Bahia Principe Escape Samana: Definitely Not 5 Star

Upon check in, we were told that our mini fridge would only contain 1 bottle of water. No pop or complimentary beer. We were also told that only 2 of the advertised restaurants were open, both of which served shellfish mostly that I am extremely allergic to. There was no poolside service (no one to offer drinks or pick up our empty glasses). Same with the buffet...I would sit down but wouldn't be offered water or coffee until I was almost done with my meal. A few nights i was served RAW chicken [... read more] breast and fish. Not just undercooked, but raw. No beach bar. No daytime entertainment of any kind or any sports. Night time entertainment was usually just a live local singer for a couple hours only. No dancers or anything. Resort is 18+ but it was really 70+. Our room had a nice view but it was right next to the main road so we could see cars and constant exhaust and racing. Very hard to nap. Beach is stunning, water is crystal clear with no seaweed or rocks. That was probably the best part.

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: Great resort

Just returned from a week at El Portillo, a fantastic resort. From the moment we arrived the staff was friendly and welcoming. Our room in building 25 was great and very convenient to all amenities, cleaning was done daily to a high standard. The staff at the Sports and Beach bars were all very good, too numerous to name individually. The buffet staff was likewise friendly and hardworking. We dined at the Greek, Italian and French restaurants, all very good. The entertainment staff was very  [... read more]lively and engaging, with a special shoutout to Gerson, one of the friendliest and lively staff members we have ever encountered. The beach is very nice and overall a fantastic resort.

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: Trilingual Staff- Hotel Gem "Hidden In Plain Sight"

I was surprised by the gorgeous solitude of the beaches while walking a half hour in each direction ~Beyond- the East and West edges of the Bahia Principe. Where is everyone, this place is gorgeous! Buffets and A-La-Carte were amazing, specifically the Brazillian giant BBQ red meat skewers [3 feet?] the waitstaff walk around with and slice fresh to your plate. Pool was a good size but we prefer the Ocean, and they provided afternoon and evening entertainment including fire performers, mixed danc [... read more]e troops, and singers. Nearby EcoTours highly recommend LimonWaterfall [horseback through the muddy trail then you climb down 800-900Meters of big stairs] please bring $25USD cash tip, we were not told ahead and it's awkward offering "volunteers" who look after the horses a payment via CreditCard. Also I suggest to tip the Bahia bar staff 50DRP or $1USD for each 2 drinks [small cups] you order or your Margarita will be sugar and salt with a splash of booze. Alternatively order beer on tap. They work really hard and "All Inclusive" doesn't mean they see much of your nightly fee. Vibe is relaxed, good mix of ages for guests, hotel wasn't overrun by screaming running children but there also weren't the loaded and loud party crews. Put your hands over your ears during the jingle at the beginning of the entertainment or it will get stuck in your head and you'll be singing it on your Excursions. Literally when I Googled it, the A.I. said guests noted singing it years after being on the trip. :]

Bahia Principe Explore Punta Cana: Large resort with great food service.

The resort is a little too big for my liking but it is nice and the ground is beautiful. Our building 35100 is dated and needs to be refreshed. The logistic behind the food service and the food itself were impressive. Congratulation to the kitchen staff. Unfortunately, the weather was not great for us but nobody is to blame for that. I would like to see a bit more entertainment in some areas even if it is just a solo musician or singer. Overall we enjoyed our stay.

Bahia Principe Explore Coba: Average All inclusive Resort

The hotel is a little dated but is generally in good condition. The buffet was reasonable but light on bacon, and they always had some stuff to make tacos, but never all in one place. The kids program was great. The beach access wasn't that good because we couldn't eat at the Akumal beach area so we couldn't stay there all day and the beach sand was a little rough. I was told that I had access from Coba to the Tequila restaurants, but we weren't able to access them. The cost to add a person [... read more] mid booking was astronomical, so we paid for an extra room.

Bahia Principe Explore Coba: Great resort and staff.

Great resort, landscaping and staff. After staying here at the Grand Coba at least 5 times over the last 20 years, the food quality has diminished with several food stations empty and the same food selections daily. Al Le carte restaurants are near impossible to book as members of the more expensive resorts on the property are allowed advanced bookings prior to arrival. We were only able to book 2 out of the less popular al le cartes out of 4 on our 10 day holiday visit. That said we still en [... read more]joyed the resort and staff during our stay.

Bahia Principe Explore Esmeralda: Beautiful Resort!

This is a very nice resort. Our room was comfortable and very clean. Maid service was excellent. The staff was helpful and friendly. We enjoyed all the different activities and the large pools and of course the beach. Would book this place again

Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: Great vacation destination

Beautiful pool, beach and grounds. Nice spacious, well appointed rooms. Good food and nice choice of restaurants. Super service and cleaning staff. Entertainment was ok. Room service available at all times.

