Viva Tangerine by Wyndham

“Our Christmas family vacation”

Ok, seen all reviews of this hotel, and I noticed there are a few types of people that go down south for different reasons. We've usually been to Punta Cana and Cancun, bigger and newer resorts, and this is not the same. Smaller, older resorts (not "old" as "crumbling down", "old" as from the 70'… more

Ok, seen all reviews of this hotel, and I noticed there are a few types of people that go down south for different reasons. We've usually been to Punta Cana and Cancun, bigger and newer resorts, and this is not the same. Smaller, older resorts (not "old" as "crumbling down", "old" as from the 70's/80's but very well maintained) have a different vibe. We arrived on Xmas day, learning a few days later that two days prior there was like 4 inches of water in the lobby. It had rained for a month, there were landslides blocking roads to Cabarete. So considering all of this, this place didn't seem affected by all of this at all when we arrived. I can honestly say that I enjoyed my stay there, but I know a lot of people will be complaining about all types of stuff. Only one bar: yup, next to the pool. We're the lines to get a drink so long? Nope. I've seen hotels with 5 bars with longer lines. Always at least 3-4 behind the counter serving drinks. No need to rush in the morning to get chairs at the beach, pretty much always room. Plenty of shade from palm trees. Always someone trying to sell you something though... Beach was nice, no seeweeds in December:) Took nice walks east and west, a lot of nice beachfront restaurants within a 10min walk. Windy, as this place is huge for kite surfing. On Saturday, looks like locals are overtaking the ocean with these on a nice windy day (you can see over 50 in the sky at one point), hard to put a foot in the ocean. Can't comment on the pool as I'm not a "pool person". Can only say that the first couple of days the water was greenish, with all of the flooding from the last couple of weeks they probably gave them issues. By day 3 the water was crystal clear. Food: only disappointing thing could have been the lunch/dinner buffet. Breakfast: can always get an omelet quickly, never big lines. Always bringing coffee. Lunch and dinner: seems always the same. Getting a la carte restaurants were easy when booking after midnight on the app (I've been to resorts that completely booked their restaurants 30 seconds after midnight!). Allowed 3 a week. We travelled with another family (we were 8 total) so one family booked 3x dinner for 8 and the other family could have booked another 3x for 8... Unfortunately, the day you arrive and the next day you won't be able to get a table as everything will be booked) Rooms: basic. Renovated bathroom. People will tell you that they didn't have hot water in the main building. They are right. Did that really bother me? No. Quick 2-3min in the shower and you forgot about it :) TV didn't work. So what? Exactly, nothing to ruin my vacation. Staff everywhere: top notch. Didn't cross one staff member that didn't have a smile on their face, from the maid to bar to check in to restaurants. WiFi: spotty. Works best in main lobby, hit and miss everywhere else. I'm very laid back on vacation, so is my wife. So for something to really piss us off on vacation it would have to be real bad. Sure we could have complained about this and that, but we just want to eat breakfast, get a chair at the beach and read a good book, jump in the waves and take the occasional nap. The kids (teens) made tons of friends, playing beach volleyball or hanging out after supper. For a hotel that was booked solid you don't have wait times anywhere. Get a key for the room? Always someone there at the front desk available. Buffet, never a crowd. Restaurants, always served quickly. Bar, maybe a 5min wait to get a drink or cappuccino at peak times, that's it. Price was right, New Year's Eve party/food was great, weather we can't control. Picky people won't want to go there for the reasons I stated beforehand, so they can pay a few extra thousands to go to more luxurious resorts.

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