Amazing Resort!!

We chose this resort because there was snorkeling right in front of the resort. It was amazing!! We advised the hotel my husband has limited mobility as he cannot stand or walk for more than 5 minutes and they gave us a suite very close to the lobby. It was perfect. Everything at the resort was super clean...service was amazing. Food was great! Loved every minute...we will be back. Thank you!!

Amazing vacation from start to finish

We arrived with plenty of day left to start our vacation! Had an amazing time taking advantage of all the exciting things to do; our favourite being snorkeling. Flight home was midday so no rush. Left us time to relax and enjoy our favourite spots one last time. Would recommend this trip to anyone desiring a relaxing getaway with beautiful scenery, gorgeous oceanviews, and fantastic food!

Family friendly resort

Eight of us visited the resort in June 2015. Food was excellent. The buffet was as good as the a la carte options. The rooms were large and we'll arranged. The beach had sections of coral so snorkeling was super. The pools were good. The spa service was bliss. I would return.

Great resort

very well kept resort friendly staff. The food from the buffet to the restaurants was very well prepared , good variety ,and very fresh.The beach was amazing miles of sand with shallow calm water good for families, but also provides good snorkeling as the reefs are close to shore. Only issue is with A/C in buffet should be kept cooler, a little uncomfortable for lunch Hr. Dinner however is better. The restaurants are very comfortable. I would highly recommend this resort for anyone who wants to  [... read more]get away and relax.

Enjoyed our stay - would go back again

We stayed at the El Portillo in early March. This was the second time that we stayed there, and we would go back again. The hotel itself is very family oriented. Clean rooms. If there is a problem, the staff is more than happy to try to accommodate your needs. The grounds are immaculate. The beach was long so that you could walk for quite a ways. If you enjoy snorkelling, this is a great beach for that as there are lots of fish just steps away from your lounge chair! There are vendors that come  [... read more]on the beach, but if you tell them "No thank you", they will leave you alone. The staff couldn't do enough for you. We enjoyed our time with David "Spaghetty" from the entertainment team. He was awesome! Eucliddes from the beach bar was a lot of fun as well......."Excellente!" There were so many staff members that made our stay memorable from the beach entertainment to the restaurants to the bar area to the nightly entertainment. All is all, we had an excellent experience and we look forward to going back again next year!

Very clean and relaxing

Beach was very nice but windy in the afternoon, had to move to the pool area. Food was excellent, plenty of selection. Staff was happy and friendly but English speaking staff was difficult to find. Did not like the fact that you had to pay for safety box.

Tropical Paradise

The beach is great for swimming, snorkeling and walking. Sand is not pure white but it's very soft. Love that it's the only resort on the beach. Both pools are nice. They definitely need more palapas on the beach. If you didn't get to the beach by 6:15 am, you likely couldn't get one. Some guests appeared to leave towels on several palapas overnight on the last few days of our stay. The quality of food & drinks in buffets & restaurants was good. Drink service in the main buffet was too slow; o [... read more]ften only got drinks at the end of the meal & not any water. The beach bar was very busy with only one bartender working & we found it quicker to walk to the main lobby bar. The new outdoor seating areas are great. The lobby bar needs more air conditioning/air circulation. Better if Wifi would work in outdoor seating area by lobby. Staff work very hard to clean at all times & keep seaweed off the beach which we really appreciated. Staff are friendly & helpful. The layout & size of this resort is great. It is very easy to get around in a short time. We have stayed at several all inclusives in Cuba, Mexico & Punta Cana & this was our favourite & only one we have returned to. We have recommended this resort to others & will continue to do so. Check in at the airport in both Halifax and Samana was efficient. The only issue we had was that because we booked with Sunquest and travelled with Air Canada, Air Canada charged us $25 per bag for checked luggage. We should have been clearly advised of this by Trip Central when we booked. One of our fellow travellers called Trip Central before we left & the rep wasn't sure if we had to pay that fee. Someone asked out Sunquest rep before we left Samana & he told him we didn't have to pay anything at the airport. Trip Central & Sunquest need to be up front & clear about these extra costs when a trip is booked. This added $100 to the cost of our trip.

