Reviewers Rating: 
Great
We stayed at Gran Ventana for a week in Feb 2002 and have the following insights:The Room
There are 3 buildings in the hotel: Saona, Catalina, and Beata. Beata is by the "quiet" pool.
The other two are by the pool with the "fun team". We stayed in Saona. Our room was a junior suite and we highly recommend
getting one if possible. The terrace of our room faced out to the ocean and had a nice breeze coming through so there was
not much of that "musty" smell that others' reviews spoke of. There is no breeze by the pool but if you walk for two minutes
to the ocean, the breeze can get quite stiff. I'm betting the people who complained about the musty smell had rooms facing
the pool which don't have much air circulation.
Yes, the electricity is turned on by sliding your key tag in the slot by the door. If you can't deal with your room having
no electricity when you're not there, take the key off the ring and leave your tag in the slot. It's that simple.
There was a problem with the hot water while we were there. Sometimes it would be cold, and one afternoon there was no
water at all. After promising several times that it would soon get turned back on, the desk sent us to the
building next door so we could shower off the day's sunscreen. (Bring plenty of sunscreen, by the way)
There is satelite TV but half the channels are in spanish and the signal cuts in and out frequently.
We were charged $16 US for the TV remote and safe key. It's not much money and for the piece of mind to know you
will have your passport when you're ready to leave the country, it's well worth it.
Otherwise our room was clean and the maid service was pretty good.
The Facilities and Staff
The grounds and pool are also kept very clean. Be prepared to stake out a lounge early because they are usually
taken by late morning. The staff is also very friendly and generally English is spoken pretty well. Our intent
for this trip was to relax, which we did, so we didn't go on any excursions. However, I did use the "gym"
which had a non-ergonomically-friendly universal weight machine. The sauna seats about 4 or 6 but it was
turned off when I went to use it and no one was around to explain. I didn't pursue the issue.
Although the place purportedly offers snorkeling, wind surfing, sailing, etc., the gear is located at
one of the other hotels in the Dorada complex, so if you want to do that stuff, be prepared to go find it.
The "fun team" spends the day yammering into a PA and trying to rally people to play games. If you want
to be left alone they generally will after a couple of refusals.
The "entertainment" was surely lame. Half of what we bothered to witness seemed to consist of
dragging people out of the audience and using them as the entertainment.
We got his & hers massages. They cost 200 pesos which ends up as $14 US for a half hour. You get what
you pay for. Any trained massage therapist would cringe. They try to crack your fingers and toes and
generally it wasn't as strenuous as I prefer, however my wife was satisfied with hers.
Food and Drink
We've stayed at other all-inclusive resorts and I'd say board here is pretty standard. If you're from New
York, like us, or some other urban center of culture, you probably won't be that impressed by the food.
Those of you from more rural spaces where Italian food in considered ethnic cuisine will probably like it better.
We're strict vegetarians and were generally able to do ok but continue to marvel at how the chefs
felt compelled to add ham to rice, beans, and "vegetable" selections. I don't know what it is about
resort alcohol but it doesn't seem to work.
The Weather
The weather was great! We went in February 2002 and it was always in the 80s (F). A couple of days it was
rainy with sunny periods and some days were partly cloudy which was a welcome break from the
hot sun. Bring plenty of sunscreen and re-oil often - we saw plenty of scorched Canadians.
Matt & Jeanne
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