TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

We booked a 7 night stay with high hopes given the reviews but sadly it didn't quite hit the mark. The good bits: The restaurant and pool staff were fantastic, they worked so hard, so polite and nothing was too much trouble for them. The beach and pool were lovely and you didn't need reservations for dinner as we were in low season. The not so good bits: We paid for club - honestly don't bother, we never had a butler which we were supposed to have, the upgraded liqour and wine, not worth it. Not all the restaurants were open because of low season, which makes sense, however, the food quality was very inconsistent. The breakfast in shutters (which was club was just OK), the other restaurants were mediocre at best with 2 of our dinner orders being incorrect (and I ordered in Spanish). In the snack back we shared nachos and the avocado was fizzy with me not feeling the best the next day. The restaurants in Ziva were absolute chaos, to put it mildly and the food came out quick and bland. We had a fishing trip so asked for 3 pack up lunches to be told "you can do it yourself the day before" and we departed at 6:30am so the breakfast restaurants were not open, tried room service and got told toast and yoghurt would take 35 minutes and could only order at 6am so not good. We had to discuss at Bongos before the lady managed to arrange it for the next 2 days for us. All in all, looks nice but worth the money........sadly not as the food really let it down.

5 stars!! This was by far the most beautiful resort I've ever stayed at. From the moment we arrived until the moment we left the service and hospitality was amazing. You never know what you are going to get with all inclusive but it exceeded all of our expectations! The food was amazing, the pool staff, cleaning staff, concierge, etc. did everything and anything to make our experience spectacular! Not much night life but after long days in the sun and amazing dinners we did not need it. Will definitely be returning!

Everything was amazing! From the atmosphere, food, drinks, service, spa and all around hospitality. It was a 10/10! Alfred (Alfredo) was so much fun and made everything another level of excitement! Katherine, our personal butler was so gracious and such a pleasure too. She took the best care of us! All the staff was so attentive and sweet without being overbearing. Hands down the best hotel we have been to, and we travel a lot! We will definitely be back! Thank you to everyone at the resort that took such great care of us and made us a part of their family for the week! Could not speak any higher of our experience. 100% recommend ??????????

The Zilara was a great place to stay. We had a swim-up room initially in bldg 6, but it had no sun, so we switched to bldg 5 with lots of sun. No sense getting a swim-up when you can't use the pool and chairs. The restaurants and pool were great, very festive. They had a sheet every day with activities that were going on that you could do or do nothing. Live music by the pool, crafts, games, etc. At night, there were concerts, and shows. People are so friendly and willing to help. The Ziva is a kid friendly resort next door, so you could use their restaurants and activities, but they were much louder. Zilara is adult only. Only 20 minutes from airport, took a shared shuttle, they have desks to arrange transportation at the hotel. Our room was huge and nice and no complaints there. Apparently October is the end of rainy season. We had one evening of rain. The one bad experience we had was apparently they have a members only pool (they try to upgrade you when you check in) and we didn't know. We were checked against a list and asked to leave. Left a bad taste in our mouth.

I can't recommend this resort more highly. My 2 friends and I shared an ocean view double room which the resort upgraded on arrival because we were celebrating our 60th birthdays. The view was gorgeous. The staff are all incredibly friendly, helpful, and genuinely concerned that we were having a good time. The food overall was very good and there was always someplace to get a bite (even at 2 AM in our room!). The buffet is not self-serve, which I appreciate, having seen too much bad behavior at buffets. The pools and beach are pristine. The ocean water was lovely, except for the seaweed, but there isn't anything the resort can really do about that. I would have liked an opportunity to dance, but we never did find any kind of DJ or band situation. Also, we paid to upgrade to Club level, which we really didn't use much, so if you're on the fence, my opinion is it's not really worth it. We are definitely planning on going back!