Bahia Principe Explore La Romana: Formal Complaint: Bahia Principe la Romana

We are writing a formal complaint to you regarding a recent stay at the Grand Bahia Principe La Romana resort. We began with a very delayed flight from Toronto Pearson Airport to Santo Domingo. After another lengthy delay waiting on the shuttle bus, we finally made it to the resort. Check in was smooth and we got to our room quite quickly without any trouble. Being greeted by a non-functioning and infested room though, was unacceptable, given the pricey $1600 we each paid for the trip. Upo [... read more]n stepping into the room and looking around, things were clean and in order, but we did notice the drinks in the fridge were warm, and the room did not feel as though the air conditioning was on the highest level which we ensured it was. Hoping the air would continue to cool, we attempted to use our safe to lock our personal items prior to leaving the room. There were no instructions on or in the safe, and the knob on the door of it was almost broken. We left it for the night, deciding to ask someone to help us in the morning with it. An Air Transat rep gave instructions the next day for the use of it, which worked but the safe was still difficult to use due to the door knob being broken. Over the week we noticed there to be a lot of mosquitoes in the suite, likely due to the humidity from the faulty air conditioner. We did not think it was abnormal until we talked to our friends a few days in to our stay. They were on the other side of the resort, and they claimed to have no bites and no mosquitoes in their functioning rooms. We called the concierge desk on day 3 regarding the warm drinks in the fridge. We reached an employee who told us they would send someone to check out the fridge right away. No one showed up to our suite. We called later that night and the next day about it, no answer. No one showed to fix it during the week. Day 4 we were in bed at a reasonable time, just after 11pm. Our neighboring guests were loud, obnoxious and screaming very very loudly. This went on for approximately 45 minutes to an hour. We called the concierge desk but no one answered. This went off and on the rest of the night. Day 5, we noticed while using the bathroom that a few drops of water were dripping from the ceiling above the toilet. Thinking it was from the condensation from using the shower, we ignored it. This continued to day 6 even without any condensation from the shower being used. Knowing the lack of customer service we got from our previous complaints, we decided against making another complaint and left it alone as there was only one day left. The final issue came on the last morning, day 7. Waking up around 9:30am, I walked toward the front hallway of the suite to use the bathroom. Just as I reached where the AC vent was located, I slipped in a massive puddle of water, thankfully only getting a minor bruise to my knee. The hallway floor had flooded and water had been leaking through the ceiling where the AC was located, down the walls and creating a large puddle across the hallway. We were absolutely appalled at how this could happen and immediately placed a towel over the area to walk through and went up to the concierge desk in person to get an explanation and to clean up the room as we only had a few hours before check out. At about 10am, we went to the desk and was greeted by a woman who, once we explained everything that we had been through during our stay, showed very little empathy towards our situation. I showed her a video of the damaged suite and she told us she would send a manager right away to our room. She proceeded to tell us because of the infestation in the room she wanted us out of it for at least 2 hours to “fumigate”. Reminding her it was our final day here, we told her we could not do that as we needed to check out by 12pm. We asked for a later check out to accommodate us as it seemed to be the least she could do considering the mess we had been dealing with. She denied our request, telling us that she needed to ensure the room was ready for the next guests, making us appear insignificant to her. Frustrated, we left the front desk and returned to our room to find no manager there let alone any one to check the leak we had showed her on the video. Finally, a cleaning lady knocked on our door and was quite alarmed at the water pooled on the floor. She replaced two towels down, and left. We proceeded to pack our things, and waited until 12pm to leave and check out. In those few hour between us filing the complaint and her telling us a manager would be there, not a single other employee showed up to our room. We find this an unacceptable way to treat your guests who pay for a 5 star resort. The accommodations we had were horrendous compared to what we were expecting from a resort of this level and this will be the last time we stay at a Grand Bahia resort, and use Air Transat services, including trip advisor. We would like a response, an explanation and a solution to these issues in a timely manner. This was completely unacceptable, and we will not refrain from sharing this experience with other potential guests to ensure people know exactly what to expect from a resort that is claimed to be 5-star like this. As mentioned above, we do have a video of the pool of water and leakage from the final day of our stay, which we will happily show you. We look forward to your response.

Bahia Principe Escape Bouganville: Great resort

This resort is the best . the food is excellent the property is immaculate very clean grounds and the rooms were incredible the one thing that could have been a little better are the drinks or i should say bartenders they need to be trained on how to make good drinks the beach also was mediocre

Bahia Principe Escape Bouganville: An Awesome Time!

