Thames Riviera Hotel, Sure Hotel Collection by Best Western

We booked and paid for our stay in advance, but when we arrived at the hotel it was locked, abandoned, unstaffed, and in a state of disrepair. Why did they take our booking in the first place? A passer-by told us it had been closed for about two years.

Very disappointing. From the website and the price point we expected a nice hotel… what we experienced was a motel at the back of a pub that happened to be in a good location next to the Thames. Such a pity as this could be a lovely hotel but the breakfast was very underwhelming and unappetising, the showers were either scalding hot or cold and the overall ambience was seedy.

After being let down by AirBnB, our friends booked the Thames Riviera Hotel for an overnight stay, as we were dining close by in Bray, and didn’t want to travel home after a late finishing meal. Despite them sending us a message to say our rooms were ready, we were told they weren’t when we actually arrived to check in. We were told to wait in a bar, that wasn’t open, and no tea or coffee was offered. When we finally got to our rooms, which were advertised as “newly renovated” (I’ve no idea when) although clearly not recently, as very visible cobwebs hung from the ceiling mouldings over the bed! Hole in clothes closet covered over with duct tape! Only one bedside lamp working…was told they’d have to take a lightbulb from another room, to replace ours! Bed not especially comfortable..cheap mattress! Bathroom “renovated” but using old bath tub! View out the window nice as our room overlooked the river! Staff very indifferent as to whether we stayed there or not! Buffet breakfast…was ok! Go…if you absolutely have to and can’t find anywhere else!

After looking at a few local venues for a birthday party, the hotel is a hidden gem. Amazing river views and the venue lent itself perfectly for events, including use of the conference room with restaurant and bar. The food and drinks were excellent as was the support provided, including set up and set down. The staff were all really friendly and helpful.

It is located on the banks of the river Thames, do make a booking for the river facing room. It can be a little difficult to reach via public transportation on public holidays but apart from that the location is easily convenient for travelling from public transportation. We were given a nature-facing room with a balcony view of the river from the side. The room was clean and the furniture added to the beautiful aesthetic of the room. The washroom was huge with ample shower area. The rooms were clean and we were provided with complimentary tea, coffee, and sugar packets. We were unable to operate the heater and the night manager kindly assisted us with the same. He had been extremely cooperative and I am thankful to him for making our visit memorable. I would visit this property again but preferably book a river-facing room.

Check in was upstairs - to be honest there seem to be stairs everywhere. The stair carpets need a hoover as the dark carpet shows all the bits. When we checked in we were told we would have to go back downstairs to speak to the restaurant staff as we wanted to request a table in a quiet corner (I’m a cancer patient and clinically vulnerable) - I was exhausted- why couldn’t the reception sort this? Our room was lovely with great river views and it was very clean. Bedding clean and crisp but pillows hard and thin as was the duvet. No water in our room. Dinner was good- but service was soo slow that after waiting 45 mins we just gave up on dessert. The next morning the hotel seemed to have turned into Fawlty Towers. We were told there had been a leak and were directed downstairs via a metal external fire escape in the pouring rain. Once in the dining room there were no staff to greet us. The coffee machine was broken (to be fair a man did come and mend it). The buffet was… a tray of water, tomatoes, rubbery things (possibly eggs), 4 hash browns, yellow remnants of scrambled eggs, a puddle of beans and some scraps of mushrooms. We were told they were bringing some bacon and the sausages would arrive tomorrow! There were just two slices of white bread and the toaster was set to just warm one side of the bread. I adjusted the toaster for them so that it toasted both sides perfectly when they eventually brought more bread. One lady told us someone else had come into her room in the middle of the night as they got the wrong room but the key worked anyway! Would I stay again? - yes but I hope they learn from these mistakes. It could be great.

Beautiful hotel. The room was magnificent with views over the Thames and big bay windows. The food was excellent and the staff were outstanding. Breakfast offers everything you could want. Can highly recommend this hotel, have already booked another trip Thank you

We had an amazing time at this Hotel, the room was immaculate and the staff were really professional and accommodating. Beautiful location next to the water and lovely views during breakfast and dinner. We chose this hotel due to its location and we couldn't have been happier with our choice.

We arrived at this hotel, to be told the reception was up a flight of stairs( not practical when we had 4 elderly family members) We were then sent out to our rooms which were in the building at the back of the hotel ( another 3 flights of stairs) Corridors were grubby, damp and had a damp odour. Our rooms were so cold, heating not working in one of our rooms. No radiators, heating was a fan that blew out heat. Just awfull! Found a bug crawling on my bag, after seeing this I pulled back sheets on the bed to find hairs in the bed. We left hotel, we could not stay here and had to try find another hotel at such short notice, which was difficult and we had a family funeral the following morning. Also i have emailed hotel a week ago and no reply back. Disgusting!!