Like all reviews, this is just my opinion; your mileage may vary. I'll give you the good, the bad, plus some extra info that has nothing to do with the resort (weather, transportation, etc.). Please note that we upgraded to the Premium Package (through Sunwing, at a discount) so I'll talk about that too. 

CHECK-IN PROCESS - The Premium Package was supposed to give us priority check-in in a VIP lounge. We stood in the regular check-in line for 20 minutes before someone called out the VIPs, and then we were escorted to the private bar above the lobby reserved for Premium and Royal package members. The nice part of this was that it was quiet, there were comfy chairs to sit in, and we got drinks from the bar. If you're a couple, it would be a romantic place to have a drink. For check-in, however, we proceeded to sit there for an additional hour while our concierge ran around, presumably handling other guests. Occasionally he’d pop by, apologize for the wait, and get us to sign a paper. Normally I’d be patient about all of this--you're on vacation, in a country with a culture that's far more relaxed than our own, so you have to chill out about these kinds of things), BUT at this point it was after 8pm, I was travelling with my 7 year old, and we hadn’t had dinner yet. When we finally got all the paperwork sorted and went to gather our luggage, we discovered our luggage was the last ones sitting there after everyone else had gotten to their rooms. Not exactly the priority VIP check-in that was promised.

ROOM & BUILDING - We were in room #1152, which means building #1, floor #1, room #52. The Premium package was also supposed to include a larger room on an upper floor, but ours was a rather small room on the first floor. I’ve been to many discount resorts before (so I don’t expect the moon) and this was the smallest room I’ve had. That being said, I wasn't willing to cause a kerfuffle with the front desk and demand another room. Life is too short. The room was clean and the cleaner was a lovely, friendly lady who did a great job cleaning our room, and she folded our towels nicely and placed little flowers around the room, which was a nice touch. The room was modern enough (not ultra brand new but not dated) and in decent repair (minor nuisances like the drawer wouldn't stay closed, or it was hard to open and close the fridge, but those didn't bother me too much). The shower had good water pressure, though the temperature fluctuated wildly...it was mostly fine and only a minor annoyance. The AC was great and always worked perfectly. ROOM PRO-TIP: The higher the room number, the closer you are to the pool/lobby, which means you're closer to the noise of the entertainment, which goes until at least 11pm. If you want a quieter room, you want a room with a lower number (ending in 30's or less) because they're further away from the center of the resort. Ours was #1152 and it was loud, but I had earplugs, and my husband and son can sleep through tornadoes so it didn't bother us too much. One weird thing was that they stocked the fridge with Coors Light. Like, what?

FOOD & RESTAURANTS - The Premium & Royal packages include unlimited reservations to the 3 a la carte restaurants. We ate at the Octopus and the Italian place for dinner, and they were meh; overcooked meat, bland veggies and pasta, the same desserts you'd get at the buffet. Because of that, we didn't bother trying the Beach Grill for dinner (however during lunch time they had the BEST NACHOS!) For the first time ever, I preferred the buffet. If you're a wine drinker, bring your own or try to buy some imported stuff in town...I love DR but they are not so good at making wine. 

BEACH & POOL - The Premium & Royal packages include access to the VIP part of the beach, and this was the one perk of the package that I really enjoyed. The loungers are wooden and have nice soft cushions, there are beach beds (my one complaint is that the beds do not have curtains, so you can’t make shade unless you hang your towels from them), but the best part is that it’s far less crowded than the rest of the beach. However, the VIP beach is not exempt from “the towel game” so be prepared to get up early to grab a lounger with an umbrella in all sections (regular, VIP, or pool), as they’re all gone by 7am. The beach beds were always available, probably because of the lack of shade. Also, when you go to Puerto Plata--particularly Playa Dorada--expect to be solicited by beach vendors (even in the VIP area) for hair braiding, massage, souvenirs, cigars, hats, sunglasses, etc. A simple "no gracias" will send them on their way if you're not interested. If you don't want to have to deal with solicitors, go to the pool instead. The pool has a great gradient/slope to walk into the pool before you get to the deeper end, which is a great place for young kids to play in the water, and certainly makes it easier for people with mobility issues to get in and out of the pool. The pool bar is your standard all-inclusive pool bar, but I'm pleased to say that they switched to paper coffee cups and don't give out disposable straws for environmental reasons, so it's always a good idea to bring your Bubba or some other insulated cup, and reusable straws if you need/want them.

RESORT & GROUNDS -  As a mom with a young kid, I appreciated that this resort is small. It meant that my kid could run off with his little friend and easily be able to find his way around. The downside of a small resort is that there is less to do (no onsite disco or shopping) but the animation team did their best to entertain throughout the day at the pool and beach, and at the nightly shows. Even if participating isn't your thing, it's entertaining to watch. There are plenty of bars: lobby, pool, swim-up, beach (plus the VIP bars above the lobby and on the beach). For some reason ALL the Presidente is Presidente Light, and if you want the regular stuff or any other kind of beer, you have to buy it in town.

OVERALL IMPRESSION OF VH GRAN VENTANA: This resort was a good choice for our first vacation in 2 years (thanks, COVID) because we were just so happy to be able to go anywhere, let alone somewhere warm to escape winter in Canada. We enjoyed ourselves and had a good time, but with the room size/storage issue, the small resort/lack of things to do, and the a la cart food being so underwhelming, I won’t be coming back. CAVEAT: under normal circumstances I wouldn’t come back anyway because I like to try new places and have never been to the same place twice, but if I DID come back to VH Gran Ventana I absolutely would NOT upgrade to the Premium package because for the extra $600 it cost for the week, it was not even remotely worth it.

WEATHER & TRANSPORTATION - Weather: These things have ZERO bearing on my impression of the resort because they have nothing to do with Gran Ventana, but I'm offering info here if it helps anyone. The weather in March was a gorgeous 28-30 degrees C most days. It "rained" a few times; 2 times that was enough to make people pack their stuff up and leave their loungers (however rain was done in less than 10 minutes), and a couple of times where it was such a delicate mist that you barely noticed it. When they say "Puerto Plata gets more rain than Punta Cana" take it with a grain of salt. Transportation: Getting to town is easy, and there are 2 ways: 1) you can overpay for a taxi ($20 USD each way) from the lobby or the Playa Dorada Mall directly into the city, or 2) take public transportation from the highway. To get to the highway you can a) walk 1 kilometre (go right when you leave the resort), or b) take a horse drawn carriage--if they're around--for a few pesos to the highway. When you're at the highway, take a "guagua", which is basically a licensed van that locals use. You wave them down and they stop. You want guagua “C” to get into downtown Puerto Plata (you'll see the "C" in their window). It costs 50 pesos per person, you can pay at the beginning or end of your trip, just tell the driver where you want to go (Teleférico, Brugal rum factory, chocolate factory, Amber Museum, Plaza d’Independico, etc). If you grab a taxi back from town it shouldn’t cost you more than 500 pesos. I'd highly recommend taking a guagua into town because it's easy, cheap, and you get to meet the locals.  All guaguas and taxis should have their licenses displayed...if you don't see one, don't get in.