Viva V Samana by Wyndham: Beautiful Beach Experience!!
We stayed at this resort the week of May 9 to the 16th. The resort grounds were very well kept clean. The beach is one of the best I’ve experienced the convenience of the beach bar restaurant and washroom facilities close by made it much easier to enjoy the beach as much as possible
I also appreciated the Butler style beach service we received for drinks
The pool was kept clean. The fact that there was no pool bar was a plus in my eyes.
There were many activities to try during the day without[... read more] pressure, which made it even more inviting
The food in general was good. A lot of selection croissants were to die for the 24 seven bar at the lobby was well stocked with snacks, coffee tea, and the bar staff were very friendly.
Entertainment was music themed all week long and quite enjoyable fantastic service was given at the three à la carts food was well presented and fresh
Steak was by far the best I’ve had on the island
We travelled with Sunwing overall our representative Maria was very friendly and helpful. We were able to contact her using WhatsApp, which was convenient. overall I would return to this resort. But would also like to see improvement on the following.
Service in general, especially at the buffet was lacking we had to make eye contact and ask for service most of the time, but when we did get it, it was good that went for all the staff in general. Also, there was a timeshare component that we agreed to explore I appreciate and understand wanting to draw up business, your asked to join a session for an hour and then it ends up extending to close to three I think maybe the approach could be different and after the first hour and if the answer is no then the answer is no
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Viva Tangerine by Wyndham: Amazing!
Wonderful in absolutely every way ! One suggestion...would love to see the night shows but please have them start earlier for many of us older folk ...they are too late .?Loved the Horse on the Beach and the little shops in Caberate !
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Yvette -
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Viva Heavens by Wyndham: Good resort
Hotel was nice, rooms were clean. Bathrooms need some upgrade, grounds were kept clean, balcony would have been nice but for 80 per night not worth it, staff friendly, food good, entertainment good. Hesitant on giving bacon as they hide it i thought was a bit much. Speedy & Waldo the entertainment know how to get people moving.
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Viva V Samana by Wyndham: Disappointed
Just returned from this well manicured property.
The beach is beautiful and the pool area is nice. The food quality and service was lacking attention and organization in the buffet, especially in the morning. We waited 45 minutes one morning for coffee. The service in the buffet in the evening was much better. The snack bar food was good if you managed to get there when the food was prepared otherwise it was left there for hours. The bar tenders provided great service and drinks. The daily a[... read more]ctivities were great , but the nightly entertainment was lacking. There was diffently a language barrier in just about all areas, except for the viva club recruiters. They had no problem speaking English and would constantly harass you.
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Darryn, Angie & Patti -
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Viva V Samana by Wyndham: Relaxing and Intimate
We are regulars at this resort and love the feeling of coming home every time we visit. From Edwin and Adonis and Henry in reception to David & Patricia in lobby bar - you are treated like family. Of course you have Gabriel and Carlos and Alexander in the Fusion to make every meal special. Ariel and Michael and Raphael in the Animation team are always there to entertain.
Rooms are great - food is amazing and drinks are perfect.
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Viva Maya by Wyndham: Wonerful resort!
The food was excellent, everything was clean. Great pool, friendly staff, plenty of beach chairs under palm trees. There was a quiet adult only pool area with hammocks and jetted tub. Excellent evening shows.
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Viva Maya by Wyndham: Beautiful Grounds
This resort is pretty cute. I don’t like modern or fancy and so this fit the bill for me in terms of authentic Mexican feel. Very enchanted and cute. Wifi sucked. Our room had the worse connection. No sweet spots at all unless you sat on balcony. Our room was an updated one and we liked it. Be warned there’s no elevator. We didn’t mind the steps but it’s something worth mentioning. The staff is lovely so sweet and friendly. Which made it a pleasant stay. Be warned there’s no bottled water in the[... read more] room. They have a pitcher where you take to the filtered water station out the room. At first I was quite bothered by this but after purchased bottled water we just filled the bottles. The food oh the food. It was lacking. If food is a big deal then this isn’t your resort. Miramare by far best restaurant followed by Mexican restaurant which was quite lovely as well. Buffet sucked. If you’re into bacon there wasn’t as they were always out. Snack bar was fun. Lots of variety for a snack bar. Again, food isn’t their thing but for me everything else made that not matter for me. Beach was beautiful. The seaweed was an issue but not their fault they did their best to clear it up. Pool was fun if you found a spot. I think this resort was quaint and fun and aside from the food which I didn’t really care too much yes I would absolutely good back
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Viva Heavens by Wyndham: Amazing Resort!
