, she said the manager would call me. It's been over a week now, and after multiple voicemails and emails, still no return call. No apology, no explanation, no refund. Just silence. We got downgraded and still paid the higher rate. Not acceptable, and definitely not the kind of service anyone should expect. I won't be coming back. read more

Stayed in a room for 2 nights with my family. Man oh man can I say how excited I was to see this set up. So cute. So nice for a family of four with a room for my fiancé and I, and a room for our kids. Small cute kitchen and a back patio to let the cool breeze come in from the beach. It was super windy and rainy this trip but we made the best of it. Room was clean, front desk was really helpful and nice. It was like a mini apartment. Would definitely recommend and will definitely book again. read more

Charming. Close to the beach, clean and well-designed, quiet... Loved it and will stay here again. read more

Rio Sands Hotel - Drive down the hill to hotel - Hotels Near Me - Aptos, California

Cool place near the beach! Can't wait to explore more. Lots of space in the suite to spread out. read more

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I believe they recently changed management. The breakfast they offer now is horrible with very few options. Just waffles, oatmeal, and bread. They got new mattress's and they are awful as well! Me and my husband literally had the worst sleep ever on the hard as a rock mattress. They do not offer cots anymore either, just a mat for the floor. The hot tub jets were not working at all. The only plus side is the great location! read more

We have been going to Rio Sands for a decade now. Yes they have updated their furnishings and the location is still relatively clean for a low price inn. However so disappointed with their unhealthy breakfast options, all carbs and processed food!! They had Frosted Flakes and waffles. All white bread and processed options. Gone are the boiled eggs and fresh fruits. They kept the sugar junk OJ. So if you have kids, this is not the place. The junk breakfast is not worth the savings. Go somewhere else. read more

I have been coming here yearly at the same time for the days before Christmas. We painted rocks and left them in the rock beds, watched the kids swim in the heated pool and relaxed in the hot tub. It is a very short walk to the ocean. We enjoyed the continental breakfast and enjoyed the little things this place offered. The lobby had a nice tea and coffee bar all day in the lobby. This year's trip we first noticed all our rocks were gone (sad), the breakfast is no longer anything worth going to and no more tea. We thought maybe it was taken over by new ownership but they said no just lots of cutbacks were made. Very disappointed and maybe time to find a new place to stay next year. It is still a decent place to stay in a great location just lost its charm for me. read more

As a former employee I can vouch that the housekeeping do a great job of cleaning the rooms! Other than that it was very challenging to work with management and some employees who don't see the reality of these posts. read more

I was having both of my cars repaired. I thought I would treat myself to a nice stay before I move away. I was going to stay a week. my first room was great and perfect location. right by the pool. But not really adequate for my needs. I was moved to a room far down the facility right across from a building making LOUD construction noises ALL DAY LONG. I stayed five days and asked for 2 more but I was informed that the manager will not allow us to extend our stay. I asked for justification and documentation of any reason for not extending and so far she has not addressed my concern. p oor treating of paying customer 1300.00 so far. The working staff is great and take good care Brooke is very helpful and the rest aren't worth a tinkers Damn. It really.pisses me off that they can behave this way without repercussions. I Have not been presented with a valid reason for her decision and am waiting. By the way the breakfast is a joke lamest I have ever seen. Parking is a joke. It seems so far that the manager is a fool and should be terminated for extremely poor service. I have video of tv on and construction noise so loud You could nit hear TV . PRETTY PATHETIC. I really want a refund for the humiliation. read more

Pros: - close walk to the beach and delicious restaurants - bed is comfortable - outside pool area is well-kept and includes a hot tub - parking is easy - room was huge - enjoyed the balcony with tables Cons: - no AC - walls are paper thin; I can hear other doors closing and people talking near by - pool closes at 9PM read more

Great location near the beach. Wow. Nice rooms with comfortable beds and pillows. Refrigerator, microwave, coffee maker. What more do you need?? Nice front desk lady and a great price. You can walk a mile along the beautiful beach and then climb some stairs up into a little neighborhood that has a few restaurants and a great bar with a pool table. Very cool. I wouldn't stay anywhere else. read more

Price and location are great. Amenities and ease of making a reservation not so much. I tried to book on the Rio Sands' website but it said they had no more rooms for my dates. So i booked through an online booking service. When we arrived, hotel clerk told me they never got my request for a ground floor room and the only way to get one was to pay for an upgrade (which we did). We've stayed here several times in the past. They have cut back on little things we expected like a plastic bag for laundry, cups for drinking water, nice breakfast bar. The breakfast is still offered but it's greatly reduced. All that being said, it's clean and quiet. We will probably stay here again when we come into town. We used to live in Aptos so it's near everything we need. read more

