Vh - Gran Ventana Beach Resort

Very nice and clean hotel! Lots of families and fu

Location: Within 15 – 20 minutes of the airport. Near 2 other hotels and a golf course, 2 mini malls with a restaurant and a few shops. Room: We stayed in the Catalina building in room 2203 and it was great and very clean. They provided a hair dryer, shampoo / conditioner, shower cap, soap, etc. and the bathroom was spotless. There was a closet with shelves in the front and there was also a balcony overlooking the pool. The bed was very comfortable and there was a flatscreen TV and a desk. There was also air conditioning which made the experience very comfortable. Atmosphere: There were A LOT of families, senior citizens and spring breakers at this resort. The pool was large, gorgeous with a swim up bar and a great temperature. Since this is an all-inclusive resort the drinks were free as well the food. They offered many activities throughout the day including water aerobics, pineapple toss, dance class, etc. They also have a section for kids as well as nightly entertainment (i.e. magic shows). Most of the chairs at the pool are claimed by 8am with towels, so get down there early! There is direct beach access, which gets very crowded with chairs by 11am. There are A LOT of beach vendors but if you pretend you’re sleeping or say “no thank you” they’ll leave you alone. The water is clear and warm. There’s also a private beach which you get with the upgraded package, but we decided not to pay an additional $40/night per person. Also, they say free Wi-Fi but it’s only in the “theater area” and barely connects. You have to pay for it in your room.

Staff: Very mixed results. Some staff was super friendly and went out of their way to ensure we were happy and had everything to make our stay enjoyable, while others acted like they couldn’t be bothered. I would like to see management create a consistent experience across all of their staff. For example, I had an allergic reaction to the shellfish (I wasn’t allergic prior... may have been the type of squid served) and my girlfriend we went to find me Benedryl. We went to both gift shops and they were EXTREMELY unhelpful. My girlfriend said my face was swollen and she was in a panic to get me medicine and one of cashiers was on the phone on a personal call hanging out and was no help at all. Luckily another guest told us there was a mini mall down the street that had a pharmacy where we could get Benedryl (ended up paying $11 for 12 tablets which was more $$ than normal). PS I'm fully healed :) Food: The food was terrible. Although it’s all-inclusive, we found the food to be inedible. The breakfast offered an omelet station your choice of green peppers, tomatoes, cheese, ham and corn or fried eggs and those were good. They also have a smoothie bar and if you ask for the “smoothie especial” they’ll give you an amazing creation by one of the staff. For lunch we ate salad with olives and chickpeas. The beef is extremely tough and fatty and the pasta was rubbery. We had dinner at the Italian restaurant on the grounds of the hotel and the meal was just as bad (the meal was included in the all-inclusive package).