Viva Wyndham Samana Resort All-Inclusive Las Terrenas

Je viens de rentrer de deux semaines absoluments paradisiaque.....

J ai lu quelque commentaires avant de parir et la a nouveau et je ne comprends pas certaines remarques!!En effet peut etre tout n'était pas nickel!!

Les 3 ou meme 4-5 heure de car, sont un "mauvais" moment a passer mais lorsque l on sait ou l'on va on n y fait meme plus attention!!

Les gens de l'hotel sont absolument sympathique et dire qu ils sont inefficaces et très exagérés!!!Tout les jours a n importe quelle heure, on a le droit au sourire des gens de la bas!!!

Je sais un peu l'espagnol mais j ai principalement utilisé mon anglais et j ai eu aucun problème a me faire comprendre. Certain animateur parlent m'eme l'allemand, l'anglais, l'italien et le francais!!!

Je suis sûre que d une chose, que lorsque l'on est dans un endroit aussi paradisiaque il faut savoir faire abstraction des choses minimes qui pourraient être dérengeants!!

Et d'ailleurs je fait deja mes reservations pour y retourner en décembre!!!

Je souhaite un bon voyage à tous ceux qui y vont!!

Hotel situé en plein foret, sauvage et joli, la ville Las Terrenas - sympa et c'est tout. C'est 5 heures en bus depuis Puerta Plata aéroport et non 3 heures vendues par les agences. Voyage fatigant, la petite route.

Vivre dans les immeubles - déconseillé. Dans le village trop de bruit de mobilettes et de voitures du pesonnel (pour ceux qui vont vivre dans l'immeuble à la rentrée), ou de musique venante des bars.

Personnel aimable et disponible, mais inéfficace. Au buffet l'éfficacité de personnel est zero.

La chambre: confort correct, 2 grands lits, grand balcon, mais les portailles ne se ferment pas. Chambre n'est pas netoyée pendent des jours. La salle de bain est tres problématique et de la propreté douteuse, calcaire par tout, prblemes avec la douche, peu d'eau pour se doucher, souvent pas de l'eau chaude ou pas de l'eau de tout. Il y a des caffards taille américaine dans les chambres et restaurants. Pas de réapprovisionnement d'eau poable dans les chambres pour la formule tout compris, ni de la savonnette. La plombérie est tres vétuse, la poignée-douche était totallement pourrie, il essayé de la changer plusieurs fois, mais en vain.

Jamais assez à manger dans les restaurant, surtout si vous venez un peu plus tard. La nouriture est peu varié, rechauffé tous les jours, bref, c'est une catastrophe,le "vin" égale à l'eau colorée, deserts - supr gras. Vous serais obligés d'aler chercher vous-meme les couverts, car personel n'est pas éfficace.

Equipe animation et soirées correces, mais un peu "lourde". Vous aurez des poblemes pour bien occuper vos enfants là-bas.

We just came back from Viva Wyndham Samana. We were there for fourteen days, (February 21, 2006 to March 7, 2006). After reading the negative reports we were a little apprehensive. Unfortunately, much of what we had read was true. The trip from the airport was a trip from Hell. Eight people in a mini-van. We had the unfortunate luck to sit for four hours on the fold-down seats. Going home was more comfortable, because we drove in a bus. The road wasn't any better, though. It was washed out on one spot and to see it by daylight didn't make us feel any safer.

The hotel is older. The rooms were a disappointment. Primitive furniture, no dresser, just a table. The showerhead didn't stay on the wall, and it was a struggle to finally get the temperature of the water to a bearable level. The room was dark; we had only one table lamp with a low wattage bulb. We asked for another lamp, but never got one. There was a safe, but no fridge. Not enough drawers to store clothing. (A tip: Take along extra coat hangers).

Room service was poor. The glasses in the bathroom were never changed, but we got bottled water every day for brushing our teeth. The beds were always made, but the rest of the room was not taken care of properly. The floor was dirty most of the time.

The staff was friendly, but hardly anyone spoke English.

The food was good, although my wife and I had a queasy stomach most of the time. We found the beef tough and always rare, but there were plenty of other choices, like chicken, pork and fish. Lots of salads and vegetables. The staff in the Dining area needs to be trained to be more observant and attentive. Unless we were early in the Dining room, it was a long wait before we got cutlery, water and/or beer and wine. One thing I found annoying: I couldn't get my own beer. We found (and some German tourists we spoke to confirmed it) that the French speaking guests received better service. (Guests get different colored wristbands, according to the language they speak).

