Enjoyed our stay but will not return

We just spent a week at the Luxury Gran Bahia in Runaway Bay. This is a beautiful resort and we were fortunate to have a room overlooking the sea. We had no problem booking our a la carte restaurants and enjoyed most of them. The Brazilian BBQ and the Tepanyaki were our favourites. The entertainment was good for the most part with the Michael Jackson show being the one to see if you're not into shows every night. We always make the best of our vacations and this was no different. We enjoyed  [... read more]a relaxing week away but we will not return to this resort. The majority of staff were not personable, we never saw our butler after check-in even when we called for service and check-in and check-out is terribly unorganized. Service was lacking unless you were willing to tip extra for each and everything. We were told repeatedly, it's all about the pocket. We always tip our room attendants, the restaurant staff, the mini bar, and the beach bar staff but it never seemed enough. I will say, however that Maureen from the beach was amazing. For anyone thinking about joining the Privilege Club, Google the reviews and then run in the opposite direction. We almost got caught, but took time to run the numbers and realized it's not a deal.

Great vacation

Reception desk when we first arrived was not smooth. They did not have any arm bands and we had to wait. A lot of people were very angry. When we finally got our room it was beautiful. Room service was good. The people the filled the bar fridge was good. Maid service could use a lot of help. No special touches like towel art. It was our 30th anniversary and nothing at all. We heard other people at the pool talking about having rose petals balloons banners we had nothing. Very disappointed. Food  [... read more]was good but a lot of cold food that should be hot. The bar ran out of ice a lot. The sushi beside the pool was amazing. The pools were beautiful the grounds were beautiful beach was very small. They work very hard at keeping the pool clean and the beaches clean.

Great, but with flaws

The resort is beautiful, clean and well kept. The beach is great for small children, but not so much for adults who like to actually swim, as there is really no water above waist height, and the nude beach, which does have deeper water, is very rocky. The food was good, and all but one al a carte were excellent with one exception when we waited over 1 1/4 hours for mediocre food. Entertainment is low-key - not the big shows you get at some resorts. We stayed on the "luxury side" and found th [... read more]e adult pool on the other side more quiet and less crowded. One thing we didn't like was how big the resort was and they way it was laid out - the buildings were very confusing to navigate, and because the resort was so big, and spread out so far along the beach, there was a lot of walking to get anywhere and it was very easy to get lost if you wanted to get to the lobby or the shops. We have stayed at Bahai Ambar, and Esmarelda in the DR and they were way better. The problems meant you didn't get a 5 pus star experience for a 5 star plus price. There were some big problems. We were on the 7th floor and the elevators broke down EVERY DAY. One day there was no water, and the toilets did not flush as a result. Not pretty. The restaurant by the water on the luxury side never had what it needed - always something missing at the table (salt or cups or spoons or napkins) and they were regularly out of items at the buffet - plates, bowls, etc. and service was very disorganized. One person brought water, another coffee, another something else, and they never "got it together". You might get coffee but no water, or wait 20 minutes for coffee and then have 2 people bring it. Really - let me pour it myself and i would have been much happier. Also the bar service was poor - one small pool bar and you had to line up with a lot of noisy people just to get a pop or juice - we don't drink - and it was a long wait while special mixed drinks were prepared for groups. The main dining room Jazmin was great without any of the other problems.

