VIK Hotel Arena Blanca Beach reviews
4241 TripAdvisor reviews
Much Better than Expected!
527suzannem (Stayner, Canada) on Feb 11, 2025
The negative reviews were too much. Needless to say, I went with very low expectations and was very pleasantly surprised. The food at the hotel was good with a lot of variety. The room had a comfortable bed and nice shower head, however we did have an issue with the balcony door which we resolved ourselves with a stick. You do have to get up early if you want a seat under a Palapa on the beach, however there are plenty of chairs for everyone and lots of beautiful palm trees as shade. There is a $10 US charge for a lock for the safety box in your room. We had access to free Wi-Fi in the lobby area. The staff were lovely. Thank you Luis Javier for your excellent customer service in the buffet area. Overall a very good experience. I would recommend!
The worst resort even, don’t stay here for free
Max M on Feb 10, 2025
The worst resort I have ever been in my life, They don’t provide Towels, they don’t provide locker you have to pay to get a locker, they dont have wifi, they don’t have towels on the beach also, food choice are very limited only 1 restaurant open for lunch and 1 for dinner, if you miss the timing there is no restaurant to eat. Also the stake house not included with the all inclusive package. I highly recommend everyone please stay out of this resort even they offer to stay here for free don’t stay your flight money will be wasted. So Im giving them -50 start. Funny thing even you go to a $20 motel they provide towels and its a resort they don’t provide anything ??
Nice hotel that require renovation
stellavivat (Toronto, Canada) on Feb 05, 2025
This is small very Beautiful resort with very good food. Our room was very spacious but very old. Air condition was set on one temperature with no control for change. Shower could be only used as a hand shower. There are two small closet and one tv table, no other furniture for storage. Our balcony view was spectacular and we spend a lot of time there because beach area was overcrowded with a shortage of lawn chairs. You had to get up really early to get a place on the beach. The evening entertainment was very poor, the worst we incurred in any resorts. People who run it were incompetent. During two weeks they had one professional munition and the rest of the time same people who run daily program in the pool were doing dancing with hotel guests at night. We were missing to listen to some good music at night.
Very good stay
Lillian W (Saint Williams, Canada) on Jan 30, 2025
The weather, food, housekeeping, daytime activities were great. We noticed the coffee, juice, wine and water are self-serve now for the meals. You do not have to make an appointment for the a-la-carte which is great. You are not limited to three as well. More lounge chairs are needed for the ocean and pool. The night time entertainment needs to improve. There could be more English speaking workers.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Leighana C (Lawrenceburg, Kentucky) on Jan 27, 2025
The price of this place is outrageously cheap. It is an older and smaller resort. The rooms are clean. My bed is fine. I will say it is hard to keep the rooms cool during the day but they are cool in the evening. Drinks at an all-inclusive resort are usually always pretty bad. These are no exception. You need to make sure you bring a bigger cup so you can fill it with whatever you’re drinking and not have to drink with the tiny 8 ounce plastic cups. Don’t come here for the food, come here for the sun and the beach and the pools . Breakfast is by far the best. And lunch and dinner are just OK. The best is the stirfry in the evening at the buffet. The two à la carte restaurants, Italian and Mexican are both terrible. Don’t waste your time waiting. The wine is bad. The coffee is great. One pool is brand new the other needs to be Refinished, but the water is still clean. make sure you come out early in the morning around seven and put towels on a chair or you’ll have nowhere to sit. Just find a place and leave your towels there and then you can go about your business and no one will touch your stuff. The beach is very beautiful, but it is also very small and very crowded. Make sure you bring yourself some snacks. Especially if you have some picky kids the snack bar has burgers, hotdogs, french fries, and really bad pizza. It’s open every day from I think 11 AM to 8 PM. The burgers are OK. I didn’t try a hotdog and the fries are good. The ketchup is terrible. Don’t forget to bring enough sunscreen Because sunscreen in the market is $50. There are some people that are selling rum and the local drink called Mamajuana. I don’t think it’s fair that they are allowed to be here because they bother you so bad you have to be rude and just say no and eventually they will stop bothering you or you could be like my husband and feel bad for them and buy everything they have. We don’t feel comfortable venturing out anywhere so just be ready to stay put while you’re here. Sometimes it can get a little boring just knowing that I can’t leave and go do whatever I want. You can book daily excursions online. The people that are here helping you book are very expensive. It is a lot cheaper to book online and they will come pick you up. The gym is the worst thing I’ve ever seen. It’s the oldest equipment in the world. The gym is hot and I don’t even think has lights in it. Don’t come expecting to go work out. Someone said in a comment that the people here are unfriendly. I totally disagree. You need to try to speak to them in their language and they will smile and be kind. All in all, will say I had a wonderful vacation. Most likely I would not come back, but I would possibly pick a vacation in Cancun or somewhere in Mexico simply because I prefer the food there. But I’m a food snob. And sometimes that’s a bad thing because I’m hard to please. I see tons of people very happy with what they are eating. Nothing in the buffet is awful, just not wonderful. But if you need a cheap vacation at the beach, come here!