Ups and downs - unfortunately most downs

I booked my room at Riva Resatbey Hotel through Agoda and asked for airport pickup, since I arrived at Adana from Istanbul at 2:40 and I didn’t want to have the trouble with cash money for the taxi – but the hotel didn’t arrange the pickup, hence after waiting for more than half an hour outside the airport, I finally got a taxi to the hotel. I informed the driver about my lack of money and that the hotel would have to pay him and he was fine with that. After arriving at the hotel, it took a lot of persuasion to get the staff in the reception to pay him, but finally one of the men gave me 200 TRY to pay for the taxi – but it ended being a private deal and not done by the hotel – which failed at picking me up. I later withdrew cash and paid him back. The room – 112 – had several flaws which should not be something that the guest had to worry about. Here is my list: • The floor in the shower was slippery – very slippery – just waiting for someone to fall and get badly hurt. • The showerhead was stuffed with limestone, regularly cleaning should be done for the comfort of the guests – I did the cleaning myself – at least the head got rubber jets that are easy to rub clean. • The toilet brush was dirty and broken – buy some really cheap ones you can easily and cheaply replace – not these ‘sophisticated’ expensive ones. • The caulking work in the shower was a butchered job, get proper people to do a good job, it looked only half-baked. • The safe in the wardrobe didn’t work as the mixed-brand batteries had ‘sweated’ their guts out and destroyed the electronics. Buy good quality, change all at the same time and use the same brand, so you don’t destroy your investment – the safe itself. • They put up another safe, but as it was not attached to the shelf, it meant that you could just take the entire safe under your arm and walk away with it. • The curtain rails were not fitted with proper stops, so when I let the morning light in, the curtains in the left side dropped to the floor. The maintenance team ‘fixed’ it with stuffing paper into the rail ends! Do proper repairs – or keep suffering for continuous bad fixes, as you do now. • The double doors could not close, the locking handle on the left side was locked, but the door could slide open – the same with the right side which did not have a locking mechanism. Due to being unlocked, the street noise came in through the gaps. The location of the hotel is fine, and the cleanliness was also fine. The staff was not overly diligent, but all in all very OK and polite. The breakfast was with a good selection of food, something for all. For the price, the hotel must do a better job keeping the rooms in perfect order, this is not a low-priced hotel. For that reason, I will not recommend this hotel. For all other reasons, I will recommend the place.

Surprisingly a pleasant stay

You expect a typical formal hotel, but the clerks and all the staff are quite helpful. Most important the people there are genuine. I had only stayed for 2 nights, but the beds were quite comfortable and the room was quiet, clean and adequate. I was fortunate enough to come across buffet breakfast because it was during the weekend. The meals were pretty decent with pancakes, scrambled eggs and typical Turkish breakfast with different kinds of cheese and olives. Beside breakfast, the pricing of the restaurant were decent and they ranged from relatively between 30 tl to 70 tl. (At least that’s what I remember of, and depending on what you order) The hotel has its own parking spot and is located at a very convenient spot, just opposite a walking distance to the park and the landmarks of Adana such as the mosque and the ancient bridges as well as a 15 minute away from the ancient bazaar. Most taxi drivers also know the hotel, but I would recommend for the visitors to carry the hotels card for just in case.