We stayed here. My wife got bed bug bites down her leg. Horrible experience. We will never stay here again to say the least! The pool isn't heated no matter how much they want to say it is! The jets in the hot tub don't even work! You have to grab towels at the front desk they don't have any at pool area. The continental breakfast is mediocre at best. I called to let them know. They never got back to me to even apologize about the BED BUG situation! I wouldn't recommend this place. If you do stay. Proceed with caution! ‼ read more

We decided to get away for a weekend and were able to score a premium room at the last minute. A friend recommended this hotel, and says she and her family go there all the time, so I hit that "reserve room" button when I saw it was available. I was not disappointed. The room was very clean, bed was comfy, and my son said that the fold-out bed was even pretty comfortable. Our room was on the first floor and opened out onto the BBQ area with the pool and lots of little neat places to hang out. The only negative was that the hot tub was broken and I had booked this location mostly for the pretty hot tub under the stars. read more

Great location but if you need a place with running A/C this is not the place for you. Otherwise nothing else to Complain about! read more

Came here for a nights stay and I'm satisfied. We stayed in the jr. Suite. 2 queen beds and one pull out. The hotel yes is older but our room was clean and the exterior has been well maintained. They have a good size pool and picnic area with bbq 's and seating. I see in other reviews they say the walls are thin but I didn't experience this. Possibly because we had an end cap room. The beds were comfortable. The only downside is the rooms don't have AC and in our room there was only one ceiling fan over the pull out and one window, also by the pull out. The room felt stuffy and hot all night. The major plus of this location is just that the location! You are so close to Rio Del Mar beach. Only one block! I would come back based solely on this. Also when we called to reserve the room ( my sister) was told that the jr. Suite was $250 and the family suite was $275. This was not true-upon check in the jr. Suite ( our room) was $275 and her family suite was $348. I'm giving the benefit of doubt here and figure it was a misunderstanding because I sure hope the representative didn't just give fake prices to lure us in. I didn't get a chance to take pics before we destroyed the room so excuse our mess. read more

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Stood here February 11 - 13, 2022. Rooms need serious upgrades. Hair under my sheets, I didn't feel comfortable so I asked for a fresh set. I went to the front office and was assistant by Cali, working in the front. Cali is extremely rude, but laughs it off like she is playing. I also asked for swimming towels fir our 4 kids. Left and returned again for shower towels. We are a family of 6, but. Cali seemed disturbed by my request and asked me "Is there anything else? Because you will be coming in again asking for something else soon!" RUDE Then ofcourse she laughed it off in her passive manner. OH lets not forget when 9pm hit and it was time to get out of the pool Cali came in the gate and yelled out "9 o'clock, POOL CLOSED" thats it! Nothing genuine or nice about her. On another occasion she actually rolled her eyes at me, then smiled after!! Anyway kitchen sink was clogged the whole weekend. And they gave me USED kitchen spoonge. Of course I had to go to the office to ask for a new one. Kitchen does not come with pots or pans, no plates, cups, nothing. Bring your own everything. Literally was the worst sleep I have has in awhile because the walls are so thin. I can hear the people walking on top of us all night. Holes in the floor boards. Look like mice holes. Heater was COVERED in a layer of dust. The corners in the closets and room were filled with dust bunnies. I really didn't feel comfortable staying there, but it was paid for so we made the best of it. Pool wos okay, benefit was being only 2 blocks away from the ocean. Breakfast was okay. Continental, so nothing fancy. Kids were satisfied. We will NEVER be coming back, even if its for free. read more

Rio Sands Hotel - Mice chewing? - Hotels Near Me - Aptos, California

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BEWARE OF MANAGER! Manager bases her decisions on personal feelings instead of customer service and logic. We were kicked out and charged $500 and were accused of smoking weed in the hotel room, which we did not do. (She has admitted she herself is against cannabis) We were also racially profiled and when confronted about the charges, she made up a bunch of stories to fit her narrative, lying through her teeth. She said we made a lot of noise on the first night when only one person of the group was there the first night. Make that make sense. They were also a hassle when we asked for towels, almost stingy about them. Super unprofessional and hostile management, and from looking at these other 1-star reviews, they all sound like very similar experiences unfortunately. DO NOT COME HERE, YOU WILL BE DISRESPECTED AND OVERCHARGED! read more

