We just returned from a week long honeymoon at Viva Wyndham Dominicus Beach. There were some positives: beautiful beach, great weather, being greeted with champagne and Omar, the desk attendant went above and beyond to ensure that we were happy.

Overall, though, our stay was merely mediocre. When I booked this resort, I did not know that it catered to European guests (primarily Italians and French). No one spoke English, and I know when I read this in previous reviews I was skeptical- but seriously- no one speaks English- guests, employees, etc. Being it was our first trip to the Dominican it made it terribly difficult to navigate and communicate our needs.

The rooms were quite dirty and noisy. Our first room was a cabana room, which was very bare in its furnishings and incredibly dark and claustrophobic. We had to move from our cabana room half way through the stay as we received some neighbors who were very noisy at 3a.m. Additionally, the acoustics in the cabana room allowed for us to hear EVERYTHING in the connecting room as if it were in our own. Critters loved these rooms too. We had ants in ours from day one and on our final day as I was walking back to the new room, I witnessed a snake crawling into the walls of one of these cabanas. We were moved to a 3rd floor suite, free of charge, which was much nicer, had a beautiful view and was larger, but the sewer drain emitted a foul odor the whole time. We had to cover it with a trash can. The ants were gone but we now faced cockroaches and spiders.

As for the food, it was not very good, and even though I followed all instructions (do not drink the water, frozen drinks, dairy etc) I became VERY ill the day after we arrived and still am as I type this(I literally lost 10 lbs on my honeymoon at an all inclusive). My husband did not suffer the same fate, but still did not enjoy the food. You MUST ask for alcohol in your drink or they will not put it in. Make sure you learn Spanish for this prior to your departure!

Overall, I would definitely NOT recommend this resort to anyone seeking a quiet honeymoon.

Though I thought my window for submitting a review of a visit I made to the Viva Wyndham Dominicus Beach/Palace during the first week of September, 2007 had passed, many people have asked for my review—receiving the following from me by e-mail—so I thought I’d submit it for what it’s worth to future travelers considering this resort.

I enjoyed my stay and plan to return at some point, but have a few comments about what I found lacking and overlooked, as well as many positive observances.

As is often said, it is a resort most popular with Italians. It appears to be the first language of the resort--over Spanish! I actually liked that influence a lot. My boyfriend speaks Italian so was a great resource for me, making me really lazy. When asking the guests something, I'd say, "Ask them...", "See if they..." and I didn't have to bother trying to communicate.

I found that we really did turn to the guests to get a lot of info since hotel staff wasn't overly available. My check-in was particularly poor. Since I was just visiting the hotel from another in the area, I'd requested and was told I would be granted an early check in. When I arrived, the check-in itself was laborious, and the clerk I had was the picture of rude. I found it entertaining in a way and I noted the string of things he was doing wrong with a shake of the head. It was really like he didn’t try to be pleasant at all, sighing heavily and repeatedly going into a back room without letting me know what was happening or why it was taking so long or who he was consulting with. I was put out however that he told me to come back at 3 for the room. I said that I had been confirmed for an early check in and he said that they were checking me in early but I still had to come back at 3 for the room. Funny, I don't call that an "early check in."

There are a number of self-serve areas, which may not be such a bad idea, if you are told this at check-in or if it were made more apparent how you "work" the hotel. La Placita bar had the most popular drinks (water, Pina Coladas, Banana Mamas) in slurpee dispensers for you to help yourself, and then you had to walk around the bar to find the self-serve rum. Beer was poured for you though. You serve yourself at the beautiful beachside buffet as well. No water or pop or wine offered and again there isn't any instruction. You sit there wondering why nobody is noticing you and then you see what other guests are doing and you follow suit.

For my short stay at the Palace and Beach, I only ate at the buffet on the Beach side. Its location is ultimate and I enjoyed the good selection of hot dishes, side dishes, salads and pizza, but I found that most of the food at dinner was cold. Not just warm, but cold (for example, the melted cheese on top of a vegetable had totally hardened). I found compensation, however, in the great cheese table with carver who'd get you the piece you wanted of each of a dozen and a half cheeses. Very nice touch.

The beach is fabulous with a ton of natural shade. We spent a lot of time in the area in front of the bungalows on the Beach side where we were the only two people in the entire area. To move to the area in front of the buffet and the main beach and all the way onto the Palace side, I found the beach very crowded. People seemed okay with it since it looked like they could move their loungers and they didn't, but it was a bit of a hodge podge of chairs. When I was at the hotel, a hurricane was passing 300 miles to the south with startling affect on the beaches of Bayahibe. Normally calm water was stirred up and there were waves that warranted surfing.

