Top All-Inclusive Amenities – Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana

All-Inclusive resorts (like the Hyatt Ziva and Zilara brands) aim to be complete destinations. These resorts are built so that you arrive and then don’t have to leave the property again until it is time for you to return home. While the tropical location and ocean are part of what makes this possible, so many other amenities and activities are available at the Hyatt Ziva and Zilara Cap Cana that contribute to this possibility.

Hyatt has done a great job transforming the resort into a destination with so much to offer; there is something for everyone. The vast majority of people who travel to a location like this for a week or less will not run out of new activities and amenities to try. In this post, I highlight many of the amenities and activities available at the Hyatt Ziva and Zilara Cap Cana. These are based on travel to the resort in February 2021.

This is the third post in a three-part review of the Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana. The other two parts of this review are linked below:

1. Room Review – Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana Ocean View Junior Suite
2. Restaurants – Hyatt Ziva and Zilara Cap Cana
3. Amenities – Hyatt Ziva and Zilara Cap Cana (this review)

Water Park

A unique feature of the Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana resort’s all-inclusive amenities is the water park on-site. While the water park isn’t huge, it is sufficient to occupy your time for a morning or afternoon. If you have kids, this will likely be a popular activity. It can occupy more time than a single morning or afternoon for those with kids.

The water park has 4 large water slides (3 single-person slides and 1 tube slide that can accommodate single or dual intertubes).

In addition to the four main slides, the water park also features a four-lane racing slide. If you want to race side-by-side with your group this is the perfect place. The race ends with a big splash at the base of the slide. Have someone in your group take the perfect picture at the base of the slide.

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The water park also provides a lazy river in which you can float in intertubes (either single or dual tubes). While the current and pace of the river may be lazy, there are many water features along the way (waterfalls, jets, buckets, etc…) that dump quite a bit of water on those in the river making this anything but a leisurely float. The water park also has a water jungle gym and kiddie pool to entertain the young ones.

Finally, the water park has a food truck on-site that provides traditional American fare. The menu features burgers, hot dogs, and nachos available without leaving the park.

Pools

The pools at the Hyatt Ziva and Zilara Cap Cana are a centerpiece of the resorts. (The beaches being the other obvious centerpiece). There are four pools on the property. Two pools are located at the Hyatt Ziva with one main pool and one pool reserved for Club guests. The Hyatt Zilara has a similar setup with its two pools.

Both pools have a swim-up bar area as well as a walk-up bar area. These bars serve all your traditional beach drinks, beer, and non-alcoholic drinks. The pool staff is constantly coming around to check on you while you are at the pool. They are happy to get towels, move umbrellas or chairs, and take drink orders to make your vacation perfect. You may even catch the occasional alarmed look from the pool or beach staff if you attempt to move your lounger or umbrella yourself. They pride themselves on providing an effort-free atmosphere where they take care of all your needs.

Towels are provided in 2 – 3 locations around each of the pools. The towels can be taken to the pool, beach, and back to your room if needed.

Hyatt Ziva Pools

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The pools at the Hyatt Ziva have a meandering and wavy design to them. A meandering design is well suited to the family nature of the resort. It creates areas of the pools that feel separated from each other. This means that families can feel more spread out in the Ziva pool than an otherwise similar-sized pool of a more regular shape.

The Ziva pool deck is similarly structured in its meandering design. The deck has plants that provide privacy and divisions in the various areas of seating and loungers. The Ziva pool deck also has a fair amount of shade compared to many other resorts. Many pool loungers are located under poolside pergolas. The resort has a fair number of umbrellas that the pool staff will move to suit your needs. The atmosphere at the Ziva pool is very family-friendly and laid back.

In addition to the main pools, several large hot tubs dot the property. On the Hyatt Ziva side, there are two hot tubs in the main pool area and an additional hot tub located in the club-exclusive pool area.

Hyatt Zilara Pools

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The pool at the Hyatt Zilara is much more open and cohesive than the pool on the Ziva side of the resort. This has the effect of bringing more people together. The Zilara pool is also more modern-feeling. It has straight lines and different levels within the pool area. The Zilara pool has a more upscale festive atmosphere due to the more pronounced music in the area. Many people will enjoy this atmosphere since it isn’t overdone or disruptive. I am not one for party atmospheres, but I thought this atmosphere was well done and added a little fun to the traditional pool-lounging experience.

Similar to the Ziva hot tubs, the Zilara has two large hot tubs located at the edge of the pool along the beach.

The benefit of both the Zilara and Ziva being co-located is that if you are an adults-only group you can choose either pool experience that appeals to you.

