Riva Hua Hin Review: I Stayed 3 Nights at This New Hotel

I spent three nights at Riva Hua Hin in July, a newly opened hotel on Khao Takiab beach. It didn’t have many reviews yet, but the photos looked amazing and the location was ideal, so I trusted my instinct and booked the Garden Sea View Room with breakfast. In this review I’ll tell you exactly how much sea view we actually got, how much we paid and whether I’d book it again.

My husband and I had a few free days and only one plan: getting out of Bangkok for a change of scenery. We settled on Hua Hin for the beach walks and the local markets, and while looking for somewhere to stay I stumbled across Riva. What got me hooked was the oceanfront pool and the warm, earthy design that looked incredibly relaxing.

❤️ This article contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support.

Quick Overview: My Stay at Riva Hua Hin


Location	Directly on Khao Takiab beach
Room we stayed in	Garden Sea View Room
What we paid	฿16,954 for 3 nights, including breakfast (roughly ฿5,651 / $168 a night)
Style	Organic, natural and modern, with lots of texture and a well-kept garden
Best for	Couples and families looking for a relaxing stay
Getting into town	Songthaew stop a few steps from the hotel, running all the way into central Hua Hin or Grab taxi
My review	★★★★★

Riva Hua Hin is the third property from the Riva group, after Riva Surya and Riva Arun in Bangkok, and it’s a good pick if you want something more considered than the standard Hua Hin resort. Book it for quiet pool days and long beach walks, or if you’re travelling with a dog. Skip it if you want to walk into town, or if you need a hotel with a spa and a gym.

Check the prices and availability at Riva Hua Hin

Riva Hua Hin Location

Riva Hua Hin sits in Khao Takiab, the southernmost part of town. If you’ve read my guide on where to stay in Hua Hin, you’ll know I prefer staying towards the southern area at Takiab beach, as it feels calmer not only on the beach itself but also around the main road.

From the hotel it’s a seven-minute drive to the BluPort mall, a 25-minute walk to the Tamarind Market, and just a short walk to the other side of the beach, hidden behind the little cape with the big golden Buddha statue. That beach connects to Suan Son Beach, which runs all the way to Khao Tao, and that’s perfect if you’re into very long beach walks.

The location is genuinely quiet, and I didn’t hear any traffic noise at all, even though the main hotel building sits right by the road.

Where to stay in Hua Hin - Riva Hua Hin Hotel

Staying at Riva Hua Hin: My Experience

How I got to Riva Hua Hin

I live near Ekkamai Bus Station in Bangkok, which has a direct minivan connection to Hua Hin. I bought the tickets in advance on 12Go Asia and I’m glad I did, because the van was full. The journey was smooth and took about four hours, and we got off just opposite the BluPort mall, grabbed a Grab and were standing in front of the hotel a few minutes later.

Hotel Book before prices climb eSIM The eSIM I recommend to visitors Insurance What I tell every reader to sort first Transport How I get around between cities

Arrival and Check-In

The reception area is stunning. It’s half open to the outside, and the first thing that struck me was the sound of the water wall, along with the massive ceiling installation shaped like sea waves.

The staff were very welcoming and brought us a little tray with hot towels, a drink and some small Thai sweets. Official check-in is at 3pm, but we were lucky and got into our room about two hours earlier.

The Hotel

The hotel has 40 rooms and villas split into two sections. The rooms are in the four-floor main building, which is also where the reception is and where we stayed, and the villas sit between that building and the pool. A nicely kept path with lots of greenery leads through the middle, with music playing across the property that instantly sets the holiday mood.

My favourite part was the pool overlooking the beach, along with the seating area in front of the small restaurant where breakfast is served.

The Room

We booked the Garden Sea View Room on the third floor and paid ฿16,954 for three nights including breakfast, which works out at around ฿5,650 (168 USD) per night.

The rate we paid was a bit above what you’ll usually see on Agoda and Booking.com, but that’s probably because we booked last minute and stayed over a weekend that ran into a Thai bank holiday. The Mountain Deluxe and Garden View rooms are also slightly cheaper.

Was there a sea view?

Honestly, I’m not sure I’d advertise it that way. What we mostly saw were the villa roofs and a tiny strip of sea, with a wall blocking part of it. For us it was a small detail, but if you’re expecting a proper sea view, this is worth knowing. You’d probably need a room on the fourth floor to see more of it.

The room itself

At 30 sqm it was lovely and brand new, with a super comfortable king bed and a balcony with outdoor seating. There was a small fridge with a minibar, and they leave small bottles of water free of charge every day.

The bathroom had a walk-in shower with beautiful green tiles and the usual shower gel, shampoo and conditioner combo, plus body lotion and the standard vanity and dental kit. I always appreciate three types of towels, including the small ones for your face, and the hairdryer was a good one, very similar to a Dyson. The room was cleaned daily and was spotless.

