I just recently returned from the Victoria Beach & Resort on a girl's getaway. We were there from April 3-8, 2008. While I enjoyed the cultural experience of the island, rest assured, I don't believe I'll be returning. Both my friend and I have been to almost every island in the Caribbean (in fact, I lived in the Caribbean for 3 years.) I find that is important to note, because I want to make it clear that neither of us are sheltered Americans that have never been out of the country or experienced other cultures. Unfortunately, this is the least accommodating island & resort that either of us have visited to date.

The food at the Victoria was, in a word...BAD. Even the "upscale" (and I say that with great caution) Jadin Restaurant where reservations had to be made had mediocre food. We weren't even really clear on what was so special about the Jadin Restaurant because they basically served the same food that was offered at the all-inclusive buffet. The waitstaff was also uninviting. From rude under the breath comments to behaving as though they were doing us a favor to bring a cup of ice or a take our menu orders. The beach was okay...(don't go looking for crystal clear blue water though unless you do like we did and take a day trip to Paradise Island. The water is a pretty blue, but when you get in, it is ANYTHING but crystal clear). There are several hotels on the beach and the section of the beach roped off for the Victoria Golf & Beach guests was itty bitty.

We did enjoy that the resort was quiet and we were able to keep to ourselves. If you're going to DR to party, party, party (which we were not)...this is NOT the hotel for you.

Also, the front desk staff did speak/understand English (though not fluently), but it certainly helped that we spoke and understood Spanish.

Hello,
My Husband, myself and daughters (3 x 16 y/olds) were looking to find a place where the girls could have the beach and hubby and I could golf. We were skeptical of the Atlantic side since we heard the beaches were not that nice, but since goilf is hard to find we took the chance...
The moment we arrived at the Airport, we never stopped being impressed, our shuttle was there waiting, the valet took our bags to the room, and check in took all of 5 minutes..
We upgraded our room to the honeymoon suite, and the girls had a superior room, all was beautiful...
I loved the Caddy we had for golfing "Franklin" he has helped me with my swing. we were never sure what to tip him, but it seems the average is 5 - 10 dollars per person, depending if you have a cart or not.
The Food was delicious and always a great variety..
The staff never had their hands out looking for money, and always were smiling.
Stay away from the resort stores too exxpensive, cross the street to the Mall, and BARGAIN !!!
If you want to book an excursion (Scuba etc..) BARGAIN !! we got a Snorkeling trip to Paradise Island for $65.00 from $115.00 pp.
On your first day, take the shuttle to the beach, its like a 3 minute ride, or a 5 minute walk...
Listen, I read a few comments where people hated this place... all I can say a vacation is what YOU make it, we needed rest, sun, and fun... and thats what we got.. we try not to go to the same place twice... but VGH is place I would love to return to..
If you would like to contact me for more information my email: cdheilly@cogeco.ca

Right from our arrival at Victoria it was wonderful. We had no wait upon check-in and we taken immediately to our room. We didn't bother upgrading and our room was fine. It was very clean and quite comfortable. The only complaint about the room if I had to come up with something is that there are no dressers for your clothes. Worked out okay though. The mini bar was refilled daily and always included lots of bottled water.
The staff on the property were always friendly and helpful. Everyone from the front desk, servers, bartenders, animation, and beach always said hello and were ready to help. After a few days since it is a smaller property, staff came to know you.
The food was surprisingly good. The first night the buffet had lobster tails!! The beach restaurant had the best ribs ever!! In fact everything served there was great. We did spend one day at the beach at Grand Ventana. The lunch there was not nearly as good.
We went for dinner one night at the Casa Colonial. Beautiful propery, amazing food, however high prices. If you are looking for a really nice, romantic dinner this is definitely the place to go.
There is always someone at the beach waiting for you to get you a chair and a great location either with shade or without depending on what you want. After a couple of days, he actually would save a place for us to ensure we got what we wanted. Never had such great service.
I have read about lots of properties where it's hard to get a chair on the beach or by the pool. This was never the case here. Not sure if that was because the property is so small.
Nightime entertainment was only ok but about what expected. This is not party central however if you want to have a good time it's definitely possible. The plaza is a short walk from the hotel which has 3 bars. Staff from Victoria would take you there or it was no problem to go on your own.
The golf club house was a short 5 minute walk from the property. Got a discount by staying at the property. Don't need to book tee times. You just walk up and go. We never had to wait for more than 2 groups to go in front of us. Not a problem at all in fact came to like the fact that you could just go whenever.
All in all, I would highly recommend this property if you are looking for a nice, relaxing vacation.

Booked through First Choice, with no option of upgrading the room, I contacted the Victoria directly where a very helpful lady helped us upgrade to the honeymoon suite and we paid for the upgrade on arrival. The room was spotless and kept extremely clean all week, with great views over the golf course and a lovely jacuzzi outdoor bath which we used loads!

The mini bar was mini in every sense of the word, with just a couple of beers, a 7up a coke and some water. But it was replenished every day and if you caught the cleaners they would give you extras.

The bed was HUGE and so so comfortable.

The food was average. Edible, but not spectacular by any stretch of the imagination. All the staff were friendly and helpful.

Extremely quiet, tasteful hotel. Mainly older couples and honeymooners although there were a few families with older children.

We preferred the beach to the pools and the Victoria's beach is absolutely lovely, very clean and well cared for.


All in all I highly recommend this hotel for a quiet getaway. Do not be expecting late night partying or anything particularly entertaining in the evenings. We didn't think much of the entertainment at all in fact. This was our first foray into all inclusive, and we won't be doing it again, but that's more because we like to have the variety of different restaurants than the fault of the hotel.