We stayed at the Zilara side in May 2022. This was our first time getting away (just my husband and I) since having our two kids in 2019 and 2021 and it did not disappoint. ROOM: We stayed in an oceanfront swimup room (5101 - right on the end) and it was PERFECT. The view and the swim up pool were well worth it in our opinion. We spent most of the mornings on the beach/pool and then afternoons on the balcony in our room. The balcony got full sun up until about 2:00pm. The room was spacious and clean and room service did a great job each day. The room was actually more spacious than I was expecting and felt much bigger than the photos looked. The one and only con to the room (and really to the entire trip) was that our shower took a realllyyy long time to get hot. To the point where we would start the shower a full 5-10 minutes before we needed to actually shower. This minor inconvenience was really no big deal to us, just one thing to note. Other than that we loved this room and I feel like it's gotta be pretty hard to beat. FOOD: Very, very good. Our favorite restaurant was Brando's with Noodle and Thread being a close second. The salmon dish at Brandos with the asparagus puree was incredible. The shrimp risotto at Noodle and Thread was equally as good. And the pumpkin gorgonzola soup I really need to try and recreate at home because it was amazing. I really don't think we had one bad meal the entire time. Even the buffets were very good (we tried both). My creme brulee at Brando's wasn't fully set so it was watery but by the time it came I was so full that I didn't even care and couldn't eat it anyways lol. DRINKS: DELICIOUS. We were really impressed by the cocktails, even at the swim up/outdoor bars. I asked for a totally random gin drink but wanted mint leaves in it at the beach bar and they actually took the time to muddle the mint and carefully craft the drink. We loved the One Eyed Cat and went every night. Best spicy margarita I've had in a long time. At dinner a couple nights we ended up getting a bottle of wine so I can't say how the house wine was, but the wine that we bought was really good. SERVICE: Honestly, incredible. We tipped every single person who helped us because they really go out of their way to ensure that you have everything you need. On the first day, my husband began to carry the beach chairs down closer to the water and one of the staff ran after him and took the chairs from him and insisted that my husband not lift a finger. They work so hard and are all so friendly and so helpful. We were kind of shocked to overhear a couple sitting next to us at Brando's say that they didn't need to leave a tip because it's all inclusive. After hearing that comment, we gave our waiter $50 to make up to them not tipping. I wish I remembered his name but he was awesome and it felt like a slap in the face that some people don't bother to tip. We also made sure to tip the piano player at The One Eyed Cat because he was amazing! WATER PARK: We had zero plans to even visit the water park so I had no expectations going into it. It was a random, spur of the moment visit but it turned out to be so fun. There was barely anyone there and we didn't have to wait in any lines for the slides. The lazy river also had no one in it while we were there so we enjoyed that too. Overall a good time. We didn't get any food from the food truck so I can't comment on that but we did get Pina coladas and they were great. BEACH: The beach was never crowded (like Punta Cana) and there was always a ton of chairs and umbrellas available. The water is clearer in places like the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos or the Virgin Islands. However.... it was still warm as bath water and we spent a lot of time swimming. Love that it wasn't crowded in the water either. The seaweed during our time was pretty minimal. They have trucks that come along and clean it up. Some light seaweed in the water but it's the ocean so that's to be expected. I was also so impressed that servers were always there taking drink orders. CABANA: I booked a cabana in the club pool about a month before we arrived and I completely mixed up the dates in my head. I thought we had it booked for a Saturday but it was really booked for a Friday. When we showed up on Saturday, Lisondra informed me that I had missed my reservation for the day before but told me not to worry and immediately took out her Ipad and booked me one on the spot for the Ziva side. She then called her co worker on the Ziva side and told them we were coming. 5 minutes later, we met him and he was already preparing our cabana for us. They were literally amazing. It was totally my fault for mixing up the dates and they went out of their way to get me something else right away. Overall, this resort is amazing, clean, and beautiful. We will probably be coming back within the next year or two and staying on the Ziva side with our kids!! 10/10 Recommend. My only regret is not making it to the spa but I plan to when we come back. I already can't wait!…
What an amazing resort! For one it’s absolutely beautiful, well kept and safe. The food is excellent and drinks are excellent. It has an amazing gym and so many restaurant options. It has healthy options as well. This was hands down the best resort experience we have had. The staff is all so friendly and helpful! Team Shutters and Anthony and the gym staff were outstanding, mainly the spin instructor and yoga instructor.