A not so great vacation

Booking through trip central started off easy but when I never received my travel documents that was the issue. The travel agent was not helpful and kept sending me documents I could no open. After asking him to send the documents to another email, the email was not received and he told me that he didn't know what else to do. No offence but that's your job. I had to figure out my booking numbers and such on my own to get my travel documents. Would not use trip central again. As for the vacati [... read more]on itself. Transfer to the hotel was good and efficient. We arrived around 3:30 and were told our room wasn't ready. Check in was at 3pm. So staff were left scrambling to find something to do with us as the rest of the bus load of people. We were taken to a buffet on the Grand side with a cart. The butler told us to ask a security guard to call the front desk to have them bring the cart back to get us. Once finished our lunch we search high and low for a security guard but no luck. We ended up walking 20 minutes (without knowing where to go) back to the luxury lobby in our clothes and backpacks. Once we got to our room, we had a nice clean room with a terrific view. The fridges are stocked with water,pop and beer. However house keeping is a mess. We did have our sign on our door saying not to clean on the second day. We thought there was no need since we got to our room so late. But that's when the problems started. The third day house keeping didn't come. The fourth day they came at 530pm and had no towels to give us. On the 5th day we finally got towels- this is the 5th day of vacation! We had used beach towels in lieu of bath towels because we never got any! But on the last day house keeping was so very keen to get us out and showed up at 8:30 to ask us to leave. No thanks!!! Other problems include false advertising. My boyfriend is into jet skiing and their website advertised them. We got different stories from the staff about why they didn't have them, but none the less they didn't have any. Also, money talks here. Don't count on getting a drink easy if you don't have a stack of cash in your hand. At this hotel you pay to get service which I find awful. I tip for good service and I didn't feel the service was great here. We booked an excursion through the hotel. It was easy to book but the issue lies with the transportation. We booked at ATV tour at YAMAN camp. We took a bus with 6 other people from different hotels and these other individuals were staying the whole day there, we were only doing one tour. Once our tour was done we were told we had to wait nearly 3 hours for a ride back. Really?? We weren't told this and we didn't want to waste a whole day. YAMAN found an alternative arrangement for us which was super kind and helpful. The food at this resort is good. We actually preferred the buffets over the a la cartes. We did three a la cartes. Our favourite was Picasso. Best service and food. At Takara the starters were great but we ended up waiting over an hour later until getting our mains. Other couples were leaving before getting their dinners. The last a la carte was Las Olas. Food was good here but we never got our beers after repeatedly asking. The beach is small but decent. Don't expect to swim. The issues are with the cabanas. You have to wake up by 6am to reserve one (no joke). We also watched people pay staff to reserve them and watched cabanas go unused while being reserved. I felt bad watching guests walk around endlessly looking for a spot while there were reserved unused cabanas. Also guests from the Grand side come over and use the Luxury side cabanas. The best part of the trip was a catamaran with Chukka tours. Snorkelling, duns river, dinner and a party ride back. We really enjoyed this!

Ok resort

Luxury Bahia Principe Runaway Bay Very big resort and so not suited for everybody. Not the greatest beaches and the best part of the beach was 10 min walk from the luxury portion of the hotel. Cleaning of rooms was sporadic and had to ask for towels almost everyday. Food was tasty but no variety. The A la carte restaurants are not really a la carte. You could choose your main meal but the appetizers and desserts were all buffet. The Grand portion of the hotel was old and stinky. Ran out of  [... read more]ice on a daily basis. Hotel is located 1 h 15 min from airport and not 15-20 minutes as indicated in the brochure. Bar in the luxury side closed at 11 and had to take a golf cart to the Grand side if you wanted to go to the karaoke bar or disco. Didn't know or find about the karaoke or disco until last night. Did not replenish room fridge on daily basis as indicated. Very nice pools. Very friendly staff. Very large rooms. Amazing view from every room on the luxury side. Very clean hotel. Entertainment was ok. Would recommend anyways because the issues with the hotel were minor.

Great resort

The property is very clean and we'll kept. No complaints with our oceanfront room. The beach bar was a nice touch but maybe could be open a bit later. Closed at 6:00 and a few days was still very crowded leaving everyone heading to the lobby bar. Over all this place is worth checking out.

Mixed Feelings

This resort has beautiful grounds, nice layout and nice rooms. The beach was disappointing and there is no escaping the constant noise, even in the room, it echoes through. For the most part, awesome staff. A little disappointed overall based on experienced with other Bahia properties.