I only saw one show, which looked to me like a high school production and I didn't find the skits overly entertaining. The audience was generally enjoying it so it may've been more European-geared humour. One thing I found interesting and not so charming was that they'd pull very reluctant people out of the audience for a small bit of the show and then would turn the joke against the "volunteer". In one case the skit indicated that the guest was shockingly unattractive resulting in the death of a character, and in another the guest was made to feel very overweight. I didn't appreciate that and they clearly didn’t either. Their having seen previous shows and knowing what was coming may have led to their reluctance to participate. Self-deprecating humour and a fun amateur production is one thing (and quite standard at the resorts I’ve visited), but to drag people out of the audience (clearly against their will) and then inflict insults upon them seemed inappropriate. They played the opening beats of Boney M’s “Rasputin” periodically from the beginning to the end of the show. It energized the crowd like I wouldn’t have thought possible!

I found that I was sympathetic to those in the oceanfront rooms since they line the main path between the properties and the path to the disco. It isn't just disco noise that people have to be concerned about but also revelers walking to their rooms or to the disco. If you'd be at the disco yourself, you won't have a problem with that. The disco is far more exciting than some I’ve visited. Plan to bring your party clothes since I found that most of the guests were very stylish. The disco is available for use by all, and those staying at the Palace can freely use the amenities on the Beach side, but it may not work the same the other way around. While there are sharing privileges, you may be asked to pay a small user fee to dine at the a la cartes on the Palace side when you’re a guest at the Viva Wyndham Dominicus Beach.

The room I was given was quite plain and unaccessorized. We had an iron but no board, no coffee maker, an empty fridge, two 500 ml bottles of water (for potentially four people in the room—very cheap I thought) and only soap is provided. The air conditioning in the room could only be felt when you stood on the end of the room with your back pressed up against the balcony doors, and when you plug in the hair dryer, the light switch would turn off. Just a bit of bad mechanics. The bathtub/shower is comparatively unlit, under a window. By day, you’re fine but if you shower after sundown, you can hardly see. I like having the option!

There is an on-site dive shop and spa. The gym is smallish yet functional, as is the internet room. I was accosted by one of the Viva Club salespeople but really curious to hear what he had to say so he didn’t have to coerce me to hear the spiel. He was pleasant, complimentary and had a ready laugh. My boyfriend came along mid-speech and it ended up that they had many acquaintances in common and had worked at the same place. BUT…as soon as I said I needed to think about the Club before handing over my money, it turned unfriendly and he got up and walked away leaving us sitting there looking at each other. Throughout the presentation I was glad that I’d be able to come home reporting that this type of salesperson and sales pitch aren’t all bad, but maybe they are.

The Viva Wyndham properties are located on a patch of the Dominicus Beach offering easy access to the town of Dominicus that has grown rapidly in recent years. There are expensive homes and apartments, some restaurants, discos, shops and services (internet, manicures, dive shops, etc.) and a cigar vendor (Bayahibe Cigars) on the pedestrian street directly outside the hotel entrance. The new Casino Dominicus with its own theatre and disco as well as games and restaurants is down the street and accessible by shuttle, which stops at the hotel every 30 minutes after 6 p.m. There are shops on the Beach side, and more luxe shopping on the Palace side. The hotel is right beside the public part of the Dominicus Beach where there are vendors set up selling their wares. Purchases made on the hotel property will have a price posted which you are expected to pay. In contrast, the vendors on the beach will expect you to haggle and will tell you a price for what you are interested in which may be 2 to 4 times the price it’s really worth. Make sure you feel the price is fair for what you’re getting and then don’t ask people after the fact if you got a good deal unless you’re prepared to hear that your friend would never pay that much for it!

There were a lot of smokers at the hotel. Getting service at all was spotty and, depending on the need, good/friendly service was equally lacking. Two of the staff were great though! There is an abundance of daily activities but finding their location on the property can be a trick. For my stay at the hotel, the beach, pool and open areas were entirely lacking in activity and people. There were exercise classes and 2 pools full of people on the Palace side though. Many people say the action is on the Beach side but I’m here to say it will depend on the day and you may have to go looking for it.

All of this said, the resort is beautiful, the beach is awesome, the atmosphere is fun and all the natural shade is a real plus. Would I return? In a second!

My pictures are posted at http://travel.webshots.com/album/561366076rYImst. Please contact me if you have any questions.

Just returned from four days and three nights and wish we could have stayed longer.

First off, thanks to the reviews here, we picked up some great tips and didn't arrive with high expectations. Have to comment on the flight first, WestJet was amazing, great friendly service.
Landed in PUJ on time and made it through Customs quickly, noticed quite a few people from other airlines filling out their customs cards where WestJet gave us all the required stuff on the plane so we were able to bypass all those folks. Did not have to pay $10 to get into the country.

