Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: good resort

Great beach, snorkelling. Rooms clean and spacious.Good family resort but limited actives for non family groups.Food ok but unable to book a la carte restaurants as per trip booking. Little help for same at the resort.

Cayo Levantado Resort: Above and Beyond Experience

The grounds are so lush and well-kept. The staff was always fun and friendly. The food was incredible and the buffet was always different, unlike some all-inclusives we've been too. The beach was always clean and never crowded. We will be back!

Cayo Levantado Resort: Amazing review

Check in was a bit slow, hotel well manage and services were speedy,efficient,washrooms spotless,all management and workers were very courteous,friendly and helpful,food was amazingly good at buffet and a la cartes

Wyndham Alltra Samana: An unexpected surprise!

We arrived with a large group on the 1st March for a weeks holiday at the Grand Paradise Hotel. Check in was fast and efficient. Loved the pool areas and the beach was fantastic. Loved the fact that they had lots of comfortable lounges on the beach and never a need to get down and reserve one with your towel. Delighted we had premium bands as it entitled us to wifi and extra al a carte restaurant (Japanese) which was delicious. We were happy with most of the hotel except the air conditioning did [... read more] not keep a stable temperature making the room very cold so we would just turn it off. Overall we were very happy and liked the food at the buffet for all the meals. Nice walk to the local town which is 10 minutes down the beach.

The Eurostars Grand Cayacoa: Delightful holiday viewing humpback whales

Visiting this resort for the second time in three years, we found it better on this occasion. Better food, drinks, warm ambiance, and excellent service with most all requests met. The main beach area is improved. Visiting to do the Whale Samana tour with Kim was outstanding! Whale viewing season mid-January until late March. We may return and stay for two weeks rather than 10 days. Recommended.

Bahia Principe Grand Samana Roulette: Two words ... Fantastic Trip!

I booked this trip a bit last minute to surprise my husband for his 40th birthday. The roulette option was very unconventional for me, but I reviewed both Bahia hotels and figured I'd be happy with whichever resort we ended up at. We were fortunate to get the Cayacoa. Our gardeview room was upgraded to a view of the pool and ocean. The views from anywhere on the resort are spectacular. It's a quick walk in to town and the causeway along the ocean is also an amazing option. The bartender (R [... read more]aul) at the main pool was awesome. The entertainment staff including Flo and Jeffrey were so friendly. They remembered my husband by name! But were not pushy in the least. You could tell they truly enjoyed their job. The dancing lessons around the pool were fun, aqua aerobics were entertaining and volleyball in the pool was a not to be missed event! There was a pretty good selection of food and no issues with the a la carte restaurants. We had issues with our door which required them to change the handle which afterwards caused issues with our keys, but we thoroughly enjoyed our vacation none the least. We were fortunate to have other amazing guests at the hotel the week we were there. We would most definitely recommend this resort.

Bahia Principe Grand Samana Roulette: Beautiful Beach

I enjoyed my trip. The resort was better than my trip last year to Mexico. There are a few things about the resort in DR that I didn’t like. The lobby bar closed at 11pm. You HAD to go to the disco if you wanted a drink after that. There was no place to get snacks. Chips. Nuts. Crackers. Cookies. The room was beautiful. The view was amazing! I would definitely go back to DR. The roulette was pretty cool. If you’re flexible...that’s definitely the way to go! Saved us some big bucks!

Bahia Principe Grand Samana Roulette: Amazing!!! Spectacular! Bahia Principe Cayacoa Roulette!