First time at this resort and to the Dominican Republic. We stayed in a one bedroom master suite room number 5421 for 14 nights. The room was absolutely gorgeous. So spacious, with a separate living and dining area, free standing bath in the huge bathroom, jacuzzi tub on the double balcony. It was a beautiful room. The maid service did an excellent job at making sure it was always clean for us every day and stocking up our mini bar which included juice, water, beer, coke, Coke Zero, sprite and some snacks! We also had numerous bottles of sparkling wine delivered on ice and our butler Adrian bought my partner a bottle of Dominican rum which he really enjoyed! Thank you Adrian for always checking on us throughout our stay! Our room location was perfect, we were worried about the noise as it was fairly near the theatre but honestly this was not a problem at all. I love how the bedroom has numerous sliding doors to shut it off from the rest of the suite which made it nice and cosy. Loved the size of the balcony it was huge and I loved the relaxing in the jacuzzi tub with a glass of wine with the most gorgeous view of the ocean! Heaven! What really stood out to us about this resort over others we have stayed at is the service and the food. The service here is incredible. I have honestly never met such lovely people who will do anything to make sure you are having a great time. Every single member of staff will greet you as you are walking by with their hand on their heart. Special thank you to Carlos Fernandez at the Pier, for always welcoming us at breakfast or lunch. He always took us to the same table, remembered our drink order, and would be waiting for us every single time. He’s great! We will see you again in October! Edward at shutters, again remembered us with a smile from the previous day, topping up our drinks without us asking. Such a friendly lovely guy. Amado around the pool! Loved him! We met him when he came around offering to clean- yes clean! Your sunglasses! And we got chatting to him. Again, so friendly, welcoming, funny! And just wanted to make sure you were having a great vacation. We would also see him around the pool doing the entertainment and he would always come over to say hi! The staff here really do deserve all the tips they receive. They all work so hard. We were abit bummed that the swim up bar was closed however this honestly is not a problem, our drink was never empty around the pool staff are constantly round topping it up for you. Now to the food! This is some of the best food at an all inclusive we have ever had! Breakfast buffet at the pier was delicious plenty of options, however our favourite thing to do in the morning was get a coffee from the coffee shop and a pastry and sit out by the pool. The sandwiches and bagels are also so good! Club was worth it for us ( it came automatically with our master suite) just to be able to go to shutters for lunch! The seafood was so good! I loved the salmon, ceviche and there are also plenty of non seafood options too. We also loved the pizzas from Presto , honestly some of the best pizzas we have ever had!! Delicious!! Also the nachos, burgers and fried chicken wrap were also so good. It would of been nice to maybe have a bbq or some other lunch options set up on the beach or by the pool for a change but we never found ourselves hungry. The pier for lunch buffet was out of this world!! Fresh seafood cooked to order. The ramen station was my partners favourite! You could get stir fry cooked for you, delicious salads made to order with whatever you want! It really is much more than a buffet! Ask for Carlos Fernandez and tell him Chloe and David from Liverpool England say hi! He’s the best! Also look out for the man coming round with fresh cakes and donuts at the pool- best donuts ever!!! All of the restaurants we tried were delicious. We tried Brandos - highlights being the French onion soup, ceviche starter, chicken and rice and the duck! Journeys- We have lots of Indian food back home so we’re worried how authentic this would be but it was actually pretty good! Butter chicken, lamb jalfrezi and garlic nahn delicious. Waves - the best starters of our whole stay we’re the tacos! So good!! And also try the ribs! Noodle and thread- this gets super busy as it’s over on the ziva side. My tip would be to try and get their early around 6/6.30 other wise expect to wait for a table. We had to wait over an hour one night as it was so busy. Again delicious food!! Loved the antipasti plate that you get, this was plenty to start and we really did not need starters on top of this! Food here is bigger portions than the other restaurants where we ordered 3 mains between us, here you only need one each. Tempest- we did not do the teppanyaki, which I believe you do have to book. We just sat at a regular table. Fried dumplings and sushi were very good to start. Portions a little smaller here we found. Room service- best room service we have had at an all inclusive. Everything was always hot and delicious. We actually preferred having it all in takeaway boxes so we could just throw it away once finished. We tried the pizzas, hotdog, club sandwich, burgers and the potato wedges! It always arrived in good time, hot and nothing was ever missing. Club- As previously mentioned our room automatically included club, is it needed? Probably not. But would we want it again? Yes. We loved going to shutters for lunch, we liked to have a few drinks in the club lounge before going for dinner. They made the best aperol spritz’s and I loved the ‘welcome drink’ Club pool was nice for a change for a couple of days, you could get more variety of drinks at the club bar here but honestly the service is just as good at the main pool. One eyed cat- we loved the drinks here! They are strong!! You did not feel like you were at an all inclusive resort at all when you came in here! The drinks are so fancy and delicious. Such a nice place to come for a couple of drinks before or after your meal. Drink recommendations : my favourite drink was the passion fruit mojito!! So refreshing ! All of the cocktails at one eyed cat! Mini beers Mud slide Aperol spritz Mimosa Ice berg Margarita Miami vice Entertainment was ok, the usual from an all inclusive resort. Lots set up for children ( the entertainment is shared between ziva) Beach was actually a little bit disappointing compared to what we thought it would be… the sand here is very hard and your feet don’t sink into soft sand like we thought it would. However it is still beautiful we just expected a little more. What makes this resort stand out from anywhere else we have been in Jamaica, Mexico etc is the service and the food! We have re booked a master suite again for October this time for 11 nights and we honestly cannot wait to return!…
Me and my friends visited the resort for 5 days and from the moment we arrived Norberto & Ramon took care of us every step of the way. I recommend this resort to anyone looking ti have fun and taken care of!
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim Your Listing