Travel with a Cocktail

We spent Thanksgiving at the beautiful Hyatt Zilara Cap Cana this year! I chose this resort 1) for its fantastic reviews and 2) because it connects with the family-friendly Hyatt Ziva Capa Cana, so I figured there would be activities for people my step son’s age (19). We were able to take advantage of all that both resorts had to offer. Read below for my nit-picky notes and tips on our overall great vacation.

Check In

The view of the ocean from the open air lobby really sets the tone. I had read others were able to negotiate upgrading to club level for a reasonable price when they checked in but I was only offered $150 per room (we had 2) so we didn’t upgrade.

We did like that we didn’t have to wear a bracelet as a guest here.

The Resort

The landscaping at this resort is stunning! We were so impressed with the overall decor and design of the resort.

Unlike Hyatt Ziva Cancun, we never saw any water stations to fill your reusable water bottles. Plastic water bottles were plentiful though.

This is a large resort, especially if you take advantage of both sides. If you have mobility issues, you may want to consider a wheelchair or other tools to help you stay comfortable. There is a ramp from the pool to the beach.

The Room

We stayed in an Ocean View King Junior Suite. Highly recommend this room category as our balcony view was so beautiful! The room was great, but it was raining when we arrived and it was a bit musty. I had read on a FB group you can request a dehumidifier. Unfortunately when I called to ask for one, the desk called me back to tell me they were all out.

Three notables:
1) If you are sensitive to light when you sleep (I am), you might consider bringing some kind of tape or extra curtain. The curtains were black out but they don’t connect to the wall so it definitely lets blinding light into the room. We pushed our luggage against the curtains before we went to bed to try and keep the light out.
2) The TV in the room is not a smart tv. We struggled to connect using HDMI. My step son was able to get it working in his room but he also couldn’t get it to work in ours so we had to chromecast instead.
3) Our room door did not close all of the way on its own without pulling it shut. We saw our neighbor’s room with the same issue. It’s worth double checking its locked before you leave.

Otherwise, we loved our room. I really like how the Ziva/Zilara properties I’ve stayed at so far have 2 seperate sink areas with a vanity between.
There was plenty of room to unpack and we enjoyed the ceiling fan at night.
Also, housekeeping was top-notch. We always had what we needed and requested.

The Beach

On our first full day, we went down to the beach about 10am. About half of the chairs were occupied but a single attendant was waiting in the middle of the area. We asked him for chairs and umbrellas and he asked where we wanted to sit. I told him as close to the water as possible and he pulled up right up to the front row! We tipped him and he was on his way.

Beach service was ok. We didn’t choose to eat in our chairs but we ordered many drinks. They seemed to come around every 45 min or so.

Speaking of drinks – no mango daiquiris ANYWHERE. I mostly drank mojitos this trip. Rob’s favorite drink was the dirty banana .

The water was prettier than I expected! I had read reviews about rocky areas and had brought my water shoes. My husband refused to wear them and said it was fine. I was happy to wear the water shoes because it also kept my feet out of the seagrass.

Pools

Unlike the beach, the the first 3 rows of the main pool were taken by towels by as early as 8:30. There also weren’t any pool attendants until about 9:30. I highly recommend that you send someone from your group down early to grab your chairs, especially if there’s more than 2 of you.

I was initially bummed we couldn’t upgrade to club level at check in but every day the club pool was absolutely packed with people. Every chair was taken. There were lots of people in the pool. Most importantly (to me), there isn’t a view of the beach from the club pool like there is from the main pool.

Also, I really wanted to do the aqua bike class because so many people commented on how good it was. I went up in time for the class on the first day and they said both that class and the one after were full. Day 2, I went to the pool area about 11:30 and same thing – both classes full. I don’t know if this is common or he felt bad for me but he let me sign up for class the following day. It was a nice class but I don’t know that it was worth all of the work to get to take it.

Restaurants, Bars, and Events

Ok, rapid-fire-ish reviews of restaurants, bars, and events we attended

Noodle and thread – Italian at Ziva – SO GOOD – red wine pear salad (just ok), chicken parm hubby said was fantastic, braised beef great, shrimp risotto really good with so many shrimp, cacio Pepe

Wine & Sax event at Zilara – this was on Thursday I think 5-6pm. They had a HUGE charcuterie spread, pool side pallea, a live saxophonist, and generous pours of 5 wines that AREN’T the included house wines. We didn’t eat the pallaea because we were headed to dinner but this was beautiful, romantic, and such a great date night. If you’re on site (or adults staying at Ziva), you must make it to this no-reservation event!

Waves – steakhouse at Zilara – tenderloin was shockingly good, baked sweet potato- yum, chicken looked overcooked but the boys said it had good flavor, Brussels were just ok

Zilara Coffee shop – we got caramel mocha frappes every morning and they were fantastic. Don’t get the green juice as its not made at the coffee shop and is brown by the time it gets to your cup. If you want green juice, go to the buffet

The Tempest – Mongolian at Ziva – we did the make your own dish option. A tip – put your meat and veg on a separate plate from noodles and sauce so the cooks can give the meat and veg more time on the grill without overcooking everything. We liked this too

Navigator – Seafood focused at Ziva -salmon excellent, calamari just ok – fine but the least impressive dinner of our trip

Rum Bar – Ziva – unremarkable

Moments – Sports bar, technically Ziva but actually between the 2 buildings – great set up, lots of TVs, lots of seating – doesn’t open till 4 but with the time change, might still catch afternoon games – there’s a pool table in here and kids are allowed if its raining

Prontoz – Ziva – would skip all the way around

Presto – Zilara – was just ok. We ate there twice for convenience.

Mercado – Zilara – did one breakfast and one lunch there. Great selection. I stood in line at the freshly cooked fish counter and it took so long that my family each had 3 plates of food without me so would skip that option. Made to order eggs were great and nothing like the lunch experience.

Queen concert – Ziva side – just skip it unless you have kids. They do have a bounce house and other things to keep the kids entertained.

*about Gluten free/allergies
1) every single person we ordered food from asked if we had allergies so it felt like they were very aware and prepared to take care of people who needed it
2) the buffet had a dedicated gf bread box and the coffee shop had gf bread, as well as keto bread
3) that being said, don’t get the gf pizza or gf bun here as they are terrible

The Spa

The spa is designed to look like a cenote.
I emailed before our trip to book a couples hydrotherapy and was told we had to do massages first (which my husband won’t do). Then I asked when we arrived – same thing. I went down to the spa and explained that we only want to do hydrotherapy and we were willing to take any slot available. They called later that afternoon to tell me we had the first morning appointment.

No notes, just an absolutely incredible experience. You must do it.

Pickleball, the Gym, and the Water Park

The boys played pickle ball one day but it was a nightmare to schedule with the front desk as their system isn’t connected. We stopped by to schedule and they had to call the room to confirm.

We also went to the water park and had such a good time! I don’t know if its because many people stay here Saturday to Saturday or what but we went on Saturday afternoon and there were maybe 20 other people there. It was so great!
The lazy river is a must. I only did a slide once but the boys did several and it was fun.

Their gym is incredible! Its huge and so clean. I actually wish that I would have spent more time here. I did take a pilates class one morning and it was ok.

Would I recommend?

I would recommend this resort. There are times that its exorbitantly expensive and there are probably better options but if its in budget, it really was a great experience no matter your age or energy level.