Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: Amazing Resort - A must visit!

My complete and honest review… Everything about the hotel was exceptional. I have been here twice (once in November 2023 and just recently, February 2024). Location: the hotel is located just outside of Las Terrenas, Samana. Super safe, such a beautiful surrounding atmosphere and fantastic first impression. Taxi into town is $10 usd, one way. The hotel bellman will arrange for you. If you wish to walk along the beach into the town of Las Terrenas, it’s about 1.5 hours (but it doesn’t feel [... read more] like it!). The rooms: if you’re looking for the Ritz Carlton, then look elsewhere. What you will find at El Portillo is exceptional cleanliness, very roomy and airy, very comfortable and has everything you need - Fully stocked mini bar, air conditioning, tv and safe. Food: All la cart restaurants and buffet - FANTASTIC! All are modern in decor. You will not go hungry. They accommodate every palate. The hotel grounds: Very well kept. Lush and green. The workers are always making sure everywhere is clean. The hotel staff: One word, FANTASTIC. The beach: exceptionally beautiful!!! You can walk for miles a miles. The staff do their best to clean the beach. There is a bar on the beach, which is really convenient. If you are an early riser, you will see the most beautiful sunrise every morning over the mountains, simply beautiful. Recommended excursions: without a doubt, the all day buggy to Playa Rincón. You will enjoy a delicious lunch at the top of the mountain, El Monte Azul. Where you will find stunning picturesque views. Lastly, our TripCental travel agent, Wendy. We have been booking travel with Wendy for the past 10 years. She is wonderful, attentive and most importantly it’s always a great pleasure to work with Wendy in making our all travel our experiences AMAZING.

Ocean Blue and Sand: Falls a bit short

The grounds and buildings are well kept and the layout of the resort is good. Our room was clean and the beds were comfortable. The only downside, which has a lot to do with my age, was having to step into a large, defunct whirlpool tub to have a shower. We found the staff very courteous and helpful. Especially the front desk and the Customer Service people who went out of their way to assist us even with a couple of things that I am sure were beyond their 'scope of work'. We had trouble wit [... read more]h our safe (our fault) and a burned out bulb in the bathroom. Both issues were rapidly resolved. Unfortunately, the food did not measure up to the reviews although the selection and quality was good the preparation was not. They seem to have a problem keeping things warm and a great deal was very over-cooked and/or sat too long. The other downside was there were not enough beach or pool chairs. you would have to put your towels on by 6 to 6:30 am to get one and they didn't seem come available even later in the day. There are two things I would caution future Customers about. 1) The overly persistent people trying to get you to go to a time share meeting that has a high pressure sales team. 2) The Casino has a game which is illegal in most places that allow Casinos. It involves white balls that are rolled in a bowl that has numbered holes and a table with numbers etc. A fast talking employee gives you the impression that you will win big money. You can't win unless he were to let you, which he won't. Don't walk away from this game, RUN.

Viva Tangerine by Wyndham: Great holiday!

We just returned from the Viva Tangerine and absolutely loved it. We must have been in a renovated room, because I can’t even say the resort or our room was tired or dated. Alfredo checked us in, he was super friendly and helpful, which made checking in a breeze. The entertainment staff are there what seems like all day and night. They play a few games throughout the day, such as darts, dancing lessons and beach volleyball. In the evening, they put on a little show poolside, followed some  [... read more]nights by a full show in the theater. One night a week they do a silent dance party, which was an absolute blast. The food was quite good. A little disappointed in there being no bacon on the breakfast buffet the entire 10 days. The buffet is a little repetitive day to day, but overall, the food was delicious. We went to the Mexican twice, it was absolutely delicious! Try the Sopa Azteca…best tomato soup I’ve eaten in my life. We went to the Italian once, it was just ok. We did not try the Fusion. All the staff bust their butts to get the tables turned around…kudos to the Manager Ruth. The beach is big and beautiful. We had yellow flags 8 of the 10 days. The beach is ideal for kite surfers, and it’s fun to watch them. The other 2 days were red flags. The ocean is great for jumping the waves. If you want to sit and relax in water, you’ll have to use the pool. The pool could have been cleaner. The public washrooms were always clean and well stocked. We never had trouble getting a lounge chair at either the beach or pool. There are plenty of trees to offer shade. We didn’t have any issues with hot water in our rooms. We were in building 22. They only have one bar, but they have 5 or 6 bartenders on at a time…so we never waited more than 5 minutes at the bar. A couple of the days, they opened a small portable bar poolside. Our only comment is that Cabarete is quite far from all excursions. We spent 4 hours (each way!) to do the catamaran excursion, and 2.5 hours (each way) to do the buggy and monkey excursion. Also, they advertise as being 15-20 minutes from the airport, but it’s actually about 45 minutes. All in all, a great resort that we would definitely recommend.