When we landed at Samana airport we went to the air canada rep and he told us we were going to the BPG Cayacoa. (Most reveiwes said that 99% of the roulette people end up here). The resort is 45 mins from the airport which was fine. Checkin was ok a little slow the whole bus was at our resort. (Its not like punta cana where there are 20 resorts in a row and they drop off people like bus stops). Since we did the roulette we got whichever room was available. We got the room with 2 double beds. E [... read more]ven though when we booked the trip we had requested a king bed. It was so late by the time we checked in, ate a snack at the snack bar, we didnt care to bother with a room change. Felt like more of a hassle. So we ended up moving some furniture around and pushed the beds together, and it was fine. This resort is not at all suitable for small children or people who are unable to walk too much. It is built on a hill and is ALL slopes and stairs. We stayed in bldg 21 and it took 116 stairs to get to the main buffet. U can call reception from your room and they will send a golf cart to come pick u up. But that could sometimes take up to 10-15 minutes of waiting. So we just walked. If there was a cart waiting to pick up someone else we would hop on. But we didnt wait. We saw maybe 3 kids the whole week we were here. Bringing strollers will be a nightmare here!!! Unless u can get a room in the hotel building which has elevators and not the outside villas. There is free wifi everywhere. Rooms, lobby, restaurants, pools, even spotty connection at the beach. Once you check in you can log on. You can book ala carte restaurants on the app. (We teied the Orcadea, amazing!) We had an amazing week. Walking a lot. Food is great here. Lots of variety. We enjoyed everything and were not picky at all. Drinks were good too. We have been going to cuba the last few years so come back to DR was very refreshing! The place is spectacular so green and grogeous. The most scenic views we have ever seen. Extremely clean and well groomed. Bathrooms by the pool and lobby are very clean. Servers and everyone working around the resort are very nice. A $1 tip and a smile can go a long way. They are Ready to serve and help at all times. Beware of the bahia principe privilege guys in the lobby. They are vultures and will try and sell u time shares and upgrades. They are v annoying and persistant but if u say no to them 2-3 times they will leave u alone. Do not make eye contact with them and do not let them start up a conversation. U will waste 1-2 hrs of a good day just trying to get them to shut up! He will start of by offering u a necklace and then its down hill from there lol The beach is very small, yiu ca the elevatorfeom the main poil area or u an walk down hundreda of steps on the other side. Water is merky. Sand is brown. So if u are expecting to see crystal blue water and white sand u will be disappointed. Its very clean though. The far section of the beach is shared with the locals which was not a bother. Some reviewers complained that there were too many locals on the beach. We did not find that at all. We spent more time at the pools all week anyways. Our block of villas (bldg 21) had its own pool and bar. Very quite...we hung out there on a cloudy day and were by ourselves the whole day which was brilliant. Our room 2106 was great. Big. Clean. Bathroom also was great. Lots of good pressure hot water. Too many mosquitos though! Bring mosquito repellant and keep the ac cranked in the room. Do not turn the ac off...or u will get invaded by mosquitos. Also leave the bathroom door open so the whole area is cold. It gets very cold at night. We ended up wearing socks to bed. But we didnt want to be bitten! So bring long pjs! Walked into town one day which was nice. Its very safe. Theres a Bahia shopping village. Vendors will approach you a lot but will leave u alone if u say no thanks. DO NOT book any excursions with random vendors in town!!! Walked on the "bridge to nowhere" a few times. Its a very long walk. We loved it. Dont walk it at night as its totally isolated and cut ofd from the hotel. We did the National Park excusion which was excellent. I would highly recommend. Be sure to wear running shoes as you will be walking in caves etc. Alot of people wore flipflops and its very rocky and slippery. All in all excellent resort and a wonderful week!!!

Viva V Samana by Wyndham: Couldn't ask for anything more!! Absolute paradise!!

This is our second time coming to this resort and must admit that we were surprised it hadn't changed.... what fantastic news for us!! This is a slice out of an idyllic daydream that we all think about on cold winter nights. I have to admit to not wanting to give it a positive review because I don't want many others to know about this gem!! The whole resort from the landscaping, the architecture and especially the staff made us feel so welcomed genuinely happy to greet us.

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: Grand Bahia Principe EL Portillo

Great hotel. Most staff very friendly and accommodating. Great beach walk for miles snd right in town if your up to an hour sand beach walk. Great food and each night a little change into a theme night. Dominican, Mexicsn etc... Lots of lawn chairs but of course prime dpots are get fown earlier than later. Will return.....

