TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

This place is great! For an all inclusive resort, it's not too stuffy & uptight, and I was really impressed by the amenities. They had a Nutritionist, Kimber, who somehow got my 14 year old son interested in fruit trivia. Even my husband learned something there. Plus aerobics classes and lots of games by the pool. Great value and pretty unique offerings. 5 stars!

A smaller all-inclusive. I wanted to relax, they fit the bill. Swam in the ocean, played a round of golf, played more beach volleyball than I should have (watch out for dehydration). Restaurants were great but cultural differences meant "reserve 2 days in advance or don't even try". Multiple planned events and tours desks for those who want them. Lots of beach and poolsidechairs for those of us who don't. "Sample " massage led me to booking a full one at the spa. Light music or shows some nights, a wide variety of musical styles throughout each day, quiet was easy to dind when i wanted it. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and will likely return.

My Husband and I decided to go to Dominican Republic for the first time. We usually go to Cuba, which we love. When we travel, we take an extra suitcase filled with brand new goodies to give to the staff. The hotel we chose was VIVA HEAVENS BY WYNDHAM. My Husband is a member of the Wyndham rewards programme. Our Sunwing flight departed on time, and landed on time in Puerto Plata. Per our our Sunwing representative, our bus was number 22. It was extremely hot, the bus was not on, therefore no air conditioning. There were people with families and young children. After sitting for almost 45 minutes, I went to ask why we were waiting. The representative mentioned we were waiting for 11 people. I thought that was crazy as majority were on the bus. I mentioned that it was rather unfair that we wait in the heat, for a small group to board the bus. Suddenly, after 5 minutes the Sunwing rep boarded the bus WITHOUT the 11 people. So why the lengthy wait???? Zero explanation. Perhaps he was enjoying a catch up with his colleagues! On the bus he decided to speak in French, forgetting that there were just as many English speakers. People around us were saying they didn’t understand. After a while, he actually just stopped talking… CHECK IN: There were only a few people from our bus staying at Viva Heavens. Check in was smooth. There were two people on duty, HENRY and SOLANGEL. Solangel seemed very sweet. However, when we got to our room, it wasn’t what we requested when we made our reservation. The phone didn’t work, so I returned to advise SOLANGEL. Suddenly, her sweetness disappeared. She clearly didn’t want to be bothered. She told Henry to take over. Henry said we could change rooms the next day. We refused. It’s not practical unpacking and repacking, so we kept that room. At guest services, was SOLIMAR. She made more of an effort than Solangel. We asked about Wyndham points and she took notes. When further requests for towels were made, she put in a request. THE ROOM: The phone did NOT work. The fridge was hot and inside, a half liter bottle of Coke and Seven Up were awaiting us. We did not drink either of them. The fridge was clearly broken and probably other guests did not report it. We did. Water was self service. A glass bottle is in each room. You had to go out the room and obtain water from a water cooler on the wall. The shower had a hand shower which was totally broken. Everyday we requested towels. To receive a hand towel took at least 4 requests. We weren’t asking for gold…!! Otherwise, the room was a decent size. Had two Queen beds. (Our preferred room was for one King size) Not enough cupboard space though, for two people with a lot of luggage. DINING: Being vegetarian, pescatarian, (non seafood), there was not a great variety. Meat was put into salads as well as seafood in certain salads. We managed by eating green salad at ALL meals. When there was fish, the Dorad was awful. It was very dry and bony. When they had Mai Mai (Mare), which was once, it was also FULL of bones. A real pity as this is a great fish. Most difficult to eat unfiletted. We took a chance and requested salmon, and to our surprise, we received smoked salmon. For a few mornings and evenings, there was a platter of smoked salmon which we so welcomed. Note: there is NO air conditioning in the dining room. It gets extremely hot. They need to do something about that. If you give goodies to a waiter/waitress, you’ll receive slightly more personal attention. SERVICE: There is very little to NO service. One person at the main dining room came past from time to time. Her name is MARIA. After giving her a number of gifts, she came round more often. No one otherwise comes around to ask how you doing. If there are no napkins on the table, it can take ten minutes to receive them. The last two days a great guy, RANFI tried and did his damndest to accommodate. He was very nice and tried hard. My Husband gave him beautiful elegant shirts. There was another waiter, GERSHON who was very nice. With limited English, he was our ‘go to’ person for water. Only met him once though. At the pool, no one comes around to take drink orders. There is a bar which gets quite busy but you go yourself to order. Again, regarding towels, the service is shocking. For an international group, they need to brush up on service all round. COFFEE ‘SHOP’: There’s a fantastic delicious coffee ‘shop’ called CAFE HEAVENS. The young lady, LUZ SANDOVAL is so nice and friendly. She has no help. Still smiled when it was busy inside. Kudos to her. When she was off duty, ROSEMERY was on duty. A very nice hard working lady. THE BEACH: The pictures looked exceptional. It is a very small area that belongs to Viva. The first two days there were red flags. We sat on beach loungers. The beach restaurant wasn’t great. Only separate containers of lettuce, tomato and cucumber if you’re vegetarian and French fries if you’re starving! Finally, on Sunday, there were yellow flags allowing us to enter the sea. There’s seaweed and very sandy water. It looks dirty, but it’s warm. THE HOTEL POOL AREA: The pool loungers were comfortable should you spend hours at the pool. The pool is used by both adults and children. Unfortunately there are PLENTY bees and wasps. They cannot spray them or kill them as they are a protected species. My Husband was stung. Thank goodness for ARABELIA. She was great. She gave us medical alcohol to put on the sting. We didn’t need to go to the medical Centre, however, she did offer for a taxi to take us. There are two bar men who were awesome. So much patience with indecisive guests. AURELIO & AUGUSTIN. ENTERTAINMENT: Probably the BEST part of Viva Heavens was the entertainment. SPEEDY, SCOOBY, BAIRON etc, were terrific. We attended shows every night. They put on fabulous shows. The dancers were incredible. There was a superb guy doing acrobatics from above. He was flawless, incredible. The day before we left, I met Jennifer, the hotel manageress. A lovely person and doing her best to ensure everyone has a wonderful stay at Viva Heavens Puerto Plata. All in all, would we recommend Dominican Republic? You will have to judge for yourselves… Should you wish for more vibe and things to do, even when it rains, we put Cuba and their hotels first. They have lobbies where you can sit and listen to music, have a drink etc. We found Dominican to be more low key. Furthermore, Cubans go out of their way to ensure your stay is up to your expectation. Their warmth is felt, and last, but not least, they are not afraid to work, they are extremely hard workers. SERVICE : 3 out of 10 FOOD : 3 out of 10 ENTERTAINMENT : 10 out of 10 POOL : 3 out of 10 ROOM : 4 out of 10 BEACH : 3 out of 10

Had a wonderful time. Cesar at the front desk was very helpful and trustworthy. Widinson at the bar was very good. And the dancers at the theater was pure fun. I really enjoyed it.

El personal es muy agradable. The location was super warm not hot not cold very comfortable. The restaurants are super DELICIOUS!!! The rooms are very big and they don’t have insects. Plus there are NO mosquitoes. ZERO!!! WONDERFUL the staffs also very funny. I loved Viva Heavens !!! BEST hotel !!! ???? ???????????????????????? P.S Felix Navidad !!! ?? Hostess