Great time

Beautiful rooms, beach, water was great. Luxury side lobby was very clean Lots of variety at buffets but food lukewarm to warm Exceptionally friendly staff, seemed sincere Internet was free and worked quite well

Fabulous place

We arrived on Saturday Jan 28th to the Luxury Bahia Principe at 1:30pm, 1st impression the resort lobby was beautiful and we were welcomed with a drink. We then proceeded to check in and was told that our room was not yet ready and we could go and have lunch and then return to front desk for the room key. Upon our return from lunch about an hour later we went back to the front desk and again was told our room was not ready and to check back in 15 mins. We sat in the lobby and waited some more [... read more]. Multiple bus loads of people arrived at the resort and we watched as they were escorted to their rooms. Again I went to the front desk and inquired about our room, was told they were checking on it. After 4 hours of sitting and waiting my husband got mad and went to the front desk and expressed his frustrations with the service of checking in. We finally got to our room about 5:30pm. This is the only complaint that we have from the resort. The rest of our vacation was fantastic!! Food was good, accommodation's were beautiful and the dining staff were amazing, helpful and friendly. Have never seen a resort so clean and well maintained as this one!! Would definitely go back again.

Amazing Vacation

We had a wonderful time from the moment we got through customs and on the bus the people were so friendly and welcoming. The Hotel was superb, the food was amazing, the service from the hotel staff exceptional! The pools and beach were wonderful. We went to climb Dunns River on the Catamaran tour WOW! Highly suggest this trip. Best Vacation ever! We will go back again for sure.

Honest review

We just got home from 8 days here. We can honestly say we have nothing but great things to say about our stay. Our room was great, the food was fantastic, the pool and beach were wonderful. And of course the staff here were the greatest! The only thing that could use some work is the way the ALA CARTE dinners are booked. We spoke with several people who were not able to book any. We were able to get 3 at a decent time 6:30, all the rest were 9-930. We didn't mind because the buffet was great, [... read more] but I know for some people this is a problem. We will definitely be returning here in the future, and would recommend it to anyone. We usually prefer a smaller resort but it had everything we needed.

We will return next year to the Luxury Bahia Príncipe Runaway Bay, Jamaica.

This is by far a luxury resort. Our room had everything we could hope for. We had no issues with anything at this resort. The food was better than any other resort we have been to. There is such a variety of food- something for everyone. People go out of their way to make sure you are happy. The entire place is clean and tidy- inside and outside. It looks exactly like the photos you see on the Internet. I like the fact that they speak English and any employee will stop and visit with you. Next y [... read more]ear we will be staying for 2 weeks. This is number 1 on my list of places to return to.

Great facility - Great people

The grounds are very clean - rooms on the lux side are very clean; lots of space. Bar staff very friendly. Beach on Lux side nice and quiet but beach on Grand side is natural and much larger. Food was great - Japanese restaurant not the best but all others were great. Lux side buffet is awesome for breakfast and the lunch buffet by the pool is huge! Would definitely go back.

Luxury Bahia Principe Needs Improvements

Rooms need attention ex. loud AC, leak from above bathroom, outdated showers, lack of light in the bathroom. (Block 24) They were cleaned well daily, some items missing but brought promptly when asked. Natural pillows not available even though shown in their pillow menu. Grounds are beautifully maintained. Polls are very nice. Towels always available. Water in the pools was to cold. The speakers are extremely loud. Stuff is very good and courteous also they are overworked and underplayed. t [... read more]his is from observation, nobody complained. The food is very good but repetitive and cold at times, flies. The daily jerk pork or chicken BBQ is the best ever. Bars are very good but need more stuff. The worst experience was with making restaurant reservation. Twice a day for 7 days to get the reservation even though we stared the reservation the same day we arrived. This time we should spent on the beach not at the reservation desk. We have had a buffet 3 times a day. The evening should be at the restaurant without running back a forth to the buffet. The beach is very nice and clean. Although we liked the resort I would not go back. The restaurant ordeal is the deal breaker.

