7 Nights Viva Wyndham V Heavens, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
Room: The room size, location (building 5) and decor were quite pleasing. The shower overflowing and expanding the wood on the base of the bathroom door to the point that it wouldn′t close was an annoyance, but hey you′re on an island. Two double beds were both bouncy, sloped in the center and needed replacing. Pillows were also the ones you had to fold in three to get a decent thickness. Patio door would not lock unless you performed a bit of push⁄pull⁄twist with the broken latch, we did finally master it, however the maid continuously left unlocked (we were on ground level so was a concern). Air conditioner stopped working day 5 of 7 and had no hot water at dinner hour on 2 occasions. Again, we coped and did not bring to the hotel′s attention.
Bees were an issue near our building and I was stung on the beach on my foot. No big deal. They sprayed daily as you could smell the pesticide as you walked around the resort in that area. Bees are nature, we get that and appreciate the resort was trying to keep them under control. We also can appreciate those guests with bee sting allergies, but perhaps spray first thing in the morning rather than mid day to reduce the exposure to guests. Also, the sprayer should be masked!
Grounds: Beautiful! Walk to beach was absolutely stunning and in no way of a concern to us about distance to beach.
Pools⁄Beach⁄Grounds: All very clean. Main pool just needs a refresh paint job, otherwise beautiful. Saturday afternoons they do a foam party and fill the pool with foam! The absolutely most memorable experience for us! What fun! We felt like kids taking a huge bubble bath! Will never forget this experience. Upper pool above main pool bar also needs a refresh. Pool near Sofrito Restaurant was just repainted and looks lovely, however did not see anyone using as it was in an awkward location attached to Sofrito restaurant. NEVER had an issue with finding a lounge chair at beach or pool. After 10 A⁄I′s under our belt, this was a first. Quite enjoyed this. They apparently had an issue with their main washer⁄dryer for towels and were taking them to another resort to be cleaned for a few days. This meant a refresh of towels in the rooms and the towel hut were causing frustrations with some guests. We just hung and reused them and wasn′t a problem for us. Beach was lovely! Vendors did come further into the beach lounge area compared to other resorts, but ′No, gracias′ was all it took to have them move on. If you had your eyes closed or were reading, they left you alone. If you lingered too long looking at their product and engaged in any more conversation, it was harder to have them move on. Self-serve cold water dispensers at both bars was a great addition. Awesome coffee and very hot water if you like tea. Omelet station in the morning was great. We enjoyed the wine compared to other resorts (Spanish Dry red and white). Didn′t really have any top shelf stuff though.
Staff: All extremely helpful, polite and did a great job! Front desk staff are the best we have encountered.
Food: We enjoyed the food varieties except for Blend. The resort needs to work on the dishes in this restaurant. Lots of potential. We actually spent most of our meals at the main restaurant and also found a variety. You must try the banana mash. Yummy! Enjoyed Sofrito (DM inspired dishes).
Excursions: We hired a taxi (2 guys) and they took us to the waterfalls, fort, historic Puerto Plata for 3 hours for $80 American for 2 of us. Was very enjoyable and would recommend.
We booked snorkelling at the resort from the hut near the pool. The trip took us on an open air truck for $50 each. The location was 30 minutes away near Sosua at Casa Marina Beach Resort. The guys at the snorkelling and scuba diving shop were awesome. Laughing and joking around but were very careful about ensuring safety. They took us out to two locations. THE BEST snorkelling we have experienced to date! Incredible varieties of fish and beautiful reef. Would highly recommend this adventure. It was difficult to get on and off the boat from the beach with very high waves the day we went as they don′t have a dock.
In summary, we would recommend this resort to those that aren′t overly focused on the negative aspects of life and their experiences. Travelling to various Caribbean Islands over the years, we have accepted that no resort is perfect. We aren′t looking for perfection, just a break from reality and the cold. We are on vacation and unless the issue is something we are absolutely unable to tolerate, we don′t usually make a fuss over. This A⁄I resort through Sunwing was great value for the money.
Marie Carniello
March 4, 2017
