Alt Hotel Calgary University District

The Hotel is split into two sections, one for Adults only and the other for Families. The adult section is clearly maintained better. I would characterize the Families section that we stayed in as being in a general state of disrepair and somewhat uncleanly. We initially arrived to a room that had a bathroom faucet that was completely rusted off the sink, screen door to balcony was broken and couldn't be locked, Safe didn't work and floor tiles were broken and seemingly glued back together. We requested a room change immediately and the friendly staff at the front desk quickly accommodated us. The replacement room was not much better, screen door falling apart and unlockable, safe not working, but at least the bathroom faucet was attached and TV had Netflix unlike the previous room. Toilet was running constantly and shower/bath was uncleanly. We stayed in Block 9, and during a storm the big wooden archway over the exit came crashing down. Luckily no one got hurt. We had to use Guest Services a couple of times for some unrelated issues and they were very helpful and friendly. Pools are nice and cleaned every morning, but very cold. Do not drink the tap water. There are warnings in some of the rooms, but 2 out of 8 in our party got violently ill for a couple days. I assume they didn't heed the warnings. Food is not very good at the main restaurant, the only 2 coffee machines there were broken for some of the time. With the except of the Italian restaurant, specialty restaurants are not that great but again staff are good. You can book only 3 of them over a course of 7 days. Honestly, I have no idea how some of the reviews were so positive, but you need to keep in mind that you get what you pay for, and this place was relatively inexpensive. I would not return or recommend this resort to others. I took photos to show the disrepair, but I just can't be bothered to add them, given this long review. [Details]

The hotel itself was a bit dated, but it was also in the midst of a renovation. The staff said it would be completed in Summer of 2023. That said, the stay was great. Lots of pools with varied periods of shade - ideal for those who can't handle full sun.

The staff were great. The food was good. I'd stay there again. [Details]

I have never stayed at a more disgusting resort in my life. The pictures on their website is totally misleading, I booked this resort because of the beautiful pictures but once I arrived I realized I had made a big mistake. If you were not a VIP at this resort you are nothing. The room was beyond disgusting dirty and falling apart. Little white bug in the room including the bed and told they would fumigate but at the time of our departure it still had not been done. Food was terrible, same thing at every meal, half the time it's been sitting there all day long. In 8 days we only had butter twice, how do you run a resort without butter. It was advertised as an all inclusive adult's only resort but children were everywhere. Only two speciality drinks to choose from, when you go to the à la cart restaurant and you have to pay either $25 for shrimp or $85 for lobster when it's a lobster restaurant doesn't make sense to me. I would never ever recommend this resort to anyone, as far as I'm concerned it was a zero not a five star resort. I know this is going to land on deaf ears but I hope that maybe just maybe it will help someone to never schedule this resort for their vacation as I was truly disappointed, for the price I paid it was a total ripoff. [Details]

Honestly first 7 days not too bad. Not many options for breakfast food and always the same food at breakfast lunch and dinner. I got food poisoning from the Asian restaurant, not a bad resort but I've been to better places [Details]

Excellent overall experience. Amazing pools, location, beach is amazing, food has a lot of options and there are a lot of bars with free drinks. People and staff were really friendly and helpful. The only thing that needs attention are the rooms. They are dirty and not taken care of. Washrooms are also not clean and the room service was not good. I ordered something at 9.50pm and I was told to wait for 45mins. Funny thing, the food never arrived at all and they stopped replying to my messages.

Still I'd say the experience was amazing and the live events every night were the best. [Details]

Great resort close to beach..Small in size so it was easy to get around. [Details]

Great stay, but need some improvement in customer service and some repairs. I supposed to get a room in the front of the main pool and got at block number 15. All the way to the end of the resort. Toilet handle did not work properly, toilet suction fan did not work, there was no sign for the door to hang do not disturb. Other then that it was great. [Details]

