VH GRAN VANTANA did not disappoint

Just returned from 3 weeks at the Gran Ventana in Puerto Plata and would definitely recommend to friends and family. Although this is an older resort, service and cleanliness are clearly a priority. Grounds were well kept. Great beach! Rooms were ok but very sparse. A small table and a couple of chairs would have been nice. No hooks anywhere to hang your clothes. Bathroom lighting was awful. Buffet offered something for everyone. Even after 3 weeks, we always found something different  [... read more]to try.. A la carte restaurants were also very good. Entertainment was ok but repetitious. All in all, my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed our stay.

Great Resort

We found the rooms spacious, grounds well manicured, nice beach to walk. All areas were always clean thanks to the dedicated staff. The buffet food was the always great, best we have found at any resort we have visited.

Great Value

This is our second time vacationing at this resort and again didn’t disappoint. We saw others from our last time here which tells me there are a lot of repeat visitors that like us really enjoy it. The staff is very friendly, the grounds are clean and well maintained. Food is great and beach is awesome. Looking forward to going back next year.

Amazing resort! Grand Vantana

This resort is very clean and food was great. The pool and the beach were wonderful. More umbrellas needed around the pool area though! Any problems were dealt with immediately! Very family friendly resort! Capacity was 98% full so that tells you a lot. Music was a little too loud at night, senior’s and parents with young children were not impressed! Staff was amazing! We’ve been here twice and would return again for sure!!!❤️

Amazing and well organized resort

From the time you go in and you leave the staff is welcoming and even remember you from previous years. The location is always clean, the 3 pools are kept clean, the entertainment staff ensure that everyone is kept occupied including the children. The 3 restaurants are fantastic including the buffet restaurant. The food is perfect and you are treated like royalty.There are multiple activities you can choose from outside the resort. As for Covid prevention the resort has many stations of hand sa [... read more]nitizers for clients to use. The beach is beautiful and has many lounge chairs. The rooms are adequately equipped. For sure, I will be returning next year.

Great resort

Resort was amazing. Lots of stuff to do and great food. Staff were great and our belongs were safe in the room. The only downfall was that our room had a awful view of the road and they were doing construction outside in the morning times. Just be sure to ask for a good view as they do have them.

Solid and peaceful vacation experience

this was the second visit to this hotel. We have purchased the prime package, only because we would like to drink espresso coffee. That is a good quality. It was offer only through this package . We have experienced good service, but we don't have much expectations. The first room we were assigned to had broken window and no Internet so we asked for change and then got the room on the second floor but with two separate beds again we don't have much expectations because we don't stay in the room. [... read more] The beach is beautiful waters swimmable every day. Food was outstanding with mix variety of domestic and American food. The place was clean. They had disinfecting stations and mandatory hands disinfecting before entering the diner. We would like to see that the tables are cleaned before every use, and that is the only negative thing that I could say about cleanliness.

