The view was decent from our room, and we made good use of the pool. We found the staff to be very friendly and helpful, although the location left something to be desired. I would recommend staying here only if you are interested in the shopping and nightlife available in Porlamar. Otherwise, head for the beaches.

This hotel lacks not only better rooms, but most importantly, SECURITY!
A terrible scene happended while we were there. A group of taxi drivers from the hotel were hitting some hotel guests right there at the lobby! they hit them so bad there were broken noses, ribs, and blood was on the floor. There was no security personnel in place, and the manager didn't do anything to compensate or aleviate this situation. It was terrible to watch and certainly terrifiying for my family!
We never saw any kind of support from the Hotel management, the police or nobody. There wasn't even a First Aid Kit in the reception area.This happened on January 10, 2008.
Never, ever again will we stay in this horrible place!

I had read in a few guide books that this was a luxury hotel. I wanted to treat my boyfriend and myself to two luxurious nights in a nice hotel. WE WERE THOROUGHLY DISAPPOINTED. Immediately upon seeing the room I knew it wasn't worth it (ugly room, uncomfortable bed, leaky shower, and no sound proofing), but we were exhausted. I went to the desk and told them we wanted to only stay one night. They said it was fine. To make a long story short- upon returning home I find out they charged me for two nights. Two separate transactions- one which I signed and one which they FORGED. I AM STILL DEALING WITH IT WITH MY CREDIT CARD COMPANY. IT WAS HORRIBLE.

We stayed at the Bella Vista for a week in February. It was not the best place we had been but it was not the worst. For all you people that changed your reservation and went to a different hotel, you lost out on meeting 16 wonderful people.

You could pick out the negatives or enjoy the fact that you were on a island full of sun and not snow. My only complaint that there was the all-inclusive guest and your come-off-the-street guests. They did cater to the off-the-street guests more and that made us feel like the lower class citizen at times. The manager was always coming around to make sure things were in order and overall they are trying to make things better still.

The food, yes, it was warm to cold, but overall eadible. The resort was well cared for and clean. From travelling around, i have learned to take a candle with me to clean out the aroma from past guests. The pool was beautiful and we had it to ourselves most of the time. There were plenty of beach chairs available at any time of the day.

We walked the beach for miles and found the most beautiful sea shells however I do recommend you wear water shoes as there is a fair amount of broken glass on/in the beach. The STORM (not sewer) drain proved to be the best sea shell catcher. There was a girl on the beach doing massages for $12US, and down the street you could get a pedicure for $7US.

They do recommend not to wear alot of jewelry on the beach or streets. That is common sense for any city, here or there. We walked the beach all day and went out on the streets morning, noon and night, and felt complety safe. The only thing we had to watch out for were the persistant workers in the stores who tried very hard to get you to buy something.

It was a quiet resort so we looked around for things to do as the sun is verrrry hot and you could not sit in it for long periods of time. We took a cab to the casino one night, but later in the week we found one within a couple of blocks(less than 5 min walk) from the resort. As for going to the SAMBIL shopping mall, you have all the same stores within walking distance from the hotel, save your travel time and venture on foot. You will find most of what you are looking for in RATTAN's and a Wendy's a bit further up the street for a taste of home. We did go to the flea market, and it was fun bargaining for items, but it was mostly clothing to be found. It is very hard to find souveniers on the island and the airport has some stores to help you out for last minute finds.

We only did one excursion with Life's A Beach Jeep Safari and it was wonderful. We seen all of the island, had a excellent lunch and seen a beautiful sunset. Pedro was the worst/best driver and we were the envy of all the other jeepriders. They do have a nice souvenier shop there so buy what you want before you go out because they drop you back at your hotel and you will miss out like I did.

As far as getting sick, too much booze, not enough water, and food cooked differently than you are used to will probably give you a bit of the trots. Wipe and get over it and don't let that spoil your holiday.

We had a good time and enjoyed our much needed rest and holiday.