Second time I've been to this resort "solo". It has everything I was looking for. Smaller resort, very clean, great selection of food, close to the beach. Close to airport. It has security on the resort and at the beach. They are so accommodating and provide excellent service!
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Viva Tangerine by Wyndham: Is there a negative star option?!
Let me preface this by saying I have stayed at multiple 2-star resorts in Cuba. Which is a -10-star resort everywhere else. I have had zero complaints. And would return in a heartbeat and I sure hope to some day. I am not bougie, my expectations are low, I have an open mind. With that being said......
We arrived at 10:00am Sunday morning, not one lounger anywhere. Not enough loungers at the beach or pool. No umbrellas or palapas. When I asked about umbrellas they said they don’t like to[... read more] use plastic, as I am sitting in a plastic chair at a plastic table. I have seen pictures since of other Viva resorts that ALL have umbrellas made of plastic. So along with 60% of all the other people - you are constantly trying to move your highly sought after lounger into the shade. The beach is a lounger maze, as well as pool side.
Not enough chairs at the one and only bar/sitting (1) area. This is very loud since it is where everyone congregates. The line ups can go from 5 to 20 minutes. The lay out is awful. All very enclosed. At the bar there are tables and chairs but going around the corner there are maybe 10 comfortable chairs in a C format behind the main bar area. Then back outside where there is no seating. There is a very small bar by the pool, beach side. There beer is run through a cooler with ice (warm still), if they have a keg at all and honestly it hits your nose long before you take a drink, not good. They run out of coke first thing. Everything is kept in the sun.
Cappuccino is available at the same bar (1) area at 8:00am, not a minute before which is wonderfully inconvenient since you must be up at the crack of dawn to be able to scoop a lounger. The coffee is generally not good. Very watered down, with sludge in the bottom which doesn’t make much sense, but the resort workers have nailed it. I had a mouth full of glass in one cappuccino – no one seemed to care. In the mornings, it started off you could self serve coffee to the left of the bar area, then on the counter at the bar, then poof no self period option period. So, you had to go into the buffet and chase someone down to get coffee because there is also no self serve option in there either.
We were traveling for my birthday as well as my boyfriend’s (boyfriend is 6’2”), while on vacation, not before, not after, both of us were celebrating birthdays on this trip. Upon checking in I requested an upgrade, a bigger room, ocean front, second floor, any of the above. I also emailed requesting an upgrade (and how much it would cost) twice before we arrived. On a side note, my mother has worked at Wyndham Hotels for 25+ years, my father also works at Wyndham, for 20+ years. They have never traveled to a resort, received a resort perk of any sort, ever. She also reached out to the resort group asking for a perk/upgrade for our birthdays, something, anything. We received nothing. Our first room was postage stamp size; you had to do the trailer shimmy to the other side of the bed. No where to put luggage, we both traveled with full sized luggage as well as carry on luggage and back packs, we stayed 2 weeks. No dressers. The had a 2-door built in closet. One side was shelving, one side was hangers, under the hangers was a shelf with the safe on it. Oh, you have full length dresses? They shall be bunched up on top of the safe. We didn't even have a chair in our first room. Our room(s) were in the septic field. The smell was horrific. Our room was on the first floor, you couldn’t go on the patio because the bugs, oh the bugs everywhere and if you did manage to get out there to put your damp clothes to dry well then, the feral cats slept on them, and you couldn’t wear them anyways. We had no hot water, which Caribbean I get it, just take note. House keeping would come in the morning take all your towels and bring you towels again between 3-4:00pm. So many times, we would be ready to wash the beach off and you would have to call or go hunt down some towels.