Beautiful beach and great food

The beach was fantastic and so was the food, however the room was dirty and not what I had expected when booking. There was a thick layer of dust on everything other than the desk and table tops. The beds were rock hard and 2 of the 4 pillows in the first room felt like sacks of rolled up socks. All of the pillows in the first room smelt like wet musty basement. We had to put towels on top to mute the smell. We switched rooms and that one had a large patch of black mold on the shower curtain the [... read more] size of my palm…way too large to be missed which means no one looks at it and hasn’t in awhile. The cleaning solution the housekeepers used smelt so terrible. Foul. We smelt it the day before when walking past a room being cleaned and thought it was just a really dirty room, but then our room was cleaned and it was the same horrible smell. Our room had to be aired out for 20 mins with the door open and the patio door open and to t remove the foul smell. It was like the smell of a dirty diaper with a touch of maybe mint. There were two days with water issues that included having no hot water and then not having any water at all. The staff was great for the most part, especially the food staff, but like anywhere there’s a few that really didn’t care about the job. You cannot get a sun chair by the pool unless you claim it at sunrise. More than half remain empty at all times, but they are all claimed with towels just in case they may want to sit there at some point. The pool was very nice looking, but ice cold. It is closed to swimmers at 7pm daily. The beach towel situation was a bit annoying. They only have them available twice a day at like 8am and 4pm, so if you miss it you miss it. We spent our down time at the resort on the beach. There are tons of sun chairs, so though you may need to make a move of a chair or two, you can almost guarantee you’ll have a spot to soak up the sun or even have shade if that’s what you prefer. There are a lot of vendors that approach you steady, but it wasn’t much of a hardship to say no if not interested. I ended up getting some jewelry and took some pictures with parrot. It was fun. I found them all respectful and didn’t push too hard for the sale after a firm no. The water was warm and clear. No garbage. Topical fish are right there to be viewed in shallow waters. Lots of beach to walk and explore. Beautiful coastline views. You can see the mountains. Entertainment at night was alright. Karaoke night was my fave. We had great a la carte dinners at each of the three restaurants. We didn’t have issues booking them on our first morning, but definitely don’t wait to do that. Do it right away early in the morning and book all three. Our fave was the Italian restaurant. We had great food the whole time. The beef was not what we were used to, but that could just be personal taste, everything else was great and there were so many different options at the buffets and it was always new line up. They had the best vanilla ice cream I have ever had. There are a lot of hungry cats in the eating areas. They are friendly and sweet. You can’t help but feed them and enjoy their presence. Alcohol options for fine for me, bring your own travel mug. Wifi was free and available in the lobby and randomly in areas close to the lobby and in each room. It wasn’t great, but it did the trick. Safes are available for your room, but there is a daily charge. Overall, we had a great time at this resort and felt very safe on the grounds and were well fed. We would return and try a different building in hopes for a cleaner room.

The resort was okay.

It was okay. Some things I was used to were coffee in the room, an iron and ironing board in the room. No such thing in the Gran Ventana The food was okay. Overall it was okay, It was clean, but there was always sand on the floor. Even though I saw the maid mopping it. They were generous, bringing us facecloths every day as we asked.

Fabulous resort!

I found the room and grounds to be clean and well maintained. I enjoyed all the meals I had and the wonderful service. I enjoyed the shows and activities. I had a wonderful stay and would recommend to others and may even book another stay next year at the VH Gran Ventana Beach Resort.

Do Not Bother Paying to Upgrade

I will start with the negatives and then end on a positive note: As the title implies, there is little to no value to upgrading. Our of our party of 5 people, my husband and I were the only ones who paid to upgrade our package at the resort. We still had to wait over two hours for our room to be ready for check in, our room was the exact same size as the others in our party, and we were actually stuck with the worst room - right beside the Ocean Grill Restaurant/beach entrance, where there was  [... read more]loud music every night until at least 10 p.m., then the sound of everyone leaving for an hour. We were also woken up around 5 a.m. every morning to the sound of employees getting the beach and restaurant prepared for the day. The only "perks" we got were 5 bottles of liquor, unlimited towels at from the towel check station and access to the "private beach" (more on that shortly). Our concierge was non existent and booking reservations for any of the resort restaurants was just as much trouble for us than for our friends with the regular package. The rooms are tiny; you get a bed, a desk, a night table and a t.v. stand with a mini fridge. There are no dressers, so you are forced to live out of your suitcases the entire trip. The bathroom is also tiny, with terrible water pressure, and drains that backed up every time we took a shower or brushed our teeth. The beach is OVER RUN with vendors. Every five minutes a vendor is accosting you, and they don't take a simple no for an answer. It was so bad that no one in our group wanted to spend time on the beach, due to the constant stress of dealing with vendors approaching. Even the private beach isn't safe - the vendors are given free reign and they do not stop. If you are planning for a relaxing day at the beach, this is not the resort for you. There are not enough beach chairs or beach umbrellas at either pool (the main or the quiet pool). If you want to reserve a group of chairs together, you need to get up before sunrise and set out your towels, otherwise you won't get to sit with your entire group. And there is only one umbrella for about every 10 chairs, which everyone ends up fighting over in the heat of the sun. Smokers reign supreme here. There is nowhere to get away from smokers except for inside the restaurants. You need to walk through clouds of smoke everywhere you go, whether its the pool, the beach, the lobby, even the kids pool. Smoking is also permitted right outside of the buffet, which is open air, so anyone sitting closest to the outside gets to enjoy their meal with second hand smoke. Now, on to the positives. Most of the staff are extremely friendly (excluding the front reception, which I found odd) and very helpful. The buffet is decent and they change up the food enough that you don't get bored. There are three restaurants on the resort, all of which are decent as well and provide a nice change to the buffet. The entertainment was pretty good; we got to experience a "silent disco" and there was also karaoke, a magic show, dance lessons and more. There is a "mini disco" for kids every night at 8 p.m. that got monotonous, but it was cute to see all the kids dancing and the woman who ran it was fantastic with them. The best place to relax in the entire resort is the "Quiet Pool", which none of the reception staff (or concierge) mentioned to us but we luckily stumbled upon two days into our vacation. The bar at the Quiet Pool is the best one on site with the best drinks and friendliest bartenders. It is the one place you can truly relax in quiet at the resort, and there is a cute pond with turtles and fish to sit beside. If you are looking to unwind in peace, the Quiet Pool is the place for you! All in all, for a cheaper resort it was pretty decent. My biggest complaints are the lack of value in our upgrade and the fact that the beach is virtually unusable due to the amount of vendors.

