Looking for honest, straightforward, unsponsored Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana Reviews? Start with my guide to visiting Hyatt Ziva or Hyatt Zilara, a luxury all-inclusive resort in Cap Cana, a gated community in the Dominican Republic near Punta Cana. Does this highly rated property live up to the hype? Find out here!
Planning a trip to Cap Cana or Punta Cana? Also, read my Top 20 Favorite Moments from the trip and see our professional beach photos too.
Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana Reviews
It's hard to find honest, unsponsored Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana Reviews, but today, I'm sharing our unbiased experience at the resort, including its pros and cons. If you are trying to plan your trip to the Dominican Republic and find it overwhelming to pick a family-friendly resort like I did, start here!
Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana is a luxury all-inclusive beachfront resort in Cap Cana, which is a gated, exclusive community in the Dominican Republic near Punta Cana, on the Eastern side of the island, just 10 minutes away from the Punta Cana International Airport and on Juanillo Beach. It's part of a paired with the Hyatt Zilara Cap Cana, which is adult-only, but they do share some amenities. The resorts are the same property and guests can go to both sides restaurants and amenities, but kids are not allowed on the Zilara side.
I traveled with my family, including my 6-year-old twin boys and my husband. We stayed in a King, oceanfront club room. We love the Caribbean, and all-inclusive vacations and this is one of the top spots we've ever visited, which includes Beaches Turks and Caicos. The food, amenities, cleanliness, service, pools, waterpark, gym, and beaches were first class and we absolutely would recommend this property. I'll go into details below, but the condensed version of this review is we loved it.
Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana Reviews - Honest Pros and Cons
I'll start with my honest Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana Reviews and then dive into the pros and cons, plus some of my favorite parts of the resort. I didn't know what to expect from visiting the Dominican Republic but had a great experience thanks to Hyatt Ziva. After visiting Beaches Turks and Caicos two years in a row, we wanted to try something a bit different this year and this resort was perfect. It's on the same level as Beaches and we loved both.
The resort was easy to get to, nicely maintained, and was nothing short of a tropical paradise. I've been to many all-inclusive over the year and this one ranks up at the top with Beaches Turks and Caicos, and in some ways was better. We loved everything from the lovely beach, nice pools, fabulous water park, great food, creative activities, great drinks, and gorgeous grounds. The staff was also so nice and went out of their way to keep guests happy.
Like any place you visit, it wasn't perfect but the pros far outweighed the cons and we simply loved this place. Here are some additional pros and cons of the resort.
Pros
- The resort is new and beautiful. You can't do Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana reviews without mentioning how new and clean the resort is. For Caribbean properties which are notoriously weather-worn and really hard to keep up, it's on the newer side, having been built in 2019. The grounds are well maintained, modern and so pretty. The rooms are also updated, fresh, and modern. There are also large resort rooms and junior suites and all have nice views. The bathroom is also nice with a rain shower.
- It's easy to get to. You can take a direct flight from Charlotte and many other major cities to Punta Cana, and then it's only a 10-minute ride to the resort. It's very easy to navigate the airport and transportation.
- It's in Cap Cana. It's a big plus that the resort is in Cap Cana, which is an exclusive gated community. It's not nearly as busy as Punta Cana and access is restricted in the area, so it feels safer.
- The beach is private. Many places in the Caribbean have public beaches, and beach vendors walk around trying to see items during the day, you don't get that here because the beach is private.
- The food is good. The food here is the best all-inclusive food we've ever tried.
- Fun activities. There was a full schedule of fun activities at the resort for kids and adults. You will never get bored. They were all creative and fun.
- The resort is a great size. The resort is not so big that it takes 30 minutes, or a golf cart ride to get across, but it's still big enough to feel like there's enough space to enjoy your week.
- It never felt crowded. We visited around New Year's, in peak season when the resort was sold out and it still didn't feel crowded. We were expecting crowds and were pleasantly surprised. We didn't have much trouble getting chairs or getting into the restaurants.
- Real drinks. The drinks are made with real, fresh fruit juices, not bottled stuff like most resorts.
