I stayed at the Wyndham Viva Playa Dorada property from April 22 through April 29. I have a good experiences vacationing at other Wyndham properties and expected to be pleased. I was NOT!
I travelled with my husband and two young children. We have travelled to other localities and look forward to enjoying a good and relaxing family vacation! Unfortuanately, we had an OK time but would have had a BETTER time if it was not for particulars.
The hotel accomodations are moderate. The room size is above average but furnishings were poor. Renovation is needed. On our first day, we had a flood in the bathroom. The entire first and second floor had water. Upon maintenance arriving, the worker's response on why this occurred: We left the balcony door open and there was condensation. WHAT?! Mind you, we understand Spanish and there was no language barrier.
Positive? The rooms were clean..the hotel was clean. But housekeeping took their time. One time, we did not receive service until after 4 P.M. The guest services response to this: Do not put the sign on the door that you need service. WHAT?!
The front desk personnel was friendly and helpful but I have seen better. THe next day the cleaning staff came at 9 a.m.
KIds Club...There is no KIDS CLUB. Parents beware. The idea is good if it actually existed. In other hotels, the KIDS staff would encourage the children to participate. At Viva, The Kids Club "Superviosr" would pass the kids with a simple smile and continue on her way. It rarely was opened and I saw it opened twice. Once, it was a hangout for "animation"staff. Second time. parents were in the kiddie pool with their own kids. QUITE DISAPPOINTING! The MiniDisco...let's not go there.
Food... pretty OK. But make sure to get there when the Palmas opens since you have better selection. The Dining crew in the morning were superb! THe Bamboo and Ibiza were good but we gave the wait staff $20 dollars each visit. The dollar signs appear to improve performance!
Entertainment...if you call five young men gyrating their groins in patrons faces entertaining. It was embarassing. Certain staff even were drinking with guest. They were extremely unprofessional. The games were mediocre and the night show was ridiculous. The Entertainment Manager seemed to be under the impression that the night shows were of Broadway quality. NOT! THe pre-show was oversexed and so inappropriate. One positive...my son now pretends he is riding a "donkey" with a quarter in his butt! Thank you! THere was one staff member that is worth mentioning. A girl named Anny that at least made guest feel welcomed and was professional to say the least. It is a shame that the remainder of the staff were horrible. We stayed at another hotel that the entertainment staff worked so hard. These "kids" work long days and you felt bad. For Viva staff, I was appalled. They looked like they were vacationing. One particular staff member Oscar yelled to guest, "I hate my boss!". How unprofessional is that.
Management..The hotel needs better security in the sense of creating some crowd control. One day at the pool, local children vacationing with their families were jumping off the rocks of the pool. They did this for apporximately 20 minutes to 30 minutes. The parents were enjoying themselves at the bar. Since my room had yet to be made up, I had to go to guest services to complain. Finally, security came and took control. The kids were using the lifesavers as floatees. I thought I was a local community pool not a hotel.
Bar.. pretty good. They were accomodating. The women bartenders at Las Cuevas were very nice.
I do want to acknowledge certain staff that did make my trip at least bearable...the morning dining staff; the photography staff were very sweet (Belkis especially); the gym manager..there was not much wormen friendly equipment but he was professional and no nonsense; the diving instructor was very courteous; and the gift shop staff...excellent.
Would I return? Probably not. My kids did have a good time since we made it work for us. My husband and I had some good laughs! I can't say it was terrible because there were at least some respectable staff.

I stayed at this hotel between April 19-25. A co-worker and I flew into Santiago since the airfare was so much cheaper and took a very well priced van from the airport to the hotel. The trip was about an hour and a half, but we got to see the beautiful country and also, the horrible living conditions for the people of the D.R. When we arrived at the hotel, there were plenty of staff to help us with our bags, and a fruity and tasty welcome drink which we sipped as we were checked in. Our room was made with one king bed, and we were asked if we would prefer two double beds (which we did). They asked us to wait about an hour while they switched the beds in the room...which was perfect because we were both starving from our trip. We walked over to the buffet and had a nice lunch. The guest service lady gave us a tour of the hotel also.