There seems to be a shortage on cups, glasses, spoons and other cutlery, but especially spoons.

We only went once to the Mediterranean a la carte restaurant and were somewhat disappointed. Not everything on the menu was available and what we got was at best mediocre. Not bad, but nothing special.

Beach towels were also a problem. There never seemed to be enough. We didn't change our towels every day.

The beach is beautiful, lots of white sand and the water is warm; not as calm as we had hoped for. Most of the time we were there, we had high waves, but we were able to go swimming in the ocean everyday. Usually in the afternoon the wind picked up. There are a lot of palm trees, but not much shade. We have made it a habit to take our own umbrellas along, so we don't worry too much about shade. There was never a problem to get a chair at the beach and the chairs are nice. The beach was never overcrowded and one can take longs walks along the ocean.

The entertainment, well, they try. The best show was 'The Michael Jackson Show', but otherwise it was too loud for us. Younger people might enjoy it more, but we've been to other resorts where the entertainment was better.

Another thing we didn't like: The town of Las Terrenas is a two hour walk away, along the beach. Otherwise one has to take a bus (200 pesos both ways--that's about US $ 6.25 per person), the bus (actually a mini-van) leaves the hotel at 9:00 am and leaves Las Terrenas again at 12:00 noon. Not much time for shopping. A taxi is also available, which cost US $ 12.00 one way. This can become expensive, unless the taxi is shared with more people.

Every evening they spray for mosquitoes. I don't know what they used, but our throats are still sore and we suspect it comes from inhaling the chemicals. I haven't spoken to anyone else who developed similar symptoms.

There are many trips offered. We took a daytrip with a taxi to Samana and then to Rincon Beach. There were eight of us and we paid a total of US $ 120.00. The road there is treacherous, but Rincon Beach is beautiful. Calm, blue water. There are only two restaurants there. We each ordered a plate of large shrimp, with fries and beer. US $ 14.00. The shrimp were delicious. It is worth the trip, if you can stomach the road. It took us two hours to get back to the hotel.

To summarize: Viva Wyndham Samana is barely a three star resort and we won't go back. Most people we spoke to said the same thing. They have a lot of work to do to make it a desirable destination. The rooms need to be upgraded and the service improved. Small things, but they are important. The four hour ride on that terrible road doesn't make it worthwhile to get there.

Our family spent a restful week at the Wyndham Samana. The beach was beautiful, the surroundings were quiet and pretty, the staff was friendly, and the grounds were very clean. Most travelers are German or French, which contributed to our sense that we were truly on vacation. The grounds are well-enclosed, and we felt completely comfortable having our young children (6 and 7) run around the grounds unattended. There is also a Kids Club, free of charge. I agree with many of the comments made by other reviewers regarding some of the shortcomings (the rooms and food were adequate, but not particularly memorable; the service was occasionally disorganized), but these were minor quibbles for us, which did not detract from our overall experience. Kids The place is not necessarily right for luxury travelers, but we found it to be a clean, quiet and altogether pleasant experience.

After a direct flight to Puerto Plata, we got in a taxi van for a hair-raising bumpy ride. We were told it would be a 4 hour drive to the resort but we made it in 3 1/4 hours, driving like a mad-man through the poorly maintained roads; passing everything from runaway chickens, poverty stricken villages and weaving motorcyclists.

Upon our arrival at the small resort, where the front desk staff spoke very little broken English -- and the serving staff in bars and restaurants spoke no English -- we were escorted to our room. Luckily, we had upgraded to a junior suite, which was located in a cluster of about 20 bungalow style buildings at the front of the property just before the beach. It was a great location between the pool/main restaurant and the beach/ocean. Each room in the bungalows has a small patio with table and chairs just outside the front glass doors. This looked very nice and weloming. Upon entering the suite itself was a big disappointment. It was a bit of a dump. The first room you enter is the living area, which had an old musty smelling futon covered with an faded and stained cover. The only other furniture was a small wooden table with a wicker chair. On the other side was a kitchen counter with a sink and 2 element stove top plus a mini fridge below the counter which has two bottles of water cooling.