Our experience wasn't all great, we found the staff to be very pushy and rude, we were given a room that had nothing that worked, when I complained I got the run around, until I had to get mad. Then we were given a decent room after that.
They “upgraded” us to begin with to the “adult only” building hoping we would pay their extra fee for the black wristbands (not happening) the rooms were subpar. This was no upgrade. Lucky for us our room was crappy so they moved us.
The “timeshare” people do not take no for an answer and are pushy, some of the staff were very rude.
I do not consider this a 5 star resort, I give it a 2.5 stars.
The buffet was limited (all the same foods just prepared in different ways).
Having to get up at 6 am everyday on your holiday to book an al a carte restaurant is ridiculous. Only to be told they don't have room for 6 people.
1 main pool for 300 people because the orange wristband people do not get to use the private pools shown in the pics.
We won't be back at this resort [Details]

I enjoyed my overall experience and am considering returning next year. [Details]

The hotel is very clean ,but the rooms are very old and need ro be renovated ,
the food in buffet is repetitive ,
1 the beach it always smell diesel fuel , to many boats close to the beach plus the water is very muddy cant see your hand in water
2 to many peddlers on beach we are always bugged or they gang up and they talk loud close to us we move and they follow us
I WILL NEVER GO BACK THERE PLUS MY 2 OTHER FRIENDS THAT WHERE WITH ME IN OTHER ROOM WOULD NOT GO BACK AND I WILL TELL ALL PEOPLE THAT I KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT THERE , AND NOT TO GO TO THIS SITE [Details]

Stay away from the casino in Be Live...they give you free chips to play s game of their choice and it's a scam..within minutes you will be up to thousands lost and they tell you that you are guaranteed to win..you wont. We saw it happen to s couple...this has happened in other resorts too. [Details]

a bit disorganized upon arrival at the airport, After getting to the hotel we had some confusion, we travelled with a friend and they had us at either end of the resort. The gentlemen at the desk pretty much "to bad" but Franklin was taking us to our room and said this is wrong so we went back and he was able to get it straightened out and we had our rooms side by side, Thanks again Franklin!!! [Details]

Decent hotel. Staff not as friendly compared to other resorts we've been to in Punta Cana. Buffet leaves a little to be desired in selection. Not having your room cleaned until the supper hour is inconvenient when attempting to get ready to go out for dinner. [Details]

Well where do I start .... this hotel is rated as a 4 star n I find that very generous ... first off the food yuck .. I was sick the first 3 days of my vaycay .... the room was called a superior deluxe room n aside from the room being big ... their was nothing superior or deluxe about it ... the rooms are outdated n smelled of mold/wet paint ... the beds were rock hard and not enjoyable to sleep on at all... The service staff is amazing very nice no complaints there ... but with all the ppl harassing u to buy stuff on resort it gets a bit annoying to have to keep telling them no thank you every time u walk by them .... n the beach is no different .... literally everywhere ur getting harassed ...which I get that's how they make a living ... but it was very excessive to anywhere else I have stayed ...
The pools where so dirty ... even tho they cleaned them at night ... they were still very dirty .... [Details]

I had a great experience in this hotel from the start to the end. We reserved the Rodizio to celebrate my friend's 30th birthday and Rafael Santana and Andres Guzman made of this experience unforgettable. They decorated our table and made a cake with my friends's name it was perfect. The entertainment team Jerome, Eddie murphy, Eddie, etc made days and nights really fun it was great! [Details]

The Adults Only section will be fine when it's ready, but unfortunately for us it isn't ready yet. We spent two days there at the start of our honeymoon and it was a disaster. We are not overly picky people and can generally make the best of any situation (we met backpacking and staying in hostels), but when you pay luxury prices a certain level of comfort is expected and Be Live didn't meet that. We have also been to many developing countries and stayed at resorts in Mexico and Cuba (and now another in Punta Cana)... this one was unusually bad.

Our room, an Adults Only Master Suite, was unfinished. It lacked air conditioning, a ceiling fan, phone, balcony furniture, hair dryer, coffee maker, bathrobe and slippers, iron and ironing board, alarm clock, resort information/room service menu, didn't have wifi and the safe and fridge were not functioning. It was also covered in dry wall dust and metal shavings. Construction was ongoing and there was loud jack hammering in the room next to us late at night.

