I traveled to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic on April 3-7, 2008. The purpose of the trip was a relaxing trip with two friends. The trip was booked through JetBlue Getaways and, prior to selecting Victoria Golf & Beach Resort for our stay, we researched the hotel options in depth. Victoria had the best customer ratings and options, so we chose to stay there.

The majority of our trip was relaxing. We went to the beach, ate at the hotel restaurants and were in our room by 10:00 each night. Both of us are professionals, and really just needed a break from life and some time for rest and relaxation. We did not party during our time there, and generally kept to ourselves. We were friendly with the hotel staff, speaking to them when we passed them, but not engaging in very in depth conversations and certainly never telling anyone our last names or our room information.

On Sunday, April 7th, my roommate and I made reservations at one of the hotel’s restaurants. Hotel guidelines stated we were to make reservations at the front desk, which we did after breakfast. Reservations were made under our room number, and we never gave the man at the front desk our names. He kept asking if it was just a reservation for 2, which we repeatedly said yes. He then inquired as to whether any gentlemen would be accompanying us, to which we responded no. We then left for our room.

From 5:00 pm until 9:15 pm that day, we received three calls from an identified “hotel employee.” The person made several references to our dinner reservation and wanting to be our gentleman escort for the evening, which immediately made us know it was the front desk attendant. No one else was at the front desk when we made the reservation. The last call came 5 minutes after we returned to our rooms from dinner, and our blinds had not yet been closed. At that point, the caller asked for me by my last name, which was not on the reservation and had never been given to anyone during our stay. We were alarmed and concerned for our safety, and immediately went to the front desk and asked for a new room assignment. We were escorted to the new room by security.

On Monday, the day we were to leave the hotel, we spoke with the hotel manager, the guest services manager and the hotel general manager. All were very apologetic and explicitly stated the person would be fired. In addition, the general manager indicated he would speak with the controller and see what type of compensation they could provide to us. We left our cell phone numbers and were told we could expect a call in the next couple days with the resolution.

Four days passed and we’d received no call. I followed up on Friday and Saturday, and after several calls, was told by the hotel manager that the person was not fired and that they were offering us 10% off our next visit. I can’t imagine anyone who would return to a hotel where they were stalked and harassed, especially when the person still works there, and told the manager that the offer was unacceptable because I would never return to their hotel. I shared with him that he should talk to whomever he needed to and I would call back on Tuesday (April 15th), at which time I expected to speak with the general manager and to receive a dollar amount they planned to provide both my roommate and myself.

Tuesday, I called (as I said I would) and was given the run around twice. The third time, I was not given the hotel general manager, but the hotel manager. He said “the General Manager said to tell that lady that we’ll give them 15% off their next visit.” Again, an unacceptable resolution.

Had this incident not occurred, I would have rated the hotel a 2. I love to travel and experience new things, but didn’t find the food to be very good. In fact, I lost about 3 pounds over the 4 days I was there, because of the quality of the food. In addition, the service was sub-par. I don’t drink, and waitresses questioned my requests for pina colada without rum or when I asked for a straw for a beverage. There were several times when we sat down to eat in the pizza restaurant on site that others, who arrived after us, were served before us. We weren’t even given menus and they would have beverages before us. Perhaps this is great if you’re a couple. But for a singles vacation or a girlfriends’ getaway, I recommend another hotel at a minimum, and another island altogether.

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.