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.

Amazing vacation

Fantastic resort, with amazing staff. The entertainment staff are the highlight with Shorty, Coco, Carlos. Food, rooms, resort are excellente. The vendors at the beach are a bit of a pain, but if you're assertive enough, they leave you alone. We would definitely go back.

Welcome Home to my Dominican Place

This is a Great Resort if you want a smaller resort to stay at. The rooms have been renovated & are well kept. Food is VERY GOOD with lots of variety to choose from. There is always HOT WATER to shower !!!!!!!!! We travelled on March 26/15 and the flights were on time........transfer to resort well managed and our room was ready when we checked in. We were pleased with a Jr. Suite .........king bed on the third floor overlooking the beach...........WoW!! Room 1347. The beach has great sand...... [... read more]....no sharp coral and is well patrolled. This was our second stay & there was a banner on our door "Welcome Back"

Great hotel

The resort was very nice.Beach was beautiful .Food was very good and large variety.Rooms needed some updating but for the short time you are in your room they were fine.The workers were so very friendly always stopping to speak or asking you if everything was ok.

GH Ventara

Very clean and friendly staff. We had a problem with our room but they were very quick to give us another room. Food was very good. A la cart portion were small but delicious. Would have liked to have seen more Pilates and yoga classes.

Perfect Holiday

Third visit and it is better than ever. Food, beach, pools, rooms excellent. Especially enjoyed the managers dinner for returning guests. Lots of activities as well as quiet spots. Great for all ages.Will be back again!

Wonderful Resort

We were a party of 4 - 2 adults and 2 -18 year girls. Had a great time. Grounds very well kept. Hotel clean. Friendly staff. Need to have some local music played around the pool during the day. Food was wonderful. Beach beautiful and clean. Would go back.

Definitely would recommend to a friend.

While not perfect. the resort gets high marks in our main key areas: Excellent beach best in area, cleanest and cleaned every day, well maintained rooms (some older and some recently renovated) and facilities, cleanliness and food options where the 3 specialty restaurants along with the buffet and Ocean grill never once made us think of eating off site during our two week stay. We were part of a group of 13 for a wedding and the bride was extremely pleased with everything and the general consens [... read more]us was very positive. The only minor blemishes was room allocations where an uncle and 2 nephews were given a one bed (king) room and one excursion which failed to mention close to 6 hours of bus travel when you add the 1.5 hours to pick up tourists from all of the resorts before starting the posted 1.5 hours to get there. There are extra charges for the use of the safe and better Wi-Fi; free Wi-Fi performance ranged from adequate to unusable depending on the time of day (both not significant in our minds). The resort was a very short 20 minute bus ride from the airport.

Clean and friendly too! Good snorkeling too.

In short version is we LOVED IT! VERY pleased and we would not only recommend VH Gran Ventana, Puerto Plata but will go again if nothing else catches our eye next year. Without considering the low cost, it was a great spot. When you factor in the low cost, it is a gem. Clean, clean, clean. Friendly staff. Great food. Quiet. Great beach. Small enough that nothing seems “far away”… … It deserves better than the 4-star rating. It wouldn’t make a 5 star cut mainly because of minor things,  [... read more]I think. Long version: The bathroom was a bit dated, but spotlessly clean. So if shiny taps and a perfect tub are a concern, you might have a few complaints. The common areas are spacious and airy and we were amazed at how well maintained they all were (seriously, if you told me they had just shut down and renovated the week before, I’d believe it.) The staff were extremely friendly and helpful with the occasional need for international sign language.  The beach is very nice with tons of shaded areas (we did not have to sit in the sun once unless we chose to and never went out early to “reserve” a spot). There is lots of coral to explore. Sadly it is in pretty rough shape with very little active growth but there are still quite a few fish attracted to it. Not bad for a short walk and your snorkeling! The reef provides some protection. We had pretty big winds and I swam on yellow flag days with no concerns. Although I am a strong swimmer, it didn’t matter as I was not buffeted at all (using a little common sense about going out too far on those days of course). The food at the buffet was great with lots of variety and the a la carte restaurants were delicious (wine was better there). The wait to sit at the buffet was minimal at worst. More often than not, we walked in and sat down right away. The entertainment was a bit lame for us, but you know what? They had a crowd every night.  The service at the buffet was about the only thing that stood out as lacking. And what a minor thing. Waiting for a glass of water or a coffee could go on forever. But both were readily available on the buffet a few feet away. Most times plates wouldn’t be cleared or maybe a glass would be missing when set… … But once we got a few waiters nicely tipped we didn’t wait for wine or drinks often. 

Had a great time

Staff was excellente. They kept people entertained around the pool, at the beach and at night during shows. The food at the 3 a la cart restaurants were excellent. Cons: The mattresses in rooms are like sleeping on a sheet of plywood. The beach bar could use a face lift and more seating around the bar. Although it is buffet food, the food overall was good but at times not hot enough. But most importantly the resort needs to make "Presidente Light" available to quest's around the resort rather t [... read more]han the 2 cans they leave in your room.

