Re: Need info on Gran Dominicus (ventaclub)
Stayed there recently with my family (husband, two children and mother). We all enjoyed it fully and yes, would recommend it. If an excellent beach is a top priority when seeking a resort, definitely stay at Gran Dominicus.
Gran Dominicus is on what I would consider the best beach on the southeast coast. The beach strip is about three kilometers long, and is a very enjoyable walk. While the beach of each hotel is lovely, walking along the entire beach strip is a must activity if you will be staying in the area. Gran Dominicus shares the Dominicus beach with its next door neighbors Dominicus Palace (opening in November-December) and the Viva Dominicus further to the West, the new Coral Canoa hotel is going up to the East of Gran Dominicus. Note that all beach fronts are public property in the DR, so you can explore the entire beach front and enjoy. The beach has white sand and turquoise waters.
The hotel rooms are large. The hotel is new so the air-conditioning is superb and the facilities in general look new. The hotel rooms have very good showers with cold and hot water that make you want to stay in. Note, they also have blow dryers in the rooms and cable TV channels in English.
Gran Dominicus is like a village. The hotel is a comfortable size. You can walk everywhere, without tiring. This is especially good if you are traveling with children. The hotel is built like an Italian farm villa, and the gardens feature lovely exotic tropical flowers, even sugar cane is planted there.
There are three restaurants -- one for seafood grills, one for Italian food and the buffet restaurant. We all enjoyed the food and found delicacies to rave about. Again, because this hotel mainly caters to Italians, expect the food to be Italian-style, and thus very healthy. There was great capuccino and coffees, all the time, and an assortment of teas. Of course, there were pastas made fresh from which you can choose from. And snacks at the bar all afternoons.
The hotel reminded me of Club Med in its older days. The place was full of Italians, around their 25-40s, most in good physical shape. This seemed to be a hotel for people who enjoyed the outdoors and were active. Do note you will mostly be in company of Italians. The Italians were fun-loving, reserved, and not loud.
They have new 4 wheel motorbikes for excursions, tennis courts, and even offer archery. So there's lots of activity, if you want to get away from the beach.
The animation is by Dominicans joined by Italians. The Italians have coached the Dominicans into becoming excellent performers and they put on impressive shows. Before dinner, they will teach you to dance salsa, merengue, bachata. In a week's time you will be an expert. They have a disco area, where you can practice what you've learned to 3 am.
I would also highly recommend this hotel to families. It has one of the largest swimming pools in the DR, built to look like a beach and with all sorts of depths and corners. They have a good diving program, with classes even for children (PADI).
Take the Saona excursion to another great beach. The day we went they had grilled lobsters and lobster pasta for lunch. Delicious.
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