The center of the suite had a bathroom on one side which was very old and dated. There was just a round sink with no counter space to put toiletries. There was an old toilet and a rectangular shower. The water pressure was barely okay but we had problems with the water staying warm. It was either too hot or too cold. The towels were very ratty and discoloured. We often didn't get new towels or the maid only left one. We had to phone 3 times on two different days to get towels delivered to our room.

The bedroom itself was much nicer with newer looking bedding and lots of soft pillows, but the bed itself was hard and really was two twins pushed together to make a king. There was only one night table and lamp on one side of the bed, so we took the table from the front room and another lamp to put on the other side of the bed.

The back of the room opened up to a small patio which was nice, but we never really used it because it was too close to the pathway and not so private.

We were really disappointed with the room, but we quickly changed our attitudes so it wouldn't ruin our holiday.

The beach itself was beautiful. However, it is scattered with palm trees, so you have to continually jockey your lounger around depending on whether you want sun or shade. There are lots of peddlars selling jewelry and wooden trinkets, which can be bothersome, but I still bought some lovely larimar and silver earrings and bracelet.

The pool area was also very nice. It is small but very nice. The pool towels were also old and ratty, and not always available. The grounds are also beautiful and very picturesque. There was staff constantly cleaning and trimming and taking care of the grounds. We felt that this could be a marvelous boutique resort, if they would continue upgrading and renovating the rooms and improve the restaurants, both in terms of the food and the serving staff. The resort was taken over by Viva-Wyndham in the past 2 years, with new Italian management and chef.

There is a main buffet restaurant for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The food was okay but not great. The two a la carte restaurants are located by the beach and both have a nice ambience but poor food choices. Wine is available by the glass and was served from a carafe. The white wine was okay but the red wine tasted like vinegar. It was absolutely dreadful. We've had homemade wine that tasted better.

Dinner reservations were available at either 7:00, 7:45 or 8:30 pm. You had to make reservations at 9:00 am the day prior at the concierge in the hotel lobby. The available bookings are quickly filled up, however the restaurants were half empty.

Although we enjoyed a week away as a couple by ourselves, relaxing and reading, enjoying the sun and each other's company, we would not go back. We were dreading the car ride back in the heat of the day. I took a gravol to help ease the discomfort. We heard an airport is being built in the Samana area and this will make it easier for travellers to this area of the Dom.Rep. If Viva continues to renovate and improve this resort, it may then be worth it.

We stayed at the Wyndham Samana from Dec. 28, 2005, to Jan. 5, 2006. The daily rate was exceptional as we got a great deal on skyauction. Now we know why! It took us 4/12 hrs by "taxi" to get to the resort from Santiago on the worst roads I've ever been on!

First, let me say, this was THE best beach I have ever been to. We walked for miles and barely saw another person. You can walk out into the ocean for a long way and still feel comfortable - it's a very gradual decline and the sand is like baby powder. This beach made everything else bearable.

There was not ONE SINGLE day that we did not have to go BEG for towels from the front desk. Everyday, housekeeping took our towels and left one, ratty old thing hanging in the room. What they gave us wasn't good enough for the "rag-bag". For a Wyndham hotel, this was unacceptable. We asked for an upgrade when we arrived, but were told there were none available. From our rooms on the 3rd floor we could see all the villas - obviously NOT full. The lights outside our rooms did not work and it was difficult to make it up the stairs and down the hall to the room - then trying to find the keyhole in the door was a challenge. The day before we left they finally changed the bulbs after about 6 times of complaining. I think my sarcasm finally got through! Their website says they have shower/tubs (not), coffee makers in the rooms (not), and room service (HA!!) The food was the WORST of any vacation place I've ever gone. I think loosing 9 pounds at an all-inclusive resort is very telling. The drinks were very poor. The service was horrible - extremely slow - it took us 4 hours to have dinner on New Years Eve. We had a 7:45 reservation at the Bambu restaurant and at 8:30 they still had not given us anything. NO ONE in the restaurant was served. We asked for our champagne and were told we had to go up by the buffet restaurant to get it. By the time we finally finished eating and got there, we were told no. I went to the front desk to explain our situation and was met by a very RUDE young woman. A manager finally brought us each a glass of champagne and told us that if anyone asked, to say we bought it. We found 2 people helpful there - Suzanne, who is obviously overworked, and a very nice young Italian man who spoke English. Our Spanish is not very good, but I brought our English/Spanish dictionary and we did our best. They really need an English speaking staff member on at all times.