I was down at the front desk the same day we checked in requesting an upgrade, to be moved, somewhere. I was told to come back tomorrow at noon, and they would show me a different room at $20 per night/per person. The new room was bigger, partial ocean view (if we can call it that). Talk to front desk again to negotiate. Back and forth, back and forth, was told cash only so he wouldn’t have to ring it in (I know where this is going) finally agree on a price. It started at $480 ($20 per person/per night = 12 nights) we got him down to $300 total, fine, let’s do it. I ask how much in DOP, he gives me a number that is higher than I expected (I changed money in Canada before leaving). Turns out he we are negotiating in USD, I am Canadian, my passport that is in front of him is Canadian, I said I was paying in DOP, why would I even have American? So that was the end of that. We did not request anything else from Alfredo at the front desk. On day 8 when I learned nothing would come of requesting a room change, I reached out to Nexus/WestJet and asked to be moved from Viva Tangerine to anywhere else. And let me tell you how quickly things moved from that point on was wild. We were moved into a room with a separate bedroom, still tiny closet that would not accommodate dresses. Second floor so we could use the patio which was nice. And enter stage right = Cockroaches. Big ones, little ones, All the cockroaches. We had none in the first room. The AC would not shut off, you could turn it down, but it just kept going.
The beach wasn't swimmable 92% of the time. The wind at the beach is a solid 40-60km/h every single day. You are being sandblasted at all times. The peddlers on the beach are terrible, same one’s day in and day out. They take loungers, put their wares on them and then when pretty girls are down at 11:00am looking for loungers they receive the ones being held by peddlers. At any given time, you have one or more within 10 feet of you, all day, every day. And wildly expensive, $25USD for a bracelet from China, $50USD for 2 French braids. Wild. They have “showers” at the entrances back up to the resort, but it’s a dribble and not accomplishing getting the sand off you.
The pool was cleanish – until about 10:00am and then it got cloudy, every day. Not a pool I am getting into. One day someone put a dirty diaper 2 feet from the pool, in a busy walking area, that sat there for more than 5 hours. People walked around it, including staff, now I know it is not their job to pick up after ignorant guests BUT it does need to be picked up.
Public washrooms in the “main” area are not well maintained. As these are the only washrooms that anyone knows how to find. In the ladies you will never find paper product what you will find is a very potent candle, only 2 stalls and toilets that are clogged daily. Outside of the washroom 10 feet is customer service, she has a radio and will have someone restock it, if you let her know.
If you don’t like smoking this one isn’t for you. I had someone vaping next to me in the buffet, at her table. As someone that smoked/vaped for 20+ years I can tell you that is a big no-no. Do better lady. People smoke next to the signs that say no smoking, no one enforces it, anywhere on the resort.
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Viva V Samana by Wyndham: Great place to stay!
Short ride from the airport! Which is great in the heat. Except for the small bus! Too cramped.
Very clean and comfortable rooms. A couple of power outages but they only lasted few seconds.
Friendly, hard working staff. Big thank you to Yocairy!! She rocks!
Food was excellent with a wide variety. Resort is the perfect size! Easy to get around. Pool is clean, and well maintained. Beautiful beach and view of the ocean. Will definitely go back.
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Meaganb -
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Viva V Samana by Wyndham: Great experience!
We are so happy we chose Viva V Samana by Wyndham for our vacation and would absolutely return. The resort is only a few years old and very up to date. The beach was gorgeous and well maintained by staff. Our room was new and felt clean and fresh after housekeeping. We were also pleasantly surprised by the little lounge pool in our patio. We had read some negative reviews about the resort food, but we were honestly pleasantly surprised at how much we enjoyed it all. The restaurants were good too[... read more], but you had to book them quickly. We didn't do any excursions, but we took a taxi to Las Terrenas one morning and shopped and wandered and it's absolutely worth doing. We loved this resort and met several people who had returned many times (one couple said it was their 7th visit!). We can see why and would absolutely come back again if we come back to the Dominican.
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BevMac -
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Viva V Samana by Wyndham: lovely resort to vacation at
A very clean resort, food was good and fresh, drinks were typical sweet sugary fruity with alcohol. worth the upgrade for the premium alcohol selection and the fresh fruit juices. the beach and ocean are nice; there is a sandbar and while I stayed the red flag was up for 5 days, due to the ocean undertow, its rough water to swim in. There is one large pool- clean but extremely busy for a smaller resort. Theme nights and entertainment were great. 3 a la carte restaurants were also good. Friendly[... read more] staff and there is an Excellent medical facility on site. I had to use due to an allergic reaction I suffered mid week.