Viva V Samana by Wyndham: Good Option

Good friendly service by all. Decent food for the level of resort. Clean grounds. Best asset of this resort is the beach. Gorgeous beach that goes on forever. Drinks are mediocre quality. Every Evening they had live music, which was nice to unwind to.

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: Nice resort

This is a very nice resort, with a beautiful beach. The rooms are ok, bed was comfortable good pressure in the shower. Food is ok, but buffet staff are very unorganized and they are always running out of dishes and glasses. I don’t think it there fault. They are under staffed in dinning room. We still had a good time, I would go back.

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: Fabulous, fabulous resort!!

No complaints at all regarding the resort.staff very knowledgeable and friendly..if they couldn't answer our ? then would find some one who could..Rooms were clean .Excellent variety of food..Beach clean ...possibly ( for first time visitors) remind them to put their beach towels on chairs or lounges early in the day if wanting to get a spot...seasoned travellers seemed to know the ins and outs of the resort.We both were would like to have know about a possible SCAM running and set up in the l [... read more]obby of the resort..

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: Average resort

The nicest thing about this resort is its location. It’s the only resort in the area and you can take a long walk along a beautiful beach. Snorkelling in the shallow water off the beach was nice but we didn’t see an abundance of fish. The beach was crowded but there are a lot of lounge chairs and shaded areas under trees. The rooms were basic but I liked the firm mattress. Shower had poor water pressure. The AC was super noisy but the room also had a ceiling fan. Great selection of food a [... read more]t the buffet. Quality was pretty good. Buffet was very crowded and noisy. Had to wait for a table several times. Did not enjoy the Italian and seafood restaurants. Brazilian restaurant was fairly good. Cocktails at the resort were really sweet and weak in terms of alcohol content. Piña colada, for example, was made with a slushy mix and was terrible. Staff at the resort weren’t very friendly.

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: Quaint Resort

the resort was very remote and quiet, not a place for anyone who is looking for a party atmosphere, great for older couples or young families. The rooms are a bit tired compared to other Bahia resorts we have been to. The staff do their best a few are really great Francis is the main buffet restaurant is a hoot! The Air Canada representative Luis was extremely helpful and friendly and always available. We had issues with water pressure in our room, went from low to nothing but a drip and hot [... read more] water was touch and go. Food was good, Gourmet Restaurant was great and Italian was very good. Overall it was a nice quiet vacation. Samana region is beautiful!

The Eurostars Grand Cayacoa: Great Resort

This hotel was great! The room was good, food is reasonable, staff is great. For a resort thats over 10 years old it doesnt show at all. The views are amazing and all the amenities are great. Out of 10 I would give it a 7.

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: Great resort

For a couple in there 50's wanting a week of sun, food, drinks and beach, this was perfect. The food was great, lots to choose from. The beach, no seaweed, no rocks, and you can walk forever on either side. The resort has a great layout, lobby, pool, and ocean are basically near each other. The rooms are nice too, no issues and no bugs. We want to go back again, we prefer Samana over Punta Cana.

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: Fabulous Vacation

Wonderful resort, beach, food was great & room was lovely! Zero complaints. So happy I chose this beautiful paradise. We walked to the local town and felt safe. Lovely exotic beach and breathtaking warm water surrounded by coral reefs. Great snorkelling off beach. Great for families, couples and seniors.

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: Great Vacation

The only disappointment was the fact that the hotel did not recognize our past visits to Grande Bahia resorts. I guess this will make us reconsider our loyalty in using these resorts only when we have travel.

The Eurostars Grand Cayacoa: Different and beautiful

I personally loved this resort. It is smaller than the usual resorts, so there are fewer pools, bars, restaurants, but that added to the appeal - it was so much more personal. And the service was exceptional! The staff are truly wonderful. I loved the environmentally-friendly aspect that this resort upholds - no wasteful disposal plastic cups, and energy-conserving rooms. It's about time a resort stepped up and took an active role in conservation. Far more lush than usual, as well, giving  [... read more]a much more natural feeling. I would definitely return.