Gran Ventana Beach Hotel – Playa Dorada – Dominican Republic – Caribbean

Arrived around 8pm British time which was 3pm Dominican time and the transfer to the Gran Ventana Beach hotel was fine – everyone on our coach was going to the same hotel so no messing about with other drop offs.

Checked in our bags and got taken to the room by a bell boy ($2 tip), unpacked, changed & went for quick wander around to get our bearings & some food. The 1st night we were tired by 8.15pm so had an early night but this meant we were all wide awake by 5am the next morning!

The next two weeks were very samey – each day we would get up, have breakfast, get sun cream on & hit the beach. The pools at the hotel were lovely but the heat around them was unbearable and we stayed here for the 1st couple of days until we found out the beach had a slight breeze & was more bearable. Never really had an issue getting a sunbed on the beach, whereas round the pool you would struggle due to  people reserving them despite being given a note at check-in saying your shouldn’t do this. We did witness some people claim to have reserved beds at 6am & they had been been moved/vanished however this was 2pm so they had reserved them for 8 hours without using them. This is unfair – some people only wanted beds for a couple of hours but people reserving but not using them means sometimes there is a lack of beds to use, we saw some Americans reserve 7 beds under the shade at 10am then they vanished - we left the beach at 4pm & they still hadn’t returned.

The entertainment in the hotel was OK – the entertainment team works hard never stopping & how the hell they dance in that heat is beyond me, but they did. There were a few travelling shows in the evening, mainly dancers, which were OK. One night was a magic show which was brilliant (and I don’t generally like magic). The Michael Jackson night was good, but weird as I kept thinking “he’s dead”!! Other entertainment was “Miss Gran Ventana”, “Mr Gran Ventana”, “The Ideal Couple”, karaoke & other things.

Entertainment during the day was very much pool based and the guys were coming round asking people to join in volleyball, aerobics in the pool & stuff like ,ring toss etc. If you wanted to you could be amused by them most of the day but if you didn’t want to join in they didn’t hassle you. There were tennis courts, bikes you could ride around the area & ping pong & snooker tables plus a kids club. As it was the school holidays the place was full of kids but we didn’t see any issues with them.

Food was great – buffet style or you could book for the a la carte restaurants but to be honest, we didn’t bother as the food was so good in the main restaurants. Breakfasts were great – cereals, fresh breads, a fry up, continental cheeses/meats, waffle bar, juice & smoothie bar and an omelette station where they cook what you want in front of you. Lunch we tended to eat in the beach grill & this had burgers, chips, toasties, chilli salads, cold sandwiches, steaks, chicken & various other things. There is a waiter service for drinks & they make sure your glass is always topped up. Dinner in the buffet was lovely, always fresh & hot. Again there are breads, soups, salads, a mixed grill (beautiful grilled chicken breasts) station, a speciality section making various foods in front of you and there was also a roast every day. As soon as you sit down in the restaurant they pour iced water for you then another waiter takes your drinks order.

Drinks were good – they do get served in plastic glasses most of the time but this is a good thing for safety around the pools as many people walk around barefoot. The banana mama & Pina Coldas were nice with or without rum - you are warned at the welcome meeting that coconut milk is a natural laxative but as a lover of creamy cocktails I drank them without issue for two weeks. We spoke to a few people who were suffering with dodgy tummies & there were a few suffering from ear infections which they claim were caused by the pools but the three of us had no issues at all

The people were really friendly & the whole hotel was spotless. I have never seen so many cleaning staff & they seem to be at it 24/7. We had rain on the 1st two days & after this they were sweeping away the water! We didn’t need beach towels as they supply them which, when you are using so much sun cream & in & out the water, is a Godsend as your own towels would have been like cardboard after a few days.

We did two trips. Te Mega Trucks safari, where we went in a 6 wheel truck, rode on horses and visited a village, cigar factory & a beach for a couple of hours. This was brilliant and well worth the money & got you out of resort for a day. Another trip was to Ocean World which is also brilliant. Two of us did the dolphin encounter ($125 each ½ hour) in a pool with a dolphin. We stroked, cuddled, kissed and fed her fish, danced & played with her. She was beautiful & we both loved it, another one of us did the dolphin swim $165 (£100) which meant he was in deeper water with two dolphins at a time & got pulled by them & also got a toe push (said this hurt his feet).

The beach was lovely, not such fine sand as you apparently get in the South, but nice & clean with sufficient areas of shade to escape the intense heat. Yes there are plenty of beach sellers but a simple “no thank you” sees them on theie way. There are sellers selling trips on the beach & they are much cheaper than in the hotels. We were going to do horse riding with “Will Smith” (real name Caesar) as it was $20 a person cheaper than in the hotel but we didnÂ’’see him the 2nd week so not sure where he went to.

We would return but possibly to the South of the Domiican Republic rather than Playa Dorada as the beaches are supposed to be better, but for the cost of this holiday (£2800 for 3 adults) you couldn’t fault it.