VH Gran Ventana Beach Resort: A wonderful vacation with couple of small mishaps

The VH Gran Ventana Beach Resort was wonderful. The resort is clean and they are always working on keeping it tidy. Our rooms were very clean. The beach was awesome although it was breezy by the afternoon which was really a relief from the heat. We upgraded to Premium so there never was an issue getting a sun bed. The service at the premium beach was top notch. They were always making sure we had drinks and always had a sun bed. A great beach to walk in either direction as well. It is a public b [... read more]each with many vendors but they are friendly and respect you if you say NO. The food was amazing whether you are at the buffet or al carte. So tasty and flavourful. We enjoyed the quiet pool a couple of times but found the main pool very busy and noisy. While there, we witnessed two people slip on the patterned concrete around the resort, one injuring his head and the other breaking her wrist requiring surgery. I myself fell 2 hours into our trip and suffered a concussion and whiplash. There needs to be some type of grit or tread on the concrete especially when it is wet. It was like a skating rink. I feared for people older than myself with the possibility of breaking a hip. We also paid premium and our room was not the nicest overlooking a dirty and loud building. I could see that people who did not pay the premium had ocean view rooms (you could tell by the colour of towels) so I was on my way to inquire about this when I slipped and fell hitting my head on the cement. They did move us to an oceanview room which I would expect was a premium perk. Overall, it was a wonderful vacation (minus the injury) and I would recommend upgrading to Premium. The vintage lounge is amazing and a great spot to chill or have pre-dinner drinks (premium liquor) or specialty coffees. Nice finger food to nibble on as well. Friendly people, clean resort, great food, wonderful beach, lots of sunshine and covid protocol was in place with masks required going to the bars and restaurants and hand sanitizer offered and required to go into the buffet. Just walk around the resort with caution. We would definitely return but I would bring heavy treaded shoes. Ola!

VH Gran Ventana Beach Resort: V H VENTANA BEACH RESORT

royal section on beach is fabulous, the attendants look after your every need and top line drinks (beafeater gin, johhny walker red label whisky etc) and food from the beach grill is good they do the best pizza’s , burgers etc and you don’t have to leave the royal beach section because the guys will bring you an array of food, they all wore masks & covid protocols were excellent, food was ok at the buffet and hot you won’t starve, rooms are clean & serviced by the maids with towels toilet  [... read more]paper soaps etc , beach area is nice to go for walks do some snorkelling or just swim & soak in the salt water. negatives, you have booked and paid extra for the royal but you cannot get an international drink unless you go up the stairs to the second floor to the royal bar so its not accessible to a person who is not able to climb stairs, so you cannot sit in the main downstairs patio to watch the show and have an international drink (which is why people pay for the royal service so that’s not good) and in a way it’s discriminatory i did discuss this with luis carlos our concierge and he said to write it here. they need to be able to serve the royal guest’s in the main entertainment area, but they don’t. rooms are clean but bathrooms are dated so in the royal room ( same as regular room) no walk-in shower so still old bath & no hand sprayer on the shower head so you cannot clean your private parts and its very difficult to get the sand off yourself just standing under a fifty year old shower head after using sunscreen all day. the staff are excellent and attentive so its time for the management to get something done about their royal guests bar services. the evening adult entertainment is very poor and they could do with bringing in some outside professionals to entertain. i would recommend this resort to a friend also informing them of the terrible evening entertainment and no royal bar drinks in the main lobby area etc.

Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada: Great resort

Excellent grounds, v.helpfull staff, v.good food selection, top rate. Room was very well located BUT lots of problems with it. Fridge never worked(reported twice, no results).Water leak in bathroom ceiling, fixed after 6 hour leak. Room safe sometimes failed to open, needed staff help to open. Book and paid for a Oceanview room but was given a Pool view room instead, would not change despite me showing them my copy of booking paper. Despite all this, strongly recomm [... read more]end this resort and will go back again. Kids club and staff top notch. Evening entertainment very bland and mediocre. Beach crappy and rough.

Lifestyle Tropical Beach Resort: Bad experience

Pools close at 7pm...beach closes at 6pm...you need to make reservations each morning and wait 1hr in line to do so for your a la cart restaurants wich you can only choose certain restaurants that are available.....the staff are nice and at your service but they need to follow protocol....all in all I will not be going back to this resort!!!

