Viva Wyndham Playa Dorada Hotel

1. entertainers were very good including franklin ohh yea BINGO, cristina , shady and all you other entertainers you were all great. the micheal jackson show was the best i recommend it. 2. food was great! the ibza beach restraunt is the best ,really nice steak i recommend not to have the (orange sauce) you can if you want . and the orintal restraunt was good aswell nice ribs. the buffet restraunt was very nice for any one. the best bit about the ALL INCLUSIVE deal is the drinks they do whatever you want its great 3. rooms, they were nice big beds easy to get to sleep on ,nice cold air conditioning. nice supply of drinks in fridge get refilled every day 4.excursions, the best out of all of them is got to be paradise island the most tropical reefs in the carribian the best for snorkling i reccomend you take an under water camera. jeep safari was good climing up the waterfalls to the highist one then jump or slide down them its good. when your at the resort look for diago he gives you good advice. 5. pool. the pool is great to relax, play, and just cool of in. and have a nice refressing cocktail at the pool bar anything you want its great 6. activties. the is plenty of activites on all day every day for every one theres bingo hey franklin (69) theres water areobics and volly ball, pool table, tennis, foozball, table tennis, and other daily activties like crazy crazy games at beach and pool and plenty more 7. ITS GREAT!!! 4.

The staff at the hotel are super-nice... Everyone was always smiling and eager to help in any way. Although most spoke at least a little English, Spanish was the predominant language, so bring your dictionary! Melissa at the front desk is fabulous -- her English is impeccable and she's very friendly and helpful. The food at the two a la carte restaurants is wonderful, but unfortuntely, you can eat at each one only once during your stay. The buffet is ok, but was not great -- very bland, and a lot of food that I didn't recognize or wasn't willing to risk. Our friend became ill while we were there, and we suspect it was either from the water (which they advise you not to drink), or possibly some uncooked food (like salad or fruit). The drinks from the bar are really good -- and they will at least try to make anything you want. So, there's lots of variety (except for the beer - El Presidente rocks!) The pool area, restaurants and rooms are very clean and well-maintained. You never know before you get there how it will be, but the staff does a great job of keeping everything clean. Also, fresh beach towels are available throughout the day as needed. We left a small gift for the maid every day, which proved worthwhile in getting extra towels, water, and I even asked for a 'diet coke' and she brought it to me. The beach was not outstanding, but was nice enough. There were plenty of chairs and a little shade if needed. The beach vendors were extremely annoying, but I think if you wave them off before they get too close they'll leave you alone. There are organized beach games, a dart tournament, water aerobics etc if that's your thing. The best part was meeting people from all over the world... England, Puerto Rico, others from the US (also Canada, France, Germany etc.) Huge mix of people... There is a small mall not too far away (within walking distance), and a casino (it's small), but a fun evening activity. Lots of fun!!! Also, if you have a late plane on your check-out day, consider a taxi ($25) so you have a little more time on your last day -- it's worth it! I would visit again..... Have fun! Hi to - Kelvin, Franklin, James and Angela, 'Raul' and Angel.

We just returned from a one week vacation in Puerto Plata. We stayed at Viva Wyndham. The check in went fairly smoothly even though we had to wait for three hours for the cleaning staff to get our room ready. The first impression of our room was clean but fairly shabby. The art on the wall was missing some of its beading, there was only one drawer for our clothes and there was a door connecting our room to the room next door. As we later found out, the door provided no sound barrier between the two rooms, subjecting us to hearing all conversations, moans, groans and TV sounds coming from our neighbors. The food at the hotel was quite impressive. There was a great effort at providing variety and taste. The two a la carte restaurants were also quite pleasant and the relaxing atmosphere made for a nice change from the hustle and bustle of the buffet. They also allowed for refuge from the "sharks" staked out in front of the buffet doors, trying to sell discounts etc. for other hotel locations. They bothered us for about two days, until they realized that we just were not interested. The focal point of the hotel is definitely the pool area. Even though the pool is quite small, the fountain cascading down from the man made rocks makes for an impressive sight. The pool is very popular and you need to make sure that you get there early to assure a seat. As much as we can say about the cleanliness of the hotel, the same can not be extended to the beach. Even though there is a very good effort at picking up glasses etc., the sand is full of cigarette butts, as guests dump them into the sand. This can make for a pretty unpleasant walk down the beach. The beach area is also very small, allowing no refuge from the pounding hip hop and rap blaring from the beach bar. Unfortunately the beach is also contaminated by the " sharks", who approach guests trying to promote other hotels. In spite of all the little annoyances, the staff is very friendly and accomodating and overall we had a very good holiday!