Beautiful beach resort

Lovely resort, staff try to do everything in their power to make your vacation memorable. Food at the buffet is typical resort selection, but tasty no one ever went hungry. The beach is beautiful and long with lots of opportunity for walking. Vendors are on the beach, but respect a kind no thank you.

An amazing resort - a little piece of Paradise.

I love the size of the El Portello and add the great service of the staff makes an amazing resort to enjoy a relaxing vacation. I love the idea of this resort being the only one the beach - makes it feel like you are on a secluded island.

This place is a gem - a week of pure bliss for our

We spent a week at GBP El Portillo from April 2 to 9 and the entire group absolutely loved it. The beach is stunning and the water is very calm due to natural reef about 0.5km off shore. We stayed at GBP Akumal in Riviera Maya last year April and I personally preferred the smaller El Portillo over that massive complex. Yes, the amenities at El Portillo are not as great, but the location and feel of the resort in Samana are some much better. I felt much more relaxed in Samana versus Mexico. The c [... read more]limate is more tropical and humid whereas Riviera Maya was very hot and dry in April. I love the regular daily rainfall. The 3.5 hour flight and only 40 minutes by bus to the resort were a big plus as well. As for the resort itself, it is perfect for families and groups with young children. The resort is classy and it is pretty much quiet and closed (except for the discotheque) by 11pm. Those who choose to stay up late have the disco in the Puebla or many options in nearby Las Terrenas. The pools were small but very nice and not very crowded because the beach and ocean were so great. As with others, my biggest beef was the fact that all the palapas and lounge chairs at the beach and the pools were reserved by 6:30am. The culprits were mostly a certain European nationality who speak a very stern and harsh language. In the end, most other people just end up joining in the game if you can't beat them, join them! The buffet restaurant was phenomenal and the a la carte restaurants were pretty good as well. I loved the Brazilian Rodicio Grill. The seafood one was pretty good as well. The resort facilities were immaculate and very clean and well maintained. The staff were great and I preferred the Dominican culture and friendliness over that of Mexico. Mexico was nice, DR was nicer. At the front desk Alex was always amazing and very helpful. The Dominican people have the greatest smiles and that makes you feel at home from the moment you arrive. As for the bar, I really liked Welington at the beach bar. He was the friendliest and most efficient of the bar staff. That said, I like most of the staff at El Portillo. They were mostly hard-working, friendly and many seemed to be having fun. We definitely plan to go back some time soon. We stayed in Block 25. The location was great and the rooms were very nice and well maintained. We all loved it and plan to go back there within the next few years.

Very Family Friendly!

As a family of four, we thoroughly enjoyed this resort. We loved that it wasn't so huge we couldn't find each other when needed. The service was excellent and the staff very friendly and professional. The beach is absolutely beautiful, the water calm with perfect snorkeling for beginners like us. This is our first time at an all-inclusive but we thought the food was exceptionally good, lots of fresh local fruit, and delicious international dishes to choose from. The only thing we were disappoint [... read more]ed in was the nightly entertainment. The disco doesn't open until 11 pm (not great for parents who may want to do a bit of dancing before their kids pass out!) and the shows that started at 9:30 pm were below cruise-ship level entertainment. Other than that, no complaints!

Luv this place!

This all inclusive is the best.. I've been to 45 to 50. My room was immaculate.. The beach was wonderful and the staff are great. Second time and not the last. A wonderful quiet piece of heaven. Can't wait to go back.

Good for family

very kid friendly, beach clean, sea not too rough. good buffet with big selection of types of food. staff very friendly. very clean public areas. for the most part, prompt response from the staff for most issues.

Good resort for a quiet get away!

The El Portilla was a nice quiet resort with a beautiful beach, good food and very good service. The resort itself was well maintained and clean and the junior superior suite we stayed in was spacious and clean. The resort was small enough to walk around without difficulty but large enough so you could find quieter areas to sit and relax. The beach was beautiful with a reef just 10 feet out to snorkel around. The reef provided a nide sheltered area for swimming so there was never any problem goi [... read more]ng into the water. I would recommend this resort to those who want to have a quieter vacation scene.

