TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

I recently stayed at the Viva Tangerine in the Dominican Republic with my daugther, two sisters, and my 8-year-old nephew. Our experience was incredibly positive, and the resort provided a comfortable, safe, and friendly environment for our family vacation. Here’s a breakdown of our stay: Rooms We booked both an ocean-view room and a garden-view room, and they were fantastic. The beds were extremely comfortable, with fluffy pillows that made it hard to get up in the morning. We had no issues with the Wi-Fi or hot water, which is often a concern when traveling. Our rooms were cleaned thoroughly every day, and the maids were incredibly friendly and accommodating. They even left charming towel arrangements that delighted us! Food The food was basic but very enjoyable. While the buffet offerings could get a bit repetitive after a few days, there was always something tasty to eat. The omelets in the morning were fantastic, and there was a great selection of fresh fruits and vegetables at every meal. The à la carte restaurants offered a nice change of pace, though the food wasn’t particularly extraordinary. Still, we appreciated the effort and variety they provided. Staff The staff at Viva Tangerine were truly exceptional. They were consistently warm, helpful, and full of smiles. A special shoutout to the animation team, who were fun, engaging, and never pushy about joining activities. “Sexy Nutella” was a favorite among our group for his energy and charisma! The nightly shows were entertaining, and the on-site disco provided a fun way to unwind and dance with friends. The only downside was the “pool manager,” who seemed unnecessarily harsh with children at times—a stark contrast to the otherwise welcoming staff. Beach and Pool The beach was beautiful but quite wavy during our stay. The resort staff are very cautious about swimming safety, which we appreciated, especially with young kids in our group. They only allowed ocean swimming under green or yellow flag conditions, making us feel well-monitored and safe. While the waves might not make this beach ideal for smaller children, the pool was fantastic and became our go-to spot for swimming and relaxing. For calmer beach experiences, we took inexpensive taxi rides (10–15 minutes) to quieter beaches nearby, perfect for my nephew. Activities and Entertainment There was a wide range of activities, from water aerobics to dance classes, and we loved how we never felt pressured to participate in anything. The vibe was relaxed and family-friendly. The nightly entertainment was enjoyable, and while not Broadway-level productions, it was fun and added to the resort’s charm. Overall We had an amazing time at Viva Tangerine. It’s not a super luxurious resort, but it’s clean, safe, and incredibly friendly. From the helpful staff to the tasty food and comfortable rooms, everything met or exceeded our expectations. I genuinely don’t understand the negative reviews this place sometimes gets—it’s a fantastic choice for families, couples, or friends looking for a budget-friendly yet memorable vacation spot. Would we return? Absolutely! If you’re looking for a relaxed, welcoming environment with lots to enjoy, Viva Tangerine is a great pick.

