Fantastic Time

This is the second time we have been to this hotel and enjoyed it even more than the first time. The food was great with a great selection. The rooms were clean, tidy and well stocked mini fridge and great house keeping staff. The grounds were immaculate and we had a great time down at the beach where we got never ending sunshine and warm water. We are definitely going back again...probably in February 2016

Beach not good

Compare with Cuba beach not good and sailors like a fly do not give to rest. Room service not good , every time you need to ask towels in a bath room after noon by yourself and was dust...It is not good for hotel 4* Pool configuration and entertainment are not reach..... But,compare with Cuba food much better and stuff good and friendly. Sanitary standards are good too.

Amazing Resort & Ppl

This resort is a small resort, laid out perfectly, nothing to far from each other.Lots of entertainment around both the pool and beach area. Grounds are very well kept. Rooms are clean and always fresh towels,lol Food was fabulous both at the buffet and a la cartes. Most staff speak english well are aim to please. Only complaint I have is that there is No coffee pot,perculator in the room.

Great Vacation!

Second visit to this lovely smaller resort. Staff are very helpful and always happy to help. We were in the Catalina building on first floor with a view of ocean which was a nice surprise. A/C worked well, always hot water for showers. Room was clean but beds and pillows aren't the best. Also, very little storage for clothing. Beach was nice. Peddlars but if you say "no thanks" they leave you alone. Beach restaurant had fantastic chicken and chicken wings at lunch. Buffett was good with lots of [... read more] choices... Picky eaters with me found food good as well. A few times there were no tables set/cleaned up to eat at . Be prepared for influx of Dominican locals on wknd. We knew it would be busy and they can be lvery loud and pushy. We booked a daytrip for Saturday to avoid the chaos and hing out at quiet pool on Sunday until checkout. Overall a great little resort that tries hard and for the price an excellent bargain for a week of R&R in the sun.

What a holiday!!

beautiful, clean, great food!! What really made this fantastic trip were the staff at the VH Gran Vantana.. from the hotel staff ( lounge bartenders- Domenic, Antonia,, beach bartender Aquilno..) staff at the buffet, room cleaners all amazing!

Almost there

We stayed Apr 16-23 in a Junior Suite 2nd floor in the quiet area overlooking the Beatta pool. The room was very spacious, with great air conditioning. We travel light, but I could see other people might have an issue with there not being enough drawers for clothing. We appreciated being away from the noise, and the walk wasn't far. It was also pleasant relaxing at the bar, away from the noise. The overall layout is well thought out. It doesn't feel cramped, yet everything is a short walk away. [... read more] It's also nice being able to take a walk to/through the other resorts on Playa Dorada There was quite a large variety of food at the buffet. Most of the food was quite tasty. Even picky eaters should be able to find something. We tried 2 of the 3 a la Cartes. The Octopus was fair. The mixed grill at the Ocean Grill was delicious. People mentioned in other posts that they had difficulty making reservations. We got in late at night, so went the next day after 10am, and had no problem. There is some great snorkelling (when the water is calm enough). Entertainment is hit & miss. We have been to other places with better. The staff is very friendly, and aim to please. Now, the Bad (I believe these are management issues, NOT staff): They say in a brochure in the room that they are water eco friendly, however daily they removed our towels off the racks to wash them (even when it was obvious that we hadn't used them) That bothered me greatly, there is no need for it. How many people wash their towels at home daily?. Apparently they have a towel shortage in the resort. They collected ours in the morning, and didn't return them until the evening, which left us without towels for most of the day. Nothing to wipe our hands on after using the washroom, we couldn't shower mid-day. In short, this is crazy. They would not give us washcloths, unless we asked for them. We had to do this on a daily basis. We did not always get a full complement of towels/bath mat. It's supposedly a 4 star resort, but no bathrobes, or slippers. You should NOT have to pay for a safe. I have travelled the world, and this was a first. There are not enough loungers & umbrellas, selfish people come pre-dawn and claim them by putting towels on them. There is a sign saying that staff will remove towels etc if it is unoccupied for 15 minutes. The staff NEVER does anything. 15 min is a bit short, as people might be swimming, BUT if they are unoccupied for 1/2 hour then staff should open them up for people to actively use. Their free Wi-Fi was absolutely horrible. More often than not, you couldn't use the internet without huge delays. Many times we just gave up, as we couldn't access anything. In this day, and age it's ridiculous to make your guests pay for Wi-Fi. The bed was closer to rock than a firm mattress. The pillows were way too soft, they offered zero support. Would I go again? It's a maybe.

Great resort and good food!

We recently stayed at the CH Gran Ventana and loved it! The resort was beautifully renovated and well kept. Beach was nice but windy at times. The food was good and had a good selection of items. The entertainment staff were wonderful and very engaging! Loved it!

Amazing resort

Perfect spot to relax and enjoy the beautiful grounds and beach. Staff were amazing. Rooms were cleaned daily and fridge restocked. Pool was large and lots of chairs...just move them around to get some shad. Take a short walk to the left on the beach and go to the "Orange Market" lots of shops and fun to look around. Can't wait to return. Thanks to all the staff :)

Perfect vacation

Gran Ventana is a beautiful resort with friendly staff and an overall positive, fun vibe. There's always something to do, and when you feel like doing nothing.. Relax by the pool, on the beach or in a shaded area of your choice! I want to go back!