Bahia Principe Explore Akumal: Lovely Resort

Our building location was ideal. They put us in the adult only section of the resort, close to the infinity pool, overlooking the beautiful carribean sea, and only steps from the adult only restaurant Katook. Food - The food was not great. The buffet dishes were cold, some food items not fresh and dishes were not replenished in a timely fashion. We took in three a'la carte restaurants and those too, were not fantastic as you would think it would be at the resort. As Pickleball has bec [... read more]ome extremely popular among players, it would be nice to have more than two courts in the entire Bahia Principe Resourt, and spread out among the different resorts (Akamal, Tequila, Coba, etc.)

Bahia Principe Explore Punta Cana: Great resort

We enjoyed our stay at the resort. It’s beautiful. When we checked in we were told we had a ground floor room. When we got there it was on the 3rd floor. I was to tired and hot to complain. So we stayed. It was not a renovated room and we had a leak from the ceiling in the hall, it got fixed and leaked again the next night. Until all the rooms get renovated I would ask for an upgraded room. Overall, it is a very nice resort.

Bahia Principe Explore Punta Cana: Great resort

We enjoyed our stay at the resort. It’s beautiful. When we checked in we were told we had a ground floor room. When we got there it was on the 3rd floor. I was to tired and hot to complain. So we stayed. It was not a renovated room and we had a leak from the ceiling in the hall, it got fixed and leaked again the next night. Until all the rooms get renovated I would ask for an upgraded room. Overall, it is a very nice resort.

Bahia Principe Explore Esmeralda: Great DR resort

Luxury Esmeralda had great landscaping and wonderful pools for swimming and swimup bars. Our room had a swimup to our room and it was refreshing after a long walk on Bavaro Beach. Our room was exactly what we expected and the room was always made up very well by the hotel staff. The service was excellent at the hotel. In particular Alexa at the front desk spoke good english and advices us on our stay and how to get around all of the Bahía Príncipe resorts. The activity staff did an awesome job a [... read more]s well. We joined in on Aquafit every day that we were on site. Overall, very good a la carte restaurants. We loved the Mongolian and Naan restaurants as well as the MEAT steak restaurant (Grand Punta Cana) the best. The sports bar was excellent to catch up on sports and their food/snacks were superb. Thank you for your hospitality!

Bahia Principe Explore Akumal: Great resort!

e had a wonderful stay at Bahia Akumal and truly enjoyed our time at this resort. From the moment we arrived, we felt very welcomed by the staff — everyone was friendly, attentive, and genuinely kind throughout our stay. The resort itself was very clean and well maintained, and the food exceeded all of our expectations with plenty of variety and great quality. The only downside of our experience was the dinner reservation system. We were allowed to make reservations 10 days prior to our arriv [... read more]al, but the only available times were 9:00 PM or later. This made it difficult to maintain our routine and get up earlier to make the most of our days. When we asked about earlier dining options, we were told we would have to wait and see if someone cancelled. Given the size of the resort, it felt like there could be more or larger restaurants to better accommodate guests. That said, this was a relatively small issue compared to how much we enjoyed everything else. The service was excellent, the atmosphere was relaxing, and the location was ideal. Overall, we had a great experience and would absolutely recommend Bahia Akumal to anyone looking for a relaxing and enjoyable getaway.

Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: Great location-3rd visit. Some things to consider though

The Ambar is a lovely hotel with wonderful staff, great beach and pool, but it's due for a refresh. This was our 3rd visit. The last time was about 10 years ago. Some of the rooms are a bit tired. Bahia Principe rep made a point of saying that a couple of the other hotels in the group had recently been refreshed and renovated; time for the Ambar to have its turn. Having said that, entertainment was great, most restaurants wonderful. Service good. Exception, and not in a good way, Maiko; i [... read more]t was Chaos from the hostess to dessert. Limbo and Portofino were fabulous. Do bring along some bug spray if you tend to get bitten by sand flies--my husband got a lot of bites on his legs (I have none, go figure) and they were really itchy. All in all, I would go back to this hotel but would be checking to see if the renovations were done first. Our experience with Bahia Principe has been good overall, and their upgraded app is super.

Bahia Principe Explore Esmeralda: Wonderful

The grounds were beautiful, well maintained. The staff were friendly and helpful, solved our problem for use. We weren’t sure about return pickup and Luis phoned to get the information we needed. The food was delicious. I particularly enjoyed the fresh fruit and the varieties of salad. I liked going to the a la carte restaurants off site. Great choices available.

Bahia Principe Explore Punta Cana: Honest review

1. Staff was helpful & kind 2. Rooms were spacious 3. Hygiene not to the standard, also be prepared for mosquitoes if you are at 1st floor 4. Food was low quality & not very much variety 5. Lots to do in the resort itself, so would not be bored. 6. If you have low to medium budget then go for it, otherwise go for better

Bahia Principe Explore Coba: Bahia Principe Coba Tulum

The grounds at this resort were well maintained the staff were very busy and friendlly we ate at the Japanese ala carte and the food was very good the buffet food was okay good as can be at any resort we were not allowed to go to any of the other resorts to enjoy their amenities unless we paid twenty dollars a day at other resorts in the area we could enjoy their amenities for free this resort only had one big pool years ago you could swim in any of the other pools at the other resor [... read more]ts on this property we were disapointed with the beach area the beach area assigned to Coba was kind of small with over crowded beach chairs our room was okay but the bathroom needs to be refurbished low water pressure in the sink and shower when taking a shower, the water goes everywhere as the shower doors are not long enough to hold back the shower spray the floor mat gets very wet and water gets on the floor all round the shower

Bahia Principe Explore La Romana: Amazing Resort!!!!!

