Bahia Principe Escape Samana: Dominican Republic bliss

I would highly recommend this hotel as the people working there certainly make the difference. I would not recommend booking it through air canada as the rep lied to us. Flight was excellent but the rep was dishonest

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: Nice but some things have changed

Resort is beautiful. However. Relax pool is not relaxing any longer. No rules posted. No rules enforced. It used to be for adults but no longer. Security removing towels from lounges because of unclear rules when you can place your towels on them. Waiting for a drink takes way too long.

The Eurostars Grand Cayacoa: Tropical Resort with Amazing Views.

The resort was in a lush, tropical setting with such beautiful views from so many vantage points. The room was one of the largest I've stayed in with a huge balcony with an amazing ocean view, sitting area, comfortable king bed and large spacious bathroom, with both a tub and shower. The elevated heated spacious pool sported a swim up bar, one of a kind views, lots of seating in both the sun and shade, and ongoing fun-filled activities. The private beach area was nice, with lots of lounge chai [... read more]rs, a bar, and warm waters for swimming. At the buffet restaurant you were always treated wonderfully by the staff, and the food was very good. I always found much to choose from, using pork, beef, chicken, fish, mussels, potatoes etc. in many different ways. Lots of fresh fruit and vegetable dishes. There was a made to order pasta bar. A large selection of hot and cold desserts, my favourites being the hot rice pudding and fresh ice-creams. The specialty restaurants were a nice way to try some different new foods. My favourite was the French restaurant, but all were worth trying. The bar tenders were all friendly and enjoyed making any sort of beverage. Really enjoyed the frozen Margaritas, Banana Mamas, Coco Locos, etc. The lobby bar had an all day tea and coffee station. The nightly entertainment was good, They was always a musician / singer or sax player to start the evening and get the dancing going. The specialty shows like the Stars (impersonators), Caribbean Party, and Circus sported talented dancers and performers. And as always, like by the pool in the afternoons, the entertainment staff were there engaging with us, dancing with us and for us, getting us participating, having fun, making the experience extra special. Such high energy and pride in their jobs. The resort was so very clean. Constantly sweeping / washing / painting/ repairing. Even though it is a fairly compact resort, with it being built on a hillside there are many stairs, which in the 37 with humidex weather I found taxing at times. The staircases to our 3rd floor unit, as well as many of the outdoor ramps/ stairs were not all well lit at night, so had to be quite careful not to mis-step. I'm so very glad I went and saw this beautiful resort.

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: Nice resort

Everything was fine, except the waiting line for the buffet. Hotel was crowded and waiting in the line for a table when is hot outside was unpleasant. This was the main negative aspect. Room and the beach were good. No seaweed, the shore was clean and the sea clear enough. Nice beach in general! Activities and night entertainment were present like in the old times, before 2020.

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: Average

Hello, I like to leave a review on our recent travels to this hotel and our experience with trip central. Firstly when when we speaking with trip central agent about booking travel and stay at this hotel. Even thou the travel agent informed us that no flights would fly directly into Samana going forward and therefore only to Puerto Plata at the time of travel. The agent never mentioned that the bus ride would be a 4+ HR bus ride..THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN MENTIONED. The travel agent should have at [... read more] least informed us of this at time of booking. They could have stated that as a courtesy. Nevertheless, the trip was booked. We stayed at this hotel before (pre- pandemic) and the experience was incredible therefore we were so excited to take our first trip after the pandemic to this exact destination and hotel again. We stayed two weeks in superior junior suite. The room was great as like before. However, the overall service was average at best. Far cry from before(pre pandemic). The shows were only tailored to children. No adult shows or entertainment existed. Very disappointing. The service seemed to cater to the locals rather than travellers from outside countries. On weekends the service was even worse. Sometimes had to ask to be served after waiting on servers who were going to serve locals multiple times. It was noticeable… some were quite rude and and didn’t try to even speak a word of English. The beach is great. Overall, average. Never travelling to this hotel again. Not worth the money and never using trip central again.

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: The ultimate in incompetence

Room not verified before rental, shower head didn't work and hand held shower in bathtub also broken. AC didn't blow strong enough to cool the room (AC system antique) and the bed was hard as rock (flintstone era). Only the shower head was fixed, the rest wasn't properly addressed to my liking. Wait time for lunch and dinner lineups was up to 30 mins, but most of the time was 8-12 mins. Shows were very poor, always for kids and very few, if any, were good for adults. Beach was the best I've seen [... read more] from all the Bahia's I have been to. Excellent for people (like my wife) who can't swim, you can go out 50 feet and it's at mid section height and this was for kms everywhere on both sides of the resort. Kite sufing 5 mins away. Pool was full on weekends since they rent rooms to the locals. Service on weekends is horrendous since they increase the room rentals to locals but don't increase the staff. Beach bar service could take up to 1/2 hr. No where to sit on the beach on weekends. Staff have a hard time to understand plain english except for Lidia who was very helpful. If your a privilege menber of any sort, you will be equally ignored like everybody else. I feel generous today and will give a 2/12 star rating. Definitely not a 5 star. Paid $1449 for a superior jurior suite in first class (still too expensive for what is was worth) CAD with Air Canada from Montreal. Unless you have very little money, DON'T GO THERE!!!!!

Bahia Principe Escape Samana: A keeper!!!!

This was our 5th trip to a GBP Resort and our First to Luxury Samana. As was mentioned in other reviews for other travelers this is a small resort which we love. It has a lot of stairs. Not the typical flat resort. The resort, staff and location is fantastic. Private beach and no other resorts around. What else could you ask for!!! Add great food at the buffet and restaurants and all the drinks you would need. We have to mention Jen Black at Trip Central who did a wonderful job with emails  [... read more]and follow ups. Air Transit was perfect. Clean plane that left on time and landed before scheduled time. A flawless vacation.!!!!!