I felt compelled to write a review, due to the very negative reviews I read prior to our trip. I was very nervous travelling to this resort. We were travelling with our 1.5yr old and 9 other people with my spouse and I. Based on the reviews I read both here and on the Facebook page, I was terrified of us getting sick and our vacation being ruined. We were there a week and my in-laws are still there for another week. At the time of writing this, nobody has been sick. Entertainment: The entertainment was very loud if you are sitting near the bar. The entertainers were great, just a bit too loud if you were wanting to have a conversation. We attended the Circus show in the theatre, it was amazing! 1st Room: The maid was amazing for this building and she kept things very clean and was very friendly with our son. We had alot of issues with this room the first couple of days. First walking in, the room smelled of mould... I brushed it off due to humidity. After running the AC for awhile, we realized the issue was because the AC unit was leaking through the ceiling as well as down the wall (causing pools of water on the floor). Each morning when we woke, you could almost taste the mould as it was so strong. Our shower wasn't draining properly and often overflowed onto the floor and around the toilet. On day 2 or 3 our toilet clogged, we had to call 3 times before someone came (we had no toilet for over 7hrs). Once the toilet was unclogged, we had no water at all. When they came back to the turn on the water, water started pouring through the potlight in our bathroom ceiling. 2nd Room: Due to our numerous issues, we were upgraded to a suite. The room was amazing and was exactly what we needed to enjoy the remainder or our stay. We were happy with the size & layout of our first room so we were nervous being moved. We were so happy with the upgrade and the layout of the new suite. We had plenty of room for our little guy to run around and we loved that the crib was out of direct view from our bed so he would settle down to sleep. The only issue we had in this room was the water was not very hot and the pressure was low, so showers were very chilly. The new room was in the main building and had an ocean view, which was great because we were able to sit on the balcony and see the action while in our room with the little guy. Our family members had issues with hot water & AC in their room, and my in-laws were locked out on their balcony a few times because of the latch on their patio door. Buffet & A la Carte: The buffet did the job & the staff were amazing. It was very repetitive for picky eaters. We were also trying to be safe due to the numerous warnings of what should be avoided when eating in the Dominican. We avoided raw veggies & salads. Due to the recent flooding and the numerous warnings of not drinking the tap water, we erred on the side of caution and decided not to drink beverages with ice, and not to eat anything that would have been rinsed with possible contaminated water. We stuck to cooked foods and fruit that needed to have the peel or rind removed. We ate omelettes daily, the 1st day our omelettes were completely uncooked in the centre (still had uncooked egg white in the middle). After that we had to ask for them to be well cooked to ensure they were cooked. The snack bar was almost always cold. The one night we waited at the door for it to open and were certain it would be fresh and hot. Everything (including the melted cheese for nachos, was cold). The 2nd last day there, our toddler was eating pizza and we found slivers of metal in the pizza. We checked other pieces and they also had metal on them. We unfortunately didn't take photos in the moment because we were so concerned that he had eaten them, but we did bring it to the attention of the staff and they took away the whole pan. They definitely need to improve the Snack Bar equipment to ensure that everything stays warmer. (my background is food service so I am overly cautious). Maybe consider an on-demand option for the snack bar to reduce waste and improve quality? We wasted alot of the food due to the quality, unfortunately you don't know until its on your plate and you try it. Due to the hours of the buffet we had no choice but to utilize the snack bar for our little guy for some of the meals because of his nap schedule. The A la Cartes were pretty much impossible to get into. You had to be up at midnight when the day of booking on the app was opened up in order to get a spot. There were 11 of us total and it didn't let us book together (so 2 of us had to book and our times were separate by 1/2hr). When we did go to the Italian, there were only a few other tables and the rest of the restaurant was empty so that didn't make sense. Pool & Beach: the kids pool was great for our little guy, he had a blast. He also loved the bubbles in the big pool in the deep end. The beach was fairly clean but its definitely not a beach meant for swimming with little ones which was disappointing. Great beach to walk along close to the water because the sand was nice and firm for our stroller. Off Resort: we walked the beach to the East and went through the alley to the Pizza & Spaghetti House restaurant on the main road. It was the food highlight of our trip! The alleyway (called Paseo Don Chiche) had cute little bistros and a gelato shop. The Pizza & Spaghetti house had wood fired pizza that was amazing! For 5 adults & a toddler, including drinks it was $100 american! We ventured down the street a little bit for some shopping but we didn't feel very safe due to traffic with our toddler. We ended up having to walk the main road all the way back to the resort due to limited access back to the beach and it was hot so we didn't want to have to backtrack. We stopped at the little grocery store just a few steps from the resort, it was very handy to have right there for a few things we needed to replenish for our toddler. NexusTour transfer bus (for Westjet): Both drivers that we had both there and back were amazing! Thank you! Overall we had a good vacation with family, thats all that matters and it was a great experience with our little guy. We would have given 4 stars if the food was better.

This is the 3rd Viva resort I have stayed at, and they all have their pluses and minuses. At this resort - the pluses: comfortable beds, my room had an lovely ocean view, nice main pool but i preferred the adult only pool as it had some shade, hard working entertainment crew, friendly staff esp Juan at the bar and Francis and Cynthia at the front desk, fresh juices at breakfast esp the banana! The minuses: zero shade anywhere unless you go to the adult pool, the food was passable and uncovered (flies), resort overrun with feral cats spraying everything including the bushes next to where you are eating, and a few areas of the resort are looking a bit tired. My friends loved it, not sure I would return here. We still had a great time.

The animation team is excellent. Specially William, Camila, Francisca, Ariana, Yunior and Smilla. What I would change is that people can swim past 18h. I liked that every people who work here are very nice and always seem happy. Thank you for this nice trip

The girls at the mini club were fantastic! They had tons of activities for the kids! My daughter had the best time! The beach was beautiful the rooms were nice and the food was good. They had a different show every night in the theatre and they were amazing! The staff are great