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Viva Tangerine by Wyndham: Would not go back
The rooms were dated but was clean. They advertised 2 bars but one a folding table by the pool with limited drinks. There was not enough tables in the buffet and when you did get a table you could wait through the meal to even get a glass of water. I will say that all of the staff was great
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Leah B -
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Viva Heavens by Wyndham: Average, would not go again.
Service was not so great. No one is willing to address service issues if they are not selling you something or trying to get your money they are not interested in you. Had an issue with the room request. Asked for 1 king bed for 50th birthday celebration got room with two double beds. Front desk was very dismissive when we tried to get the issue resolved and it never was. We were told no request was sent to them and there are no rooms with 1 king bed.
The day of my birthday it rained hard al[... read more]l day. The tile used on the walkway from the hotel to the beach is very slippery when wet, no signage at all. I was walking barefooted but still slipped and fell hard, banged up my right knee pretty badly and twisted my right ankle and toe. I limped my way down to the beach restaurant and bar as we were closer there than to the lobby. When we got there I was bleeding, the staff just looked at me but offered no help. Another guest saw what was going on and offered help, he called his wife over, she spoke Spanish and she got the staff moving to call someone to help me clean and dress the wound.
Food was average, very salty overall. When we mentioned it they said oh yes we like the salt in DR. Overall it was somewhere to escape the cold so that was ok but we will not be going there again ever.
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Viva Tangerine by Wyndham: Beautiful resort away from the huscle of Puerto Plata
Grounds are lovely good situation on beautiful beach. Usually very windy which is why its a Kite surfing spot.Most staff helpful and friendly.
Building maintenance needs improvement. We had problems with our room AC and door lock, both of which needed to be replaced thus waisting one day of our holiday !!
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Viva V Samana by Wyndham: Small, beautiful resort
Grounds are well maintained, a lot of plants and flowers. Room was big, with large balcony.
Food was very good, different every day. Nice concerts were every evening. They have clean water stations on the first floor.
Don't forget to bring diarrhea medicine.
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Viva V Samana by Wyndham: Great resort and the best beach!
If you are looking for the best beach this is it. The water and surf are safe and fun to boogie board. No sharp coral or yucky seaweed anywhere, just pure sand. The amount of palm trees at the beach allow for shade with dappled sunlight so you don’t feel like you are baking in the sun. The pleasant breeze and view of the ocean was the highlight. The food is ok and has a variety. We all did get sick with some food bug for one day.
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Viva V Samana by Wyndham: We enjoyed this resort
This is a smaller resort, but the beach is completely amazing. You can walk for hours!
We had a room on the main floor and were happy to note that it had a very nice patio with a lounge bed and 2 chairs as well as a small plunge pool.
The food was ok. There are 3 a la cartes but I did not enjoy any of them and would have preferred to just go to the buffet. The staff was great but be prepared to not get what your ordered.
There is also a wood fired pizza oven so pizza is always available [... read more]for lunch or dinner.
Unfortunately, both of us contracted Norovirus and were quite sick for 2 days. There were more people at the resort who were also sick.
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Peter -
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Viva Miches by Wyndham: 3 star at the best
A new hotel that has so much potential but is failing in so many categories
Mediterranean restaurant 5/5
Beach 5/5
Location3/5
Staff 3/5
Buffet 2/5
Internet 1/5
Management 1/5
Always bothered and never left alone by sales associates trying to get you to buy into Viva
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Viva Tangerine by Wyndham: Meh..
This hotel left a lot to be desired. Unlike a lot of all-inclusive resorts, I found this one needing so much more than it offered. The restrictions were insane (can’t swap a beach towel out before noon, no alcohol before 10, only two hour timespan that beach volleyball was allowed, etc…) which was quite irritating. The food was not great at all except in the Mexican and Italian restaurants - which are impossible to get into because the resorts holds more people that it can host.
Thankfully, th[... read more]e beach is gorgeous and there are some amazing views and stops along the beach.