VIK Arena Blanca & Cayena Beach Club - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

4312 reviews

• 

  Do NOT GO HERE!!!!

  You said: I am writing this review as a sincere warning, not out of anger, but out of genuine concern for others. I can’t say much about the resort itself, because I made a life-altering mistake during my stay: I visited the doctor at the medical clinic affiliated with and located at the VIK Arena Blanca. That decision resulted in me spending the remainder of my vacation in a predatory hospital called Hospiten Bávaro. I am a healthy 40-year-old woman with no prior neurological conditions. I went to the clinic on the "resort" for what was diagnosed as an infected bug bite. What followed was shocking... The doctor sent me to a hospital where he promised I would get "prompt treatment"....I was subjected to three days of IV antibiotics for a condition that did not warrant such aggressive treatment. They are masters at tricking tourists....During this first admission, I was continuously attached to an IV pump and repeatedly told that if I left against medical advice, my insurance would not cover the treatment and I would personally owe thousands of dollars.... I spent three days begging to be discharged. I felt completely trapped traveling alone with my 4-year old son. After three days, I was finally allowed to return to the resort... After they manipulatively extracted thousands of dollars from my insurance.... Shortly afterward, as a direct result of being severely overmedicated, I began feeling extremely ill.... I stayed for about 24 hours in the hotel room, feeling really ill but I knew it was a bad idea to return to the hospital.... I was desperate not to return to the same hospital, but my condition rapidly worsened. I began seizing and was taken back to Hospiten by ambulance. During my second admission, following the seizure, I was again continuously chained to an IV pump. I was told I had “late-onset epilepsy.” I have never had epilepsy, nor had I ever experienced a seizure prior to this incident. My doctors in Canada were appalled by both the medications I was prescribed and the volume of drugs administered. They confirmed that the treatment I received was excessive and inappropriate for my condition. Despite this, Hospiten billed my insurance thousands of dollars for medications and care that were ultimately deemed unnecessary. They tried to hold me for several more days which would have meant I missed my flight home however; as crazy as it sounds, I held a karaoke vigil where I sang in the hallway, a rewritten rendition of Elton John's: "Can you feel the love tonight?" Except I reworded it " Can you feel the insurance fraud" A lot of other patients came out of their rooms and some started recording me. I could see in their eyes they felt what I was singing because they were experiencing it too..... After a few minutes of me singing the doctors and admin staff rushed my room and said I could be discharged that day. It became very clear that this is a system designed to extract as much money as possible from travelers’ insurance. When resorts offer unlimited food and drinks, all it takes is one medical visit to an affiliated clinic to trigger a chain of events that can result in tens of thousands of dollars in insurance billing. If you are considering this resort—or any resort in the Dominican Republic—ask in advance who the resort doctor is affiliated with. If the answer is Hospiten, proceed with extreme caution. Visiting the VIK clinic or any hospital affiliated with Hospiten could literally cost you your life due to overtreatment tied directly to aggressive overbilling. During my stay I observed at least three other "patients" who had been tricked there from a resort called Dreams.... If you do survive the experience, you had better hope you have excellent insurance. If not, you may be held in the hospital until payment is made for treatment you did not need. My advice is simple: do not visit Hospiten in Punta Cana or any of its affiliated providers. Your insurance company will thank you. Your body—and your long-term health—will thank you. Please don’t take my word for it alone. Research online. I deeply wish I had done so before my trip. If you look at my other reviews, you will see they are overwhelmingly positive. I do not enjoy writing negative reviews, as most people are genuinely trying their best. This situation is different. What I experienced was predatory, dangerous, and deeply alarming. Additionally, the Government of Canada advises travelers to exercise a high degree of caution when visiting the Dominican Republic. After my experience, I would honestly advise against traveling here at all. I will be writing a book about this experience. Until then, I hope this review prevents someone else from making Can you rewrite this to be short enough for a Google review post and make it a bit more concise the same mistake I did. ChatGPT said: Here’s a concise, Google-review-length rewrite that keeps the core warning and seriousness while tightening the language: I’m writing this as a sincere warning, not out of anger. During my stay at VIK Arena Blanca, I visited the on-site medical clinic for what was diagnosed as an infected bug bite. That decision led to a nightmare. I was sent to Hospiten Bávaro, where I was subjected to aggressive and unnecessary treatment, including days of IV antibiotics, despite being a healthy 40-year-old with no neurological history. I was repeatedly told I could not leave or my insurance wouldn’t pay, leaving me feeling trapped—alone with my 4-year-old child. After thousands were billed to my insurance, I was discharged, only to become severely ill from overmedication. I later suffered a seizure and was taken back to the same hospital, where I was told I had “late-onset epilepsy.” My doctors in Canada later confirmed the treatment and medications were excessive and inappropriate. It became clear this system is designed to extract as much money as possible from travelers’ insurance through resort-affiliated clinics and hospitals. I witnessed other resort guests experiencing the same thing. If you’re considering this resort—or any in the Dominican Republic—ask who the resort doctor is affiliated with. If it’s Hospiten, proceed with extreme caution. Visiting these clinics can lead to overtreatment, massive insurance bills, and serious risk to your health. Please research before you travel. I deeply wish I had. Hopefully more will come to light about this and WestJet will sever their relationship with this resort.