- Room service. Room service and drink service at the beach and pool are included with all the rooms. In other resorts we've been to you had to buy the highest, very pricey package to get that.
- The staff is very nice. Nearly everyone at this resort was, kind, friendly, and super helpful. They made you feel welcomed, not a burden.
- The club level is affordable. They offer a club level which offers you butler service, access to the club lounge, private check-in and check-out, discounts, and an al cart breakfast options. The club level has a lot of perks for the price!
Cons
- The beach is seaweed. The beach does fight a seaweed problem which came and went during our trip. It honestly didn't bother me at all because I'm such a beach lover, but if that's something you don't like, it is there. They do rake it off the beach each morning, but it is in the water. The beach is very pretty, but there are prettier ones in the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos.
- It costs more. This resort does cost more than most in Punta Cana, so you are paying for the higher-end amenities and service. This is not a budget trip.
- The themed restaurants aren't as good. We didn't love the themed restaurants as much as some other all-inclusive, but the amazing buffet and special event food were delicious and made up for it. And without being able to take the kids to the Zilara side restaurants, we didn't have as many options.
- One entire restaurant is extra. They have one entire restaurant that's not included but they push selling you on going during your visit, but they don't allow kids. I felt like the restaurants on the family side of the resort should all allow kids since there was an entire resort side that was kid-free.
- Tipping. Tipping is not included with this hotel, like some all-inclusive, and is common practice so you need to carry around cash.
- The pools aren't heated. They were a bit cool in the winter for my taste. We have been to other resorts like Beaches that have heated pools, which are a big plus in the winter. This would not be an issue if you are visiting in the summer.
- No sunset. The sun sets over the back of the resort, so you don't get a nightly beach sunset here over the water.
- Your kids can't go to the Zilara side. If you are visiting Hyatt Ziva with kids, you can't visit the Zilara side unless you take them to the kid's club.
Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana Reviews & Highlights
Juanillo Beach
Juanillo Beach was one of the best parts of these Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana reviews. The beach is a lovely, white sand beach with Caribbean blue waters. We loved playing on the beach, and it was private, without beach vendors trying to sell stuff.
There is some seaweed on the beach, as you can see, but it didn't bother me. The resort staff sets up beach chairs and umbrellas for you and brings drinks to the beach.
I love how the sand area extended back from the beach to the resort.
It made for a gorgeous wide beach that took perfect photos. No, this isn't the BEST beach in the Caribbean, but it is lovely and I enjoyed my time on it.
Pools
The very large main pool meanders from an infinity pool area at the front of the resort, past a swim-up bar, and to the back of the resort. They have servers circling the pool to bring drinks.
There are tons of chairs and they are super cushioned and comfortable. There are lots of platforms along the sides of the pool, which are great for small kids to play on. People did get up to reserve chairs, but it wasn't nearly as bad as some other resorts we have been to. And you could always find a chair, just not the best one unless you got up early.
There is also a very nice club-level pool, that you get when you buy their "club" level package. We really like this pool because they not only bring drinks, but food as well which was perfect for lunch.
They have nice bed cabanas you can pay for, but we didn't do this because we thought the chairs were just as nice.
My only complaint is that the pools were not heated, making them a bit cool for my taste in January.
Water Park
Looking for Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana reviews of the water park? I can tell you firsthand that two 6-year-old boys loved it! They think it was the highlight of their trip and had an amazing time doing the slides. There were three larger slides including one tube on that they did. There was also this family racer slide, which they adored.
They also have an area for small kids with smaller slides and a dump bucket. My kids are a great age because they are still young enough to find this fun, but tall enough to do the bigger tube slide.
There was also a lazy river, that was anything but lazy. I feel like in most lazy rivers you can find a way around getting hit in the head by water, but there was no way to avoid it on this one. You were constantly getting pounded by a waterfall or water on the slide. I would have preferred a calmer lazy river, but as you can imagine, my kids loved it.
The Beaches water park was a bit larger, with a few more things to do. They liked the Beaches one better but still enjoyed both.
Club Level Amenities
Like many Dominican Republic resorts, they have a "club" or preferred level you can book when booking your room. The club level gets you access to a special lounge and this club pool area. You also get a "bulter" who can help you with reservations, chairs, or any problems you have.