Be Live could take a lot of steps to be more ecofriendly as well. We eventually got moved to Riu Republica, which was much better, and they had washable plastic cups while Be Live still uses disposable.

We were also disappointed to learn that local resorts participate in dog and cat culling by leaving out poisoned meat for strays. I don't know if Be Live does this, but I have heard that many resorts do. Many tourists love to see cats and dogs when they travel, and in Cuba our resort participated in a spay and neuter program and had cat feeding stations on site. We will definitely look into whether or not the resorts have changed their practices before booking in the future. Also, if you are interested in animal welfare, check out Rescatame - we went out on a dog feeding run and it was awesome! [Details]

A terrible experience to have with our family of 5 (two adults, three children) at the Be Live Resort in Punta Cana Dominican Republic.
Unfortunately, the vacation was extremely disappointing, to say the least.

There was an array of frustrating and truly unacceptable circumstances that we navigated through our one week holiday - this is NOT a holiday!

**Initial Rooms were horrible - substandard quality!! (see below)
**Switched rooms after MUCH frustration, and then had:
-TOILET not working
-AIR CONDITIONING not working
-SAFETY DEPOSIT BOX not working
-not enough beds for a family of five

1. The hotel renovations that were supposed to be complete by Dec. 1, were not complete, this led to part of the chaos and dysfunction that ensued. ROOMS WERE NOT READY

2. Initially we were put into two 'standard' rooms, as we had arranged. However, these rooms were ABSOLUTELY substandard, more typical of a youth hostel at very best.The two rooms were equipped with:

3. 3 single beds, mattresses so saggy that they were sunken in the middle (we had booked 1 room a king and 1 room with double/queen beds – we had NEVER booked rooms with ONLY single beds)

-No blankets (only a single sheet on each bed) - we asked and were told they would be brought to us - they never were

-No furniture – no tables, no bedside lights

-Air conditioning WOULD NOT change from 17.5 degrees – we were absolutely freezing, we slept in our clothes with towels wrapped around us – so we then had to turn it off and then it was way to warm.

-Broken cupboard door that wouldn't close (couldn't get by the bed on that side without this door swinging at you)

-Bathroom doors and all wood surfaces scraped and peeling and decrepit looking

-tub dirty with black stains on the bottom

-electrical outlets not working

-strange musty bad smell in the rooms

-Overhead exterior lights outside the room not working so it is way too dark

These rooms in Building 6, second floor were not at all standard quality for a 4 star resort. Though they may have been sold as standard, they are not anywhere near the quality of standard room is. Having travelled to other hotels and resorts in the Caribbean, Mexico and Europe over the years, we were able to compare and understand this.

4. We were moved to Building 16 after spending an awful evening in Building 6. However, the elevator was not working in Building 16 (until the second last day of our trip), and we were on the third floor so it didn't make for an easy transition up the stairs with all of our luggage etc.
On the second night we were given two rooms with 1 king size bed in each to accomodate a family of 5! 1 KING SIZE BED and we would require a single, or a cot to be brought into one of the rooms which we were acceptable to. We were told that the cot would be brought to us right away. We inquired at least 5 times during the afternoon/evening, and were continually told 'yes, we are bringing it'. But it never showed up. So we had to sleep 3 of us in one bed, and 2 in another. we would have expected two people to share a bed, but not 3. It was uncomfortable and again, this is NOT acceptable, - another night at the Be Live Resort.

5. Room 16304's toilet was not working. We called the front desk, and the reception, and were told that someone would come fix it. No one did. It didn't work the ENTIRE trip - we called each day, and went to the front desk each day, and were told someone would come to our room. That never happened.

6. The air conditioning unit in 16304 DID NOT work. We called about this, and again we were told that someone would come fix it. No one ever did. Such an unpleasant environment and below the standard that was expected at a 4 start resort

We became suspect that the room's air conditioning wasn't working with the former guests as well as the balcony doors were left open and there were many mosquitoes in the room (unlike in room 16301). Room 16304's thermostat registered at 26.5 degrees in the morning.

