Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana

Well, year number two in the books. We traveled with the same family as last year and then added two more families to the mix. It’s so fun and sad typing this up as we are flying away from such an amazing location, building, and people. We had 6 people in our family this year (our regular 5 and a Spanish foreign exchange student) so we were unable to sleep as we had the year before. We were concerned that the check-in process would be difficult to figure out, but the club lounge process for check-in went seamless and one of our kids slept with another family in our group. We were introduced to our butler, Christopher, but he remembered us from our trip last year! Our first reunion! A side note for Chris - We chatted every day, he came through on every request, and would love to have him again in the future. What an awesome dude. We quickly got our sleeping situations settled, changed into our swimsuits and headed directly to the club pool. And then there was a second reunion…As we were walking up to the bar, Deiby stopped what he was doing and came out from the bar to greet me with a hug! Then Luiz said hi! Between the two of those guys (Roberto, too, for a little) we were in great hands from the bar. Superb service and friendliness. And I can’t forget about Nathaly and Anjely. What those two consistently greeted me and called us by name. The Mercado was another highlight for our group as a whole, but specifically there were a few people that stood out. We were here for breakfast every day of our trip. The ladies who took our names were always very sweet and helpful. Alfred and “Super” Gregorio were two fun gentlemen who went above and beyond for us. Franklin at one of the omelet stations made us the same thing every day and on the last day he was already prepared for me as I came up to the line. Such a small detail that meant a lot to me. And then Juan (also a fun bartender at Moments) and Andy along with the head chef came through with some fat free greek yogurt for my wife and me. The yogurt was not a regular item and they could have just said “no, I’m sorry we don’t have that.” But they went out and found it each time! Then at lunch, the sushi line. This was probably the best food I had while staying here. I don’t remember the gentleman’s name, but it was the same guy each day. He would make me a Poke bowl with the sushi ingredients and every single time it was incredible. I’m certainly going to to miss that. Then Julio at lunch with the ice cream. That chocolate is sooo good. The Coffee Shop - The people there were so nice. I can’t remember their names, but they took awesome care of us and our kids. Chinola Restaurant - The hostess there - her name eludes me, but she was so kind to us as was Cesar and Franmy. I spoke with Cesar the most and he even made a drink and named it after me…the Andres Special! Sax and Wine - This was probably one of the highlights of our week here. It was hosted by Alfred (who I’ll talk about later, too). The saxophone player was AMAZING! His name was Jordan, he said it was his first time playing at Ziva/Zilara. We asked him when he was coming back and he said he didn’t know. There was dancing there and he was responding so well to the crowd. People young and old were all enjoying themselves. Just an overall fun and very memorable experience that I would love to repeat. The bartenders were awesome as usual. I have already mentioned a few above, but there’s a couple more worth mentioning. Tall Fernando ran the cocktail making class and the Tequila tasting, he seemed very passionate about both and we had a good time. Meiby and Joan at the Twisted Timbers helped us a couple of the nights before dinner. But my favorite was someone who was just hired a few days before we arrived. His name is Walter (Wally) from Costa Rica. He is the man!! I can’t wait to see what he is going to do at Ziva/Zilara in the coming months and years down the road. He is someone that I would go seek out to make me a drink. Keep the guy around. And now the entertainment team…The batting cage was awesome again - Manuel gave me a lot of great pitches and also taught me how to speak to a crowd. Fun dude. Last year when we were here we loved the shows (specifically Queen and MJ), This year Michael Jackson was not as polished as what I remembered. We really loved Il Divo. But it wouldn’t be a Ziva adventure without Karaoke. We had so much fun last year doing this and it didn’t disappoint this year. Our last reunion was with Manuel, Amado, and Chael. They took such amazing care of us before, during, and after the songs we sang. Alfred even sang with me! I loved it!!!!!!!! But my son and his friend had a duet that they worked out a dance routine with and they were so concerned that they would’t get up there on their last night, but Alfred/Chael/Amado made it happen!!! The food/drink is top notch, the activities, the shows, the venue, the beach…This place really has it all, but there’s zero chance we would have returned if it wasn't for all these names I wrote about. These people again made this trip a forever memory. Thank you very much for such a wonderful week. Sadly we won’t be coming back in 2027, but we are hoping sometime in the future that we can return to this paradise that is filled with unselfish and caring employees who I can absolutely call them my friends. Nice job, Ziva/Zilara.

