We stayed in this hotel in June 2008 . The rooms were clean and well equipped with a bath (much better than the dreaded showers most hotels prefer!). I was with a Spanish speaker and so can't comment on the English of the staff, however, she did say that they were not particularly friendly. The hotel is just across from the beach which is wonderful. However, there is not a huge variety of bars and restaurants in the area. If you want that you would be much better staying in town. If you do stay there try and get a room with a sea view at the back rooms just look over some garages - it is probably worth the extra. To sum up a decent hotel but not outstanding and a little bland.

We have just arrived back from the Silken Rio Santander and thoroughly enjoyed our stay. The hotel is clean and located right beside the beach. We found the staff pleasant although their english speaking wasn't great but we were able to communicate ok. The beaches are beautiful and set among breathtaking scenery. The city of Santander is typically spanish and worth a visit. The bus runs approx every 10 mins to the city centre from just outside the hotel and are only 1 euro each and its an excellent way to travel. Would definitely return to Santander and definitely to this particular hotel but would be more careful about where to eat out. The surrounding cafes at the hotel are very overpriced and the food is rubbish, especially Cafe Erika below the casino - terrible cafe food at ridiculous prices! Overall the holiday was relaxing and enjoyable helped along by pleasant waather.

We booked through Brittany Ferries and a coach took us to the Hotel, if you are planning on driving to this Hotel then from either direction you need to look at the roof as the signs are displayed at the top on each end of the building, their is also a small sign over the door but the big neon signs are for the Restaurant which is very pricey! At the reception desk, we were handled efficiently, professionally and spoken English was not a problem. The room was not as large as some Hotels we have stayed at previously (basically the same size as a family travelodge). The carpets were heavily stained and a dent was in the wall were previously someone had opened the window with force or the wind had caught it and knocked the handle into the wall breaking the plaster and exposing the insulation. Our room was at the rear of the Hotel so we had a view of a garaging block and apartments overlooked you, there was also a green outside with a football goal so might be a bit noisy with kids playing in the decent weather. Only CNN is in English on the TV, all the rest of the channels is either in Spanish or French. The air conditioning system was working but very slow even on high speed, in the height of summer it must be unbearable. The corridors are not air-con'd and are humid and stuffy. Breakfast is fantastic with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, toast, jams etc. The Hotel bar is a little on the expensive side but not enough to warrant to find somewhere else, non-smokers beware that the bar is a full smoking area with no separate areas. The staff in the bar do not speak great English but with our Pigeon Spanish we got by. The Hotel room was cleaned daily and upon vacating we did the usual check and found a load of rubbish under the bed from previous guests that had not been cleaned!!!! The Hotel is right across the road from the beach, a 5 minute (1 Euro) bus ride into town, the buses do get busy so be prepared to stand for the journey and hang on has the drivers do not hang around, they do not have low floor buses for the disabled but a ramp comes out of the middle doors to allow for wheelchair access. For car users, a private garage is available but at a cost of over 10 Euro's a night, parking on the road outside is free. The Hotel Silken Rio (or Rhio) claims to be a 4* but is the equivalent of an English 3* The hotel was supposed to have been refurbished not long ago and is now in need of another. Overall, a great location but their are better Hotels to go for at the price they charge.

This is the former Hotel Rhin at Sardinero Beach. The Silken chain has already made some improvements, and I was told that more will follow. We had a small balcony, and the view was absolutely gorgeous. Our only real complaint was that the carpets were stained. The cafeteria and dining room are acceptable, but there are a number of excellent restaurants within walking distance.