Viva Dominicus Palace by Wyndham - All Inclusive

Customer ratings & reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

8401 reviews

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  Engaging adventures on the property with downtime as desired

  Beach -warm clean The usual early bird special folk probably chased down some beach real estate in the early morning but we were always able to find some loungers with a beautiful view. The resort had primarily Italian and French visitors(almost no English as a first language folks). We found this aspect quite nice and could always find folks to engage in conversation if desired, albeit not their native tongue. At the end of the adventure we discovered there was a no smoking section of the beach with wonderful views. Rooms - clean, fresh linens and cleaning available for the asking, shower clean and warm, would probably bring preference of own soap next time Personnel -Is it possible the Dominicans are just a happy friendly people by nature? If not, the resort has carefully picked folks that fit this profile. This was the case from the folks who are supposed to engage the guests to those who work in the background to keep the place in the great shape it was in. In particular we found the gents operating the water sports area to be so enthusiastic and fun, really making sure we were getting as much time possible doing what we wanted by helping us with scheduling, discussing options based on conditions and time of day etc. Can’t say enough about how much this group accentuated our experience. So much so it became a significant focus of our trip, whether kayaking or small Hobbie cat sailing, windsurfing, paddle boards. We so valued what they offered to the experience I want to list them by name, as I recommend anyone make the connection early in their visit: Joner, Culebra, Alessandro, Wadi, Bruno and Alberto. What a great team.. Entertainment -every evening something fun for our crowd age ranging from 30s to 70s, during the day we found ourselves observing the trapeze training some folks of all ages were getting. Food- plenty of options in the cafeteria including fruit and vegetables (including the indulgent blue cheese chunks the size of Rhode Island) and good luck at the on-property restaurants. Noise level - pick your area- our room at the palace was plenty quiet, with the exception of morning traffic scooters cruising down the road nearby, and our family staying closer to the beach property had plenty of dance music, which probably ran till 11 or so every evening. Good variety of evening entertainment on one of the 2 stages (one in “Beach and one in “Palace”) with the dance party by the beach every evening if one wanted to participate- which they make fun and appealing and surprisingly hard to resist.

  Feb 18, 2025
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  Has 4 star potential but some of the staff, questionable cleanliness/food safety/stomach issues brought it down for me

  I’ve been travelling to all-inclusives since 2003, so have had lots of experiences at various resorts and destinations. I like to check trip advisor for reviews, but always keep in mind that everyone is different and have different expectations, and some people cannot be pleased, so I try to keep an open mind. That being said, and after just returning yesterday from a week stay at this hotel February 10-17, room 5926, the reviews I’ve read about people getting sick while there came true for a few of us in a group of 8 and ruined my experience. I’m a positive person and don’t enjoy giving negative feedback. Lots of positives: -the beach is beautiful and grounds immaculate -our ocean view rooms had wonderful views, were fairly well-maintained, cleaned daily, and a great shower -the drinks seemed to be good -the 4 a la cartes we had seemed to be good, other than food temperature, which can pose some food safety issues -breads, pastries, desserts, and cappuccinos were delicious -the buffet had a good selection and there are lots of bars and restaurants to access between this hotel and the other Viva hotel connected to it -some great evening music entertainment in the lobby. It was more of a quieter hotel otherwise -lots of staff working hard -some staff were friendly and thank you to those, especially those working in the lobby cafe/bar ❤️ Also a shoutout to De Jesus at the omelette station in the buffet-very pleasant and hardworking young man. Some of the negatives: -several times in the buffet, you had to ask for cutlery and coffee/mugs. In most of my previous experiences while travelling, the staff were more friendly and helpful, and tips were given accordingly. It didn’t appear tips were common at this hotel (I’ve read it serves a high population of guests where tipping isn’t customary) so we wondered if that’s the reason for the lower level of motivation/service. Due to this, a suggestion to make items more accessible/efficient would be to have a bunch of sets of cutlery wrapped in a napkin that guests could take if the table isn’t already set. Also, at the beachside buffet at the resort next door, they had a coffee/tea station that guests could access themselves which we liked -please cook the bacon more at breakfast. Most people appear to search through it for the more cooked pieces. Undercooked bacon seems to be common in my travels to the Caribbean -as I’ve read by other past guests, most of the food in all restaurants that should be hot was either luke warm or cold, so it would be very important to actually fix this issue rather than keep acknowledging complaints on here but nothing improving in this regard. I can appreciate that it takes so many staff to operate and accommodate high numbers of guests, but food safety and hygiene needs to be a priority, as it can really ruin a vacation some of us work hard for and look forward to. Unfortunately back to the illness..the majority of our group experienced some “extra bathroom time” as can be expected when travelling to different destinations, but it seemed to be more excessive and has resumed for some upon returning home. While there, a couple of us experienced a more severe 24 hour illness, which caused us to lose out on a full day (vomiting, diarrhea, chills/sweats, no appetite, fatigue). I was in bed all day our last day, going to the bathroom, fevered, couldn’t eat for almost 24 hours. I’m thankful though that I was over the worst of it for my day of travelling home. The lady who was cleaning the rooms very reluctantly gave me a new garbage bag for the garbage can when I needed to replace the other due to sickness, even though tips had been left/received during the week. I was able to communicate I was sick but her response and mannerisms showed no compassion, just annoyance..maybe she thought I was just another hungover tourist. When googling our symptoms, the strong results are for gastroenteritis or salmonella. Unsure if whatever it was was picked up through food, drinks, person to person, contaminated objects, etc. Overall, it was a decent time..until it wasn’t. I would not return.

  Feb 18, 2025
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  Poor hygiene

  We stayed at The Palace for a week after a TUI Marella cruise . The room was lovely and bedding and towels changed daily . Very few English tourists but we were a group of 6 friends so this didn’t bother us . Plenty of sunbeds by the pools and on the beach at all times of the day . A huge selection of food at the buffet restaurant and you can book 4 speciality restaurants per week at the front desk . Unfortunately all food at all restaurants is served luke warm and 4 of us 6 adults had sickness and diarrhea. Sadly I ended up at the medical room on a drip with a huge medical bill . We only drank the water from the water stations and continually sanitised our hands . Communal toilets were a disgrace most of the time . We loved the hotel but won’t be returning due to the poor hygiene conditions.

  Feb 15, 2025
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  viva vivaaaaa

  it was awsome i will defnjtly reconmend i love you guys !!!!!!!!!! see yiu soon !!!!!! tge animation team made it oerfect the shows and everything fiesta and much more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  Feb 08, 2025
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  The time of my ligę

  It was the best time thank you viva animation team i will defenitky come back i love you guys forever i Łobez this vacation !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  Feb 08, 2025