TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

We recently spent two weeks at Viva V Samaná, our first visit to Samaná. We’re well-travelled and were looking for a relaxing summer getaway, and overall, the resort definitely has some wonderful highlights—along with a few areas that could use improvement. The beach is, without question, the best we have ever experienced anywhere in our travels. The water is calm, warm and incredibly clear, and you can walk the beach for miles. It is absolutely stunning and was the highlight of our stay. My only suggestion would be to provide lounge pads for all of the beach chairs. If you’re not lucky enough to find one of the chairs that already has a pad, the chairs become very uncomfortable if you want to spend several hours there. Beach bar service was adequate. The pool area is lovely, and we spent many afternoons relaxing in the Bali beds, swimming and enjoying the atmosphere. There is very limited shade at the pool and it can be very hot. The entertainment staff deserve a special mention. They were truly stellar—friendly, engaging and fun without being overly intrusive. They seem to have found exactly the right balance when it comes to encouraging guests to participate while still allowing people to relax. The grounds are beautiful, very well manicured and exceptionally clean. The resort itself has a lovely, relaxed atmosphere. Unfortunately, the food was the biggest disappointment for us. Much of it was either cold, bland or lacking variety. There are two buffets, and the beach buffet in particular has a very, very limited selection at lunchtime. Unless you arrive right when it opens at noon, much of the food has been sitting out and is cold, and many days the pizza area sat empty with just clear plates and no pizza. We expected better, particularly after staying for two weeks. The à la carte restaurant Fusion was by far our favourite. We ended up eating there quite often and found it to be the best dining experience at the resort. The others were just okay. Our room was excellent. It was comfortable, the bed provided great sleep, the air conditioning worked very well, and honestly, I have very little negative to say about the room itself. The Viva app is also a great tool. I used it daily for information and found it very useful throughout our stay. Overall, Viva V Samaná has some truly exceptional qualities— especially that incredible beach, beautiful grounds, wonderful pool area and fantastic entertainment team. We gave this resort an overall score of 3 because of the food. It was just so unappealing and tasteless. If the resort could significantly improve the food quality, temperature and variety, it would elevate the experience considerably. For us, the beach alone is something we will never forget. Samaná is absolutely beautiful, and we’re very glad we finally discovered it.

It was an unforgettable family vacation. The hotel is great, as is the entire staff.

I was mistaken by the Wyndham logo on their name. No comparison at all. More negatives than positives. Won’t visit any other “Viva Wyndham”

Excellent service with smile Florelis

The room and property are very nice. The food OK. When we checked in my wife, who speaks Spanish asked for an upper floor with no adjoining rooms ( connecting doors). The agent said fine. We walked to the room. It was first floor with a connecting door. We went back to the check in desk to get a different room and the same agent had to get help from a supervisor. Her name was Doris, she was unprofessional, unfriendly and never apologized. She acted like we were a bother to her. We only stayed one night. At checkout Doris was there again and acted unfriendly and rude again. Many other empoyees were uncaring. We paid $300 for the night, not worth the money