I will try to be as informative as possible and break this review down into sections: Section 1 - Airline transportation - This was by far the worst part of our trip. My family of 4 (kids aged 7 and 11) flew out of Philadelphia at 7:20 am with a connection in San Juan. We flew American and we were a little delayed taking off in Philly. Little did we know, but that delay would be the highlight of our travels. When we got to San Juan, our 12:20 PM flight was listed as "on time". This would get us to the DR around 2 PM. So far, so good. Then the delays really began. 12:20 departure because 12:45, then 1:15, then 1:35, then 2:00, then 3:30 (I think you get the point) Finally the flight was cancelled and we had to wait over an hour to get our name called to make new plans. Eventually we booked a 8:25 flight which come 8:25 was listed as "on time" and then delayed sevaral times before finally departing (it turned out to be a propellar plane which I may have previously seen in WW II footage on the Discovery channel). Section 2 - Dominican Airport - Well at least we were airborne and on our way to the DR. Upon arrival in the Dominican around 10:30 PM, all I can say is that we walked down onto the tarmac and then into a scene directly out of Midnight Express. If I could have turned around and flown home, I would have been extremely tempted. We were immediately routed to donate our $10 entry fee and then walked into a larger area which had the baggage carousels. Unfortunately our baggage was nowhere to be found. As a matter of fact, I didn't see a single bag on the carousel. Just about everyone else on that plane must have had carry-on only. So we then had to wait in a very short, but extremely time consuming line. I have never seen people so slow in assisting the 6 individuals who needed to put in claims for lost luggage. End result was that, maybe, we would get our bags on the next flight (2 PM the next day). Hey, at least I was learning some spanish. Learn the phrase, "no malletas" Section 3 - taxi to resort - My God!! I wish this guy was behind the counter helping me with my lost luggage. I think his name tag said Schumacher. Dominicans seem to be a laid back people, but once you put them behind the wheel of a gasoline powered vehicle, a metamorphosis occurs. Believe it or not, I loved the taxi ride. definately an experience I will never forget. We even repeated it later during our stay by taking a trip on the Pub Bus. Section 4 - Viva Wyndham Personnel - Let me first put the luggage issue to rest as we got assistance from Anna, Gretel and Alba (Wyndham By Request) who assumed the task of dealing with American and locating our luggage. (The luggage was mistakenly sent to Santiago, so they arranged it's transfer to our hotel the following day) These 3 individuals were always accessible and helpful with anything during our stay. Also, everyone who worked at the resort was friendly and courteous. I wrote a note (along with a $3 tip) and requested some extra water from our maid. A couple of bucks a day kept us swimming in bottled water as well as an immaculate room and a restocked fridge. Best money I spent all week. Section 5 - Viva Wyndham Beach - I loved the beach and enjoyed the walk past the lagoon to get there. I brought along a couple cans of insect repellant as well as some bug spray for the room, but didn't need either. The beach was well maintained and we never had an issue procurring 4 chairs. Water is clean and refreshing. Section 6 - Viva Wyndham Pools- The only drawback on the pools are their early closure time. 6 PM for main pool and 8 PM for hot tub. Other than that, I like the fact that I can walk throughout the entire pool in a max depth of about 4 feet. Kids would have also appreciated a water slide. Getting chairs