The electric comes and goes here. Each time they tell you that it is unusual and something must of happened in town to put the electric out. It is obviously a resort problem. Thankfully, my "Mr. Gaget" husband brought along a mini mag flashlight. It saved us a few times. The showers are terrible - it's either completely hot or completely cold. There is NO adjusting the temperature. On the morning that we left, there was NO water. Makes for an uncomfortable trip home.

The wrist bands have different colors according to the language you speak. A very nice gentleman from Vermont explained a lot of things to us that were not explained when we arrived. He was the only other American we met there. He spotted us by the wrist bands. Everything seems very European focused - the smoking was KILLER.

When we left, we took a chartered flight out of El Portillo, which took us only 30 minutes to get to Santiago. I think it was money well spent!

In conclusion, the resort needs A LOT of work - staffing and supplies. It was been a Wyndham for over a year now and we expected better of that name. We took a day trip into Las Terrenas; such a beautiful place - unspoiled and not Americanized. The hotel was disappointing, but the area is wonderful. Keep an open mind and find a different hotel!

Following the lead from friends of friends, a group of us (3 Dominican couples, and my girlfriend and I) came to stay at the Viva Wyndham Samana Resort for three days, including New Year's eve. The fireworks were cool and the beach was amazing, but we had problems with a number of things. To name a few, the list includes cold showers, poor quality drinks, scratchy bed sheets, no bottled water refills for the room, and no towel replacements. My girlfriend and I are not too particular with our travel accomodations but for the money, we expected a lot more from this all inclusive. My girlfriend would add that in her experience there are better deals in Las Terrenas that travelers might want to consider. One final comment, the food was nothing special and the "Bamboo" restaurant smelled like the bathrooms nearby. Maybe in a couple of years the place will get its act together.

Wyndham Viva Samana...Las Terrenas....actually Coson Beach:

All-in-all...a really nice experience. Got there late on Friday

having booked a standard room. Either they had lots of

open space or just the opposite and all standards were full

because we were immediately upgraded to a Junior Suite.

This is a significant upgrade because the suites are duplex

cabanas rather than hotel-style rooms. After 3 nights we

made a comment to the English-speaking concierge Jennifer (a mighty fine young lady in every way) that the A/C unit was

making a rather loud clunking noise at times. That evening

we were moved to a nicer Junior Suite that was front-line to

the beautiful beach! The food in the buffet restaurant was

OK...nothing to brag about...then again this stay shouldn't

be about the food. Oscar, (the manager?) of the Cacao was

Great! Much like Jennifer...he went above and beyond the

the call to make our stay most pleasant. The other two restaurants were also OK. Again...you're not here for great food! Room was nice. Recently renovated and obviously done quickly and on a budget. Not spectacular quality but considering the staff, location, and views...it is well worth the cost! Never got around to seeing any of the shows...can't comment on them. In summary...the BEACH IS GREAT...the STAFF IS GREAT...the food is OK...I'D GO BACK WITHOUT HESITATION!!

The roads to get to the hotel were horrible but once there it was all worth it. The crowd was mostly couples, this is a very romantic an secluded spot. The food was good. We got a cottage with an excellent location right across from the ocean. I was concern when I saw a guy in the morning with a tank behind his back spraying pesticide all over the restaurant where we just had dinner the night before. I hope they cover the food well. I guess they have a bug problem there. We were there for one night while we continued exploring the north coast of the island but we were so glad to find such a beautiful spot in the middle of nowhere. We would like to go back for longer.

Ok, I visited this resort as a travel agent and for one night. It was only open for 3 weeks when I was therein early December. I must say this will be very popular. The area is breathtaking. The traditional Caribbean beach is like something you would picture in a fairy tale. Las Terranas is a cute little village with very friendly people and great culture.

This is a nice resort built from an older resort and they did a great job. They have some of the tallest palm trees I have ever seen!

Keep in mind this is a favorite for europeans which I find wonderful!

The staff is great and the food was pretty good, not as Dominican as other Wyndham Resorts but still good. However the bar service and quality exceeds any other resort! They have a great menu!

Night entertainment was really cool!! They are talented people from all over the world!

I'm excited to see more reviews on this hotel once its available!