Bahia Principe Runaway BAy

This resort was by far the best that we have been to in years. The staff were friendly & courteous at all times, from the bus driver to the server on the beach. The resort was beautiful, no issues at all. Food & drink were plentiful. A must to vacation at by all. This resort was recommended by our travel agent Laura S. Well done & thanks

Lack Of Integrity of the Front Desk Management Representatives! and Air Canada Representative

Beautiful rooms, However loud barking dogs from locals living beside hotel at building 27 we did not sleep for 4 nights, ask to change rooms the management said it was all book up the very next day we found some people checking out so we immediatly went to the lobby and insisted we were given that room. The food was very good Service was good Broken elevators in 1 year old building Showers cloging up for days in a 1 year old building

Looks nice but not

The hotel is a nice looking resort and the rooms are very nice . It ends there. The beach area is small and broken up, not what the pictures show. The hotel is also confusing to get around inside because of the split levels. Less than year old and some of the elevaters won't work properly and get stuck. Service to repair clogged shower drains and other problems is pathetic. 4 days to get the job done. Dogs barking day and night from the neighborhood, along with stinking smoke. Staff that  [... read more]is not too interested in assisting wih a new room request, telling us that nothing is available for a week when rooms are being left by quests who are going home the next day. The food was ok but not great. 2 of 6 restaurants where good. Homeless cats left on the grounds begging for food and getting poolside chairs and towels dirty. ON the positive side the night entertainment was excellent. Most of the staff were very friendly. All this for only 7000$

Relaxing Trip

The room was a very good size and very clean. Although the resort is huge with a lot of people, there are different areas you can go if you don't want to socialize. The grounds, pool and beach area very clean. This is our second time at this hotel, I must say the service was much better the first time, too bad this is a very niece hotel. Enjoyed the shows very much. My husband and I enjoyed the Jamaican night at the Restaurant very much. The turn off for me was the cold food at the bu [... read more]ffet, the warmers are not working. We had a reservation at the Italian Restaurant, the food and service was great. The bar service on beach great not so much in the lobby. If you focus on the little thinks that drives you crazy you miss out on having a relaxing and enjoyable time.

Jem in Jamaica!

We loved this resort from the moment we got there. We were so well taken care of and always asked if everything was ok! Friendly, caring staff always greeting us with smiles! Grounds were beautiful, life guards were awesome and bar staff made sure you had a drink on the go! We would recommend going to Dunns River Falls Tour...best Monday I've ever had!