Recently our family to a trip to Santa Cruz and we stayed at the Rio sands hotel. I pre booked the room which was not refundable before I read the reviews. That was a big mistake! I read reviews about customers that were charged after check out for dirty towels, sheets etc. That happened to us. My son had a accident and around 11 pm at night we needed all new bedding. The employee was polite and brought us the bedding. She told me to put the old bedding in the bag and put it downstairs near the stairwell. I did exactly that. After check out we had a ridicouls $325 dollar charge on our credit card. I called the hotel they were extremely rude and told me we soiled the bedding and its a replacement cost. I explained to her what happened that night and at no time did they tell us about a charge when they replaced the bedding. The front desk was rude and was not willing to listen. I asked for a manager and she hung the phone up on me. The room was not nice at all and we paid $400/night for a motel 6 type of room. We ordered a kitchen and it did not have any dishware, silverware, cups etc. If you want that you have to pay $50 to rent the dish set. I have never heard of that in my life. Avoid this place at all costs. The quality of the hotel and the poor customer service ruined our trip. Don't be fooled by the breakfast, we got there at 0830 hours and all that was left was hard boiled eggs, bread and coffee. We had to leave and go pay for breakfast. There are better hotels near by and for $400 a night you can get a air b and b with more space and better amenities. I'm convinced that this hotel scams their customers purposely adding charges to your credit card after checking out read more

The 1st time I stayed at this MOTEL, we booked a Family suite w a kitchen. No pots, no pans, no necessities that are needed for a "kitchen". Then we pulled out the pull out couch for my son and the mattress was covered in mold. Gross! The bathrooms are barely up to par, there is no where to put toiletries or really anything, and these rooms are small. We thought we'd give it another chance since a group of our friends (who frequent this Motel) were going with their families for a long weekend. What a mistake! From the night we arrived we were harassed by the staff. It wasn't even "quiet hours" yet, and the front desk girl acknowledged that it was early, but proceeded to tell us the kids needed to quiet down. Out of respect for the rest of the guests at the MOTEL, we shushed our kids all night long. But to my surprise...when I walked down to the most pathetic Continental breakfast ever, almost every room was vacant! It all continued the rest of the weekend. The front desk would barely hand out towels for the pool, we asked for garbage bags and they asked "for what"?!! All the kids wanted to go in the hot tub after a beach day, the front desk girl came out, telling us that one of the younger children should not be in there because he had red cheeks. Give me a break!!! He was sunkissed from the beach and absolutely none of her business. So unprofessional and just flat out rude! The attitude from the front desk staff was so uncalled for and completely disrespectful,. I have never been treated this horribly. Customer service is clearly a lost art at the Rio Sands! The icing on the cake is the outrageous price they charge for this place. What a shame!! read more

HOSTILE MANAGEMENT-NOT WELCOMING TO FAMILIES. We had a terrible experience at the Rio Sands this weekend after coming here for many years. Despite their claims of being "family friendly" and even offering rooms specifically for families, the staff seemed to have a real issue with children being present. The management was consistently hostile and rude, addressing us with visible irritation and dismissive attitudes. Whenever we asked what we were doing wrong, they had no clear responses or constructive feedback. At one point, we were informed that we were violating the spa capacity--an important detail that was never posted anywhere. Even though we immediately complied, we were threaten to be kicked out. After leaving the pool area entirely, we were reprimanded for leaving the pool gate open. I'm pretty confident that having a self closing, self latching gate around a pool is a law in California. Not sure how the hotel guests are responsible when a gate doesn't shut properly. This place is a disappointment and not at all welcoming to families. Save yourself the hassle and look elsewhere. read more

we loved are bunk bed room for our kids they loved it we also love the turf next to the pool the pool was pretty warm still great hotel

The people having a party at 1pm near the pool area it was load and could not open the sliding door for air cause it was too loud!! No air conditioners read more

This hotel is absolutely horrendous. Me and our family went on vacation and stayed here. First of all the units in this hotel ARE ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE. They are ran down and old. They charge you for glassware even though they have kitchens. The breakfast selection is terrible they only have hard boiled eggs and juice, THATS IT. And the worst part of this whole experience was how they charged me for extra towels that apparently "weren't in the room after Check Out" wtf. I called management and everything and no one has helped me figure it out. NEVER STAY HERE!!!!! read more

Rooms need a major upgrade. The pool/lounge area and proximity to the beach are what make this place desirable. The curtains in our room had mold on them, I found a piece of parsley floating in our son's bath (it was def not from us), and the toilet was loose and shook when you sat down. Night time was LOUD, the walls are paper thin. We would go back due to the pool and lounge area plus how close to the beach it is. I hope they put some $$ into upgrading the rooms, especially the bathrooms. read more

This was a great place to stay, we thought. We were there 5 days while visiting a relative in the area. Nice room, comfortable bed, easy walk to a restaurant, decent breakfast. But...3 weeks later got a bill for damage to the room!! $120! Called the hotel and they said that we stained the duvet, pillowcases, and towels. News to us. We didn't have any nosebleeds, spill coffee, or anything we know of. I said as much to the front desk person, but she said that housekeeping reported it so we would be billed, period. I asked for photos, but they said there weren't any. We are senior citizens, not partiers, quiet and certainly not the damaging kind. So beware if you stay here, you may get billed for something mysterious long afterward! read more