We stayed in a 2BR/2BA condo in May, 2012. When it says non-ocean view, it really means no view at all. We had a white cement wall to look at. The carpet smelled when we first got there, so we sprinkled some baking soda on it and in a day or so, that went away. The condo itself was spacious, but the master bedroom only had a full-size bed in it, when it could have easily accommodated a king. The jacuzzi tub was nice. The location is right across the street from the beach with a walking bridge going over the highway. If you did have an ocean-front view, you would be contending with the traffic noise as well as the Amtrack train passing by several times a day. On the Wednesday of our stay, the sewer line backed up and the kitchen sink overflowed and the 2nd bathroom's shower had some black/brown stuff on the floor. Maintentance/housekeeping did come by and clean the shower up the next day. The location is decent, close to Dana Harbor Point, about 1 hour drive to the San Diego Zoo, etc.

This was an exchange through Interval International and after spending one fabulous week at Marriott's Newport Coast Villas, we were bitterly disappointed with our two week stay here. We had rooms at the back looking at a concrete wall which was 3' away from our balcony. The master bedroom had the same view and the second bedroom had no window at all and a concertina folding door! Consequently it was always dark so we had to have the lights on, the sun could have been shining or it could have been raining, we never knew. Just depressing and claustrophobic. We asked if we could be moved to an ocean view but they were always "fully booked". The staff were not interested and not particularly friendly.
We were also amazed that there was no free internet access and rather than pay the exorbitant fees asked by AT&T, we went up to MacDonalds for free access for the price of a cup of coffee!
Having said that, the quality of the unit and furniture was OK as they had recently been updated, but the door rattled every time another door close by was opened and shut. It was generally noisy and you could hear everything going on in adjoining units, especially someone running a bath/jacuzzi between 10pm and 6am, which is really annoying.
There was no bar and the restaurant was closed which was also disappointing. This was certainly not a "Premier Resort" as described by Interval.

Decent accommodations. Rooms come with a kitchen area and view of the oceans. TVs are dated, but that's not so essential, is it?

Great location, just a few minutes walk from the beach. You can even rent bikes for a couple of hours, only for three bucks! Only issue with the bikes is getting them to the beach. You have to walk your bikes all the way up to the stoplight, to cross over to the beachside. OR, you can jaywalk to the other side.

Overall, it's a good resort, perfect for families.

Riviera Beach is fine for what it is - which is a clean, comfortable place for a family to sleep, convenient to attractions in both Anaheim (30 mi) and San Diego (60 mi), directly up or down I-5.

What Rivera Beach is not - it's not a self-contained resort. No on site bar or restaurant, the pool(s) is smaller than an average roadside hotel pool, there is no coordinated activities program to speak of. There's not much in the way of attractions around it, other than Doheny State Park (the beach) across the street. Basically, it's a place to sleep while commuting to the attactions in Anaheim, Newport Beach and possibly San Diego.

Best parts - high quality beds, convenience to I-5, nice natural gas grill on the patio.

Decent parts - quality of the unit itself. Better features were newer kitchen appliances and granite countertops. Furnishings were standard timeshare quality, right down to the ubiquitous glass dining room table. Worse (or lacking features) were no laundry in the unit (which I generally expect in 2 BR units), no oven (stovetop and convection microwave only), poor TVs (ancient tube TV in the living room, small (19"?) LCD in the master bedroom, no TV in the 2nd bedroom) and no included internet ($30/wk per device, gets unreasonable when everyone in the family has laptops, ipods, etc).

Worst parts - noise, noise, and noise. I can't overstress that. Units are directly (within 10') of Pacific Coast Highway (lots of traffic noise), then there is an active railroad track on the other side of that. The windows in the master bedroom (which adjoin PCH) are single pane and cheap, with no ability to abate the noise at all. They might as well be open. The single biggest upgrade the property should consider is upgrading those with a higher quality, noise abating window. You can pretty much count on a 0630 wake-up call each morning as traffic starts to pick up. Internally, it doesn't get any better. When was the last time you saw a sign in your bathroom that says "Do not use the whirlpool bath between the hours of 10 pm and 8 am?" Riviera Beach has 'em. Evidently, our upstairs neigbors didn't see it though, as the jets for their tub at midnight resembled a cattle stampede.....I'm not a light sleeper, but this property definitely has an issue with noise.

If your only needs are a few bedrooms, a comfortable bed and convenient access to the highway - you'll be fine. If you're expecting more - it's not here. Having stayed there, I get both the positive and negative reviews. Neither is wrong, and the current overall Trip Advisor rating (3 - average) is pretty accurate in my opinion.

Final comment - it is indeed rated by Interval with "Premier", their highest rating. I have no idea why......it does not compare with other Premier resorts that we have stayed at.