Good Family Vacation with 1.5 Year Old

We stayed here with our 1.5 year old from Feb 9th to 16th. Overall a good resort for a young family. It is not too big, clean and updated. It is not a big party resort and a quick drive from the airport. We spent most our time at the pool, our son loved that he could walk into the pool on his own. We did have to get out early to get chairs with an umbrella. Beach always seemed busy. We would only go play in the sand for small amount of time every few days. So I cannot comment to the chair and  [... read more]shade availability. As many other reviews note - there are many vendors on the beach trying to sell. Food was average, buffet was better some nights than others. One night the chicken did seem undercooked. We were not offered water several times at breakfast, lunch or dinner. But you can get your own from the beverage station, as well as bottles in your room. The highchairs did not have a "seat belt" so our son could stand up which was a little frustrating. Food in the restaurants was good, we enjoyed everything we ordered. Service was quick as well. (other than the Caesar salad, personally it was a little strong for my liking) The room's are clean and updated but small. We were on the third floor. Not ideal with a baby for two reasons -- no elevators so we carried stroller up and down several times a day. The balcony railings are wide enough that our son could stick his head through with space still...so a little scary that he could fall through. Several toys did end up falling down between the railings. We did request a ground floor room at time of booking, but didn't bother trying to switch. The beds are the number 1 negative. We had 2 double beds, which are horribly uncomfortable for our liking. Very hard. The pillows were not very good either. The crib was rickety and about the size of a play pen, when our son stretched out he is touching head to toe. (Average height and weight for his age) He did not seem comfortable in there. Our room also faced the pool, so we did hear noise all day and until the entertainment theater show finished at night. That did not bother us though. Staff was friendly and our maid Petra was wonderful. Many of the staff would go out of their way to say Hola to our son. Overall, we had a nice stay. However we would not return as we enjoy going to new places.

Mostly wonderful!

I went to puerto plata with low expectations as I knew this was an older area with darker sands. I was pleasantly surprised by the lovely beach and great food and drinks! I really enjoyed the blender drinks and the beach restaurant serving great fries, pizza and chicken wings! The snorkelling right off the beach was pretty good as well There were some negatives though. the wifi was on and off, which didn't bother me too much but if you were expecting to use it you might be annoyed. The rooms wer [... read more]e older, but ok, except we did find a dead mouse in our first room and had a difficult time changing rooms. I eventually had to speak to a supervisor. The beds were comfortable, the air conditioning worked well and the water pressure was good. There was a big problem getting locks for the room safes.... We could not get one the entire week!!! They kept saying to check back, but there was never one available. This bothered me a lot as I don't like leaving my cash and passports unlocked. Also, to get a lounge chair at the beach or pool was impossible unless you went down before 7 am and put your towel down even though the signs clearly say this is not allowed. Really annoying to see all the palapas taken and no one at them for hours and hours. The very worst thing about this resort was the vendors on the beach. Constantly being asked to buy....every day...all day ......not very relaxing...I felt like I was in a market the entire time!!!! I think the positives definitely outweighed the negatives especially considering the price ( under $1000 Canadian) I would go back for sure and would also recommend to a friend!

Great holiday

Everything was wonderful, Staff. well informed and pleasant.facilities were super. Rooms were clean housekeeping. Staff always smiling. Exactly what. I was looking for in a get-away. Very good value for the money.

Friendly resort!

Food was very good. We felt very safe here and beach was amazing. They have a lot of vendors on the beach but they are all very polite. We had a couple of bad weather days at the beginning of our stay but there was always a beautiful breeze down by the beach. There are a lot of trees along the hotel border of the beach and always a chair in the sun and a place in the shade if you prefer that. Entertainment could be better. It would be nice if there was some Dominican themed entertainment instead [... read more] of all of the corny guest involvement.

Great little resort!

Good and clean, friendly staff and animation team. Some rooms could use a little updating, but otherwise fine. Unfortunately they were unable to accommodate us with a room in a quieter area, so the noise by the pool at night was a little loud.

Amazing trip

Hotel was super clean! Well kept, we stayed in the renovated building and our room was gorgeous! Food was delicious and staff were very accommodating! For the most part this experience was quite enjoyable I would recommend It to all couples looking to have fun and enjoy each others company.. If your looking to party like crazy I would suggest somewhere else, it quiets down quite a bit around 12 and there is no disco. :) loved it!