at the pool was never an issue either. Section 7 - Food - Overall, the food was delicious. Whoever said that the food was not good must have been expecting too much. Breakfast was great, eggs to order and a different breakfast meat every day. Two of the days had bacon. I enjoyed the different foods that they offered, even the breakfast hot dogs. Best meal was dinner at the Ibiza, I highly recommend the steak dinner. It is either skirt or flank steak, very good. We tried all the restaurants and all the varieties of food and never got an upset stomach. However, we were extremely careful about not drinking the water, so I dont know if doing so would have been detrimental. Needless to say, our Immodium AD which we brought, just in case, went unused. Section 8 - Viva Wyndham Timeshare vendors - We did take a look at the timeshare opportunity (we received 2 massages for our time), but I would not recommend wasting time doing so. We killed about 2 hours doing this and wish I never did. This time could have been better spent poolside with a couple of Presidente beers. I should have just said no thanks and moved on. I still would have paid for the massage, which, by the way, was fantastic! Section 9 - Vendors outside the resort - If you are ready to barter you will find it enjoyable. I enjoy the game of give and take, so I had a blast. For example, the first price we received for a horse ride was 750 pesos (about $27 US). You need to figure out the peso to dollar exchange before you go, because they know it very well. We eventually got the ride for $10 and I told our rider I'd give him an extra $5 if he did an exceptional job. After about 30 minutes into the ride, I let him know that he had earned the additional $5. He really did a good job and the ride lasted almost an hour. We also bought 4 bathing suits (since our luggage was lost) and paid less than $50 US total (1250 pesos). We also bartered with some vendors at the beach during our day on the Pub Bus. The Pub Bus was a great way for us to get off of the hotel property and see some Dominican life. I highly recommend doing so. You really get a true appreciation for all of the things that you take for granted. The only people who I found annoying were the airport personnel who took our bags our of our cab upon our return trip. These two guys got our bags out of the back of our car before I even got out myself. They then took the bags about 20 feet and waited for a tip. I let them carry my bags all the way through the check in process and tipped them at the end. When I took money out of my pocket I also had some dominican pesos that I was bringing home for my kids to keep. So I flipped through those and gave the two guys $5 US to split (even this was too much for what they did, but all I had was a five dollar bill and the dominican money, my wife had the rest) They kept gesturing that I needed to give them the dominican money also (about 250 pesos or another $9 US) After they pestered for about 30 seconds over the dominican money, I told them to both get lost. Section 10 - Viva Wyndham room - Very clean and spacious. We had the Junior Suite. However, they should really invest in a dresser for each room. My advise is to pack light and smart. Air conditioning was never a problem. We did have water leak from our bathroom ceiling on the first morning, but upon telling Anna, Gretel and Alba, the problem was resolved. I went there anticipating power outages and was not disappointed. There were a couple out quick, less than a minute outages, and one which lasted about 30 minutes. We packed a flashlight so, the longer outage turned into a fun adventure for my kids. Overall, I loved the Dominican Republic and loved the resort. Only difference is that when I go again, I will fly direct!

