My husband and I visited this hotel in Oct 2004 and we went back again in Oct 2005 with two of our daughters and their husbands. (The Dominican Republic is not as expensive as some of the other caribbean islands and was affordable for them.) The whole hotel is kept sparkling clean and the staff can not do enough to please.
You can spend your days doing nothing but lazing on the beach or around the pool (the swim up bar is fun), or you can join in the fun. There is a very hard working entertainment team who arrange games and things to do all day long - we personally found this irritating but a lot of people enjoyed it. We just spent most of our time on the beach where it was quieter. You get a lot of traders bothering you but they are all licensed and a smile and a definite "no thank you'" quickly sends them on their way. (If you can't cope with continually being asked to buy, don't go to the Caribbean!). Here's a tip - if you decide to buy something from a beach trader, wait until the last day of your holiday. Once you buy something, they will send all their friends! And always haggle - you can usually pay just half what they are asking or sometimes less. We always decide what we would be prepared to pay for something in english money then convert it to local currency and refuse to pay any more.
Rooms are clean and comfortable and have everything you need. We think they are fine but some say they are basic. There is always a very slight musty smell but this is common throughout the country due to the natural humidity and you soon get used to it. If you don't like the view from your balcony, ask for a different room straight away. They will be happy to move you. Be aware that sometimes the air conditioning unit breaks down and sometimes the hot water is less than hot - they fix is as quick as they can - but that may be tomorrow. That is the caribbean culture - live with it or don't go!
Food at the Gran Ventana is good. There is a wealth of choice in the day to day buffet restaurant and if you can't find something you like then you have to be a really fussy person. If you help yourself to a meal and you don't like it, you can just leave it and go and chose something else. There are three a la carte restaurants and you can eat in each one once a week. We really liked these and found the food and service excellent.
There is entertainment every evening but as most of the shows are done by the entertainment team, it is fairly amateur. It is, however, performed with much enthusiasm and audience participation so, hey, just sit back and go with it!
The Grand Ventana is great value for money and you will have a good time. Give it a try.
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The fact that you have been more than once shows it is a good place to stay. You can add the information about the prices into your review at any time by pressing the edit link on the right hand side of the page as you read your review. Fionaxx
crutchley_am 14.01.2006 01:05
Nice first review - keep up the good work!
salem_witch 13.01.2006 18:38
It sounds very good. A tip: members won't come back and read your comments. If you click on the members name (Bollinger28 in this case) and then go to their guestbook you can leave them a message there. Plus your below comment would be great in the actual review. If you go to the top of the page when you're in the review (top right) there is a link that says edit the review. Anyway I hope this helps. Welcome to Ciao!
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Advantages: Large size of pool, Friendly staff and high standard of accommodation Disadvantages: Beach very windy and people selling stuff all day there, rooms bit dated
Jan 13th, 2006
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