Very good

I just returned from my vacation at Vista Sol and it was a very good vacation the staff was excellent my husband was sick the firth night propebly a virus and the doctor on the resort was very good there we very caring even the nurse they stay in our room most off the day . We had the swim up room excellent the food was good . The grounds were beautiful it was allways clean . The beach was beautiful allways clean to I love my stay the only complain I could said was are guide was unrespectable .

Great little resort

I have stayed at 4 different resorts in Punta Cana in the past 7 years; all of which were rated 4 stars. I really liked this one. It is clean, pretty and most staff are friendly (bartenders could cheer up a bit). It was sometimes difficult to get a drink served at the buffet but there are alot of self serve machines around too. Loved the location, it was close to everything including the airport which I liked way better than being too far off the beaten track. The food at the buffet is Dominican [... read more] mostly rather than North american which I enjoyed alot but may not be for everyone. You could always find something you liked there though.

Hidden Gem

I had tried not to go with high expectations however this resort completely exceeded all of my expectations. The food was really good on the buffet and had great variety. Our room was one of the renovated ones so we were quite pleased. The beach was great, the water is a little rough but still enjoyable. All in all fantastic time!!

Great value

Food was of good quality and good variety. Ground were fairly simple, but very clean and well kept. Beach chairs had to be obtained early in the day, and once one of our towels was removed from a chair while we were at breakfast, and once two (we were a party of five) chairs were completely removedfrom the others; at least the culprits left our belongings! The beach is predominantly shaded, which I liked but if you like the sun the area with rays is quite limited in size. The room was a good siz [... read more]e, beds were ok, pillows awful. The bathroom was clean but quite dated, there was no ceiling fan, so often the ceiling dripped water on the area surrounding the toilet. Maintenance however was prompt in at least assessing these issues. No less than 6 times in one week did we have to replace a key card for not working. It wasn't usually a huge deal as the front desk personnel responded promptly, however I was travelling with an 80 year old and a woman using crutches, which was a bit of a pain for them. The maids were friendly and did a marvellous job. Both some of the workers (definitely not all) and particularly most of the guests never stopped to let our family member on crutches pass before them, instead she would have to wait. Coming from Canada, I found this a little offputting, where we are accustomed to giving the pedestrian right of way to children, elders and the infirmed. However, many people were very gracious, helpful, mannerly and patient in helping us with our Spanish. Also, this resort is not huge, which was appealing for our group.

Great Time

I booked a trip using tripcentral to Vista Sol. The website was easy to use and booking was easy. We just arrived back from a week stay at Vista Sol. I will try and be brief. This is a large resort but feels small. It is a short walk from the front desk to the beach and all of the entertainment. The check in process was slow...very slow. But once at the desk they took their time and explained everything so I appreciated the slowness of the check in once we were at the counter. The grounds and f [... read more]acilities were very well maintained and our room was cleaned daily. The food was average. I didn't see much of a problem with it. We went to the Mexican restaurant 1 night and it was good too. I would keep an open mind with the food. Some items they offer are: pork, pork chops, turkey dinner, seafood, chicken etc. The beach is amazing. Get there early if you want a lounger...same as anywhere else I've been to. Things needing some improvement. The beds felt like we were laying on a stack of pallets!! So uncomfortable!! Check out was disappointing. Our pick up time was 3:10 am and we had to check out at 11 am. That's a long day of not having a place to shower or rest before you leave. The staff really didn't understand English very well. All other resorts I've been to have staff that understands English. Attentiveness was weak. All other resorts had staff that would get drinks for you during dinner etc. this one didn't. Not a big deal but a difference anyway. I asked for a blanket from the front desk and didn't get it. Not a big deal but... All in all we had a fantastic time! Nice clean resort, decent food and service. I've had better for around the same price. Room Tip: Swim up rooms in the 10 block were great

Nice to get away from the snow

The sand and sun is beautiful, nice pools as well. The food isn't the best but there was always something. Lobby bar closed at midnight, no where to get fresh coffee until 9am Hardly had any hot water, I might have had 3 hot showers. It was an ok resort if you didn't want anything to do, not much of a night life

Very boring resort and overrated beach!

Hotel room: nice and spacious and grounds beautiful, love the wildlife Maid service: very good – rooms cleaned by noon Dining: good – good selection of fruits, very fresh Coffee: The worst coffee – they only have coffee machines that break down at least once a day and the line ups at breakfast are horrendous! Why would the DR who are known for their coffee serve such sludge! A la carte restaurants: terrible reservation system – have to line up by 9:00am everyday to reserve that night and [... read more] often if you went by 9:15 – full-up (had to be there by 8:30, very long line-up) They have quite a few annoying rules at this hotel – cannot take even a cup of coffee out of the buffet restaurant, cannot take any food out of the beach sports bar and the staff spend hours chasing people who don’t know the rules! The pool bar is closed in the evening - only 1 bar opened most nights. The bar at the beach party does not open until 10pm even though the party starts at 9:30 and all the guests are waiting. We travel a lot and have never encountered this attitude – the management as well as Jimmy the Sunwing representative need lessons in customer service – should please customers first if they want them to return and after talking to other guests - they will not. The entertainment from 7pm to 10pm is non-existent except one night a week (a Michael Jackson show). It was very quiet and boring in the evening and even the shows at 10pm were a hit and miss. Do not go for 2 weeks as we did and go preferably with other couples because there really is nothing to do in the evening. We travel alone usually and love to dance under the stars - not at this resort and it's unfortunate because they have a beautiful café-style set up by the pool that would be great for dancing, even to piped-in music. We suggested it to the manager but we’re ignored, so we’ll never return – I guess they don’t care! Bavaro beach: What an overrated beach that is! What A DISAPPOINTMENT. It is the dirtiest beach we've been on in the islands! So many weeds in the water and even though they clean continuously it is always dirty the first 15 feet in the water and the water is very muddy and choppy and not only at our hotel. The beach at this hotel is much too shady and there are way too many trees. Everyone is always trying to find some sun and having to move chairs around - very annoying. Yes you can walk for miles but it is dirty and also very windy, the whole 2 weeks we were there. Maybe it's the time of year and if so, don't go in January.

