Overall I was very impressed with this hotel, we booked it just a few weeks before we went as it was good value for money. Don't get me wrong I have stayed in much better hotels however, I paid alot more money for the privilidge ! If you want a 5* hotel, go & pay 5* prices, if you want value for money from a good 4* hotel this is for you !

The hotel is small in comparison to the majority in the area but it made it easy to get about. The hotel is currently doing renovation work on the rooms as well as in some of the public areas. I requested a room in block 4 as I knew they had all been renovated and we had a fantastic room with a queen size bed overlooking the pool area. The bathroom had a wonderful walk in shower big enough for 2 easily and everything was spotlessy clean. The rooms are fumigated on a weekly basis which explains why we never saw any bugs. We had a couple of lizards on the balcony one evening but that was all we saw, nothing in the room.

The pool area was ok but we never used the pool as the beach was so beautiful & 2 mins walk away. Due to the renovation work near the restaurants it would have been quite noisy as they were drilling some days. We weren't made aware of the renovation work when we booked but it didn't bother us as we lazed on the beach every day.

The food was very good quality and different every day in the buffet restaurant. We spent 9 days at the resort and the food was different every day. We mainly ate in the a la carte restaurants in the evenings as I prefer waiter service. The service was brilliant in both restaurants, as soon as you entered they brought you drinks and plates were cleared away immediately.

The entertainment was pretty dire in the evenings, it mainly relied on the guests getting up on stage & making a fool out of themselves. It was quite amusing in small doses but they need to have more actual shows instead of about 2 a week. The circus show was excellent ! The animation team in the evenings were really annoying as they used to do a stupid dance in between the audience participation shows, I guess just to pad it out a bit. The compere wasn't funny and had a false annoying laugh which really grated on you, I wanted to throw my pineapple from my pina colada at him !

There was a large choice of drinks but they didn't seem very strong, if you ask for more alcohol they do give you more though. I agree with plastic glasses for the beach & pool area but not sure why you also got plastic glasses in the evening from the main bar. I used to take my wine glass from the restaurant to put my wine in whilst watching the show as I draw the line at drinking wine from a plastic tumbler !

Staff were all very friendly and willing to help. There was not many British guests in the hotel, we were a minority. Lots of Canadians and various other nationalities. All the staff could speak basic English though so it wasn't a problem.

We booked a few excursions through the Rep as a couple booked with some touts from the beach who took their money & never turned up so be warned. It might cost a bit more with a rep but at least you have that piece of mind.

We didn't have fantastic weather as we got the tail end of hurricaine Sandy so we had quite a bit of rain during our stay. Luckily we booked to go on the island tour on a day when it poured down all day which made the trip more fun as all the mountain roads were flooded. Swimming in the sea when it's pouring with rain was an experience, the sea felt so warm !

Saona island was a great experience, we got some great pics of us with the starfish - amazing !

The buggies were also good but you do get very muddy and the wheel fell off our buggy which was an experience !

I would definately go back to Punta Cana & indeed this hotel however we probably won't as we like to visit different places. If you are due to visit, enjoy, you will have a great time.

please do not belive the bad reveiws i was a bit worried before i went because i did belive them ,but thank god i booked before i read the reveiws,
because we had a great time. To the people that slate the hotel all i can say is
Who the hell you think you are, a royalty!! The hotel has been brilliant during our 2 weeks stay. The service was good, food was lovely and if you go to a la carte resaurant, you must wear trouser and no flip flop! Swimming pool is fantastic! Great entertainment everyday and night, meet a lot of great people , Lovely beach right by the hotel with sunloungers. The only downside about the hotel is they do not play football so my football mad son was put out, and there are no smoking areas, smokers can smoke everywhere so is a bit unfair for non smokers they are the only 2 things that would stop me from going back to this hotel, because other then them 2 things everything eles was great, The people, waiters/ waitress doing a fantastic job, if you tip them, they'll look after you!but if you do not tip they still look after you, all Dominican locals alway smiling and happy and dancing, because they are happy you have choose their destination and always willing to help you with any problem, so don't be afraid to ask. For those who moans about the hotel need to grow up and get a life, I'll recomended this hotel and would definately go back again! Well done staff at the VIK that kept all of us during our stay a very enjoyable and safe holiday!

i just returned from the vik arena blanca after a 7 day stay here. our airline west jet moved us to this resort after our first resort shut their pool down. where to begin.....