Playabachata Hotel: Spend your money elsewhere

Beautifully promoted on trip central and the photos do the outdoor amenities justice- except for the cabanas on the beach that are reserved for VIPs at the resort next door. We had very noisy construction in the lobby during our entire stay. It was loud and we had to take different detours daily to reach the buffet. The food was good, though! Also no pool bar or beach bar as promoted in package inclusions. We were also surprised to find that there is no discotheque as promoted. We really enjoyed [... read more] our time in Dominican Republic and our Transat representative Alexandra was amazing. We had so much fun on our excursions. Covid testing on the property was convenient and cheap ($20USD). Honestly, no complaints there considering we’re still in a pandemic. One final note I’d like to make is that they are newly owned by Senator Hotels instead of Riu (as they stated) and they are incredibly pushy in promoting the Senator hotel right next to Playabachata. The concierge are nice, but the offers they’re trying to talk you into are expensive and they’re insistent. We were offered breakfast and a tour of their suites and accepted due to persistence and curiosity about the food. We were advised we would have a 90 minutes tour, to which we agreed. Afterwards, we were presented with membership options for Ultimate Leisure Club that are at minimum thousands of dollars. They did a raffle while we were there (as they said they do weekly) and we won an expenses paid week-long trip to their facilities in premium accommodations. They took down my email but I highly doubt I’ll be hearing from them. Overall, a disappointing hotel experience, but the country is beautiful, the people are friendly, and the weather is fantastic.

Viva Heavens by Wyndham: Absolutely recommend this gem of a resort!

The resort was the perfect size which made walking around and finding your bearings super easy. It was very clean, the pool was incredible, the beach (and the walk to it) was STUNNING. The a la carte restaurants were delicious, and there were a large variety of refreshing cocktails. Quiet enough for people that want to relax, but there are also a bunch of fun activities going on all the time for people that want to have fun. Really amazing experience!

Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada: Great resort

Overall great experience! The food was amazing and the beaches were beautiful. The music played in the clubs could have been better but still not bad! I would skip all the al la cart restaurants (expect for the Mexican restaurant) and just eat at the buffet, the food is really good and offers a wide variety.

VH Gran Ventana Beach Resort: Great trip

We really enjoyed this little hotel. Great layout , food was good , rooms were clean. The staff are really what make this place though! Super fun entertainment staff!, the bartenders and servers were great! Our only complaint about the whole week was the MUSIC ! The music they played at the pool was horrible elevator music. They didn’t start to play good music until about 4 every day. Everyone around the pool seemed to be on the same page but when we asked for the music to be changed staff [... read more] said management wouldn’t allow it. Disappointing

VH Gran Ventana Beach Resort: Inviting, clean place

This hotel is right on Dorada Beach. A long strip of sand and swimmable waters. The resort is small enough to provide good service and make the place look spacious. Staff wears masks all the time. The rooms are clean and with pristine bedding. Good for families and couples. Covid testing is available for $40 US but we were charged more because the person said so. Wheelchair accessible.

Sunscape Puerto Plata: Beautiful Resort

Really had a great time here and would go back again and again. This was my second time there since covid hit and its just starting to open back up so not everything is perfect but they are working hard everyday to make sure it's back up and running a full capacity. most of the staff were amazing and only found 2 that need to work on the attitude as I found them rude. They had to finish there conversations before taking your names on restaurant list.

Senator Puerto Plata Hotel: Beautiful resort!

The resort was very clean and the staff friendly and efficient. The food at the buffet was diverse and served hot. The dining at the specialty restaurants was very good and the food above average. Only complaint was that there were no benches along the walking paths for older guests to sit and rest. All in all a very nice resort that I would recommend and will return to.

VH Gran Ventana Beach Resort: An excellent resort for our 14 day holiday.

We paid for the "premium upgrade" on our room and it was totally worth it. Our room was larger than normal, faced the ocean and was very quiet at night. The upgrade also gives unlimited reservations to the "ala carte" restaurants and access to a private lounge with premium alcohol and coffee. Food selection at the buffet for meals was very good with plenty of choices that were sure to please everyone.