I think you would enjoy your vacation without it, but we enjoyed having the extra perks.
We loved that this pool had a menu and you could order lunch, instead of going to the restaurant and getting the food. It was great for small wet kids who didn't want to take a break.
Fun Special Events
Another part of these Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana reviews is the special events the resort hosts. It was so fun that they had a full schedule of actual fun activities planned each day. It was posted on the app and they had everything from games, kids activities, crafts, rum tastings, and more.
They even had special dinners most nights with themes. We went to the Caribbean night, which was a lovely dinner on the beach with grilled Caribbean lobster, authentic music, and dancing. It was so magical. We also went to their fire night, which had lots of fire-grilled meats and fire dancers. My boys loved it!
They also had a Cuban Night and more, which made up for the small number of restaurants. We loved these events more than the actual non-buffet restaurants. They do take reservations for these, so if you go, don't be shy about asking to be added to the list ahead of time. It is part of the included food.
This was really unique and the staff did a lovely job with it. It brought a special vibe to our entire week.
Kids Activities & Kids Club
I also loved that the kids had so much to do at Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana. There is a kids club where you can drop them off, but there is also a huge range of daily activities that you can do with your kids. We did everything from crafting, slime making, cupcake decorating, painting, and even this cool ball that floats on the water. For older kids, they arranged things like volleyball games and soccer games.
One day they even set up this fun circus area for the kids to do carnival-like games.
Most nights they even had this adorable movie set up for the kids. They could watch a movie and you could either hang out with them or drop them off and go to dinner. We stayed with our boys but talked to other parents who dropped their kids off without trouble.
The number of things to do that were unique, creative and so well thought out. It was a nice perk to stay here!
Spa
The Larimar Spa is a gorgeous spa that has lots of treatment options and beautiful amenities like a Himalayan salt lounge and a stunning cave-style hydrotherapy pool.
Included Watersports
The included watersports are another highlight of this Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana review. We loved the Hobie cats, paddle boards, and kayaks. They have a roped-off area to keep "big fish" out and small boats in, which was nice.
Gym & Fitness Center
The gym is shared with Hyatt Zilara, and it's hands-down one of the nicest resort gyms I've been to. If you like to work out on vacation, you will love it. They also have daily classes including spin and zumba.
Photography
One of our last highlights of these Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana reviews is the photos that are included. My family unhappily grunted through doing them, but wow I'm glad we did. The wide beach takes really pretty photographs, and I love how they turned out. I shared the best photos from our shoot here.
Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana Reviews for Restaurants
The Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana reviews for food I read before we went were mainly good, so I had high hopes that the food at this resort would be good. As food lovers, that's important to us on a trip. The reviews were right, I thought this was some of the best if not the best all-inclusive food we've had in our travels.
The food was fresh, and plentiful and had lots of healthy and indulgent options. It's still all-inclusive food, which is never quite as good as stand-alone restaurants, but we did enjoy all of our food and constantly talked about how we loved the variety.
The one thing that surprised us was the best food we found was at the buffet on the Ziva side, which normally isn't the case, but this buffet was pretty special!
El Mercado Buffet
The El Mercado Buffet Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana was one of the best buffets I've ever been to, and I don't like buffets. I loved that the food was behind glass and they had servers to dish the food, keeping everyone from touching it. You had a server who brought you drinks as well. They also had all sorts of stations where they cooked food fresh for you, including eggs in the morning and even fresh grilled fish for dinner.
The breakfast buffet was the same daily, but it was huge. For dinner, they had a different theme each night, so you got to try different food. The first night we arrived was New Year's Eve and they had a spectacular buffet with grilled Caribbean lobster and bluefin tuna prepared fresh to order.
They even offered Dominican food.
We had some amazing breakfasts there including this egg benedict. They had amazing fresh tropical fruits too including papaya, passion fruit, and pineapple.
This breakfast burrito was prepared fresh for me and was so good too! We normally like a sit-down breakfast, but the buffet was so good, we kept going back.
One of our favorite dinners was fresh grilled fish or seafood including tuna, salmon, calamari, and scallops. They had all sorts of chefs who prepared the food for you right as you ordered.
