Rio Sands Motel, Aptos

The rollaway bed had no support, sagged in the middle. Surrounded by rentals (condos and duplexes)...partying past midnight. Rooms smelled moldy--mostly from the bathroom. Although non-smoking rooms, guests were allowed to smoke in patios or balconies outside their rooms. Unfortunately, the smoke drifted into our room when we left the sliding glass door open. Disappointed in the quality and cleaniness.

I saw a bunch of (I think) erroneous negative comments about this place, and wanted to add my comments to help balance them out: Me, my wife and 2 kids just stayed there for several days last week. We're from new york, but were in Aptos for my Mom's wedding. Overall, our stay at the Rio Sands was VERY pleasant. Comments: Location: * Very close to the beach. I'd say "100 steps" is about accurate from the nearest end of the hotel. We walked it in about 1 minute. * Totally SAFE. Rio Del Mar is a tiny, upscale seaside resort town. I grew up in Santa Cruz county and RDM is considered one of the most posh areas. There is NO crime to speak of in this area, and there were NO bars on any windows that I could see. Facilities: * Very nice- the rooms are comfortable, and decent-sized. We stayed in a "Queen Double" and were comfortable with our 2 small kids. * Only negative I can think of: The rooms are a little stuffy when you first move in, probably due to the humid climate of this little valley- the morning fog blows right in off the water. But not bad- the rooms smelled fine. We just opened the windows and the balcony doors and let the breeze blow through. * Our room had a very nice balcony overlooking the Pool/spa courtyard. * The Pool/spa courtyard was really well maintained. Lot of greenery and the pool itself was great- although I had to watch our kids, as the deep end is 6' deep. Price: Great. We got a great rate by booking through their website. Considering the close proximity to the beach, the price was great. Staff: Very friendly and helpful. We had to check out 2 days early due to a family emergency, but the staff had us all set and refunded in about 5 minutes. i never saw anyone non-english speaking manning the desk. Maybe the housekeepers, but that's obviously common. Overall, I dug this place and will definitely return next year! :)

The Rio Sands is a small older place just two easy (no hill to walk with beach gear) blocks from huge beach and a very nice sea food restaurant, the Rio Cafe. The Rio Sands has a secluded grass area with a bar-b-que and pool. So we can sun tan on the grass and dip in the pool or do it all on the beach. Although it is older (they has plans to upgrade) I give it an extra star because it is so conveinent: 1) to the beach (no charge) 2) golf at Seascape 3) Rio Cafe 4) two conveinence stores between the motel and beach 5) hidden away from the crowds at the of the road that few know about 6) great walking areas along the beach, and 7) yet just a short drive to Capitola and Santa Cruz. And about 40 minutes to Monterey. We are going for a third stay Labor Day Weekend. A room for us and a room for our daughter and grandkids.

My husband used to take his kids here about 20 years ago. He warned me that it was an older place but was only 2 blocks from the beach, had a great continental breakfast, pool & spa. We went for the first tiime together about 5 yrs. ago and have been going twice a year ever since. No, it's not the "Ritz" by any means but the employees are truly accomodating, the rooms are clean and we always rent a mini suite over the pool so we have 2 separate rooms plus a kitchenete (no oven though). We normally stay for 5 nights and usually get a rate around $329-349. Can't beat that for the location. I love the location not only because it's a short walk to a really nice uncrowded beach but centrally located for days trips to Santa Cruz, Montery, etc. No, there isn't any AC but that's never been a problem. The nights are cool and you can get a fan from the office. Never had any trouble in that area at all. Don't understand the negative reviews at all. Next time maybe those people should try renting one of the houses on the beach for around $1500 for the weekend. We're going back next month.

The place is a dump. Half the people tha work there don't speak english. The rooms were dirty. All I can say is the place is a dive.

We picked the rio sands becuase it was close to the beach and the room had a kitchenette. (we have a 4 and 1 year old) I think before we had children we would have been dissapointed with it also, but it is such a great place for a family. The pool area is great, we loved starting our day with the continetal breakfast. The walk to the beach is sooo short and it is a very quiet beach too. I cant wait to go back!

I had a problem with the ancient heater in the room. The pilot went out and I smelled gas in the room. Good thing I don't smoke. You would think that it would be against the law to have a heater this old in a motel. It looked like it was 40 years old. The place doesn't have fire sprinklers either. Not the safest combination. I'm amazed the place hasn't burned down by now!

The place is very depressing. It's real old. Not a place to look forward to coming bak to in the evening. Service was awful, food was below average. Waste of money.

This hotel service was wonderful. Front desk staff very helpful with directions around town. Room was clean and roomy. As for bars on the windows? Where? There wasn't any bars on any of the windows. The location was perfect. Close to secluded beach and the wife and I will return.

This other review sounds like wishful thinking by the motels owners. Here is the quote " I was a little worried about a few of the reviews I had read stating that this was in a bad neighborhood, that the staff and hotel were less than satisfactory, etc. Well, my husband and I were very pleasantly surprised!" Well I read the all the reviews + looked at pictures of the motel on other web sites. I decided to just find a motel that had a better rating and looked nicer as well. This motel has a 2 1/2 star rating averaging all the reviews.