Stayed for two nights on a business trip to Aveiro, Location is good and you can walk to the centre along the canal in 10 minutes. Hotel looks like it’s in a quiet location but be aware the run events and concerts in the grounds around the hotel! Very loud until almost midnight even with windows closed & hotel does not have air-conditioning only heating. While we stayed power was turned off during the day on one day so we had to leave the hotel - very inconvenient as I was supposed to be working online & no apology or compensation.

Besides all conforts that the Melia Ria is giving , I would like to point out that the 4 Stars of the hotel are really worth it. For business or for leisure it is always a good choice. The food in the restaurant is of good quality and also tipical portuguese food is served.
It s a pity that the city of Aveiro have not yet converted in asphalt the nearby parking place in front.

Conveniently located mid-class hotel. A short stroll of 8 to 10 minutes puts you in downtown Aveiro. Parking is no problem at all. There is also a garage in floor -2 but you have to pay a fee and the way in/out are somewhat narrow.
Check-in/out does not take long, providing there is no one in front of you burdening the staff with all sorts of questions.
My room was on top floor (604). It was serviced once a day and décor was nice. Air temperature was set centrally, that is to say I could not interfere with it and this is a pity since we could have done with a little more heat on this cold February. Close to the flat screen TV there are a variety of PC / phone / tablet sockets that are very useful. The bathroom was nice with the shower placed against one of the walls
I suspect the hotel was running on full capacity, or close to it, during the week-end I was there and the lifts (only two) could not cope with this situation and what ensued were long waits. Once I even used the emergency stairs to go to the restaurant in ground floor, after having waited for five minutes.
Breakfast is buffet style with nice assortment of items and nice views to the outside. However I would not recommend the restaurant for dinner. Service is performed by very young and inexperienced staff. Some do not even know the number of tables by heart or where they stand in the room. À la carte dinning has a limited number of items. After sunset as you can no longer see outside one has to concentrate on the décor of the room and it is dull. The tables close to the windows are packed in a way that whenever I wanted to get out of it, my chair immediately bumped into the chair on my back disturbing whoever was sitting there. My advice is to make the nice short stroll along the canal and go to a restaurant downtown. There are plenty to choose from and some of them are very good.
There is a swimming pool on the hotel which is a good to relax at the end of the day, but you have to pay to use it because it is part of the SPA.
All in all the hotel is nice and affordable but the management should understand that the percentage of young staff must be reduced and replaced with experienced personnel in order to achieve a quality of services more appropriate to the Mélia brand.