Wonderful clean Resort

My wife and our 17 and 18 year olds had a wonderful time and they made good use of the WIFI. TV in room also carried quite a few US station, so my wife was thrilled to watch Survivor.. Food Buffet was a bounty of choices (beef, pork, chicken, turkey, pasta, seafood, salads, etc... were top rate) and no stomach issues. We ate when we wanted at all hours and didn't get around to the four specialized restaurants that were also free. Plenty of happy helpful staff worked hard to keep the visitors hap [... read more]py and were so very friendly. Entertainment was top rate every night. Even had the opportunity to play a few songs with one of the visiting bands in our adult resort section that made my time even more special..Our bartender at the TIkki bar named Remy made the very best specialized drinks that we've ever had and we felt great every morning. Met many fine folks from Sweden, UK, and few from the US as 90% were Canucks from all over from PEI to Calgary. A few we met have visited the resort over 12 years and said it was better than the Five stars. Friends of mine recommended the place after being there 9 times. The waters were very calm on this side of the island, safe to swim and wade around in the water, nothing to step on that would sting you, sand was clean and was very safe to walk in either direct of the resorts for a long .Pools and beach were clean and safe for the little ones as well.Sun was always at your back so it always nice looking out at the water. Plenty of shade if wanted and plenty of chairs too. Only went on the Dune buggy tour which was a dirty muddy messy blast, but later just chose to just hang around the resort and relax. The kids want to go back again next year! Seven days was not enough, wished I book for 10- 14 days. Only a 4 hour trip each way and 15 mins from the airport. Takes longer to get to the cottage from TO...

Was not as good as expected.

We have been there 4 times. This year they added club packages and if you don't upgrade to one of the clubs your needs will not be met. We arrived on Friday afternoon and on Saturday we couldn't get in to one of the restaurants unless we took 9 o'clock at night. We were very disappointed. So be prepared to upgrade or forget it.

Fantastic Stay

Fantastic time at the VH. It was our first time at this resort from the moment we checked in to our sad goodbyes it was a great week. The rooms were clean and welcoming with a bar fridge stocked daily with water, pop, and beers of course. There are two pools at this resort one is a quiet pool of you wanted a nice quiet relaxing day with a bar near by, and the main pool had music swim up bar with entertainment hourly. The food was always fresh and delicious, we tried all three a la cartes the It [... read more]alian and beach grill were my favourite. There was a snack bar and drinks available daily until 2 am so you never went hungry . The VH had the the nicest, cleanest beach out of the complex. It was cleaned daily and there were always chairs available. There are vendors on the beach, they were friendly and all you have to say is no thank you and they will not bother you again All and all it was a fun resort to visit, there isn't a lot of night life it does get quiet after the nightly entertainment comes to end. But that doesn't mean you have to end your night. You are able to sit out grab drinks and hang out around the bar or in the lobby. I recommend this resort to all ages and we will defiantly be back!!!!

Amazing vacation

My group consisted of 2 couples ages 24-29. We arrived on March 5, 2015 around 11pm and we're greeted with a welcome drink at check in. The hotel reception were very nice and got us to our rooms within 20 minutes. Our rooms were located in Beata building and we thought this was to our advantage as it was quiet at night. Rooms could use some updating but for us who were only in there to sleep it wasn't a big deal for us. We waited for our luggage to be delivered to our room for about 10 minutes a [... read more]nd while we waited took advantage of the mini bar in the room stocked daily with beer, pop, and Water. Room was nice enough for us, bed were a little uncomfortable but wasn't a big deal what we slept on after a day of drinking by the pool. Our shower had very little pressure and the bar fridge leaked puddles of water all over the floor everyday, but again we were not very critical nor did we care. Our room faced the quiet pool and it was very nice to sit on the porch and have a drink every night before dinner. Bugs were not really an issue for us in the room, however while we were there our room was fumigated twice in 3 days and a few of my girlfriends lip glosses and make up brushes went missing. Again not a deal breaker for us as we were just happy to be in paradise. The a LA carte restaurants were awesome and we ate at the octopus, ocean grill, and Italien. Italien was by far our favorite. The wine isn't the best, but you can get better for a price. The buffet was awesome for breakfast and we all pretty much ate omlettes every morning for breakfast, those guys are awesome. Lunch wasn't very good at the buffet and dinner was hit and miss. We ate lunch mostly every day at the ocean grill as they had a wider selection of food but again most of the time was the same food everyday. The pizza and quesadillas were amazing though. Beach was fantastic. we walked the whole thing both ways and the vh by far has the nicest spot with lots of beach chairs to choose from. Vendors were a little annoying but you get to know them by name and they become quite friendly and will leave you alone if you are polite to them. They are just trying to make a living and people need to understand that. The staff at the resort were awesome. The water aerobics were fun to watch, but it was alot of the same dance routines every single day. Pool bartenders Franklin and Jonas were by far our favorite. Those guys definitely deserve some credit and appreciation. So personable and friendly. Drinks were good but again got tiring. If you wanted something different to drink you could pay for it at the vip fidelity club. We liked the drinks because they made them strong and would have them ready for us most of the time right when we finished a previous drink they would be pouring the next. Dangerous. Haha. The entertainment at night was by far the worst thing about the resort. Just repetitive and boring. First night merengue was fun. African show was weird and creepy. They need to step their game up in that regard. New material. The problem for us was pretty much everything shut down around 1030. No club or disco on site and much of the Playa Dorado mall closed down it made it hard to find something to do at night and we found ourselves bores and trying to sneak onto the other resorts. Pool bar is open until midnight and buffet open until 2 am that will serve drinks as Well. Wasn't huge deal for us but being in bed at 11 every night got kind of boring. Pool was awesome, there were daily games of pool volleyball and every one of the entertainment staff were very friendly. Shout out to bon Jovi, Carlos santana, and coco who were responsible for handling most of the events throughout the day. They were awesome in grabbing people for fun games. I won a few and they most of the time reward you with coffee or booze. No big complaints overall it was an awesome vacation and stay. We would definitely come back but towards the end we did find ourselves getting bored as daily activities were repetitive. We loved the pool and beach and drinks even though they were lower class alcohol but we didn't care. We will definitely be recommending this resort. Ya it needs some improvements but they try really hard to be accommodating and it went a long way for us. Thanks for a great vacation !!!