VIK Arena Blanca & Cayena Beach Club - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

4349 reviews

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  Small Quiet Resort

  Enjoyed our stay immensely! This is a quieter resort perfect for families and people looking to relax. If you’re expecting nightlife this is NOT the resort for you. They try but the shows are lame. The weather was FANTASTIC, the beach is beautiful, and the pools are very warm . The only complaint I’d have is that the only decent coffee was from an espresso machine in the lobby that didn’t open until 9:00am. This is an older resort but they are working at updating rooms. Would I go again? Yes!!

  Apr 13, 2026
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  You get what you pay for (or don't get)

  Well, if you go to a budget hotel you don't expect luxury but the 4* have to be justified. I'm not that type 'it ruined my vacation', you are the only one who can ruin it and we have had a good time overall. A few things to be aware of. The hotel is dated but clean. The staff is taking care of it and in our room everything was functional. However water pressure is low and hot water is scarce. We thought about changing the room but people from other buildings complained about the same problem. Safe box is not free (seriously?), you have to get a lock from the reception for US$2/day. The main buffet was good (most food was tasty and not very repetitive) and the bars served a good selection of drinks. The hotel doesn't have a single normal espresso machine so espresso, latte, cappuccino etc. only available in the automatic machine in the lobby and it is pretty bad. My solution was to get an ice cream in the buffet and fill the cup with black brewed coffee. Also, the only bar working at night is the sports bar and it closes at 5am. From this point till 10am no alcohol is available. Also, if you have to leave early in the morning, the buffet is opened since 5:30 but it doesn't serve any prepared food till much later (not sure when). At 6am the food came in the form of pan, ham, cheese, sweets, fruits etc. The pool is ok but has no swim in bar. Did not matter for us as we hardly used the pool at all. Beach was the biggest disappointment. The only thing that depends on the hotel was the shaded places (umbrellas). To get a spot under the umbrella after 6am was impossible and get any beach chairs after 8am was impossible as well. Surprisingly, my friends who stayed in more expensive places reported the same problem (to greater or lesser extent). How hard is it to put a few dozens of umbrellas? We also noticed that the beach is much narrower in this resort that in others and it can be quite crowded at times. Not related to Vik hotel... The sea is never calm, the waves can be bigger or smaller but they are always there and if you are a swimmer this is not an ideal place for you. The water is turbid, you cannot see your feet once the water reaches your waist. Seaweed was the issue only one night at our resort but we saw that in other places it is worse. A coconut costs US$5 and pina colada with fresh pineapple is $10. I think it was tip-based years ago (coconuts for sure) but not anymore. Of course, a tourist is seen as a bag of money in any country but in DR it is more obvious than elsewhere. The vendors are pushy, the hotel staff is indifferent at best. Cannot wait for the Cuba crisis to resolve so we can go there again.

  Apr 13, 2026
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  Good food and beach , not much else

  Good family vacation 2026. This was a good hotel but not great. Definetly have many things that are just okay. I would NOT likely return to this hotel. Pros - food is great. We don't have complaints about food. We had Mexican which was fantastic , buffet always great as well. International we had was okay but not great. We didn't try Italian. Beach is beautiful. Rooms are clean and housekeeping does a very good job. Dislikes - BEACH/POOL CHAIRS. We had to set our alarm at 5 am(on vacation)to reserve chairs. By 6 most shade was not available. One day we tried to do late night as we arrived back late and next day out towels taken off the chairs and my clips were never returned to us. No trying to relax on beach as Dominicans are constantly selling stuff to you. Coffee is not great. Coffee machines are not always working in lobby and we had early flight home and no coffee at all at that time. Coffee in buffet is OKAY but only have hot milk to mix which was not ideal and made me not want any. No Safe. We had 3 rooms for our family of 6 and no one had a working safe. Luckily we had no issues with housekeepers taking anything. Still felt a bit unsettling. Lots of mixed reviews on Hott water in room although we didn't have issues some others we knew did. Seems air conditioning was hit or miss , we found too cold and blanket was to thin. Others changed rooms as no air at all. Staff - I only recall a select few that were nice and would smile. Most had no smile and seems to very much be unhappy to be working at hotel. Not much good customer service in my opinion. Most bartenders were miserable and never cracked a smile. 1 at buffet was good 1 at Mexian restaurant. Entertainment crew was pretty good , 1 guy made a lot of effort to talk to me and my family. Entertainment - not enough going on especially at night. Disco that they did have was apparently closed for a year and we met people that went for that specifically. When there was dancing at night there was not much variety of music at all and short amount of time. Many of same songs too. Dance/stage shows were very short. Daytime they did try to get people involved in a few things.