Day 1. We missed the first day as our flight was 3 hours 45 min late from Halifax. The airport was a complete mess. It seemed as though the ground crew were having fun or completely horrible at their job. The entire plane had to search for luggage. One piece of mine was on the MINNEAPOLIS belt. The other was on the PARIS belt. Over 90 minutes to search for bags. Our agent at the airport then asked why we kept him waiting????? Wouldn't the Air Transat Rep already know our flight was late? [... read more] Then another 15 min or so to find our drive. We ended up getting to the hotel at 7pm. So we lost our first day. One passenger mentioned a 400$ refund each because the delay was over 3 hours. I asked the AT rep at the airport. He said to ask our rep at the resort in the morning. Couldnt find them the next day. So we went on the AT app and filed our "more than 3 hours delay" request. The app told us we were past the 48 hour window....which I didnt understand as i filed it at 7:45 am and our flight left at 1045... so i was in the 48 hour window by 3 hours) Still waiting to hear back from Air Transat. Which I'm sure will be a nightmare. Day 2-10. This resort is gorgeous! The buffet was amazing. Zero complaints about anything to do with food. We spent the first day at the pool as the beach had no available chairs. Pool was nice. Clean, great shade when needed. Beach buffet was great! We had gorgeous lunches... again, no complaints about food. We signed up for an excursion. (CATALINA BEACH) Snorkeling, beach time, a meal, then home. We DO NOT RECOMMEND!!! The boat ride to the Snorkeling area was horrible! Open water, alot of waves, and the Captain hit every one! If you have a bad back, do not take this trip. 45 minutes of pounding the waves to get to the Snorkeling area. Upon arrival, we were to snorkel for 1 hour. I was the last one to get off the boat and folks were getting back on. Not even ten minutes in the water. Zero coral! Zero fish! Zero anything to see! We got to the beach. Disappointed as the beach was dirty, chairs were broken( 75% of them). The bathrooms were completely disgusting! Doors didn't lock. The water in the toilets looked and smelled like feces, the water from the taps to wash your hands was brown and smelled horrible. This was also to be an "all inclusive " excursion, but the Bartender wanted 10$US for 1 beer. He said "when we eat lunch, the beer will be free." That was a 3 hour wait for lunch. The water on the bar to drink was free. But the cups were dirty, and the water was in a very dirty Gatorade jug. The beach was not nice at all. We were told we could walk a ways down to another beach. When we got there, signs and security said it was private and we couldn't stay. That looked like a nicer beach. The food was OK. Then another hour's wait to board the boat to go back to the resort. 45 minutes hitting every wave again. That day, besides missing our first day, was a bad day. We found a spot on the resorts beach that was a bit nicer. And spent most of our days there. The staff are amazing! Oscar (our waiter in the Buffett) was super friendly, and went above and beyond. Cappuccino machine was in the dining room for people to get their own, but Oscar brought them to us. Same with the mimosas. Folks could pour their own, but Oscar wasn't having it. Every meal we sat in his section. During his days off, the room actually felt different. He has very good energy, and always brought smiles and laughs to everyone he interacted with. Our Chambermaid was great! The rooms were spotless, the bed was comfortable, and anything we needed was taken care of. We didn't take in many shows at night. The ones we did were OK. They day we left was a long day. We had to be out of our rooms at 6am to meet our driver for 7.our flight home was uneventful and even with a snowstorm, Air Transat was the ONLY FLIGHT TO TAKE OFF FROM HALIFAX(to the DR) and the only flight to land that day (our flight). So instead of a10 day vacation, we had only 8. The only "cons", besides losing a full day and the excursion, was the pool entertainment. Very loud and hard to understand. The music was deafening! There is only one pool so you can't get away from it. And the smokers. They had a designated area outside the lobby for smokers. That was nice and we could enjoy ourselves in the beautiful lobby . They should have no smoking at the pool. Like the BP in Jamaica. That was a welcomed treat to not have to take in 2nd hand smoke. We thought at first it was no smoking as there were no ashtrays.. but I guess we were wrong. We won't go here again. Not because of anything wrong with the resort, our ALL INCLUSIVE days are now behind us. Our future travel will be to Europe UK etc

Bahia Principe Explore Esmeralda: A great week!

The resort was beautiful, with lots of swimming pools and shade huts on the beach. All the restaurants were exceptionally good. The most outstanding feature of this resort was the incredible service…a concierge in each villa who could deal with any and all requests. Villa 90’s Alfredo was super! Transportation around the resort for restaurants, shopping, sports always available.

Bahia Principe Escape Bouganville: Wonderful time

This hotel was everything we could imagine. The property is beautiful and well maintained. The staff and service were exceptional. My wife is in a wheelchair and this is one of the most accessible resorts we have been to.