Everything Wonderful Except Buffet & No Coffee

Everything about this resort was good and so it's a real shame that the buffet food and coffee is truly the worst I've had at any resort in the past. Coffee as we North Americans know it, is not available AT ALL. Coffee was available only from a machine dispenser and was terrible. Some mealtimes, the machines were shut off and no coffee was available. Poor variety of fruit and often bitter, not ripe or rotten and yet still put out for consumption. Raw bacon in the serving dish along with the coo [... read more]ked bacon. Dishes were tasteless and meat dry and chewy. Beef here is not what we are used to so the chef needs to be more creative in serving it to guests. I understand the business sense of recycling food for a subsequent meal but we saw the same dishes day in and day out and soon the lavish buffet became predictable and somewhat questionable. Juice dispenser is nothing more than powdered flavour crystals. On days fresh fruit juice was available, each one was so watered down they had no flavour. I told the staff but they couldn't have cared less. The Mexican Restaurant had wonderful food as did the Gourmet Restaurant but the Buffet remained mostly inedible. Sometimes we simply skipped meals or ate mostly bread. All of us in the group developed diarrhea requiring a visit to the medical centre. This resort has a huge Russian and European guest base and perhaps the resort caters more to their taste but for we Canadians, the buffet food was simply substandard and I would NOT visit this resort again nor would I recommend it to anyone.

First time there

The room was great, and the staff was very friendly and helpful . Very clean and we'll groomed grounds. It's a great resort except for the buffet and coffee. (breakfast was okay). The a la carte restaurants were very good. The ocean was great as well as the pool and the evening entertainment was fun.

Good mid-priced resort

The resort is average. Buffet is similar to others. Al la cartes were quite good, although you did feel rushed in the Mexican and Italian restaurants. The grounds are nice, beach and pools are all nice and the drink selection is quite good. Rooms are average. A good choice if you don't want to pay for a higher priced resort in Dominican.

Great family-friendly resort

This was our 6th visit to the D.R. and our first stay at Vista Sol. The grounds are beautifully maintained and the staff is always busy making sure the pool deck is clean too. While we have stayed at friendlier locations, we didn't experience anything negative from the locals. It is heavily attended by Russians, who don't like to wait their turn for anything; hence constantly budding in lines, whether it be at the bar or the buffet. And while most considerate people would move to a single lane w [... read more]hen passing people along paths, this group of people make you walk off the paths to pass them - even though you're going in opposite directions. If you are a smoker, you will fit right in. We aren't smokers and regrettably, there was no consideration to those who appreciate breathing clean Carribbean air. There are signs posted indicating no reserving of loungers at the pool, however that didn't stop people from laying their towels down and then not showing up to use their spots until long after 3pm. Because of the trees, you have to be strategic with shifting your chair of you want sun exposure. For the most part, we didn't use the beach much because the winds were so high during this trip. Despite some of the comments above, I would still recommend this resort. We wanted a clean room - we got it. We wanted a good variety of foods - we got it. There was always a different roasted meat offered daily. We wanted a pool with swim up bar - we got it, although the bartenders were only tending from the top level. This is a good family-friendly value resort.

Over all very good with a few annoyances.

Vista Sol, the grounds are beautiful and they are always cleaning and making sure it looks it's best. The pool is great and we spent most of the time around the pool because the beach was quite windy and shaded by a lot of palm trees. The only issue with the main pool, was the lack of beach chairs and the hoarding of them. Get up early to reserve one. There are a lot of Russians at this resort, and they do not line up for anything they will barge in line. If you are a non smoker, there really is [... read more]n't any non smoking places to retreat to. The food is good, there was always something for even the pickiest eater. We had the room with the loft and there was plenty of room and all four of us had a bed. Even though the rooms are dated and need some repair, the housekeeping staff kept it immaculate. The washrooms in around the hotel are also kept very clean. If you go, expect it to be a 3 1/2 star and you will not be disappointed, but it gets a 5 star for effort in my books.

The resort was beautiful and clean.

The rooms were clean and the staff was great. The entertainment was excellent. We watched the dancers each night by the pool. We were treated to a lap dance and this was so much fun. The entertainment nightly was excellent.

Great Resort

We stayed in a modern Junior Suite with a spectacular sea view and private beach.Our room had a king size bed that was very comfortable and a spacious shower, lots of hot water and always clean. The gardens are very tropical.It is kept very clean with Peacoks and ducks to roam freely.Lots of palm trees on the beach to provide shade if needed. Food at the A La Cartes restaurants was very good.The buffets food was good but good use more of a selection and a better layout for the food stations. The [... read more] staff was always friendly and hepful.They have a good activity team, nightly shows at the theatre and also in the evening live bands play in the lobby.Massages and shopping are available. We had a great stay and plan to return to this resort again.