Surprisingly Great!

Visited for 9 days during the busy holiday season, yet despite being busy, the hotel didn't feel overcrowded and there wasn't any waiting time for services. The grounds are pleasant and well maintained, the staff is exceptionally nice and helpful, the hotel is well laid out and the beach is large and very nice. Overall, I was satisfied and would like to return. My thanks and admiration goes to all the hard-working people there! You will likely enjoy this hotel if you like: 1. a smaller si [... read more]ze hotel where everything is super close by 2. a nice wide beach where you can get a lounger at any time of day without reserving one at 6am 3. a beachfront with calm water and no waves even when windy (due to reef and location at edge of bay) 4. the experience of a small airport where you don't have 6 planes landing at the same time 5. a short drive to the hotel from the airport 6. kitesurfing or want to learn to kitesurf. You will likely not enjoy this hotel if you: 1. love the beach and do not want windy conditions (mornings are usually calm, but afternoons regularly get windy - this is why it is a great place for kite surfing) 2. need huge variety of food to be happy - there is plenty to choose from, but not as much as in some large high-end resorts, though everything that is there tends to be quite tasty 3. want to eat at a-la-cartes daily (you get 3 per week only and there are 3 total to choose from) 4. want to play volleyball - although there is a net in the pool, there is no volleyball court on the beach 5. you love desserts and want to eat lots of them - although the food at this hotel is tasty, the desserts are the weakest part - bland, monotonous, using fake creams For hotel management: here are some EASY/inexpensive improvement suggestions that would make the experience better for guests like me: 1. Breakfast (and possibly dinner): Consider adding crepes with the usual condiments (whip cream, chocolate sauce, Nutella) 2. Desserts: Please increase the quality of these - use real whipping cream, make some mousses, etc. 3. Volleyball: Add a beach volleyball court and ensure you have a good beach ball and also get a proper water volleyball for the pool version of it 4. Foosball: Please fix or get a new table, the one there is put together incorrectly and barely works 5. Ping pong: Please replace the table with a new one. The surface on that table is heavily worn and the ball doesn't bounce correctly. 6. Beach towels: It would be great if your hotel policy didn't restrict getting towels to specific hours of the day. Not being able to replace a towel at 2pm when needed seems unnecessary, especially when there are fresh ones available. 7. In-room safe: (I know this one would be expensive to fix), but at some point it would be great to not have to use physical keys for the safe. Replace them with combination safes that are also slightly larger so they can fit a laptop. I also want to note: A-la-cartes: Food was very good, especially the Italian one. If you don't enjoy the food there, there must be something wrong with you. :-) Silent disco: Great addition and hugely fun - be sure to try it. Beach: There is coral in places underwater, but there are also clearly visible areas with nice sand. No need for water shoes. Beach is beautiful and wide, so bring any fun games you like to play (spikeball, frisbee) - there is plenty of space to play. WiFi: Hit and miss in some places, but I was able to consistently use it in the room and lobby for work and for WhatsApp calls.