My wife and I just came from Viva Wyndham Resort in Puerto Plata. To our surprise, the hotel guest representative called my cell phone to ask me the time of the fly and to pick us up at the airport. I told her that we were arriving at a different airport ( Santiago internacional airport) and that it was 1 1/2 hour away from Puerto Plata. She said, we pick you up there anyway, dont take a taxi, its free. I was so happy that i did not have to worry about paying a taxi driver to take us to puerto plata. she was very friendly and was waiting for us at the aiport. we had a great time in this hotel, i did not gain any pound because i did a lot of activities. the prize was good and in general i have to give them 5 stars.

To start with, I paid $1300 through Wyndamvacations.com for stay between 7/2/05-7/6/05. This place is worth every penny you pay for it. You get what you pay for. 1. First disapointment is at POP (Puerto Plata International airport). While Wyndham lists $8 as the transportation cost, the actual cab fare from POP to the resort is $25 mas propina (plus tip). All the cab drivers show you a chart with a price list from the airport to the resort, showing $25 as the fare. Well, I can get over that. A stupid gringo shows up at the beautiful island, and ends up paying $25. No big deal. Too bad the airport Maletero (sky cab) requires a propina (tip) as soon as he shows you a cab and as soon he carries your bags 50ft to the cab. Well, you can see the cab there yourself, can't you? 2. You disembark the cab at the resort and the cab driver not only expects the fare to be paid in USD (and also tip). You're handed off to a maletero who works for the hotel and insists carrying your bags 50 ft to the reception while you wait for the check-in. Btw, we booked through Wyndham vacations, and found that our reservation is nowhere to be found. Finally, we were given a 1-day VIP bracelet, to have lunch and use the facilities while our room was being prepared. 3. Remember, you get what you pay for! Don't expect extraordinary service which you'd get if you were to travel to Wyndham in Puerto Rico or elsewhere... 4. Finally you get your room The next morning, the staff makes up your room. If you throw in 100-200 RD$ (Dominican Pesos), you might get an extra two cans of Presidente (the beer of choice in the resort). 5. Beach The beach is meticulously cleaned every day. It is virtually impossible to find garbage on the beach. The sand is smooth, clean and the Atlantic waters are as warm as coffee. If it weren't for the merchants that ask you 10 times a day to buy their wares, it would be perfect. 6. Pool Unfotunately, the pool closes at 6pm and the hot tub that is situated above the pool closes at 8pm. Aww shucks. 7. Food You can have breakfast in the main dining hall, where you will taste Caribbean and European cuisine. Don't expect too much variety. There are two premium restaurants on premises, but as a regular guest, you're not allowed to make a reservation for each of them more than once. 8. Peddling goods On your next-to-last or last day you will encounter a sleazy salesman trying to sell you a Viva club membership. They will take 90-120 minutes of your life to peddle the membership. They will not discuss any bottom line with you and will get quite annoyed when you ask. Check out is quite simple. You get into the cab, arrive at the airport. You will be passed to a Maletero who will lead you to the Dominican equivalent of the USDA. Of course, he will let you know that if you have "anything" for him, to give it to him before you reach the inspectors. Once you pass the inspectors, another Maletero will take you to the checkin line (for another tip). Overall, this resort offers exactly what you pay for. It is not "El Conquistador" of course, but if you're on a strict budget, you'll be happy. The premises are impeccably clean, the beach is squeaky clean, the dining facilities are spotless and the rooms are quite generous. Definitely what you pay for! 5.

Let me begin this with the saying "To each his own." Although, the last repondant has interesting things to say, my point of view of the Viva Wyndham resort is quite different, and definately not as favorable. My wife and I do not have children, and we were there for relaxation and comfort. We just returned on July 1. We agree that the suite room and grounds were very clean, and beautiful. The beach, although lacking in spots to hide from the mid day sun, is great. The food at both of the "A la Carte" restaurants were amazing, (it really was a shame they only allowed us to go to each once per week.) That, however, is about it for the positive......it's best if I break our main concerns into categories. 1. Food The main restaurant at this resort is a buffet hall many guests nicknamed "The Caf" as it resembled a high school cafetaria . The food was very bland, and repetative. We pretty much had the same breakfast every morning - and they considered cut up, boiled hot dogs as a good breakfast meat - no bacon or real sausages. There were no glasses to be found at 90% of the meals, and you had to clear your own table if you wanted to sit down right away. Not a relaxing atmosphere, on the contrary people were often in a bad mood after battling the above, while having hotel staff cut into the food lines. It wasn't a place to sit, chat, or meet people. You ate fast then left. 2. Service The majority of the staff was not very friendly, and were not usually helpfull as they were severely understaffed. We spoke to two Viva employees who told us that they are very short on funds due to the renovations, and had to lay off 50% of their staff! They were not happy working there and this was clearly seen in the restaurants with the slow service, the lack of smiles, or friendly greetings "Ola" that we recieved at other resorts. 3. Extra Curricular This rated average in our books. A couple of the shows were good, but overall we found them geared towards the local spanish speaking guests. The tri-lingual host spoke only in spanish for one of the weekend shows we saw even though there was an english couple participating on stage, we found this rude considering the tourist population in the crowd. We have stayed in the Dominican before, and this was the worst visit that we had. The positives are, we did not get sick, we had a good time together, and met some really great people from Buffallo, Montreal, and Brussels who made our time there so much better. But ultimatly, we paid to go here because we wanted relaxation and comfort. We booked there after reading all these wonderful, glowing reviews, and in the end feel it was not worth the money paid. I would not return to this resort again.

