After reading the many terrible reviews on Rio Napa I couldn’t help but expect bad things, it turns out – I was right to. Although Rio Napa was the cheapest accommodation in Ayia Napa (other than workers accommodation) at only £20 a night for the room it was not worth the money. The reason I stayed in Rio Napa was because I didn’t want to stay in Workers accommodation due to it not being very suitable for couples and I was very quickly running out of money so had to resort to the cheapest apartment I could find!
Let’s start off by showing you the ‘pool view’ that I requested:
And yes that is an empty swimming pool in peak-season in Ayia Napa. To the right of this pool there was actually an unused pool bar which was surprising to see. Rio Napa is very out of the way in Ayia Napa compared to most other hotels, the only good thing about its location is that it is seconds from ‘River Reggae’ a popular after party night-club.
One thing I did find amusing in the apartment were the picture frames they had up on the walls:
Yes, it is painted on! There must have been at least 5 of these beauties in the apartment. I understand that it saves on maintenance (no need to replace their picture frames) but surely the wall would look far better bare?
Let’s go back to when I arrived… I was ignored, for over an hour! The worst customer service I have ever experienced – ‘Christian’ the wonderful receptionist should not have a job.
First of all, the reception did not have a computer – so I was sent off down the road (dragging my suitcase and breaking my handbag on the way) to print off my check-in details, this is not fun in 30-odd degrees heat! The total of this print-out came to 3 euros 80 – which I asked Rio Napa to pay for but the receptionist conveniently couldn’t speak English after I asked that.
We were then made to pay a 40 euro deposit (double how much the room itself cost). Eventually we got our room key, this was after a couple of hours had passed since arriving – we were lead to our room, it was obvious I was struggling with my suitcase but there was no help offered to me.
When we got to the door, it did not lock/unlock properly it took him a few attempts – this is usually a sign to move the room, but no he left us with the key and walked off. Below are Pictures I took of the room:
As you can see from the picture above I had to plug up a large gap at the bottom of the door with a towel, it was a big invitation for cockroaches and other creepy crawlies to enter the apartment.
If you look closely in that last picture you’ll notice the armchair in the corner is broken (also one of those paintings on the wall). After a thorough look around, I discovered hair in the plug-holes, towels that didn’t match (possibly guests leftovers), plugs that wouldn’t reach their plug points, a draw full of broken cutlery, the furniture was damaged, the shower was held together with tape, the pans for cooking were dirty, there were footprints on my pillow and blood spots on the bed.
The whole time I stayed here and even afterwards when I was staying at Simos Magic I felt disgusting, like I needed a really long shower… Unfortunately though the Simos Magic shower wasn’t much better so I remained feeling filthy until I arrived home on the 7th July 2012.
So in conclusion, I will never stay here again. However this place would be suited for people on a budget, backpackers and groups – although it is not suitable for people that like their sleep, please remember if you are considering this hotel you will be right next to the popular Ayia Napa nightclub (River Reggae) that stays open until 7am.