  Apr 10, 2026
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  Bad review

  1. The beach isn't well maintained and is poorly managed. You have to get up around 3:00 a.m. to get a chair on the beach with shade. 2. The entertaining at the beach is almost completely absent. 3. The food is fantastic 4. The drinks are ok 5. We only had one good coffee machine for the whole resort 6. The shower water and pressure were terrible 7. There is no entertainment organize at the lobby Overall, we will not be returning

  Apr 08, 2026
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  Poor security, poor maintenance, lack of responsibility from staff.

  So before I start talking about the security take note that my room was on the first floor. Now the security : - No working safes to put passports, etc. - The sliding backdoor (patio) door could not close at all and not just for me, other people on the first floor too. What's the point of closing the front door if anyone can enter from thr back anyways... Had to ask twice (Two different days until they somewhat fixed it.) - The front door already looked run down, I don't know what happened here in the past but it seems people clearly busted down the front and back door of a lot, if not all the first floor rooms. - I went back to my room a few times to check if it was getting cleaned and they basically open your door, leave a trash can to leave it open as a door stop while NO ONE is there to clean yet or around, so anyone can just get in and take all your things for free if they wanted. The staff : - For those who speak french good luck, they don't understand it at all, except the airline guide. Hope you at least speak english. They clearly understand it better. - Had to ask twice on two different days for them to "somewhat" fix my broken backdoor. (It was already like this when I arrived.) - Some of my family asked for an extra bedsheet twice (two different days once again) and they still didn't get it even though they were told it would be there on the same day they asked. The activities : - The beach is very short and lackluster, barely any sand and space. - The theater spectacles are alright. - Most of the actually interesting activities cost more money of course, pricing around like 110 US and above. The food : - Nothing too crazy, It's not bad at all though. - The buffet restaurent is great and the Mexican restaurent was alright. Didn't try the Italian or Sea food one. - Plenty of choice for breakfast, I think they nailed the breakfast buffet. Probably the best and only part I can say was actually worth it. - The drinks at the bars are good too. The Punta Cana special tastes great or take something like a pina colada. Is it clean and well maintained : - Not well maintained, backdoors that don't close so anyone can get in even with the front door closed. Quite a bit of rust. There was an ant nest behind my bathroom door (small one but still an issue.) - Their toilets are easily clogged and we don't have something to unclog them at hand. (When a man has to drop a log, he gotta drop a log.) - As you may expect the water from the tap and shower are not good for consumption. Gotta use plastic water bottles (which are provided, big ones at that) to brush your teeths. - The airconditioner is so poorly maintained that the medium mode doesn't work. You eitheir go in High or low mode. (At least it works.) - The beds were cleaned properly, the bathroom towels were clean too. I listed all the problems so far I think. Overall : - Poor security measures and lack of care in that area about those who do the cleaning and employees. - The breakfasts are Great the rest of the food varies but it's good. - Poorly maintained buildings and rooms. Quite a bit of rust. - Lack of responsibility and action when we ask for something to be fixed or something as simple as an extra bedsheet. I would simply not recommand this hotel mainly for security reasons. This is not it. Trying to relax while having the anxiety of your things being poorly secured because you got no choice isn't really fun. Maybe those in the more expensive Club or "private" area don't have this issue but I wouldn't know. They always pay more care to those who spend more money after all.

  Apr 06, 2026