Playabachata Hotel: Playa Bachata February 24 to March 3 2022

Our stay at Playa Bachata puerto plata. This is an average resort. Nothing real special, nothing really bad. The buffet is almost always the same but there is much choice. If staying for a week you can find something new and tasty each meal. The shows in the evening were ok. Very simple nothing to big. Only one pool was open. It was ok. A bit of wear but daily activities going on pool side. The beach is ok but if you vacation for the beach this place is not for you. We always found lounge [... read more]rs but alot of them were broken. There was alot of local people at this resort which I enjoy however it seems that the bartenders cater to the locals and the rum is not of great quality for the Dominican. Our house keeper was so nice. She didn't speak much English but she was grateful and took care of us. We went on 3 excursions, all were good. There is no covid protocol. The resort says there is but only employees wear masks. That was ok with me. Our sunwing rep gave us false information about our covid test. It wound up that we had to get our test on a different day then what he stated. Im going to chalk that up to the rules just changing. We did have one bad thing happen. Our toilet overflowed the second night covering our whole floor even the bedroom. Bad plumbing I believe as other reviews speak of the same thing. They say it is your fault you used to much toilet paper. No I didn't. The mess was cleaned and we were given a new room. There are liquor dispensers in room as advertised but no liquor to go in them so don't expect it. We paid 775 each for the week all inclusive and I believe I got my moneys worth. Nothing fancy but ok.

Senator Puerto Plata Hotel: We love this resort@

The Senator is a great resort. The grounds are bright and well kept. The cleaning staff is amazing including the Ladies thst clean the restrooms near the pool and the sports bar! The staff are so friendly and fun. The entertainment staff are extremely fun and give love for free! Lol. Covid was left in the back of our minds, but we were cautious to sanitize and the staff all wore masks. Our masks were optional, some wire them others did not, no issues. The only little issue was when came time for [... read more] our departure antigen test, it was not clear where we were to be to line up and a little wait due ti lots of people needing one done, but up be expected really. I would recommend this resort and have been there 3 times now, excellent for the price point for sure.

Sunscape Puerto Plata: Low key and chill resort, just what we needed!

While the resort is getting a little old, everything was clean and in good shape. All staff was respectful of COVID precautions. They were all very friendly. Beach is absolutely stunning and so calm! Buffet is actually quite good, especially Dominican food! Entertainment is not first rate but I came there to relax after 2 years of COVID stress.

Casa Marina Sosua Trademark by Wyndham All Inclusive: Amazing!

I would like to begin by saying WOW! This resort has drastically improved in every way since my last stay in 2014. The reception staff were quick with check in. My room was very clean and well kept. The buffet food was excellent and well protected from outside elements. The servers were the outmost professional considering how many guests they catered too and despite how rude, disrespectful, arrogant, and ignorant the Russian tourists were. The pools and grounds were very clean. The beaches are [... read more] beautiful and conveniently away from the public vendors. Even their public washrooms ate modernized. Overall my stay at the Casa Marina far exceeded my expectations

Senator Puerto Plata Hotel: Amazing trip

We were a group of 10 and the staff and service was fantastic, the resort was always clean, food was amazing rooms were nice! We will definitely be going back!! Thanks senator!! We love Domingo at the sports bar! Coffee at the sports bar is amazing

Sunscape Puerto Plata: Friendly Staff and no crowds

Hotel was great , Buffet food was bad , always cold and tasteless. That said the al la carte restaurants which don't need reservations and have no limit had pretty good food. Pool was nice and beach is a real beauty. Be prepared for beach peddlers though. If you want to lay in the sun and relax do it at the pool. Surprisingly really good surfing close by at Encuentro beach. Would come back again in a heartbeat

VH Gran Ventana Beach Resort: Awesomeness

This resort was worth it. It was well maintained and proper ppe used due to COVID and I felt very safe. Staff are friendly, warning and wanted your stay to be a very good one. Awesome beaches and there was always a chair available . The pool is small but didn’t felt like it. Never have to find a chair as there’s always some available. I will go back in a heartbeat.

Sunscape Puerto Plata: It was exactly what we needed!!

We finally were able to travel and we were really looking forward to it. Sunscape did not dissappoint. Despite rain for most of the first week, we had a great time. Service was excellent, food was good, room was great, beaches excellent. The second week was perfect weather for sitting and walking on the beach. We especially enjoyed spending time with Fransisco, Jaun and Carlos (Sun Club Bar and restaurant) and Magdeline from the Castaway Bar. They were all very friendly and provided excell [... read more]ent service. All staff at the Sunscape were very friendly, and always eager to make our stay memorable. The resort was very clean and Covid rules were strictly enforced. We will definitely return with our family if the opportunity comes up. Fransisco from WestJet was also excellent.