My wife and I go back to Puerto Plata at least once a year and we have stayed a a number of the all-inclusive resorts over the years. During this vacation we decided to try the Viva Wyndham resort as we had great experiences while it was under its previous management (It used to be called 'Heaven'). Too be honest, I was very much impressed with the actual grounds, rooms, decoration, etc. Since it is newly refurbished, everything is beautiful and the pool is awesome (looks nothing like the old pool that was there)! The beach is smaller than I remember but very nice. There was a lot of activites to keep us and the kids going. One of the nicest things the resport has is the "Kid's Club" where you can drop off the kids and you can go and enjoy the beach, pool, etc. while they have a good time with the staff and other children (unlike some of the other resports, it is a FREE service). The kids loved it so much they spent most of thier time there (Kids are 5 & 10). It gave my wife and I time to spend together and enjoy the vacation. The staff is couretous, freindly and overall a pleasure to deal with. For those that can't live without their daily exercise (like myself) there is a really nicly equipped gym that has the lastest machines as well as free weights. The nightly kids and adults entertainment was fun and livened our night. I have seen better shows at some of the other resorts but that is not to say that the Wyndham's is bad. Now to the the biggest and only problem I had with this resort...... the food. I don't consider myself a picky eater but I did not like the variety or the taste. In speaking to the staff, they staed that the biggest complaints given by other customers is the food. We met at least 2 other couples during our stay that had the same complaint. When I go to the Dominican Republic, you would imagine having a variety of food including the local Dominican food but this was the least cuisine they had. Considering you usually stay at a resort for at least a week, this is something that really bothered us. If I would have considered the food at least average I would have given this hotel at least 5 stars. However, since the food is a critical part of one's stay in an all-inclusive resort, & I was disappointed, I really think it only deserves 4 stars. Wyndham.....do something with the food and you will have a really, really good resort.

Great and friendly staff. We spent a whole week there and had a great time. Awesome free drinks, and tasty food (stay away from the beans). Unlike some other reviews regarding this or other resorts, the glasses they gave you were average size, with lots of alcohol (70% alcohol, 30% juice or other). Very clean rooms, but remember to leave the 'do not disturb' sign if you're "busy" as the cleaning lady does her round in the mornings. Good music and games throughout the day and interesting shows at night. Nice disco, no cover, free drinks. Vendors at the beach weren't annoying or insistent, but you must huggle if you want to buy something. Beautiful facilities and the beach is only a block away. Take insect repellent and lotion which are very expensive. Hope you enjoy it like we did!!!!!!

I stayed for two nights, with my husband thank god for that other wise I would had been bored out of my mind. The staff is friendly, the food buffet is ok( not the best i've seen). The "a la carte" restaurant, the food is terrible and not much of a variety. You get all the drinks sure, but who wants them. they use the cheapest brand of liquor, don't expect to get your Pina Colada in a nice big glass with a pine apple on the side and a cherry on top like I did. it won't happen!!. The pool closes at 6pm, wich sucks cause you will find it romantic to take a swim in the evening with your loved one. The hotel is nice and clean, got to give them that.. This place is mostly for couples.. if you are a group of singles, I wouldn't recommend Puerto Plata or that hotel. The beach is not the best either...