thejohnterry

Really excited to hear about your experience. I've been to the Ziva in PV twice and loved it (granted didn't like the attempted up-sells, thought they were tacky). Please let us know how it goes.

wanderingpixie

As I said we're a couple, but I anticipate I'll also spend time exploring the Ziva restaurants and the better beach on their side of the property (before retreating to the relative peace of the adult side).

I'm glad someone agrees the upselling is tacky. I also don't think any all inclusive should allow tipping. A review on TA mentioned the staff expects them so I would imagine service levels differ according to how much you shell out. Especially over a long stay and many meals and drinks, it's a ridiculous to worry about tipping every member of staff.

thepointsdr

Glad my review helped; happy to hear that. This is the most upselling that I have ever received at any Hyatt hotel, and even any hotel in general. Unfortunate really. Hope your stay goes well regardless! Let us know how it goes.

OhDoctor

I'm staying on an award stay (25k) in March for 3 nights and am going to try to upgrade with cash. Will report back.

wanderingpixie

Have completed my stay, will write my review, but wanted to ask if anyone has particular questions I may be able to include answers to?

thejohnterry

Would love to hear about difference of beaches, food variety, in-room beverages in mini-fridge, ocean views from rooms/balcony options, how the pools were. Thanks!

svo242

Would love to hear if it was hard to find a spot at the pool/how the crowds were. Thanks!

OhDoctor

Anyone know which of the buildings on the Zilara side are newer/renovated, and which are the original Ritz rooms? I've heard conflicting reports about whether Buildings 1 vs 4 are new, and haven't heard much on 2 or 3.

escape4

No particular questions but would love to read your review

OhDoctor

Alright, so I just got back from a 3-night stay at the Zilara/Ziva, and figured I'd throw together my thoughts (as well as answer some common questions). Please feel free to connect any mistakes I’ve made here, but I think this is mostly on point:

I’ve been to (insert other resort name here) before. Is the Ziva/Zilara similar?
This is your typical upscale Caribbean mega-resort. If you’ve ever stayed at a Royalton or Paradisus or Iberostar Grand, then the grounds and overall layout will be very familiar to you. I would say this place compares favorably to any of those other aforementioned places.

Which buildings are old? Which are new? What has been renovated?
The Ziva/Zilara used to be the Ritz Carlton. The central U-shaped complex in the center of the property contains the Ziva lobby and the old Ritz buildings (1 and 2). There are several newer buildings to the left and right of the old Ritz complex that are newer Hyatt buildings (3 and 4; there may also be a building 5, I couldn’t tell). The cluster of newer Hyatt buildings to the west of the old Ritz complex contains the smaller Zilara lobby.

The newest/most updated rooms appear to be the renovated rooms (also known as “blue Rooms”) in the old Ritz complex (1 and 2). Next are the guest rooms in the newer Hyatt building (3 and 4). The oldest rooms in the complex are the “white rooms” in the old Ritz complex. The white rooms look pretty dated, whereas the blue room in which we stayed was wonderful (although we were scared by the dated exterior).

As an interesting aside, an easy way to tell if the building is an old Ritz building or a newer Hyatt building is to look at the balcony — the Ritz buildings have a stone spindle balustrade, whereas the newer Hyatt buildings have a metal-and-glass railing.

What are your upgrade options once you arrive? Can you upgrade a points stay with cash?
We booked 3 nights at 25k a night for a standard non-view king. When we arrived to the airport check-in lounge, we were able to upgrade with cash to an Ocean View One Bedrooms Grand Butler Suite (room 1318) for an extra $180 a night; these rooms retailed for about $850 per night at the time of booking. So it seems it’s pretty easy to upgrade with cash for both cash and award bookings. You can also call Hyatt and reserve a suite entirely with points, and you won’t have to gamble on what’s available when you check-in, but your value proposition (cents per point redemption) probably drops off significantly.

Should I use the hotel transfer, or hire my own?
My wife and I were able to secure round-trip transfer from the hotel’s official shuttle for $60 total for the two of us, round-trip. That’s a really competitive price. You could find cheaper options, but I’m not sure if it would be worth the extra work. The hotel is about a 12 minute drive from the airport, and you are unlikely to wait more than 20 minutes for the shuttle to come.

I heard the beach is rocky. Is that true?
The beach is certainly below average compared to other properties. While it’s nice enough to lounge on, and the competition for chairs is average, the rocky party is not the beach itself, but when you try to get into the water. You cross over a virtual boulder field just to wade deeper, and we spent a lot of time watching people carefully stepping into and out of the ocean, and falling down in the process. This isn’t apparent when watching from the shore, but try to get in yourself and you’ll understand very quickly.

Is having a butler worth the extra cost? Do they really do anything?
If you can afford it, then yes. Primarily because the a la carte restaurants are first come, first serve. However, if you have a butler, you simply let them know where you want to dine that evening, and they can usually get you in without waiting. An example: we showed up at Di Roza and were told there was a 45 minute wait for a table inside. About 2 minutes later, our butler showed up and walked us inside to a table. The story was the same the other two nights. For us, that alone was worth the price of admission.

Do you really have to get up before 8am to get a good pool/beach seat?
Yes. It's called the chair game. It's played at almost every resort we've been to. Get used to it. If you get up too early, however, the staff may remove whatever you place on the seat (we observed several people who got up very early (before 6 am) and came back several hours later to find their towels gone. In general, the sweet spot is probably between 6:30am and 7am when the resort is busy to secure good pool or beach seating.

escape4

Thanks for the detailed review!

What is your Hyatt elite status, and before you decided to pay cash for the upgrade were they going to upgrade you for free to another room type?

OhDoctor

Discoverist at time of booking, with no status by the time we stayed. They were not going to offer us an upgrade until we asked. There appeared to be several upgrade options; we skipped the Junior Suite they offered for an extra $110 per night and went straight to the One Bedroom Grand Butler Suite.

sam_goh

I've been successful getting 1-2 rooms upgraded to junior suites from an award booking as a globalist on the last few trips here. Wishing they had a bit more family friendly policy, we're down the road at the Hilton at the moment. Different stratas....

OhDoctor

In what way? We were actually considering the Hilton originally as we're Diamonds with more points than we know what to do with, but the Zilara seemed to have better reviews.

sam_goh

It's different price brackets and clientele. Not going to be many of your namesake at the Hilton. It's also much more tilted to families, looking for value.