7. We had paid for the week's use of the safety deposit box, in 16304, which was electronic, and needed to be initially opened by a Be Live employee so that we could access it. We were told someone would come put the electronic combination in for us. No one came. We called the front desk and then went there to ask. No one came. My husband and I walked around the resort with our passports, wallets etc. EVERY DAY because NO ONE EVER came to open the safety deposit box the entire trip, though we inquired so many times.

At this point, our family had spent so much time on the phone, at the front desk, and speaking to different people who worked at the hotel (when we asked for the manager, it seemed that the managers were never available, or were only accessible to the staff, and were located behind the desk behind a door that vacationers couldn't access), our trip was anything but special, fun, or enjoyable.

We asked EVERY day about helping us solve our issues with room 16304 , in regards to our:

-non functioning TOILET

-non functioning AIR CONDITIONING

-non functioning SAFETY DEPOSIT BOX

We got so frustrated by being told 'yes someone will come' and seeing people write this on a scrap of paper and never follow up), that we finally stopped asking. Whenever we went to the front desk to ask for help, the people working there, who seemed overwhelmed with the amount of chaos and complaints that they were getting from many travelers, were jotting down notes on random pieces of paper. There was never a formal complaint taken, or documented, from what we could see. Most often, we were told that it would be taken care of, and it wasn't, and we felt that we were just told 'yes' in order to get us to stop asking, but there was never any follow through.

As well, each day we called about the safety deposit box (Dec 24, 25, 26 and 27), we were told 'someone is coming to open the safe – in 10 minutes! We were asked to wait there. They needed to demonstrate how to use the safe. So... my husband waited in 16304, each day, for 30-45 minutes, for 'someone' to show up. They never did. Each day, we walked around the resort with our wallets, passports and money, feeling uncomfortable about not having these items in a secure space.

On Thursday, Dec 27, all of the washrooms at the resort in the lobby, and located near the pool did not work. So, on top of one of our rooms (16304) having a non functioning toilet for the ENTIRE trip, even the hotel's public washrooms did not function on that day.

As well, the main pool always had filthy water that was murky, with things floating at the top, and it was full of sand where you can't see the bottom – this is unsanitary. The main restaurant (buffet) and food there was questionable with some things as well, and 2 of our family members got sick with a stomach bug on the
second last day, and then another family member was sick as we were leaving.

We wrote a formal complaint to the hotel in the middle of our one week trip, hoping that this would encourage some follow up and that at the very least, our toilet, air conditioning, and safety deposit box would be attended to.

We never heard back from Be Live guest services or a manager about our formal written complaint though we were told that someone would get back to us 'tomorrow'.

Our family vacation was very disturbing and disappointing. It would have been much better if proper measures to ensure the Be Live hotel was ready for guests, BEFORE sending travelers to it. As this was not done, the next expectation of ours was that our concerns and issues would be addressed efficiently and effectively, to ensure the utmost of the experience while on the trip. Again, this was not done. Though we now understand that the renovations were not completed when they had expected them to be, and the hotel was overbooked, and there were many, many unhappy visitors to tend to, these are excuses that do not take away from the large sum of money and wasted time we spent, and the quality and follow through we anticipated.

Overall, there were so many things that went wrong and were unacceptable. We spent s much time trying to mediate and navigate through the issues, it was very stressful and disappointing.

This resort is not worth the money, or the precious holiday time. [Details]

This was our fourth trip to the BeLive and would go back anytime. Nice staff good food. Always clean. The rooms are very spacious. Well kept resort and building on the far side now for adults only. We walked through it while they were still building . Room are spectacular. Might have to stay over there next time . We will be back soon. [Details]

Hotel itself is beautiful, and big. Beach is dirty, full of weeds. Main pool is dirty (full of sand, hair, bandaids…) VIP Adult's Club pools and bars are AWESOME. [Details]