Paradise waits you!

This is our second time to this resort and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves again. A wonderful place to relax and totally unwind. The beach is simply fantastic and is never ending. The water is stunning in its colour and certainly makes you want to go for a swim or just to cool off, not to mention the colourful fish that can be easily seen with or without a mask. I would certainly put the beach and water at the top of my list. Although the lounge, bar areas are equally as impressive. So many plac [... read more]es to relax and take in the picturesque views. We were very pleased with our accommodation in bldg 26, which is new. A little wd40 on the squeaky hinges would be a good idea. Plenty of room and nice size bathroom. We enjoyed all the al la carte restaurants, especially the Brazilian which was very entertaining. The staff were excellent with their service and very friendly. Appreciated the one hour free wifi in the lobby which we used every day.next time we return we would like to stay for ten days. Thanks for a great holiday! Helen and Terry beauchamp

Great Resort

- Beautiful hotel and very well maintained - Always clean - Great for kids, many activities to keep them busy and happy including a water park and a well run mini club. - Great resort for snorkeling right off the beach. Equipment is free to use each day from the water center right on the beach. - Staff were always attentive and friendly, especially when your friendly to them, unlike many arrogant people we saw on this trip. You get the respect you show! These people work hard to make you happy,  [... read more]show a little appreciation by being polite. - Rooms were very nice, we had a large room so not sure what the standard looks like but heard they are nice as well. - Food is what you expect in the buffet, average, it is a buffet after all! If you want high end 6 star meals then go to a high end 6 star resort. - A la carte restaurants we tried were great, especially the Brazilian. The other we tried was the Italian, better than buffet for sure. They also have seafood and gourmet restaurants. Easy to get reservations, was never much of a line up. - Never much of a line up anywhere for anything, staffed well everywhere. Again, if your expecting immediate service all the time then go to a resort that has a personal butler. Might help if you tip once in a while. - Hotel is only 30 minutes from airport and it is a beautiful drive to the hotel with fantastic views. - We did not do any off site excursions. Overall this hotel was great and we would go again. Sorry for all the angry comments but it drives us crazy how many people travel with unrealistic expectations and arrogant attitudes. If your a friendly person who just wants to have some fun and relax then you will enjoy yourself. Stayed March 2015, travelled with family

Great trip during March Break

A truly beautiful place to holiday!!! Food was very good with a wide variety to choose from at all meals. Room was comfortable and clean.....in fact the entire resort is exceptionally clean. Shaded seating areas were more than I have ever seen anywhere. Didn't have any problem getting lounge at beach or pool....but I did it within reason...not hours before. Women in the telephone kiosk were amazingly helpful and supportive of me during a family emergency when I needed to make daily calls to Cana [... read more]da!!!! My only comment that would be on the negative side would be the nightly entertainment..........it needs upgrading.

Nice resort

Spent two weeks early March travelling with six adults. Staff were great. Rooms were average. Resort was bigger then we expected. The buffet and specialty restaurants were amazing except for the sea food which was very disappointing. The grounds and cleanliness of the resort was excellent. Although we were told the snorkelling was good and is the main reason we went, truth is snorkelling is poor with very little to see plus water is usually cloudy. Took three day trips which turned out to be not [... read more]hing more than money grabs. Nice place to vacation, but not for two weeks.

Lovely Resort

The El Portillo is a lovely resort. The professional pictures are accurate. The staff are wonderful to the guests, hard working and very friendly. The food at the buffet restaurant and the 4 a la carte restaurants is very good, above expectations. The beach is great, but not at all good for snorkeling. The only negative was there were not enough beach loungers for all the guests and unless you get up very early to reserve, you are out of luck.

Fantastic resort

Only disappointment was the italian restaurant,service was terrible, they had non-chalant attitude.we waited forty -five minutes between courses.we were served coffee but dessert was never brought,just left