New Years at Luxury Bahia Principe Runaway Bay

Stayed at the Luxury Bahia Principe Runaway Bay from December 26th, 2016 - January 2nd, 2017. Check-In & Porter Services - No issues, friendly, proficient and up to our room within minutes. Room - As expected, spacious, cleaned early and daily, mini-bar stocked daily, no shortage on bottled water, towels replenished twice a day...great job. Property - Gorgeous. The landscaping staff is constantly manicuring the property. The beaches were beautiful, clean and enjoyable to walk. Ba [... read more]r - The bar service was good, we never waited long for a drink however we are active tippers and became familiar with the bar staff. While the service was good we have two complaints regarding the bar service. One, the Luxury Bahia promotes that they have premium "top shelf" products. Finlandia, Absolute, Bombay and Smirnoff are not "top shelf" premium brands. It was nice to have access to specialty liqueurs for special coffees. Two, you cannot locate a single fresh lemon or lime on the resort. The majority of the time drinks were not garnished which you should expect at a self claimed "5-STAR" property. If you want lemon or lime for your drinks, do yourself a favor and find them outside of the resort or ask someone to purchase them for you (like we did with one of the bartenders.) Tip for the F&B Manager: If you can offer citrus on the buffets with the fruit, certainly you can source lemons and limes for the bar. This should be a standard at a "5-STAR" property. Dinner Reservations -I was skeptical from reading other reviews how securing a la carte dinners would go. We arrived late in the day Monday so we went to secure our a la carte meals first thing Tuesday morning. The day that we were most interested in was for New Years Eve. There was no line up so we were able to sit down quickly however we were told instantly that there were no restaurants available and that the new schedule was released on Friday. When I asked if I had to wait until Friday to book for NYE we were told that we would have to book with another group for the NYE dinner and showed us where to do that. I was frustrated with the lack of a la carte availability however then that suddenly changed. Ten minutes later we had booked into 4 restaurants, including the one I had asked for originally. A $5.00 tip actually gained us a smile, this after the fact. We were told to come back on Friday to book for Sunday evening, which is what we did. We discovered that NYE was going to take place at the Jasmin, the Luxury Bahia Adults-Only Buffet restaurant. We had our choice of times and booked for 9:00 pm. We asked multiple times over the course of the week what the menu would be for NYE and no one could tell us anything, other than it was Buffet and had a nice table set up. I will elaborate more on this later. Restaurants - We ate at the Italian, Brazilian, and the Don Pablo a la carte restaurants. The Italian was mediocre at best, the Brazilian was neat experience, the Don Pablo was the best of the three. We enjoyed the Chateaubriand. We ate Breakfast at the Jasmine everyday. The food for breakfast does not change. The fruit is not ripe and lacked flavor. My bf enjoyed the freshly made omelettes while I stuck mostly with the hard boiled eggs. The coffee, mimosas and service was very good. We ate Lunch every day at the Beach Restaurant where they were smoking the Jerk Chicken. The rest of the meal was buffet and did not change at all. We only ate the Jerk and salad here. The service was good however you often have to wait for the chicken to be ready. We sat and waited over an hour one day to have it, not for a lack of chicken on the smoker, rather the fact that they were holding it back. Pre-cooked chicken doesn't take another hour to smoke up to be done. Tipping to get chicken shouldn't be an expectation either. Thankfully the taste makes up for the annoyance of the situation. Tip for the Hotel F&B Manager: If you know that the Jerk has a high demand, prepare for it to rank a higher customer satisfaction score. New Years Eve - Our NYE reservation was hosted our of the Adults-Only Buffet, the Jasmine. Everyone was rushed in and then rushed out. The food did not differ much from what was offered the rest of the week with the exception of dried out lobster tail and perhaps some meat. My NYE dinner consisted of the same salad I ate all week, dried out lobster tail and deep fried mozzarella sticks. The desserts were the same, the drinks were the same, there was nothing special about this meal. Following dinner there was supposed to be a NYE gala out on the beach however rain took over and there was no communication on how plans for the evening had been altered. The lobby bar closed at 11:00 pm per their normal hours. If there was a "plan B" to account for weather this was never communicated. As a result, the rest of our evening was spent in our room. We were expected to dress up for a buffet dinner, which took less than an hour, and then spent the remainder without a plan. This was a tremendous disappointment considering the increased costs with being there for the holiday. Tip of the Hotel F&B Manager: It's NYE, let your guests eat where they want to. Post the menu's so that your guests know what to expect and can make alternative plans if what is being offered doesn't appeal to the over paying customer. Bulter Service - What is this? Does this come standard if you are a guest staying on the Luxury side or as a guest are you paying additional fees for this service (outside of tipping). This was never introduced to us. Gym - The gym is dated however it is functional and offers a selection of equipment, free weights and cardio machines. We didn't spend a lot of time here as it is hot and lacking air circulation (and quite frankly, we were on vacation). In conclusion, our vacation was what we made of it. We enjoyed the sun while we could, the drinks were ok, the food was ok, the staff was amazing, we enjoyed our time together. Would we return? No. There are far too many other properties to explore and for the money spent, the value was not there. We would rate this property a 4 Star at best.