Hotel Review: Gran Ventana Beach Resort, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

According to the hotel website: The Best All-Inclusive Puerto Plata Destination Playa Dorada, a gated oceanfront community on the northern coast of the Dominican Republic, is home to Gran Ventana Beach Resort, one of the country’s friendliest, most welcoming hotels. Located directly on the beach, our Puerto Plata beach resort boasts three pools, a kids club and an airy, cool and fresh lobby. We also offer a superb, all-inclusive value for families, couples and group vacations.

We at Western Taste had the pleasure to try this hotel and all its facilities for 2 weeks.

Room

We had 2 rooms to review. One beach front Superior Room and one beach front Suite.

Both rooms was functional and had everything you needed and would expect in a 4 star hotel. The interior in the rooms was rather old fashioned and the quality in furniture and decor was rather old. The bathroom in both rooms was old with shower without handle function which is never seen anymore in modern hotels. It would be much better with a rainfall shower and updated bathroom interiors. We also had problems in our suite with warm water function that did not work for almost half of the time during our stay. Both rooms had great balconies overlooking the ocean. The suite had a better view since it was higher up and totally private without insight.

Food & Beverage

I am sorry to say that the food is not impressive. Some of the restaurants delivered with good standards however it was not a fine dining experience or an innovative food and beverage selection. The wine list was very short and exactly the same in all three of the restaurants. They offered an Italian, Ocean Grill, Caribbean Cuisine and an all-day dining buffet restaurant. The starters and the main courses was ok however it seems as if the style of cooking had stopped since the 90s and not changed. I miss the lack of seafood innovation with fresh fish, grilled prawns or other interesting aspects that could be infused in this hotel. The dessert in all the restaurants was very bad, especially the Italian and the Caribbean. All of the desserts was made in beforehand and not to order which means it stood for a long period of time in the heat and tasted very bad such as the crème brulee which was just a piece of dough in the end.

Service

This is one of the strong points of this hotel. The service was excellent with dedicated workers that tried to take care of all guest with best intentions. Everyone is very friendly and after a few days you basically know every restaurant worker, beach service, cleaning or reception staff by name.

Beach

Amazing beach that stretches for miles. The water is clean and goes a long way out. The beach is very large which means children can play very easily and if you are part of the VIP members service the staff brings you food and beverage to your sunbed/chair. Some sales people are a bit to close and askes to many questions but it is still ok.

Pool Area

The pool is large and has a swim up pool bar. The drinks in the pool bar is ok but not the best. It would be more interesting to go for fresh fruit juices and cocktails as well.

One constant noise of music is pumping in the pool area which is rather annoying and I feel sorry for the people living with balconies towards the pool area.

One very strange aspect is that they have a kid’s pool without sun protection. This means that no children can play in this pool when the sun is gazing in this area. This is something the hotel needs to change asap for kids safety and sun protection. We actually asked and noted this to the hotels Instagram site and the answer we got was that they did not have a kid’s pool which is even stranger since their in room information says clearly: KIDS POOL.

Kids Area

There are a few playgrounds however they are not that good and very limited. The kids access is also rather difficult. There is no easy access for instance to the Vintage Club and the Carribean restaurant which is the bar area for VIPs. There is a large staircase all the way up and if your family has a tram with you it needs to be carried most of the time. This is also something that must be very difficult for handicap or dissabled people.

All in all the hotel was enjoyable. The staff and the beach provided a great experience. Without these factors the hotel is rather old, poor in food and beverage, no real spa and a very smal dirty gym. The rooms are outdated with old bathrooms. The food is ok however also the kitchen staff needs modernization and use its local produce in a much more efficient and innovative way.
We came during spring break period and during our stay we had a party group of teenagers that had a great time partying. We recommend that you book a room with an ocean view away from to pool area during spring time and you will most likely be fine.

I would have loved to see a beach live BBQ with a number of selected seafood, fish and other delights of the ocean. This could be done in the evening at the beach site with ana amazing view and experience. 
Also imagine a fresh juicebar that is opened 24/7 that can serve you cocktails with local fruits and freshly squeezed juices and smoothies.

Final Grade: 3 out of 5

Review by: Alexander Yü and Sofie Yü