Good resort

The resort was beautiful and extremely clean. The room were very clean but could use some updating. The entertainment staff were great but the entertainment could be better. I found that after the evening show, there was nothing else to do on the resort. The food was good but there were periods of time during the day between meal times where no food was available. Also, you couldn't take food to the beach or by the pool. If you wanted to eat you had to go into the buffet restaurant or the Oceal  [... read more]grill. This was my first all inclusive so I don't have any other resort experience to compare it to but I enjoyed it and would definitely go back.

Loved staying at Gran Ventana

Great layout, loved both pools with lots of seating. The beach was clean & had enough shade & sun, lots of seating. Lots of good food at the buffet. Can't really comment on the evening entertainment but we did have a few night swims in the Beata pool. The 3000 building was pretty quite with very nice rooms.

We will return!

We have enjoyed our third stay at this resort and we plan to return again. This resort is great if you enjoy good healthy food, but there is also the fast food option. Bars close at midnight so it is great if you want to rest. The pool and the beach are great. Everything is very clean. Great family fun!

Dissapointing result to a new years in the sun.

First off, I have always booked with tripcentral and I will continue to. Unforunately this vacation did not meet expectations what so ever. The resort itself was okay. It was clean, a little small, and the people were friendly. However, the food was not enjoyable. My girlfriend and I are not picky eaters. We have never had trouble eating before. This was not the case. Each meal was a battle and talking to others at the resort they felt the same way. This wouldnt have been much of a problem if we [... read more] both hadnt felt ill the majority of our stay. The reason we travelled was to enjoy a new years together in the sun. The New Years eve result, in bed by 10:00 pm feeling aweful. On to the beach. The water was warm and a little rough. No problems with that. The problem was with one foot in the sand the hounding began. Even trying to lay on a lounger with your eyes shut you were subject to hagglers. I understand they are trying to make a living but there needs to be boundaries. Finally our excursions, which I know are not part of the resort but since we booked them with our travel representative I thoguht I should mention them. First we did the Xtreme Mega (waterfalls/zipline/horseback ridding). The waterfalls were definately some fun. Slidding down some and jumping down others was a good time. The lunch served was probably the most enjoyable meal of the trip! Next was ziplining. Little slow, not so high, and no feeling of security. Landing on a platform, 50+ feet up a tree) and being completely unhooked and asked to climb steep wooden stairs is not safe. My girlfriend was shaking the entire time. The horseback riding made the excursion. We both very much enjoyed it! The next excursion, Tip Top Catamaran, did not go smoothly. To begin we waiting at the loby for 1.5 hours trying to get a hold of the representative becacuse the bus never showed up. Finally he answered the phone and said sorry it was cancelled. Thanks for letting us know! He then said he would meet us at 10:00 am to change the booking to the next day. Okay fine, except he showed up at 11:00 am wasting more of our morning. When we finally got going the next day we arrived at the catamaran. Problem time. To get onto the catamaran we had to climb onto a smaller boat from shore and ride it out. Woudlnt have been a problem except for there not being enough life jackets so I didnt get one, not safe again. Once on the catamaran we had a good time. Both snorkling spots were fun and the water very nice. However, I think I could speak for everyone on board when I say the lunch difference between the staff and passengers was flat out rude. We were served coleslaw, tuna salad, cucumber salad, and tater tots. While the staff pulled out containers of fried rice and bbq chicken. I think I heard almost everyone on board muttering wheres my chicken and rice. With food aside, the trip was still good fun. Overall I do not blame tripcentral for the outcome of our experience. You win some, you lose some. I just wish I had been more informed about the resort before booking. How it was ranked 4 star with good reviews on tripadvisor and tripcentral website is beyond me but hey the flaws made it memorable. I hope this review helps in some way to some one and I will definately recommend tripcentral but definately not VH Gran Ventana. Thanks!

Nice

Overall, the hotel was quite nice! The grounds were well kept. The public areas were clean. The rooms were decent(even though our room was not properly cleaned upon checkin, there were empty bottles & dirty glasses in our room upon arrival). The dining areas were clean & inviting. We really enjoyed the a la carte restaurant "octopus " . The only negative issues were the bathrooms behind the ocean grill restAurant at the beach, they never worked properly, rarely flushed & sometimes no running wat [... read more]er in sinks. Also, it was a shame that right after the evening shows every night, there would only be about 20 minutes of music played & then silence, it would have been nice to play some softer music so that guests could sit back with friends & enjoy the night rather than be encouraged to end the night right awAy & go to bed!!! New Years eve set up in dining area & pool deck with live band was well organized!

