I travelled to the beautiful Dominican Republic with My Parents and my Fiancé. It was an AMAZING HOLIDAY and all thanks to the Staff at Victoria and Gran Ventana.

Where to start……..sit back and relax its going to be a long one……..

When we arrived to check in the reception staff were very friendly and welcoming. As we were checking in we were given a cold refreshing drink, just what you need! I had contacted Victoria direct about upgrading both rooms from Superior to Junior Suite. I found this to be the cheaper option that doing this through First Choice. The Reservation Manager had upgraded me through my email request; all I had to do was pay at check in. As my parents had stayed at the Gran Ventana (Victoria Sister Hotel) they did not have to pay for the upgrade, it was loyalty reward. The upgrade also includes using all the facilities of the Gran Ventana which is only 10 minute walk away.
I would recommend renting the safe. We stayed for two weeks and paid 30 dollars for it, well worth keeping your passports etc safe. Just for peace of mind.

Myself and My Fiancé were taken to our Junior Suite and were blown away. We had an entrance room which took us into our main room. The Room was massive not to mention the bed it was HUGE!! The room had everything we wanted and more. The room was air conditioned with ceiling fan. The TV was of a good size and you had plenty of storage space for hanging your clothes. We even had a sitting area and desk with chair. The Mini Fridge was stocked with plenty of Water, Beer, Sprite and Pepsi. The Bathroom was a good size with a powerful shower over the bath. The Sink area had plenty of room for you to lay out all your toiletries. We also had a terrace with two chairs and table outside. It was an Amazing Room!!




My parent Junior Suite was not ready for them and they were given a Superior room, the reception had promised to move my parents the next day once the Suite was ready. This wasn’t a problem for my parents, my parents were happy it not every day you get something for free, we were too grateful that they honoured there loyalty. My parents decided the next day that they didn’t want to be moved to a Junior Suite. They had settled into their Superior room. The room was just as good as the Junior Suite only smaller and with no seating area. They also had a private balcony that overlooked the lake, so were happy to remain in that room.

Every staff at Victoria made us feel welcome, they all had smile for you and would always say Hello. The Maids were lovely and we did tip them every day, if you caught them they would give you extra refreshments. Our maids would make swans out of our towels and leave flowers for us in our room. It was lovely to return to the room after a day sunbathing to find this. The restaurant staff were outstanding they always made sure that you had a drink, whether it was water or a drink from the bar. The food was very freshly cooked. We feel very spoiled now as no fruit or salad feels as fresh than what we had in Victoria. The variety was good and at every meal time you could have something different.

Victoria has two pool areas, the bigger pool is where they do activities and provide entertainment, but if you wanted to chill out the best option is the quiet pool. We stayed mostly at the quiet pool, which has it own bar which is run by the Amazing Ana. Ana if you read this thank you so much for making us feel welcome. Ana made the best cocktails ever. At other bars we went to the Cocktails were a little strong but Ana just made them right. Ana would make her own cocktails up for you; we recommend you try her specials. Ana was very friendly and would take time to talk to you. If you go and stay at Victoria go see Ana!!

The hotel is not on the beach but is literally a ten minute walk or a couple minutes buggy ride away. Every hotel has a section of the beach that is purely for there customers. Victoria has it very own Beach club that also has its own bar and restaurant.

I would recommend taking a mixture of American Dollars and Dominican Peso. The shopping complex sells in Peso but will take Dollar. It is usually 30 Peso to the Dollar. If you do purchase anything at the complex and you only have dollar, buy to the nearest value of your dollar note as they will give you change in Peso, and you can lose out on money that way.

We used the laundry facility at Victoria and the clothes came back as good as new. The price is per item and is very reasonable. The prices are in Peso for example Men Shorts to be washed and pressed is 50 Peso; Lady Dress washed and pressed 65 Peso.

We also booked excursions through First Choice our travel rep. We went on Outback Safari. It was a very good trip, and it was great to see more of the island. We would recommend it. You get to see how the Dominican live, you actually visit a family home, we went pass a School where the children wait for you, it is recommended that you take School supplies, toys etc for the children. They are very grateful for this. We visited a plantation and also got a chance to swim in a lake. Afterwards you had lunch provided for you, where you see crocodiles, lizards etc. You have a boat ride and then it’s off to the beach for boogie boarding. To end the day you visit a store which sells alcohol and cigars etc. We were told by our Safari rep Ruddy that you could buy the famous Dominican 151 Rum which is 75%. We were told that you could pack this and take it back home. Unfortunately when we arrived at the airport to go home, we had the Rum confiscated as we were not aloud to take it back into the UK. We felt lied to about this as Ruddy made it clear that we were aloud to take it home. Apart from that the Outback Safari is worth every penny and we all found it a very good day out.

We also booked a day out to Ocean World. Ocean World was a great day out, we fulfilled a dream of swimming with the dolphins, I will never forget that day for the rest of my life, and it was the best feeling ever. We were able to touch and play with them. You are also able to have encounters with the Stingrays, Sharks and Sea lions. We watched a couple of the encounter and it looked really amazing. At Ocean World you also have shows from the Dolphins and Sea lions to watch. They have a big sovereign store and all the prices are in dollars. We found we didn’t have enough money on us but they have this great scheme that you can purchase items and they will deliver to you the next day at your hotel, where you then pay. It was great as we were able to still get what we wanted especially the DVD and photos of our Dolphin Encounter.

As we upgraded and my parents were repeat guests we had the facilities of the Gran Ventana. I recommend upgrading for you to have the experience of both hotels. It will make your stay at Dominican Republic that even more special.

Hope this review helps and if you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask me.

Nikki, Matt, Chris & Sue