Pool Cabanas

Given that there are often many questions about pool cabanas, I wanted to write a quick section on the cabanas. Most of the cabanas at the resort are poolside and are extra to rent by the day. The cost to rent the cabana for the day is listed in the newsletter. For this reason, I assume it changes with demand. However, at the time of my trip, the cabanas were renting for $90 a day. In my opinion, this is a little steep for what you get. If you are with a group and were going to split it several ways it could make sense for a nice place to sit and guaranteed shade/privacy.

Beach

The centerpiece of a beachfront resort in the Caribbean is obviously the beach. The Cap Cana resorts have a very large beach area. A large portion of the beach area grows several palm trees that provide some nice shade. The area with palm trees is set back from the waterline. This gives those who want the sun to be able to move forward and soak in all the sun they want. The large amount of beach between the rows of chairs and the waterline also provides a lot of space for those who want to walk on the beach.

Several large portions of the beach are also wide open for activities. The resort program staff routinely organize beach activities that include beach yoga, water aerobics, soccer matches, and water sports among others. The resorts maintain a full set of water sports equipment including small sailboats, kayaks, and paddleboards. All of these are free to borrow from the water sports hut.

The same staff that looks after your every need at the pool also looks after guests needs at the beach.

Gym

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After all the all-inclusive food and drinks, you may want to visit the gym during your vacation. I recognize that many choose to avoid the gym while on vacation which I can understand. To those people feel free to skip reading this section. However, if you are the type that wants to continue your workout routine while on vacation, the Hyatt Ziva and Zilara Cap Cana gym is there to help.

The gym is a common space accessible to both the Ziva and Zilara resort guests. While that may initially seem like a detraction (especially to the adult-only Zilara guests), combining the resources of both gyms obviously led to an amazing space. In addition, you will almost never run into children in the gym. I never saw any children on the occasions that I used the gym during my trip. Therefore the adults-only Zilara guests shouldn’t be concerned about sharing the space with Ziva guests.

Going back to the details of the gym, the Cap Cana property did a truly astonishing job with the space. “The Refinery” (as it has been named by Hyatt) beats most normal gyms and fitness centers that I have seen anywhere in the United States in its equipment, layout, and exercise options. The gym boasts:
-a lot of open space (for floor exercise or yoga)
-a full weight room with dumbbells, machines, and barbells/plate weights
-a cardio room with treadmills, bikes, and ellipticals

The gym also has classroom space where they host group exercise classes of different varieties during the day. My wife often participated in yoga classes. The room was also set up for a spin class on other occasions. The gym class schedule rotated daily and was provided in the daily newsletter.

Program Activities

In addition to all the facilities on-site mentioned above, the Hyatt Ziva and Zilara maintain a full-time program staff. This program staff organizes activities, entertainment, and other events onsite at the Ziva and Zilara resorts throughout your stay. These activities fall into two main categories: Day Program and Night Program. The details of each of these programs rotate daily. Information on the activities is published in the daily newsletter.

Day Program

The Day Program offerings include activities like beach volleyball, dance lessons, swimming competition, stretching, ping pong tournaments, water basketball, foam parties, and beach Zumba. The activities typically run at various times between 10:00 AM and 5:00 PM. Each has a designated meeting place (the beach, pool deck, watersports area, etc…). A lively and outgoing instructor leads each of these activities and tries to get everyone into them.

Of note, the newsletter for the Ziva only advertises the Ziva offerings and vice versa for the Zilara. If you are an adults-only group staying at the Ziva and are interested in Zilara offerings, you will have to get the Zilara newsletter in the Zilara lobby to learn about the options. Similarly, for Zilara guests interested in Ziva activities, the Ziva newsletter can be collected in the Ziva lobby.

Also if you have children between the ages of 4 and 12, Hyatt Ziva offers a Kidz Club Program. You will quickly learn that Ziva and Zilara choose to add Zs to many words in their branding. These daily activities are also listed in the daily newsletter. I encourage you to look at the picture of the newsletters that I have included above and below for examples.

Night Program

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Depending on the day of the week, the night program can be one or multiple activities. The larger activities and shows are often shared between the Ziva and Zilara resorts in the Marquis Theatre. The Marquis is an open-air theater/performance area located between the Ziva and Zilara resorts. It is located directly opposite “Moments Sports Bar”.

During my travels to the resorts, evening entertainment was started with a low-key offering in the early evening. These were often a saxophone player by the Zilara fire pits or a kid’s movie on the lawn of the Ziva. Most nights there was a large show offering around 9:00 PM or 9:30 PM and late-night DJ or entertainment in Moments Sports Bar. Some examples of the main night show include IL Divo show, Retro Concert Show, and the Hotstrings Rock Show. While the night program won’t be the highlight of the trip most nights, they often are a fun hour to enjoy some free entertainment in a fun atmosphere.