The coffee

What I really loved was the Nespresso-style capsule machine with their own pods of single-origin Thai specialty coffee from Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son, Nan and Chiang Mai, each capsule with its own description of where it came from. I think this was a nice touch.

What I didn’t like

The connecting door to the room next door, because we could hear our neighbours talking until very late. There’s nothing wrong with them having a conversation, but the sound insulation was poor in general. My tip: if you’re booking a room rather than a villa, try to get one away from the lift, because the beeping noise it makes is loud too.

Travelling with a pet

One of the biggest advantages of this hotel is that it’s pet friendly, and among the room types they have a Pet Suite and a Pet Villa with its own little outdoor garden.

The Pool and Facilities

The pool is small to medium sized, around 120 cm deep, facing the beach with super comfortable sunbeds. There were only five sets of sunbeds (with towels provided), which isn’t many for a hotel this size, but the whole setup means that even a cloudy day isn’t a wasted day here.

One thing worth knowing if you’re a foreign visitor: we were the only foreigners in the hotel during our stay. Hua Hin is mainly a domestic holiday destination for Thais, which works in your favour twice over. It’s genuinely calm, because Thai guests tend to be much quieter than western tourists, and most of them stay out of the water when the sun is at its strongest, so I had the pool completely to myself during the sunny afternoons.

There’s also a spacious car park, an EV charging station, in-room massage, and you can book a private transfer to Bangkok or the airport.

Food and Breakfast

When I made the reservation there was an option to book the room on its own or with breakfast for a few hundred baht more per room. Breakfast is served in the beachfront restaurant Saraii, which has limited indoor seating, so we were asked each day what time slot we wanted for the next morning. On one cloudy morning we ate on the outdoor terrace instead, and it was lovely sitting there looking straight onto the beach.

The menu is split between a western egg menu and a Thai one, and you can order from both. On the western side expect soft or hard boiled eggs, scrambled, fried, or eggs benedict, and from the Thai menu there was fried rice, pad kaprao and rice porridge. Alongside that was a small buffet with salad, fruit, cornflakes, a ham and cheese plate, overnight oats, chia pudding and a tiny toasts.

They do amazing coffee, hot or iced, which was so good to see after staying in so many places where the coffee was mediocre at best. There’s still a little room for improvement though: the scrambled eggs and the omelette came out with exactly the same texture, far too dry for my liking, and the sweet white toast bread feels out of place in a hotel at this price point.

The Restaurant

The restaurant Saraii, which is also where breakfast is served, is only briefly mentioned on the hotel’s website, where it’s described as Mediterranean-inspired. I couldn’t find a menu online and I wasn’t even sure whether it was open in the evenings, so we ended up eating elsewhere. Room service is advertised in the room too, but the QR code didn’t work.

Is the sea in front of the hotel any good?

To be honest, Hua Hin doesn’t have the most beautiful sea in Thailand. The beach itself is lovely, long and wide with soft white sand that’s perfect for walking, but the water is more brown than blue and the tide goes out a very long way.

I also regularly see large jellyfish along this beach. I don’t know how harmful they are, but they’re not something I’d want to step on, so have a look before you wade in.

Book your stay at Riva Hua Hin

Where to eat outside the hotel

There are plenty of places to eat around the hotel. We usually took a Grab or walked to the Tamarind Market, which has so many food options. We also enjoyed Slurp Lab Ramen nearby, and Burger Murderer, where the lovely lady makes homemade buns. For coffee I’d recommend Pisamai or 8AM, which does amazing flat whites.

FAQ: Staying at Riva Hua Hin

Is Riva Hua Hin on the beach?

Yes. The hotel sits directly on Khao Takiab beach at the southern end of the bay, with a lovely pool facing the sea.

Is Riva Hua Hin in Hua Hin town?

No. It’s in Khao Takiab, around five kilometres south of the town centre.

Is Riva Hua Hin pet friendly?

Yes. The hotel has dedicated Pet Villas and Pet Suites designed for guests travelling with animals, and there was a little dog and a cat staying during our visit.

Is Riva Hua Hin good for families?

I’d say so. There were a few families with kids during our stay, and although there aren’t really any dedicated kids’ facilities, the children very much enjoyed the pool and the beach, where they were picking up shells and crabs.

Would I stay at Riva Hua Hin again?

I had a genuinely lovely stay. There were a few small hiccups and things that could be better, but I’ll put those down to the hotel having opened so recently. On the morning we left, they handed us a hand-drawn card with 10% off a future stay, which is a lovely touch and exactly the kind of thing that makes you actually consider coming back.

Honestly, I think I will, because I loved the calm feel of the place, the pool and how friendly the staff were. Did you like my review? Book your stay here.

Staying at Riva Hua Hin: My Honest Review (2026)

Quick Overview: My Stay at Riva Hua Hin

Riva Hua Hin Location