Riviera Travel is highlighting the role that accommodation plays across its escorted tours, reinforcing how carefully selected hotels enhance the overall guest experience while giving agents a clear point of differentiation when selling to their customers.
*All details correct at time of publish (24 April 2026)
Whilst hotels have traditionally been viewed as a practical base, Riviera Travel has long taken a different approach.
Accommodation is selected not only for comfort and location, but for how well they reflect the character and history of each destination, helping travellers connect more deeply to the places they visit.
According to Forbes, 73% of travellers are actively seeking more local and authentic experiences, with accommodation increasingly playing a central role in shaping how destinations are experienced*.
For Riviera Travel, however, this is not a new direction, but a long-established principle across its guided touring programme.
With its product team personally staying at each hotel, sampling the food, and fine-tuning every element of the experience to ensure it’s extra special for Riviera guests. The team ensures accommodation complements each journey rather than simply supporting it.
Notorious accommodations on Riviera’s escorted tours include:
- Cappadocia in ancient Turkey: Cappadocia, Istanbul, Ephesus & Troy Tour – Guests stay in cave hotels carved directly into the region’s volcanic rock formations, offering a stay that reflects the area’s unique landscape.
- Nepal on the India and Nepal Tour – Fish Tail Lodge is accessed by boat across Phewa Lake, providing a peaceful lakeside retreat framed by Himalayan views.
- Costa Rica on the Costa Rica: From the Caribbean to the Pacific Tour – Evergreen Eco-Lodge, open‑air design immerses guests in the rainforest environment, bringing nature directly into the stay.
- Rajasthan on the India Tour – Alsisar Mahal, a historic palace hotel, offers insight into royal life through preserved courtyards, frescoes and architectural features.
- Bruges on the Bruges Tour – The Grand Hotel Casselbergh blends medieval architecture with modern comfort in a former royal residence in the heart of the city.
- Ecuador on the Ecuador and the Galapagos Tour – Séptimo Paraíso Lodge places guests within the cloud forest, surrounded by one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet.
- Botswana on the Victoria Falls, Botswana Safari and Cape Town Tour – Lodges on the Chobe River allow guests to observe wildlife directly from the property, with elephants frequently visible at dusk.
- Kerala on the Southern India’s Coastal Route: Tamil Nadu to Kerala Tour – Accommodation becomes the experience itself, with overnight stays aboard traditional houseboats travelling through the backwaters.
Supporting Confident Agent Conversations
By focusing on hotels that reflect each destination’s culture and environment, Riviera Travel enables agents to confidently present itineraries that offer more than sightseeing alone.
Vicky Billing, Director of Trade and Partnerships UK & Ireland, comments: “Our hotel choices are never an afterthought. They’re carefully selected to reflect each destination and play a meaningful role in the overall guest experience.
“For agents, this helps bring itineraries to life and supports their customers in finding the perfect holiday they’re looking for.”
As traveller expectations continue to evolve, Riviera’s approach offers agents a clear narrative: journeys defined not only by where customers go, but by how they experience each destination, starting and ending with where they stay.
*Source: Forbes, Global Travel Trends
Agents can get in touch with the Riviera Travel team via agents@rivieratravel.co.uk, join the dedicated Facebook group at www.facebook.com/groups/rivieratravelagents and access the Riviera Explorer via www.rivexplorer.com.
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