We waited 3 hours upon arrival for our beautiful room which had unresolved plumbing issues (leaky sink). The maintenance staff attended our room with his walkie talkie at full volume, to the point where we had to leave the room because it was so loud. We requested to be moved from the 16 block due to (off resort) noise (dogs fighting, cats fighting, people screaming, motorcycles racing, etc). We were downgraded from a king bed suite to and older room with two double beds (how romantic) when we were moved due to the noise. Our new room had an ant infestation, and I dealt with a cockroach as well. You will be harassed every time you walk from one area to another by people trying to sell things. It was too much. Food was mediocre at best, and the beach was nasty with murky water, and the horrid stench of exhaust fumes from all the boats idling just off the shore. Free WiFi was unusable / pathetic and the upgraded WiFi only applies to one device and can't be changed to another device. [Details]

From the moment we check in we could tell our stay at Be Live was not going to be the glorious experience we had hoped for. It took us over 2 hrs to check in as the front desk was extremely unorganized. I travelled with my two children and my friend brought her daughter and our travel agent had requested us to be on the same floor as we were both uneasy about being alone in our rooms in a strange country. We went to check in at 3pm, which is when you are told too, and were told they would try to get us on the same floor as our current booked rooms were in different buildings all together. That took 2 hrs and we were told there was nothing they could do. We had been up since 3am that morning so we were exhausted and went to go check out our rooms. When my friend got to hers, there was someone else's stuff still in the room. I went to my room and the adjoining room beside me was empty with cleaners in it. We immediately asked the front desk if my friend could be transferred into that room and were told no, people were coming there the next day. I seriously don't understand why they wouldn't just give us that adjoining room and have the people coming the next day moved to a different room. They were completely unaccommodating, unapologetic, and basically did not care that we weren't happy. After speaking to other people who arrived that day, most people had issues with their rooms as well. One of the people told us their room smelled like death and the sheets were dirty, yuck. The resort also borders a ghetto town and my room was directly beside it. When I looked out the hall window, I could see run down buildings with clothes and garbage strewn on roof tops, I couldn't believe my eyes. It was also extremely noisy with dogs barking, motorcycles going up and down the street at all hours and I could hardly sleep at night. Who wants to see and hear that while on vacation? Very bizarre and poorly planned spot to put a resort.
We were told that tipping was optional, but literally we felt like a big dollar sign and everywhere we turned people were trying to sell us something. It was very annoying. Some of the staff, mainly the woman, were just plain rude to us. I bought a floaty from the Duty Free Store and the thing sprung a leak within hours even though we were just in the pool and my children were using it. I went back to the store to get it replaced and they basically laughed at me when I told them it was defected and told me I had broke it and it was my problem. I told them they were rude and didn't know how to treat customers. This was after I had spent about $100 in there buying various things. Pathetic service.
Also, most of the staff could not speak English which made communicating very frustrating.
The beach was full of seaweed and not the clear water we had hoped for. We did find out if we walked 15 min down the beach it got a lot nicer. Again, people trying to sell you stuff every minute. Very hard to relax.
The buffet was pretty good but I'm not picky. My friend found it very hard to find something she enjoyed. Not 4 star food at all. We ate at the Mexican and Italian restaurants and those were both very good.
The weather was absolutely beautiful every day so no complaints there. The alcohol is totally watered down so we learned to only order drinks with dark rum to ensure it wasn't 50% water.
My kids loved the pool so that is where we spent most of our days and that was nice. After a few days the staff stopped bugging us once we had booked some excursions so we were able to just relax. The kids club was very basic and my kids didn't enjoy going but it was better than nothing and the staff there especially Milly were great. We booked the glass bottom boat excursion and another all day excursion called where you went on a catamaran and stopped at several gorgeous beaches and had lunch, snorkeled, and that was a really great day.
This was my first time to the Dominican and I would NEVER return to this resort again. [Details]

Service Mgr -Artilis went above and beyond. Tending to the smallest detail for the best experience ever!!!
All staff including entertainment were super friendly and made up for the beach [Details]

We stayed at this resort from the 20th - 27tg of April. When we arrived, the reception staff was wonderful and within 5-10 minutes we were taken to the VIP adults check-in building. Ray (i forget her last name) checked us in quickly and explained everything very clearly. She was all smiles and a pleasure to deal with. Our butler Fednon Cherenfant was amazing. Always running up to us when he saw us to say hi...make sure everything was going well....or simply to wish us a great day. He was a big part of why our vacation was so great!!!

