Haven Detailed Review! May 30th-June 6th
Here is a long review that we hope is super helpful for your upcoming trip! We have been to 4 Excellence resorts, but chose Haven for something new this time!
Restaurants
Agua Bendita was our favorite restaurant we were so glad we went there twice! The governor tacos and beef barbacoa tacos were 2 of our favorite foods the entire trip! The salmon was so good we got it twice! Ribeye center and picana were better than the New York. We never got table side guac, which was disappointing. They would just bring a dish of it to the table.
Tahani was fun! They put so much effort into the show singing, dancing, acrobatics, and other surprises! If you’re in serenity make sure to go! The braised beef and salmon were good and the chocolate dessert was really beautiful and fun! It went from about 7:15-9:30 so it’s long, but we enjoyed it!
Tahani breakfast is a must, the tiramisu coffee alone was amazing! The mimosa cart with so many flavors was delicious and the food was great!
Olios
The view is just stunning! Our table was right at the window and we could see the ocean, also the kitchen is open, which was so cool to watch the chefs work! The servers were amazing and so attentive. It’s the fancy restaurant so men must wear pants. The food was fine (both entrees were over cooked), but after going once we realized we didn’t need to go again.
Vora Mar
The fresh focaccia bar was the star for us! The smoked provolone appetizer and pizza were good, the risotto and fettuccine were just okay. If we came back we would skip going to this one.
Satsu- Hibachi
Alan at satsu was talented, entertaining and the food was delicious!
Satsu Restaurant was delicious! Our second favorite place of the trip! The beef skewer is a must! The Cheese kushiague are delicious fried cheese sticks! The pork gyoza and shrimp gyoza were so good, especially with the dipping sauce. Save the sauce for when your food comes! The beef udon bowl was our favorite!
Vistas for lunch is such a beautiful view! The tacos were all good, you can ask for guac and chips, and the special rice is delicious and filled with shrimp and octopus! The resort is lacking good desserts, but the fruit tart there was my favorite and I went there specifically for it!
Room service
Crispy chicken, breaded grouper, and fries were surprisingly good and crispy!
Serenity Pool
You can order directly at the pool, it has a limited menu but the nachos and tacos were good! It’s not on the app so we were glad someone told us about it!
The main pool had grilled hamburgers/hot dogs and some Mexican options a few days from 1-5pm, but it wasn’t listed or advertised anywhere.
Coffee shop
was just okay, usually it’s a go to for us for daily coffee and treats but nothing stood out there.
Breakfast-
buffet or room service if you’re serenity club you can also do vistas or Tahani
Lunch-
buffet or snack bar, serenity club can do vistas or order pool side at the serenity pool. It was frustrating because restaurants don’t open until 12/1230 even room service isn’t until 11:30. So between 11-1230 there isn’t much lunch options.
Drinks
Frozen iguana
Kiwi mojito or mango mojito
Tiramisu coffee (Tahani breakfast)
Food overall was hit or miss, we had delicious meals and just okay food. We have never been to a resort with reservations before. It was nice to know we had a table at a specific time, but other resorts we would like to go to one place for an appetizer then another for dinner or do an early dinner then late dinner but here you can only do 1 restaurant a night. The buffet wasn’t open for dinner so if you were hungry later it was the coffee shop or an hour for room service, which you couldn’t schedule in advance.
5004 ocean front swim up serenity romance
We chose Haven for the swim-up ocean front room and it was gorgeous! The only “complaints” were how cold the water was once the sun shifted early afternoon. You get a lot of wind from the ocean which feels amazing, but found ourselves wanting to go to the serenity heated pool or sit outside of the water because inside the water was too cold. Also there’s limited seating, it would be so nice if the rooms had a day bed or loungers with cushions to sit on the patio while the other loungers are in the water. Some nonserenity rooms have a couch on their patio which was frustrating since we are paying for the more expensive room. Bring
Housekeeping
Turndown didn’t come every day so our wet towels from the evening would sit on the floor since there is only 1 hook in the bathroom.
Butler service was very underwhelming. We would get a “hi” text a few times during the week, while others told us their butlers found them daily, gave them information each day, etc.
Activities
Guacamole making with DDY Angel was great, he was so kind to pull some out for me before adding jalapeño for the people that liked it spicy!
Yoga was challenging and relaxing! She brings the yoga mats and it was over looking the ocean, so glad I did it! Later on I saw people doing yoga on the beach.
Paddle board fitness was really fun, definitely try it out! I did it twice!
Trivia night wasn’t traditional trivia, but it was fun and interactive! Joey the host was friendly and entertaining!
Magic show was good and he took volunteers so sit close on the bottom level if you want to go up!
Casino night was a lot of fun with blackjack, poker, roulette and craps tables! All fake money!
Shout outs
Moses serving drinks to the swim ups was great! Always checking in on us with the best smile!
Artudos, Santiago, Luis were great servers!
The Spa
Worth every penny! Isabel and Yessica were amazing! We did the couples package 30 min body scrub, 60 min massage, and 30 min facial and it was HEAVENLY!
Hydrotherapy is free for every 3 days of serenity club stay so we got 2 sessions! The first we did before our couples package. It was 5 different water pressure circuits all in their heated pool then you end in the hot tub to relax. There weren’t any cold/hot elements like we have had at other resorts. The second time we just walked up and they had an opening in 20 minutes so we did that!
App
Housekeeping you can order things- shower gel, pool towels and they put them in the butler box!
The ocean is not swimable, but the sand is soft and walkable. The tractors were out daily which would help with the seaweed, but also create a smell. The smell came and went throughout the week, but was mainly only an issue when they were actively cleaning it up.
Overall we really enjoyed our trip! The views from the resort are just stunning! Serenity is the way to go as you get extra restaurants and better rooms. Our room made the lacking other areas worth it because the view was so gorgeous! If the pool was heated we may never have left!