Check in was quick and pedro at the front desk was helpful. our room wasn't ready yet so we were given towel cards to go to the pool well we waited for our room. we returned to lobby around 3 and were taken to our room in block 5.. the room was so outdated and the smell of mold and sewage was un bearable. we returned to the lobby requesting another room that didn't smell. we were told that if we didn't want a smelly room we would have to pay extra. after being shown 7 different rooms in blocks 2 and 5, we called our west jet rep to see what she could do for us considering we didn't choose to stay here. we were then taken to block 4 which is all updated, completely renovated rooms. so after over 2 hours we were finally in a decent room.

Food- was terrible. the buffet was the same everyday, and the same at every meal. they used hot dogs in every thing. leftover breakfast was served for lunch, leftover lunch for dinner. the pizza at the grill by the pool was a hit and miss, some days it was good others not at all. the italian restaurant was ok. service good, food not so great.

Animation Team- was a joke. the girls would sit and do each others hair in their little hut, the guys would sit on the computer, wouldn't want to do any activities as they were to hung over and didn't feel well. they made no effort to try and get involved with anyone or keep anyone entertained except for the lady who was always with the kids club. she did a great job with the kids and they always looked to be having a good time. the shows at night were the exact same every night which consisted of them dancing to the same songs doing the same dance. the guy on the microphone just enjoyed hearing himself talk and i couldn't understand what he was saying. they did bring in latin dancers one night which was ok but even they didn't seem very professional.

Pool- was nice, lots of chairs always but it was low season. some issues with the towels, some days they didn't have any until noon.

Cleanliness of the entire resort wasn't very good. i don't think the washrooms were ever cleaned as for days there was human feces on the floor. puke all over the stalls. there was also some construction well we were there with the lobby roof and they are building something by the a la carte restaurants.

Shopping- there is a couple of gift shops on the resort which do have some nice things but better shopping down the beach. the locals aren't pushy. you just have to be firm with a price you want to pay. they are easy to get along with.

Beach- was the best thing this resort had going for it. absolutely beautiful.

Bars- lots of bars thru out the resort. service was good for the most part. there was one very rude bartender and i couldn't make out his name on his name tag. if i seen him working at a bar i would walk to the other end of the resort just to avoid him as i didn't want to be yelled at or told what to do. Johnny at the beach bar was awesome, and the 2 pedros who worked at the beach bar and the disco. i found the drinks watered down at the beach bar but the lobby bar and calypso bars the alcohol was stronger.

Internet- there is no wifi at this resort at all. how can you not offer wifi even just in the lobby.. internet was expensive. 4 dollars for an hour and they told us the price was going up for next month. you had to get a code and password and sit in the internet cafe.

Spa- was very nice, had a 30 min massage for 30 dollars. walked through the gym and the equipment seemed dated.

Overall i would not recommend this resort to anyone. i wouldn't even suggest paying extra for a non smelly room in block 4. if you want a nice beach there is tons of resorts along the bavaro beach that would be alot better then this place with better food and better service.

My partner and myself have spent a very relaxing 2 weeks in this hotel at the end of September.
We booked through thomas Cook, had a great flight, quick tranfer.
The overall experience is very good, however, I have to say, our room was very dated, and wasnt cleaned properly, but thats about all the bad things I can say.
The beach is the most beautiful one in Punta Cana, very clean, no locals or stray dogs (someone here complained about them, but I havent seen any).
The main restaurant is very good, lovely food, we went to the Italian a la carte as well, and loved it there too.
This trip was our 5th time to Punta Cana, we have been in better hotels, but this one is very good value for money, dont expect it to be like an Iberostar.
Small hotel with a bit filthy swimming pool, but the best hotel beach ever!