We decided to try this hotel, since it's a partner of the 5 star Casa Colonial non-all inclusive hotel nearby, which we loved. VH, however, was a huge disappointment.
~Rooms are really outdated and beds were so hard, we had to ask for an extra cushion comforter just to bear it. Shower didn't work well, low pressure.
~Food - buffet was super limited, especially if you don't eat junk food all the time. We do not eat meat, so we had almost nothing to eat. We complained and the kitchen chef was nice enough to modify some dishes for us and provide more veggie options thereafter. Octopus restaurant had delicious seafood entries, however, hotel has a ridiculous rule that you can't go two nights in a row there. It would be ok if the other two restaurants were open, but they were not. We had to go talk to management again to get a seat. They only let you RSVP in person at the buffet every morning and by 9AM all seats were taken.
~Drinks - yucky slushy drinks and cheap liquor. Only thing that was ok was local President beer.
~Service - when we complained about food and rooms, buffet and restaurant's lack of open seats, they tried to accommodate us, but a guest should not have to do that to get proper service.
~Beach - lounge chair typical woven plastic, not very comfy, beach has some stony and seaweed parts right in front of this hotel, so you may need to walk to the sides beaches.

Overall, we will not return to this property unless they drastically make over their rooms, food and drinks. We stayed at Barcelo next door last year and for a similar cost in their VIP rooms, got much better rooms and a much better buffet selection.

My boyfriend and I wanted a American Thanksgiving getaway and picked Puerta Plata as our destination. Originally booked Be Live hotel, but changed last minute due to the reviews. Hotel was very clean and well kept and staffed. The location is really great, located within a hotel/ condo complex area with a common mall in the middle as well as PizzaHut. We did several trips and was close distance to the center of town (unlike the Rio which is in the middle of nowhere). Beach was well kept with workers cleaning it every morning. Drinks were good, brought our own Bubba Kegs and never had a problem. Negatives: Since we went in November, they only had one restaurant open a night so if you didn't book 4 days in advance you were stuck with the buffet which was not so awesome and lacked variety. Thank goodness for the Pizza Hut down the road. Unfortunately, the beach was ok, if you walked down to the right you would think the ocean was a landfill with tons of trashed washed up and several hotels that lacked upkeep. I've been to Punta Cana and I am used to the beach sellers but Puerta Plata were obnoxious. Every 5 minutes someone would try and sell you everything from jewelry to adventure trips. They even set up seats right next to the entrance to the beach so you had to pass by them. We often did the pool for some peace and quite and walked to the flee market down the beach for our shopping. Nightly entertaining was AWEFUL. Both my boyfriend and I in our 20's and found lots of other guest around the same age and all had similar feelings. They often did Mr. and Mrs Gran Ventana which was degrading and just cheap. Day entertainment was also very stale and did the same thing everyday, bingo, pool volleyball and pool tournament/ ping pong tournament. We had mostly cloudy weather and the entertainment crew did not help guests not want to simply run back to their rooms. Overall, save your money and go with the Iberostar, thought by picking the #3 rated hotel was good enough but would have spent the extra money after all.

i have just got back from here, and oh my god it is such an amazing place! i can not understand why people are complaining about it, its lovely! all the staff are amazing and very very hard working! the entertainment staff are excellent, they defo make your holiday!! Even the vendors on the beach were friendly, yeah they ask you to buy things, but thats there job! Thats how they make a living, get money to look after there families, youve just gotta understand there life and where they are coming from! all in all everything was perfect, and i am proud to say i will be returning with my mum next year in November and this time were going for 3weeks instead of 2, this is because we enjoyed it that much! i defo reccomend this hotel!
Thinking about visiting the Dominican? GRAN VENTANA is your answer! You will not be let down! :)

I went by myself to Puerto Plata and stayed at the VH Gran Ventana. The hotel was not fancy but your typical carribean resort. The staff was very friendly. Beware that everything in the hotel is an x-tra charge. Internet service was only avail in the lobby for a fee of $6US/hr. Do not forget to bring anything either because there was a small selection in their gift shop. The buffet was extensive but for the small selections avail it was good. The bar had limited drink selections and you really couldn't request a drink. There was a nice band that played over the weekends..a mix of spanish and english music. The beach was clean but the vendors will drive you insane!