MONEY:
I feel that this is very important! Do not change your money to pesos if you are American. I am not sure how it works for the Euro but I assume the same. Bring small currency, like $5, $10, and only a few large bills for large expenses. Make sure they are unmarked because some places will not accept marked bills. It is easier this way because everyone accepts American money (which is nice for a change since our money has gone down the crapper). Also, some people will give you 34 pesos for a dollar, and some will give you 31...if you catch my drift. If you pay in your native money you know exactly how much you are paying for something and you don't get ripped off on the exchange.

The Room:
Was sooooooo nice. Some of the traveler photos didn't show the rooms in such a nice way. We had a Jr. Suite and it was lovely! It was so clean, very cool, tons of towels, shampoo, soap, and anything we needed. We didn't even have to ask for extra towels...our maid automatically brought them! The fridge is stocked with two sodas, two beers, and two waters every day. There was Dominican coffee and a coffee maker which we never used because the coffee at the bar and restaurants was sooo good, but I stole the packets of coffee every day. lol There was a safe to keep our passports and money and electronics, and the water pressure in the shower was decent. When we got there our towels were made into a swan on our bed with little pink flowers tucked into the folds of all the towels. GREAT first impression. I read on trip advisor before we left that even though gratuity is included, that we should leave something for the maid anyway. We packed two suitcases of clothes, pocket books, jewelry, shoes, games, perfume, and other things we had and didn't use anymore. Every day we left her a big pile of things to take home. Our room was spotless every day and we continuously got extra stuff. On the last day we left her money since we had no more clothing to give.

Food:
DON'T GO TO BAMBOO. I am sorry but the food there sucked and the head waiter had a stick up his butt. The buffet was very good...don't eat the oysters, I am still sick over them. The beach bar and the restaurant (Ibiza Beach) were fantastic! You need a reservation for the Ibiza so I recommend that you book it asap! They had the best food and it is on the beach, so you get a great view and a great breeze.

Drinks:
They were unlimited and overflowing. I think that Dominican rum is not quite as strong as say, Captain Morgan, but it tasted good. It may have been watered down. The frozen drinks were good...their beer is good. Now lets talk coffee. AMAZING I am a coffee addict...and I have had it in many different countries..including Italy and Africa, and of course Starbucks USA. It was sooooo good. I think I drank my all-inclusive's-worth in coffee. YUM

Excursions:
Book through Nelson on the beach...he will bargain and give you the best price. We did one excursion through a company that picked us up..it is recommended on this site. They were very good, but I think Nelson could have gotten it cheaper. Have in mind exactly what you want first and then bargain for it. We went on a snorkeling cruise to Sosua Bay, Horseback riding at sunset through a fruit plantation, over a river and through the woods, and we went on a safari and saw so much of Puerto Plata. The last stop of that safari was the waterfalls. You climb 7 of them, with the help of very strong lifeguards. You wear life jackets and helmets, and it is the trip of a life-time. We got to visit a school (which was cool for us since we both work in public schools in the special ed department in New Jersey). We brought pencils and toothbrushes for the kids who then mobbed us. I should have learned my lesson from my missions trip in Africa! If you bring anything for the kids...make sure you do not give it to the teacher because the kids will never see it, and tell them that no one gets anything unless they are sitting in their seats. Bring enough for about 100 kids. What a terrific day that was!

Staff:
The men are very horny and get insulted if you are nice to them, and dance with them, but then do not want to make out with them or sleep with them. So single ladies...there are plenty of them to go around but just remember..they do this for a living and I am pretty sure they get some alllll the time..don't let them fool you.

However, one in particular was very nice at first and drove my friend and I on his motorcycle to Cabarete which is a beautiful town with the outdoor discos on the beach, great restaurants, and the water is beautiful. There are tons of people from different places to meet.

Don't buy the coconuts on the beach...they are not worth it and they cost like 5 pesos and the guy will try and get 300 pesos for them.

