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Honest Review – Viva Heavens I just got back from Viva Heavens and wanted to share my honest experience. This is a small resort with no lobby bar for relaxing and enjoying drinks, which is unusual for an all-inclusive. There are a few tables and chairs at the pool bar for cocktails and after-dinner drinks, but not nearly enough to accommodate everyone. The pool water was green the entire week, making it very uninviting. On the positive side, there were plenty of pool and beach chairs available, so no need to wake up early to reserve one. The rooms are outdated and in need of renovation, but they—and the entire resort—were kept very clean. The food at both the buffet and the à la carte restaurants was good (and oddly enough, the best toaster I’ve ever used at a resort—lol). Unfortunately, the alcohol quality was a major disappointment. Viva only offers premium alcohol to Viva members, while all other guests are served very low-quality alcohol. This feels insulting when you’ve paid around $2,000 for a week. The wine was by far the worst I’ve had in all my travels. We ended up taking a taxi (1300 pesos return trip) to the Jumbo store (similar to Walmart) to buy our own wine and alcohol. The à la carte restaurants charge a $15 USD corkage fee, which is ridiculous. To avoid this, we poured our wine into Yeti tumblers so we could at least enjoy a decent drink with dinner. We had no issues bringing our own wine to the buffet, and there was no fee there. Because of the aggressive membership program, we will not be returning or recommending any Viva properties. Viva should consider offering a paid upgrade package for premium alcohol and amenities, as many other all-inclusive resorts do. I believe this would be far more profitable than pushing a $10,000 membership. Lastly, I really disliked that everything is priced in USD. I’m traveling to the Dominican Republic, not the USA. When visitors come to Canada, prices are in CAD—our country’s currency.

We were looking for a last-minute getaway from the Toronto cold, and booking five nights at Viva Heavens between December 24–29 turned out to be just perfect. This was our fourth trip to the Dominican Republic, and this stay ranks among our most positive experiences so far. The Air Transat flight was impressively short—only 3 hours and 11 minutes, compared to the usual ~4 hours. In contrast, the transfer bus took nearly 1.5 hours to depart, which wasn’t the hotel’s fault but is something worth being aware of upon arrival. We were initially worried about missing lunch, but to our pleasant surprise, Viva Heavens offers full lunch service until 3:00 pm every day, much later than at many other resorts we’ve stayed at. This was a big plus. The lunch itself was very decent, featuring freshly made paella with seafood and salmon croquettes. We arrived at 2:30 pm, and our room was ready by 3:30 pm, which felt reasonable. One standout feature was the specialty coffee shop, which serves high-quality lattes, cappuccinos, espressos, and more until 5:00 pm—this truly made our days. Even better, every bar on the property uses the same espresso machines, so there’s no need to line up in one place just for good coffee. One of our initial concerns was the size of the resort, as we’re used to larger properties with expansive beaches. While individual areas (the lobby, dining hall, pool) are not particularly large, the location and thoughtful layout more than compensate. The beach is connected to the main property by a beautiful, well-maintained walking path that feels like a stroll through a tropical forest. Along the way, there’s a lake where you can watch birds, fish, and tortoises swimming in real time. Some guests even feed them, and they seem quite accustomed to people. The Viva Heavens beach area itself is relatively small, but it is extremely well maintained and visually more appealing than many neighboring resorts. We were able to safely walk all the way to Marien’s beach on the far left and Gran Ventana’s beach on the far right. Gran Ventana’s beach was significantly larger and honestly looked amazing, while Marien’s and the neighboring Iberostar beaches were far less impressive in comparison. Wi-Fi is free and worked reasonably well, even on the beach near the bar. Across the street from the lobby is the golf course, which is part of the secure, gated Playa Dorada community. We walked around the area multiple times and felt quite safe, although we didn’t enter the mall or any buildings. Be sure to download the Viva app—it contains up-to-date information on bars, restaurants, reservations, entertainment, and hours of operation, and we found it very convenient. Regarding dining, one of the four à la carte restaurants was always closed during our stay. We really enjoyed Blend (the salmon was excellent). The best part of the Italian restaurant was its proximity to the ocean, while the Dominican restaurant, Sofrito, is an interesting concept but best visited with an open mind. On the other hand, the main buffet, VKitchen, did not disappoint even once. It was also open for snacks after 11:00 am and remained available late into the night. The hotel is clearly family-oriented, with many guests visiting with children of all ages. One downside, however, is that smoking is not well regulated, and there do not appear to be clearly designated smoking areas away from public spaces. The entertainment team consists mostly of young adults. Overall, the shows were enjoyable: one female performer delivered impressive acrobatic routines, and one male dancer clearly stood out. The costumes were stunning. That said, most of the dancers are not professional, and it showed. Compared to other resorts we’ve visited, this hotel had the weakest dance team, but the shows were still fun and engaging. During our stay, we also spent a full day (10:00 am–5:30 pm) at Ocean World, which we enjoyed overall (aside from bottled water costing $2.50 each). We would still recommend the visit. In summary, we felt safe, enjoyed the food, loved the scenic beach walks, and were very satisfied with our decision to stay at Viva Heavens.

The hotel was very nice and we had a relaxing stay. We had room with 2 queen beds and a balcony. It would have been nice to have a chair since there was just a small ottoman. There were 2 "woven" chairs on the balcony good for hanging wet clothes but not for sitting. The air conditioning was very cold (but loud) and the shower had a spayer with good pressure and hot water. The beds were harder than we're used to. Even though our room was dated it and the grounds were very clean. The food was very good and fresh. I would recommend the buffet options over the restaurants. Omelette/eggs to order in the mornings, several grilled meat options, salads, sides, baked goods. Also fresh grill/barbecue meat/veggies at the beach for lunch (not sure if daily). The bars had diet coke, juices, several liquors, local Presidente beer on tap, and wine. We didn't have problems finding chairs at the beach or pool. The entertainment was minimal but fun with activities like icebreakers, zumba, stretching, foam party in the pool, beach volleyball and some evenings dance/acrobats shows or dance parties. We didn't have kids to comment on the kids club or go to the discoteca. We liked the brick path walk to the beach that bordered a pond with wildlife.

I arrived at the hotel for personal matters and was pleasantly surprised by how kind the staff are and how much they truly care about their guests. I was assigned a “simple” room; however, it was quite cold and had some humidity. At first, I did not mind, as I was only planning to sleep at the hotel. The buffet food is good, very varied, and has an amazing presentation. The coffee is good, although it could be improved. The beach is clean, and the drinks are good. I would like to especially highlight the customer service. All the staff members are very attentive, but there was one person in particular — I believe her name is Solanjel or Solanyel — who truly made a difference. She often saw me around the front desk and would approach me to ask if everything was okay. On one occasion, I asked her for recommendations for the à la carte restaurants, and her suggestion was absolutely spot on. Additionally, every time we crossed paths in the hotel areas, she greeted me and checked in to make sure everything was going well. Overall, everyone at the hotel is friendly and attentive, but I was especially impressed by the level of customer service, as I have stayed at several hotels where this is not always a priority. In my opinion, I recommend this hotel. It is small, yes, but if you are looking for peace, tranquility, and attentive service, this is the right place.

We had excellent service from when we arrived. Sofia,Diony,Hery at front desk were wonderful. Aurelio and Orelvis at the main bar were the best. Down at the beach Kendrys bar was excellent.