Another big plus for this resort is their entertainment staff. Spagetti, tutty fruity and the rest of their crew were very engaging. Invited us to dance and participate in all activities. They even remembered my fiance from her visit last year!

In terms of food on the resort, the buffets had plenty of choices...but the "a la carte" restaurants really impressed!

Our favorite bar was the swim up bar in the main pool. The bartender (Sergio) always spotted us coming and had drinks ready for us before we even asked!

Finally, Rossanna Zorrilla (assistant manager I believe) was the icing on the cake. She went above and beyond in every way to make sure out stay was a dream vacation. I spoke to her before arriving to explain that I planned to propose to my girlfriend while on vacation. She set us up with the most romantic room, champagne, etc... she often checked in with us during our stay to see if we needed anything and to make sure everything was to our liking. We truly appreciated her kindness!

In short, the people at this resort is what makes it great and this is why we will be there again next year!!
Show less [Details]

Hotel grounds are very clean. Buildings look nice from the outside.
We were in Building 1, a bit rundown looking on the inside and our
room was clean but dated.
A la carte were good.
Buffet was ok....rather warm inside,outside was nice to eat.
Beach was crowded but very nice
Sit further back at the beach as vendors are all over the beach area.
Not bad a place if you get a good deal on the vacation. [Details]

Pros: Beautiful resort surrounding and very good food. Some staff were polite and happy which gave us a vacation feeling.

Even if below I will list some issues the overall experience was ok.

Cons:

Constant room noise from tourists passing front of our room and staff walkies-talkie (please use lower sound level and when you speak one with each other do not yell from 50 meters...at least between the resting hours and hotel areas where the families rooms are).

Very slow in processing guests or requests. Also, fixing issues in my room took very long and some were never fixed. For example, out of 8 electrical outlets just 2 worked. I asked 4 times at the reception to come and take a look but until the end of vacation no one came.

The room was clean but there were 2 things that I did not like.
First, The constant mold smell in the room and second the dump sheets due to very high humidity in the room. I understand that Dominican Republic is a tropical country but my previous experiences in Caribbeans showed me that this can be much better (other hotels in Jamaica and Dominican Republic). The main reason for high humidity in the room was poor door and windows quality that did not kept away the humidity and probably air conditioning system that was old.

Marina is very close to the hotel beach and there is a constant gasoline smell that spoils one of the reasons that tourists come in vacation...clean air and sea smell. [Details]

We had a very nice relaxing time there. [Details]

What a great time I had. Big thank u to Jorge my butler. He treated me like a queen, was always asking me how r things going ect.
I must say if u do go to this place go vip. The resort is huge and there are alot of people. VIP allows u not to stand in line to get a drink, have your own beach and many other options. The only two complaints I have were this. Check in VIP was over 3hrs. But since I was in the air conditioned lounge with food and drink made it bareable. Second they ran out of alot of alcohol and some priced food on some of the a la carte restos fast. It was holy week and they were crazy busy.
Other than this two tiny things what a great time I had. Great people beautiful beach and lots to do at night.
I'll def b going back [Details]

This hotel is extremelllllly DIRTY!!! Where do I start.... Found mouse dropping on the napkins were the spoons were placed!!! Underneath the tables were food was placed was filthy!!!! The drink selections were very few and often they were out of at least 2 of their drink options!!!! They DO NOT serve mimosas at any bar!!!!! The website offers turn down service..... don't wait for it as they don't do it attttt alllll!!! There was a dead roach outside my room for days!! The WiFi doesn't work soooo DO NOT pay for the PREMIUM it's NOT worth it!!!!! Overalll I would NOT stay there again even if it was FREE!!!! I wouldn't recommend it to anyone!!!!!!! [Details]

mon séjour a été agréable et excellent ma chambre propre et grand bâtiment 5. Le bar du hall très bon service le bar de la plage aussi. excellent divertissement spaghetti stefany william garçons, fête de mousse, fête sur la plage, spectacles, activités tous excellents [Details]

Ok time. Second time to the resort. [Details]