Was as expected

This hotel was as expected. The grounds are very nice and clean, the beach is beautiful and based on what friends have said of resorts close by, I think it may be the best stretch of beach in that area. Food was good, the a la cartes were slightly disappointing and no better quality than the buffet. The rooms were clean and the housekeeper was great. Nightlife on this resort is lacking, there is nothing after about 11pm. Also, it is very, very hard to get lounge chairs in the pool area. We didn' [... read more]t have a chance to enjoy the pool area until the last day and that was only because we took towels off chairs that were there unused for several hours. The resort staff should enforce a time limit on how long towels can remain holding up chairs.

Wonderful access for handicap needy

We found our room to be adequate. Unfortunately we asked for a handicap room with at least a grab bar in the shower and didn't get one so they brought a bath chair. Which collapsed on a daily basis. Our travelling companions found their room very noisy.

Great

staff are so nice food good grounds kept ex. and nice cold beer EX.resort and priced right nice beach peddlars but a no is all it takes.if you see something you like barter for it most of the time you win.

Not a 4 star!

First of all, just to say....We have been to Punta Cana and would definitely go back there again in a second. Peurto Plata, not so much. The nicest things about The Gran Ventana were the room which was ok and the a la carte above the lobby which I believe was call the Octopus. The grounds are very small and are not kept up as in swept or cleaned walkways, everythnig looks like it's cracking and run down including the pool, the beach is covered in seaweed and palm droppings which were not being c [... read more]leaned up, there were hardly any people there and we arrived on a Sunday, thehe main buffet was was very small and small selection of food was just ok. If you are looking for a beautiful resort to have fun at, this is NOT the place. We talked to our Sunwing guide who was great, and moved to the Riu Merengue the day after we arrived in Peurto Plata. I will give the Sunwing reps a good review, they are very helpful and pleasant. At the Riu Merengue things were a lot better! Fun, good food, lots of people. Right beside the Riu Bahata and we could use those grounds too. Grounds were well kept and in spite of the one section of reconstruction of a restaurant area, the Merengue was nice. I will say the rooms and bathrooms and showers were on the small side but the rest of the resort made up for it. The only other downfall at the Riu was that the free internet in the lobby was limited to 90 minutes a day. Come on Riu, really?? So there you have it....if you are going to Dominican Republic, go to Punta Cana where the beach is white sand on the beautiful Caribbean not on the rough Atlantic like Puerto Plata. This is obviously only my opinion but I have been to nicer resorts with better food, service and beaches in Cuba, Mexico and Punta Cana.

Fantastic Resort

This was our second time to this resort (first time was 10 years ago). The resort is lovely. The rooms are clean and beds comfortable. Food was delicious. Beach was nice but too many vendors on the beach. A simple no thank you and they continue on their way but that happens a dozen times a day. This place is very well managed and efficient and friendly work staff.

Loved everything

We have been to a number of all inclusives and i had a great time at the Gran Ventana,good food,good weather,good clean rooms and great service in all areas.only advice would be to bring lots of single dollar bills [us] can onky get dr dllars at the resort.

Average Resort

The taste of drinks and food could use some improvement- entertainers need to be more mindful of all audiences/guest and not just favor guests from certain 'backgrounds' more than others - entertainment could be longer and better - facility was kept clean at all times and reception staff/maid service were efficient.

Overall a great resort

First time to DR and this resort was lovely, grounds and rooms clean and well decorated, everything close together, felt very safe on resort. Being a slow season, there were no lineups for anything but that also meant the buffet and grill bar were not on top of their game. The outdoor grill cooked all the food at noon and just reheated the burgers, chicken, fries, etc.. when you ordered and the food sat out on the counters. Buffet had everything we wanted, but was a little repetitive. Smoothie b [... read more]ar for breakfast was awesome. Day trip to Puerto Plata and Cable Car ride up the local mountain was amazing - booked with James at the little shopping plaza for a better deal. Overall a great holiday, met some other guests that all felt the same way.

Amazing people, amazing resort!

My daughter and I have met the most amazing people ever!!!!! The night shows and the entertainment team are, by far, the highlight! I would definitely recommend this resort to anyone who wants to relax and party! We hope to see you all again next year!!!! :) Cheers, Oana and Dorina