Overall...there is something at this resort to do for everyone. If you do not want to party all night or be kept awake all night..request a room away from the disco where the music is loud. I read a lot of complaints about that, but we never heard a thing down by our room. The place is beautiful! We never went to the pool...always the beach, because hey..I can see pools in America...That crystal clear blue ocean was enough to make my heart stop! There are plenty of beach chairs and staff to help you out! We had so much fun and were able to relax! For two twentysomething women, it was fantastic. There were families with kids who looked like they had a blast..there were older couples, young couples, groups of friends, everyone seemed to have a great time! If you don't have fun here...then I don't know what to say to you, other than Impossible!

April 15-22-2008

What can I say, except this resort is very under rated. Our group of nine stayed there for a week and absolutely loved it. The rooms were very clean, sheets and blankets were changed daily, had extra pillows, plenty of towels and face cloths, soap, shampoo and body wash. The mini fridge was stocked every day, the a/c worked amazingly, almost froze me out.:) Not sure if there are smoking and non smoking rooms, but there was no hint of cigarette smoke in our room. The grounds are beautiful, lush greenery and flowers everywhere, my personal favourites are the palm trees and there were alot. The pool was small but beautiful, had a waterfall that is on a couple hours during the day and evening and under the waterfall is a bar and the staff are so kind and polite, everyone always has a smile on their face and a friendly Hola!! The food at the buffet was good, but the beach bar was fantastic, we didn't try the ala cartes but will forsure next time..The beach which is a short stroll down a paved walkway is out of this world, not a speck of seaweed to be found anywhere, you could go out about 3 feet deep and still see the bottom. The animation staff are out of this world, travelling with 4 teenagers, we were a little nervous about them being bored but the animation team kept them involved in every competition offered, and there was plenty of rum to be won! The shows in the evening were exceptional, these young people work 16 hour days, 6 days a week and work very very hard, and it shows. Our favourite show was the Street Dance/Hip Hop show, the dancers Anny, Erika, Rosemary, Mabel, Pablo, Angel, Ambi, Alex and the others are extremely talented and really make this resort what it is..We were unfortunate enough to have to use the medical centre twice and the care you get from the guest services personel (namely Rosangela) was incredible! It just seemed that they couldn't do enough for you. We loved this resort and would recommend it to anyone, we are already planning for 2 weeks next spring.

I traveled with my parents to the Viva Wyndham Playa Dorada in mid April. Overall, our stay was a pleasant one, but here is what I thought of some of the major features of the resort:

The Beach:
The Dorada Beach area is very tropical and secure compared to other areas in the DR. The sand is soft and clean of debris, except for the occasional cigarette butt. The water is very clear and refreshing. There are some moderately sized waves in this area, so if you are not an experienced swimmer I would not swim more than 30 yards out from the beach. A nice breeze comes from the direction of the ocean and it makes the overall heat much more bearable.

The Rooms:
We stayed in a Junior Suite and found the rooms to be roomy and comfortable. Unlike most rooms in the Caribbean, the rooms had a fully functioning central air system, very soft, and comfortable beds, and a very attentive housekeeping staff.

The Pool:
The pool was beautiful, although I did spend most of my time on the beach and swimming in the ocean. It did have a nice waterfall and an attentive bar staff.

The Food and Drinks:
I wish I could rave about the food, but unfortunately I found it to be bland, repetitive and not very fresh. The ale carte restaurants were above average, but both breakfast and dinner at the buffet was below average. The snack bar by the beach served consistently the best food and I ate there most of the time. The drinks at the resort were average and the "Presidente" is the only beer that is served (not very good, and often it is served warm).

Entertainment:
The entertainment was somewhat boring and repetitive. I come here to rest and relax by the beach and I don't come for the entertainment. If you do want entertaining shows, then you may be disappointed.

Overall Impression:
The country is beautiful, the people are friendly, and this hotel is above average in a great location. If you are looking to spend allot of time on the beach relaxing and are not looking for some of the frills other 5 star resorts may offer, then you will be perfectly happy to stay at the Viva Wyndham Playa Dorada. We really did have a good time and I felt that we received a good value for our money that was spent. I would return to the DR, and would stay at this resort again if I got a great deal.