A great vacation

The Gran Ventana is a lovely resort hotel. This was our 4th time staying there. The staff are professional, friendly, and helpful. The buffet is very good with ample variety available every day. Everyone can find lots to their taste at every meal. We loved the beach: fine sand, lots of seating, daily swimming towels provided. We brought our snorkels and masks to enjoy swimming with the lovely fish and small sea creatures on the coral near the shore. Bring a banana to feed them - they will  [... read more]love you! As is usual in the Dominican Republic, vendors are allowed to sell their wears and services on the beach but we found them pleasant and not pushy. Of course the pool, daily optional activities lead by activation staff, and lots of shallow and deeper water for swimmers of all sizes, offer lots of fun. The swim-up bar is always a hit. Try Jackie’s Special - our favourite! There are pool tables, a ping pong table, and foosball to pass some time. Every night there is entertainment, including mini-disco for the little ones, followed by shows for all ages. My only request would be to lower the volume 😉. Gift store and hair/nail salon are on the premises. I love that the hotel is close to the airport so there is no long transfer once you land. The rooms are clean and comfortable. Covid protocols were adequate, but did not intrude on our enjoyment. Many guests wore masks, but these were not mandatory. Staff wore masks in the food areas, front desk, and others. Cleanliness was excellent in every area. All in all, a great family resort.

Nice resort,

well planned, ok food, ok entertainment, friendly staff, very good beach, good service from staff, clean rooms,and worth the money. THE BATHROOM WE HAD NEEDED HANDLE BARS IN THE SHOWER. THE BALCONY DOOR WOULD NOT LOCK.

Okay

The beach is fine. No problem finding seating. Watch small children because they can quickly be in water over their heads. We had several red flag days, which I have found is typical with winter and Atlantic-facing beaches. The standard room was well, standard. Both pools are smallish for a resort of this size. Our room unfortunately faced the pool and its courtyard, the scene of a lot of evening entertainment. We could hear the nightly shows whether we wanted to or not. Fortunately, they [... read more] stopped between 2200 and 2230. Buffet food was well, buffet. Lots of hits and misses. Any time I could have an item freshly-prepared, I went for it. Buffet dining room wait staff had to often be asked for refills on water or coffee. Perhaps there aren't enough of them. Drink quality depended very much on bartender. Of the three a la carte restaurants you could sample during a week stay, Octopus was the best both for food and service. I had a look at an Iberostar nearby, and compared prices for the time of our stay. Similar accommodation at the Iberostar would have cost us another $239 per person. It looked as if it might have been worth it based on grounds and pool alone. I would only recommend Gran Ventana to someone looking for a low-budget stay.

2nd time visiting and will return!

This is by far my favorite resort of all I have been to! The staff are amazing, the food is always good, the location is perfect! I don't want to say too many good things as I don't want to see the resort get too popular!!!!

Great resort with very knowledgeable and very friendly personnel

Would highly recommend to anybody and definitely will go back again. Great beach with a lot of mature trees providing natural shadows. Everything is so close - hotel surrounds the pools on three sides leaving one side open toward the beach

Small but great value for money

We visited the resort as a family of 4. The resort is comparatively small, but very clean & staff members are generally friendly & want to help. Food is very good, lot of options for buffet. A la carte restaurants were good as well, we tried all 3. Entertainment could be improved.

Amazing place.

Very good location staff very friendly.Food was excellent.Room not very fancy but comfortable and clean.A lots of fun for the children. Entertainment was ok every evening was different show also entertaining for the children too. Ji

Amazing resort

First time at this resort , but won’t be my last time . Very clean resort , staff very friendly . Plenty of food ,drinks were yummy too :) I would recommend to friends and family . . Thanks for a good holiday