Fourth time back, clean and relaxing. We love Jose with entertainment, request Hector for photos - great with kids! George in the Mercado was so helpful with finding Gluten Free food for my daughter and I ( both celiac). He works so hard and we look forward to seeing him every morning! Alfredo in the Mercado is so kind and always smiling. We were happy to see him again. Andres makes the best omelets.

I really wanted to love Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana given the price point and the hype, but overall, I don’t think it lives up to expectations. The biggest issue—and honestly a dealbreaker—is the beach. The sargassum and seaweed were overwhelming, to the point where there was a noticeable smell that even carried into the pool areas at times. It made the beach completely unappealing, especially considering there are other nearby properties that don’t seem to have this issue. Another major downside is the pool temperature. If the sun isn’t directly out, the water is extremely cold—uncomfortably so. In a place like Punta Cana, especially during a milder month like December, you expect to enjoy the pool regardless of cloud cover, but that just wasn’t the case. Food was also disappointing. Overall quality was lackluster, and unfortunately I suspect I got sick from tuna at the beachside restaurant. I also heard multiple other guests mention foodborne illness during my stay, which is concerning. If I had to recommend one spot, the Italian restaurant was the most consistently decent. We stayed in a one-bedroom beachfront suite—one of the larger room options. While it was spacious and fine overall, it felt a bit dated and lacked some of the amenities you’d expect at this level. Housekeeping was also inconsistent day to day. The club level experience and butler service were particularly underwhelming. Our butler was essentially nonexistent—we were repeatedly told to go through the front desk instead. While the club pool itself was quieter and nicer, the overall “club” perks didn’t justify the added cost. One bright spot was the kids club staff. The women working there were genuinely warm, engaged, and seemed to really enjoy what they do. That stood out in a very positive way. Overall, this stay was surprising given the resort’s reputation and price. There are definitely better options in the area with stronger service, better food, and more enjoyable beach conditions.

We were very impressed with our stay here and our girls (almost 4 yo and 1.5 yo) were absolutely delirious by the end of each day from all the sun and fun. A quick drive from the airport, the location was great and my early rising baby “encouraged” me to get up and see the beautiful sunrises from the beach. The property is beautiful and I felt very comfortable there. The biggest reason for that is definitely the staff. Everyone we encountered there made us feel so welcome. Marilyn and Mindole greeted us with a smile every morning at El Mercado for breakfast and went out of their way to make sure our girls had everything they needed. Marilyn especially went out of her way to bring our favorite fruits and drinks to the table and was just so so kind to us. She was very sweet with our one year old who is a bit of a disaster at meal times… At the pool Yuberky, Dorka, and Elvira were fantastic and made sure to keep us well hydrated in the hot sun. I wish I had gotten their names but the folks who coordinated the kids club activities were incredible. Great energy and had a good mix of things to do that were interesting enough for my kids to want to break from the pool. The real star of the show was Juan, our butler who was just phenomenal. If we ever go back, I would hope we could see him again because he was just so great. He helped us get oriented to the resort and coordinated meals for us so we wouldn’t have to wait which was huge. He sent fruit for us to keep in the room so we could keep the tiny humans fed and happy and sent us other fun treats in the evening, but beyond all that he was just a really nice presence and great to talk to. Our room was out of this world amazing. We were in the presidential suite and it was insane. The balcony with the jetted tub was a high light for sure. We spent a lot of time out there. The main living area was huge and if we had wanted to, we could have hosted a dinner party there with all the seating at the dining table. The primary bathroom was enormous too and very beautiful.Probably the best room I’ve ever stayed in. Housekeeping was very attentive and kept everything very clean and tidy in spite of our two messy kids. This place is definitely expensive but I think it was worth it for us to make a trip like this feel doable with small kids. I don’t have many complaints to be honest. My main gripe is that I was surprised by the music. I was hoping to hear more Dominican/Latin music but heard a lot of Taylor swift, Bruno mars and classic rock. It was also pretty loud in our room from the performances but usually ended by 9 or 10 and didn’t really interfere with the girls bedtime.

Hotel is nice but honestly way too many small kids making it very hard to relax especially the pool area and Restaurants. Completely appreciate this is a family resort and if I had small kids it would be a great choice. I would not recommend if you have older children late teens. Overall food was very good, staff were great but for the money the overall atmosphere was not great and left disappointed.