  Dec 31, 2025
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  Worst "resort" ever

  One of the WORST places I have ever stayed. Too many issues to list. If you can't go somewhere else, DON'T stay here. Room had no lighting in sitting area, there is only a small fixture next to the bed. Pillows awful, shower runs hot and cold, hard to get shampooed and rinsed. Everything worn and keeps lots of upkeep.

  Dec 29, 2025
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  Great vacation at a great price

  Family vacation from December 15 to 22, 2025 with Air Transat. We travelled with two 14 years old and one 6 yo for 5800$. Weather was nice, which is the only thing we are looking for. I had not travelled in the the DR for the past few years as I had found then sellers annoying back in the days. - 2 big clean pools - 1 big buffet, never had to wait for a table, plenty of space but I’m unaware if the hotel was full or not - I don’t know if the it was the high tide or what but the beach in front of the hotel is almost not existant. You can walk a little bit further and it becomes larger. - Swimming is great although we had the yellow flag all week - Food was mostly ok. After a week you miss home cook food otherwise everybody can find something that suits them. Enough for everyone, you don’t have to go crazy when the doors open. - Room was clean, beds confortable considering, not the worst I have through the years - A little disappointed with the staff at the buffet. They are roaming around, not really looking or talking to you, not smiling even if you try to engage with them… Front desk staff, most of the bar tenders and room keepers were awesome. - There is a little bit of activities on the resort but if it’s not your thing like me they are not trying to get you to go anyway - There are sellers on the beach and around the pool but they are not all over you, they respect banderies and do not disturb you I would go again and recommend to my friends that are not looking for an upper 5 stars. We knew what we were getting ourselves into and were happy about our choice overall.

  Dec 24, 2025
• 

  Cool

  The worst hotel ever! 1) The staff is terrible, sullen, unsmiling, and unprofessional. 2) The rooms are terrible, it feels like Columbus brought the furniture and it's still in the room. There's no internet. We asked for another room, it's like being in a prison, the beds are nailed to the wall. The closet is terrible. There's no iron in the room. We also asked to change rooms, which seemed fine, but the air conditioning hasn't worked for 4 days. We asked for it to be fixed every day, no one came. We asked again, a repairman came, switched the settings, but nothing was fixed. The air conditioning still doesn't work. The safe is very, very old. The water in the shower is intermittent. If you manage to come back from the beach early, at 4 o'clock, you can still take a shower, but if it's later, it's a disaster. The water is sometimes hot, sometimes boiling, sometimes cold, it's impossible to regulate, and then it completely disappears. 4) The animators are terrible, no music, nothing at the pool. 5) The beach is terrible, there's almost no beach, no one cleans up the seaweed. The showers at the pool are almost broken. 6) The food in the cafeteria is terrible, there's nothing to eat for three days. chicken and a couple of salads. The beef is undercooked, you can chew for a very long time. The staff in the cafeteria is terrible. The next day I wanted this vacation in this hotel to end as quickly as possible. In the end, I will say that do not go to this hotel under any circumstances. I personally would not come here even for free.

  Dec 19, 2025
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  Look Elsewhere Give This Place A Pass

  Location: far from everything Rooms: Very poor condition, we were in 2 different rooms, the ceiling leaked in both. Reported the problem, moved us the first time and did nothing the second. Lots of construction going on, banging on the walls and the floor above starting around 8am everyday. Great for workers not great for having a sleep in while on holiday. Noise: Aside from the constant banging there is a lot of shouting by workers and guests. The music at the "disco" is quite loud and goes on until the early hours of the morning. Staff: Seem generally unhappy, not all but most. Pool: Pool is nice with a lot of chairs. Beach: Beach is on the small side and covered in smelly seaweed. The he seaweed was not removed from the beach which means having to walk in it, unpleasant smells and a lot of biting bugs. Food: Nothing stands out, overall the food is very very average. Drinks: Are okay bring your own cup, the provided glasses are quite small. Overall Value: The value is not good. Spend a little more and stay someplace else.

  Dec 11, 2025