Excellent vacation

The resort is less than 20 minutes away from the airport. Surrounded by very beautiful beach. Rooms are conveniently located close to all amenities (pool, beach, buffet, A la carte restaurants etc.) Very friendly staffs. Very good food in both buffet and A la carte restaurants. It was a great vacation for us at VH Gran Ventana. Great value for the money. We will definitely go back!

Good Resort

Rooms, food and service was great. Rooms are clean. Staff is friendly. Foods was good and choices were endless. Drawback and there are two, as people have mentioned before, the seats at the pool are hard to get and I'm not waking up at six am to snag a spot while on vacation,.. Second, the beach venders they are relentless. They should really not allow it at this resort or any resort. People want to relax and not be hustled constantly. Talk to guest at other resorts and they did not have this pr [... read more]oblem. For those two reasons I would not go back. Reall a shame as the resort is nice. If they eliminated the vendors and the greedy pool guest I would consider going back.

Amazing resort - 3 times the charm!

This was our 3rd time at the Gran Ventana, and we were not disappointed. Lovely spot and very quiet, for "older" couples, although we did see a few young couples as well. The beache are beautiful, and we were given a room at La Catalina (new section, updated). Food is amazing and you won't go hungry! The staff is amazingly kind and will go out of their way to make sure your stay is perfect. The only thing I was disappointed in, is having to "reserve" your hut on the beach, or umbrella at pool, b [... read more]y getting up at 5:00AM! There needs to be more huts/umbrellas. Although we were able to find a nice palm tree to sit under at the beach, so it was OK. Weather was fabulous during our 7-day stay (April 19-26). Would definitely go back!

Good trip with a few little bumps

Good clean resort and worth it if the price is right! Beautiful beach, nice pools, average food, clean rooms! Seems a little short staffed, but all in all if the price is right its a steal of a trip!!

Excellant

Loved every minute will be back again 5th time . great food great staff excellent beach excellent excursions loved every minute. Can't wait too return year after year. Thank you it was a great vacation.

A solid 3 star resort with very friendly, staff

I stayed in the Catalina bldg. Comfortable king bed, hot water, fan, AC all worked properly. Any issue I had was remedied in good time. Bartenders, wait staff, front desk, house keeping, cooks, animation (Jenny my long time friend), security, Bel hops, hostesses were all very helpful and professional. Decent variety quantity and quality in the buffet restaurant, it was good enough so I only dined there. All in all a good value for your money in a very good location.

Great Resort

We had a recently upgraded room, King Size Bed. Nice décor. Staff always very accommodating. We ate at the Ocean Grill Restaurant one evening - very, very good with a nice atmosphere for the evening meal. We ate twice at the Italian Restaurant - exceptional. We had seven days of sunshine.

It was a good vacation

Overall rating for me would be 3 out of 5 stars. The rooms are dated as alot of older hotels are but it really needed a really good cleaning and some repairs. The toilet was terrible :( I emailed the hotel before going with our room request but they emailed me back for more information but it seems never received my reply and never made a attempt when I got there to contact us. The food was good with a good assortment, the drinks at the bars were just so so. Being from Nova Scotia I have to admi [... read more]t the rum was terrible, that Brugal rum no matter how old it is .....is terrible. The fruit drinks were ok, and the smoothies in the morning were very good. Had to get up early for a cabana on the beach to put your towel down. Not enough cabana's, could use alot more. Too hot around the pool and too much noise, but good for the younger age folks.

A nice resort

we booked a superior room when we arrived they over booked they upgraded us to a suite which was great. The food was very good the only thing is when the say dress code they mean long pants first hotel we ever went to that didn't allow long dress short. pools were crowded a kids in the swim up bar. Nightly entertainment was poor Over all hotel to big for us but a good time

Amazing Resort

We had an amazing 2 weeks and the weather was great. We left on March 27, 2015 and returned April 10th. We have been to this resort about 15 times and we always have a wonderful time and stay for 2 weeks. All the staff know us and always have a smile or a hug. We are very comfortable here. The food is good, the management treat us like family and we are able to go off the resort to shop or just go for a walk. It is only about 20 minutes from the airport as well. We have taken a few of our friend [... read more]s there and they would like to return there as well. Our regards to the Manager, Oscar, and the staff who strive to give everyone a great experience. We hope to book again around November. William and Theresa

Expected more

This resort is very well reviewed. However it was really hard to see where these reviews came from. Food was good at the restaurants, however buffet was to small, not much variety. You will find yourself eating the same thing every day, and will be a real joy when you see something new. Pool was okay, but too many kids and Pool bar only has 1 bartender who is obviously overwhelmed. You have to get up at 630 - 7am to get a good spot at either the pool or the beach, especially if you want some sha [... read more]de. On the beach you get constantly harassed by vendors. I dont think you can sit for more than a couple of minutes without someone trying to sell you something. Other people mention that if you just say no they move on. But you will be saying no to the same person 3-4 times a day, everyday. Its a bit much. Service was okay, rooms were clean, and there are a couple of bartenders who are very very good. Overall, it was an okay experience. Went to this hotel based on the reviews, however didnt see much of what others have said. To each their own.