Pre-arranged our ride withTurinter and they were waiting for us. The agent spoke english and was polite. It was an hour and a half ride to the resort and I'm glad I didn't rent a car, no rules of the road. Cost me $160 round trip for the two of us. Checked in with friendly front desk staff and was happy with our room, it was a standard, two double bed with a great balcony and the air conditioner worked fine. No bugs anywhere.

Lots to do at the resort and we were impressed with the staff as they were very helpful and friendly and they really appreciate when you try to speak Spanish.

Resort is beautiful, the beach is fantastic and the sand is white powder. There are lots of loungers if you look, and many grass umbrellas to shade yourself as well. The food was average and there was a good selection. We were just about the only English speaking visitors as most were from Italy, Spain and France. Be prepared for them to butt in front of you in any line up you find yourself in.

If you are looking to be pampered with the best service, food, amenities etc. you may be disappointed. We went to hang out on the beach and relax and found it a great place to do just that.
We would go back to D.M. but will try a different resort and only because there are so many to choose from.

Cheers.

Just returned from our family vacation to the Viva Wyndham Dominicus Beach Resort in La Romana. Our family is 2 adults and 2 children ages 7 and 10. We went from Mar. 31st to April 7th. The resort and I assume the whole La Romana area is traveled by Italians, French and Germans. At our resort we only heard 1 other couple speaking english, the shows are almost all in italian, french and spanish.
The food at the buffett is horrible, luke warm at best and almost all bread or pasta. The Pizzeria is really good and open for dinner every night. The viva Mexico and La Roca grill were both excellent but we didn't find out till our last day that we could book these restaurants more then once per stay.
The Beach is amazing, it is kept clean, there was always a chair even for 4 of us at any time of day, sometimes we had to move them to a more desirable location but at least we could always find one. The water is also amazing, you can snorkel right at the beach and see all sorts of fish, the water was usually pretty calm and you could walk at pretty far. One spot on the beach is manned by a life gaurd and they have rentals like banana boat rides, windsurfing, etc. we didn't try any of those things.
The entertainment was pretty good when there was no talking, if it was dancing, etc it was fine, frustrating if it was talking though, we had to leave half way through one show because we didn't have a clue what they were saying.
The room was ok. There was barely enough towels left for our family everyday and they never refreshed the soap or shampoo. I had to call the front desk for it one day and they brought it right away. We stayed in a room in the complex. The huts looked really nice, you should request one if you are going to this resort. It was extremly loud where we were staying, they have parties on the beach at night and the music is blaring loud, there was at least a couple of nights I did not sleep at all but the kids were so tired they had no trouble sleeping. I didn't bother asking to be moved, it didn't look like anywhere else would be any better and I didn't want to repack and unpack 4 people all over again.
The problem we had at this resort was trying to play tennis. We signed up at the court to play tennis and asked the sport staff at the court where we get the equipment from, he said they bring it to our room so we hurried to dinner, ate fast and ran back to make our court time and there was no gear so we phoned the front and they said you have to get it at some office and they are only open till 6 pm and it was 8 pm so we couldn't play. we asked other staff where to get the equipment from and they all gave us differnt answers, then when we found the office the next day the guy said we had to leave a $20 deposit, I asked why no one else told me this and he was extremly rude and didn't care that we were sent all over the resort looking for tennis raquets. I asked for a manager and he said there wasn't any available. We went back with the $20 he only gave us 2 raquets and said it was $40 for 4, he was just being rude, we were just there and he said it was $20, 10 mins. later it is $40. I went to guest services to complain and they told me there was no one to complain to. VERY POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE, THEY COULD CARE LESS IF YOU ARE UNHAPPY.
Excursion: We went on the river tour. It was ok. we were the only english speaking people, we got put with the french group (there was a group of italians and french) and our guide tried his best to translate but he was catering to a large group of french and only us for english. we really wanted to snorkel but didn't think the kids would like it so we choose this. they had dancers on the boat that were really good and the tour was interesting but nothing great. There are not alot of tours offered here like in Mexico.
Signature Vacations: Our tour was through signature, they took us in a van straight to the hotel from the airport, there was a driver and a signature rep. the rep. didn't say 2 words to us. there was no briefing offered, we had to phone him to find out what time our ride was coming to get us to take us back and I told him I didn't like the resort and he didn't even comment, didn't say a word, he also did not care. Our flight was at 8 pm and he said our ride would be there at 1:30, I said that was to early and he said fine then 2:00, the ride never showed till 3:00 and we were at the airport by 4:30. very poor service from signature in this region.
Our family had a wonderful vacation and especially enjoyed the beach. If you are going to visit this area I wouldn't recommend this resort due to the food and the poor customer service. If your going to visit the area then try a different resort,