They also had pizza, made-to-order pasta dishes, meats, salads, and any sides you could want. I never thought I could like a buffet more than an al-a-cart restaurant, but here I did.
The kids particularly loved the fresh juices in the mornings and they even had a smoothie station where they could create their smoothies from fresh fruit.
The Chinola
The Chinola is a beachside restaurant specializing in healthy food. It had a gorgeous ocean view and charming decor. They only serve club-level guests al a cart breakfast and lunch, but for dinner, it's open to everyone.
We ended up mainly eating breakfast at the buffet because it was so good, but we did love the breakfast there too.
The lunch was also particularly good! Just look at this freshly cooked tuna steak!
Tempest Table
Tempest Table is an Asian-style restaurant. It was actually like 3 restaurants in one with classic table service with sushi, a Mongolian grill area, and also traditional hibachi tables. My kids love hibachi, so we tried that! The food was great, but we were kind of disappointed that the show didn't have the traditional tricks and entertainment. They just kind of cooked the food. The food was good though, just not the show we were expecting.
Noodle & Thread
Noodle & Thread is an Italian restaurant with a huge menu featuring pasta, meat, and even pizza.
The pasta dishes were ok but the pizza was really good.
We also enjoyed the salmon they had on the menu. Again, the buffet for some reason was better than these restaurants, but it was still really good.
Navigator Grill
Navigator Grill is their seafood restaurant, and our favorite al a cart restaurant we tried. It's open air, outside, and has a lovely view. They are open for lunch and dinner.
We enjoyed the calamari.
The shrimp ceviche was really great too.
They also had a clam pasta.
And finally, their fresh catch was delicious.
Prontoz
Prontoz is the quick, casual lunch option when you are at the pool. It's counter service unless you are club level, and then the waitresses will bring the food to you. The menu featured light bowls, salads, and pizza. We really enjoyed this option. I especially liked that I had a salad for lunch option.
The pizza needed salt but otherwise was great. We got this menu almost every day though, so I do wish that it had a few more options on it because we repeated meals several times.
Room Service
Included room service is another fun perk of my Hyatt Ziva Reviews. They had a great menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The food came in under an hour, and we could not have been happier to enjoy a few meals on our balcony without dragging the kids out. We even had one day the kids were not feeling well, so we ate dinner here. It was such a wonderful option!
The Blind Butcher
The Blind Butcher is higher-end restaurant at Hyatt Ziva, but it is an extra charge to go. They feature South American food with elements of a show. They don't allow kids under 13.
Coffee Republic
Coffee Republic features coffee drinks, light snacks, and ice cream treats. We loved having this option and got an amazing coconut frappuccino daily. The coffee was really good, which isn't always the case with all-inclusive.
They also had a popsicle bar for the kids, which was a huge hit. We had daily passion fruit popsicles that made the boys so happy.
Moments Sports Lounge
Moment Sports Lounge is a sports bar with lots of TVs, pool tables, live sports, drinks, and some traditional bar food like nachos, wings, and burgers. It's family-friendly until late evening.
Hyatt Zilara Restaurants
These Hyatt Zilara side restaurants are adults-only but you can cross over without your kids, so I'm including them in my Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana reviews.
- The Pier - The Zilara buffet that is similar to El Mercado.
- Brando's- The fancy restaurant featuring French cuisine with a Polynesian flair.
- Shutters Beachside - An oceanfront restaurnt featuring Peruvian-Carribbean cuisine.
- Waves - The resort's steakhouse with coal-fired steaks.
- Presto- Pizza and poolside snacks.
- Journeys - Indian food with adorable theming that looks like you are in an old train car.
Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana Reviews
I'll wrap up these Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana Reviews by saying we did love the resort. I wasn't sure if we would like a place as much as Turks and Caicos, but this place gave Beaches a run for its money. We like it equally in many areas, and a few areas more. Beaches have a better beach, a slightly better water park, and slightly better stand-alone restaurants, but overall we liked this place just as much. This was an easy vacation that still felt like an adventure for our family. We loved it and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a luxury all-inclusive, kid-friendly vacation.
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