Bahia Principe Escape Bouganville: Amazing Resort

Cette hotel est parfaite,aux niveaux choix nouriture ambiance propreter. Les employer ont toujours un sourire et pret a servir. Pour les amateurs de plage ce ne serait peut etre pas le choix idéal. Mais pour le reste excellent!

Bahia Principe Explore Legend: Beautiful Resort

Our room was huge spotless and located perfectly. The entire resort so clean. Workers were very friendly The food was plentiful and so good.We traveled with our 10 year old and she absolutely loved. Definitely a 5 star family resort

Marien Puerto Plata Hotel: Lousy job by the activity staff

Activity staff did a poor job of organizing beach activities like volleyball, bocce & horse shoes. Even though these activities were listed on the resort entertainment program list, the staff did not try to get hotel guests involved. The snack bar was ok, the a la carte restaurants pretty good while the buffet options not that great. Also lacking in fruit like pineapple, mango & watermelon.

VH Gran Ventana Beach Resort: Amazing resort

This is our fourth time at this resort and we will definitely be back. The staff are very warm and always happy to help. Grounds are kept very clean. Food is ok but need more variety. Entertainment is lacking . Beach is beautiful.

Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada: Spotlessly clean and friendly resort!

The resort was exceptionally clean everywhere. Staff including the housekeepers, front desk , bar staff, animation staff etc. were sincerely friendly . Lots of activity all week at the.pool and beach. We found the food to be very good with enough variety . Lovely beach for walking. Great waves for playing in the water. We would definitely return to this resort when in Puerto Plata.

VH Gran Ventana Beach Resort: Great Resort!

Hotel grounds & public areas are welcoming. Bathroom in main lobby is problematic as it seems to get clogged daily. Rooms are in serious need of renovations. For the most part, food was excellent at buffet & à la carte restaurants. Soups are delicious! Service at à la carte restaurants are either excruciating slow or super fast. At one restaurant, we waited over an hour to receive the main course while at another restaurant, the appetizers, soup, salad etc all came at the same tim [... read more]e quickly followed by the main course. Staff is very friendly & seem to really enjoy what they do. Lots of events at resort show their pride in their hotel. They also have a special supper for returning guests. Overall, an amazing resort!

Viva Heavens by Wyndham: Liked it

Resort is clean comfortable it was our 3rd time there in a year we know all the staff they make us feel welcome and go the extra mile for us, there is always ways to improve but that goes for any resort. We will go back

Dreams Macao Beach Punta Cana: Fantastic resort

First off would like to thank Natasha Spencer from tripcentral.ca for all the pertinent information and guidance she offered for this trip, already mentioned to her that she will be my travel agent for a long time. I have already submitted a very descriptive review on this property with all relevant employee's from the resort that made our staycation so memorable. Definitely a 5 star resort with an exceptional talented staff on site. Thank you J

Grand Bavaro Princess: Great Resort!

Very clean grounds, great landscaping, large resort with a trolley that circles the resort for rides to and from your room, beach, restaurant s etc. Rooms are clean and spacious with nice balconies. staff at the buffet were polite and attentive,

VH Gran Ventana Beach Resort: A lovely compact resort

Hotel is nicely appointed with clean grounds and public areas. Rooms are very well maintained and housekeeping is excellent! Wifi is terrible and very unreliable but we managed. Food is great especially at a la carte restaurants A few extra chairs and seating areas for evening entertainment and relaxing would be nice as it was a scramble but I would still recommend

Riu Republica: Sub Par experience

The hotel of Riu Republica was generally satisfactory in most concerns a guest may have. Service in areas lacked and general maintenance of the resort was poorly maintained in spots. The staff was generally positive depending on which area or activity you we’re partaking in. Drinks also generally inconsistent on how strong or light they would be served.