Bahia Principe Escape Samana: Relaxing vacation!

Very relaxing one week stay. Staff all very friendly and accommodating. Buffet and a la cartes all excellent. accommodations were excellent. entertainment excellent. shout out to Nerfri for leading all the fun activities!

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: Absolutely Amazing

Upon arriving at the resort the first thing you notice is the cleanliness. We booked the junior suite and it was just what we had expected. The moment my wife got off the bus she said we have to come back. The beauty of all the vegetation was incredible. The friendliness of the employees made you feel so welcome and at home.Food was amazing, there were many different choices and they never ran out of anything at the buffet. The beach seater were very clean and very well maintained. We will defin [... read more]itely be back next year. Special thank you to Nicole Deforest for everything and for answering the questions that I had for her, your answers were always polite and very clear to understand

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: Fabulous place!

We had the time of our lives, highly recommend and will go back again for sure!Every thing was fantastic and we were impressed by the quality of service, beach was amazing, hotel and staff also perfect, thank you so much for all your hard work for making us enjoy our vacation!

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: A real 5 star two week vacation.

Been to El Portillo several times. We were given the black royalty wristband that we appreciated. We will return to El Portillo. It keeps getting better. We noticed the amazing skills of the staff, very polite, helpful and enthusiastic. Many got to know our names. Buffet…..5 Star….Great selection. Greek, French and Italian restaurants….5 Star Cleaning staff……5 Star Relax Pool…..5 Star (Carolina was the best…so funny and helpful.) Main pool looked nice and was kept clean. Fro [... read more]nt Desk……5 Star…Made us feel welcome. Gardens……5 Star….Grounds crew does a great job. Beach……5 Star, clean and relaxing lounge chairs. Towel service….5 Star. The guy there was very polite and very helpful. Bars….good variety and quick service. Washrooms…..always clean. Room…..nicely appointed. Shuttle to and from El Catey was great. Suggestion: Having that program for kids every night was not necessary. Someone yelling over a microphone was hard on the ears. There are hundreds sitting there having to listen to that almost every night. The kids have lots to do without that nightly time period. More singers, guitarists even keyboard music is needed.

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: 2nd visit for us, will definitely return for a 3rd!!

Hotel was very clean, great job with sanitizing and gloves and masks while indoors in groups ... they used common sense which was nice! Only 1 lunch option restaurant and 1 small bar opened at some peak times left back ups for drinks. I like the new sports bar area with entertainment, wish there was more of the adult shows there and live music with children activities at Village instead. The entertainment was great and entertainment staff were great! Food was good and drinks were very good.  [... read more] Overall a fantastic place, this was our second visit to this hotel and definately recommended. Beach walks were very nice!!! Staff were friendly, accommodating and work extremely hard! We tipped as much as possible and left many gifts to show how thankful we were.

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: Portillo resort

Very clean, staff was excellent. They followed Covid 19 protocols: checking temperature before entering to the buffet, distancing tables, cleaning right after you. You have to wear a mask on the common areas, and when getting the food at the buffet. There's plenty of open space in the swimming pool and beach, so you don't feel that people are all over you.

Wyndham Alltra Samana: Grand Paradise Samana

The resort needs work. The food was horrible. My toilet leaked. My mom had to change rms because of toilets overflowing, no hot water etc. The beach & the Dominican republic itself was beautiful. I would return but not to the Grand Paradise. Nothing Grand about it.

Cayo Levantado Resort: Awesome location

Me and my wife were there the 3rd week of February, 2020. I read all kinds of review and I dont pay too much attention to them. We had a great time, great food and staff. Location perfect You make your vacation your own. Yes there was some construction but they work so few hours - we barely saw anything happening We have been at bigger resort with bigger buffets but this one was small and perfect. Quiet location Enjoy

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: Amazing Resort

Second time at this resort. No complaints. Great food, beautiful grounds and fantastic very very long beach. The resort is not too large, so you get to know all the employees. The entertainment team is amazing.

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: Beautiful resort with wonderful beach for walking.

It was our second time to the resort. We were a little disappointed with the service this time as there didn't seem to be enough staff for the breakfast buffets. We love the resort so this was a bit disappointing and we also were not able to book for each of the a la cart restaurants. We only could get into two and we booked our first day there. The beach is beautiful and lots of chairs.

The Eurostars Grand Cayacoa: Excellent resort!!

We had a great time specially the Entertainment team. A big thumbs up to Nadiuska, Yefrey, Starlin, Chocolate and Wesley.The resort was great and the food was pretty good too. Staff at this resort was attentive and always ready to help. Thanks Kathleen Emmans (Trip Central) for recommending us this resort. You were a great help too. I will definitely call you for our next trip.

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: Very pleasant resort

Ground beautiful and well kept. Hotel very clean. Staff very friendly. Beds too hard and pillows terrible. Food adequate. Lots to choose from. A La Carte’s very good. Beach glorious. Manager Fernelis was very accommodating and helpful to improve sleeping arrangements and pillow top offered. Really it was just a mattress cover. Very low key. Great for families and entertainment less than adequate.

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: Amazing Family resort

Everything about this resort was absolutely top notch. This place came recommended by Tina at Trip Central. The hotel was busy and we still lots of food and everything was still very clean. They have a waterpark for kids with multiple slides for all different ages. The only thing is they don't have a swim up bar. My daughter had a blast bring and make sure to bring snorkeling gear.