Iberostar Selection Bavaro Suites: Excellent accommodation and stay

Lovely hotel amenities- pool and beach beautiful and well kept- buffet food very good - we were 2 couples but saw many multi generational groups and we all were well fed and little to no delays- very limited seating at the specialty ‘a La carte’ restaurants- hotel very clean - nice extras of water bottles and flip flops - 24hr amazing coffee bar included- desserts were delicious- good trip ! Oh and if you like entertainment there were nightly offerings by talented enthusiastic staff.

Playabachata Hotel: Good Resort

The resort was very clean and the food was good. The hotel staff were very friendly and the entertainment was great! Beaches were great. Resort included free paddle boarding and kayaking which was fun. The negative was the rooms were outdated . Little hot water in some of the rooms and one room had a water leak or two from the ceiling. Never enough beach chairs which is common to all resorts! Had to go to beach before 7:00 am and gather your chairs before everyone else threw their towels  [... read more]on them.

Cofresi Palm Beach and Spa Resort: Can't review - got switched to the sub par Casa Marina with zero notice

We didn't get to stay at the Cofresi resort that we'd been making plans around for 8 months. Got switched with NO notice to Casa Marina which was a HUGE disappointment. Nothing but issues and poor rooms, drinks, food.

Senator Puerto Plata Hotel: Great Resort

Hotel was great grounds was well taken care of. Staff was friendly and accommodating. For the al a Carte options a Dominican Republic restaurant would have been.nice and have theme nights at the buffet Had a difficult time getting beach chairs not enough for the amount of people at the resort. Chairs was being saved by towels that was not moved for hours. This is unfair to the others

Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada: Gorgeous Resort

We have been returning to this resort twice a year for the last 5-6 years. Wonderful staff, great food, enjoyable entertainment and amazing beach! Lisbeth, Manager of Public Relations took care of our every need. We will, however, make sure we book our December vacation early enough so we can get our usual Oceanfront Jr Suite as we prefer the larger size rooms and view directly over the beach to the ocean. This past stay was a Premium Near the Beach room, a little smaller and slightly near the b [... read more]each. All in all a wonderful 15 days were had by us.

Catalonia Bavaro Resort: Nice Resort--glad we went!

We travelled with another couple and had a bit of difficulty at the beginning with rooms that had poorly functioning air-conditioning and ceiling fans. The front desk staff was quick to resolve these issues by moving us to other rooms. There were several other maintenance problems which were also resolved quickly. In keeping with these difficulties, it should be noted that some parts of the resort need to be upgraded and have become 'well-used'. Overall, the resort grounds and main buildings are [... read more] extremely well-maintained. We enjoyed the pool and the beach area and although (as noted by other reviewers) it was necessary to 'save' lounges quite early in the morning (before 8:00am--so save your beach towels at the end of the day!) we were able to get 'choice' spots under cabanas. It is unfortunate that many people chose to save spots and then left them vacant for much of the day---not sure how to rectify this though. We were quite pleased with the variety and presentation at the 2 buffets and the waitstaff was excellent! However, 3 of the 4 a-la-cartes were somewhat disappointing in terms of choice and food quality. We were really pleased with Mikado restaurant--both the food quality and service. Also, we found the baristas (great specialty coffee shop!!), bartenders and servers to be extremely friendly and attentive. Our biggest disappointment with this trip was with the service provided by Nexus Tours (contracted by Trip Central) who were responsible for our transportation to and from the airport. We found the process to be unnecessarily complicated and time-consuming. For example, when we arrived, we had difficulty finding the representative and then we were taken to the wrong bus. For the return trip to the airport, Nexus's on-site representative could not be found the day before departure to confirm a pick-up time. On the morning of our departure, we found the representative who at the time was dealing with someone about a refund for a missed excursion. After waiting some time, we asked if he could simply give the people waiting (there was a line-up by this point) the time our bus to the airport was leaving. He rudely told us 'No' that we would have to wait until he was done with the refund--which turned out to take in excess of 1 hour. A simple posted announcement or just providing the information we required would have minimized stress at the end of an otherwise pleasant vacation.