We had a blast, the resort staff are amazing and the service was superior, exceptional! This resort surpassed our expectations and we are glad we booked with Trip Central "Shauna Langille", which provided us with expert advise and great service. The resort, from dinning, bar services to the pools and beach are a remarkable five star! We would like to thank, Kenai, Gerroberto, Tsunami, Edy and Carlos and all of the staff for going above and beyond! The staff in house keeping, our chamber maid en [... read more]sured our room was prepared daily to very professional and first-rate standard. We never had an issue finding chairs at either pools or the beach. This alone is a note worth mentioning! We really don't know where to begin to say thanks, but we will say see you again soon! thank you

Bahia Principe Escape Bouganville: 1st vacation in 2 years

The Resort was Awesome - So Beautiful and Clean. The beach wasnt what I expected - rocky and it dropped off quickly. The only time I was in the water at the beach was when I took a step and in I fell hurting my elbow. The restaurants were Great but a lot of the food not only there but on the Buffet wasn't hot. The Bars kept running out of products that we liked along with clamato juice and it wasn't replace until the next day. The Staff was amazine and friendly. We enjoy having the Cat visit [... read more] us during our stay. Cheers

Bahia Principe Explore La Romana: Good family vacation

Hotel and food were great. Buffet always had plenty of selection. Staff at reception were always helpful. Beach was clean but had to walk about 10 minutes down the coast to get to nice clear water -- for this reason only we would not return.

Dreams Dominicus La Romana: It is a DREAM

This was the perfect resort. Food was incredible in taste, presentation and variety. The grounds were impeccable The room clean and big and beautiful. The beach was nice - chairs close together Ppl friendly

Whala Bayahibe: You get what you pay for

Grounds very well taken care of Public washroom always kept clean Rooms are average, kept clean Disappointed in the following no coffee makers in the rooms so you have to wait till the restaurant opens at 7:30 to get coffee and by that time there is a line up. Beach towels you had to put a deposit of $10 US Safe $20 US, according to the contract they hand you regarding the safe you get your deposit back at the end of the term. Nope they refused to give us the $20 back, we were told we  [... read more]deposited our stuff into the safe. Only 1-restaurant that is included 2 other restaurants on the resort but you have to pay for them Bar opens at 10 and closes at 11 and after 11 you have to pay for drinks Entertainment started around 8:40pm and nothing to do until then Oh and you can take the shuttle to the PUBLIC beach and once you are there you are bugged to purchase things from locals, plus you have to pay for a chair, and all your alcohol Chairs at the resort, you had to be up at 4am to reserve a chair by the pool, needless to say we never had a chair. I'm there for vacation not to get up early Locals can pay to come into the resort for the day this includes buffet and pool access I would not recommend this hotel to a family as there is nothing for the kids to do, so if you are ok entertaining them all day then this is your resort. Bar staff needs some work with friendliness took a lot to get them to smile For a last minute booking and needing a cheap get away this was perfect we made the best out of it, but I would not go back

Sunscape Dominicus La Romana: Beautiful resort

Beautiful place! Only went to one A la carte restaurant- Japanese. Excellent! Plenty of shops/boutiques on the resort for whatever you will need; souvenirs, clothes, liquor, jewelry, snacks...etc. Good size resort with good walking distances everywhere. Lots of birds, turkeys, ducks and a peacock on the grounds. A lot of European tourist. Our room was very spacious with closets and drawers. Did not like the bathroom area, glass doors for toilet and shower. No hooks to hang anything in the s [... read more]hower: towels, facecloths etc, (bring your own facecloths). Beach is nice but too crowded. You need to get up quite early every morning to reserve your chairs on the beach. Be sure to put an old t-shirt or old beach towels to reserve your chairs. We started using our resort towels and twice, someone stole a resort towel on 2 different days. Never had this happen to us before. I don't recommend leaving those resort towels unattended. We were not impressed! Security guards on beach don't seem to notice these people. You will pay 20$US if you do not return your towel card at checkout.

Bahia Principe Escape Bouganville: Bouganville=great time!

Lets start with Transat: We were here April 13-20th. Booked for a 6:30am flight that was changed within weeks to 3:35 pm flight. By the time we were in our room, it was 10:45pm. Lost the entire day. On the Departure date that was originally early and changed to late flight (8:40pm), we requested a late check out that came with a 25 (2 hours) or 35 (3 hours) usa charge. Denied. Hotel was full. So, we had to check out by 12 pm. Sat around until after 4pm. Delay at the airport (Santo Do [... read more]mingo). By the time we got home, it was 5am Sunday Morning. We lost the first day and the last day thanks to Transat selling a 6:30am flight with early leave, weeks after booking. I can understand if it was closer to the date, problems with the flight etc. But weeks after booking in November for an April flight? Bogus. The company Transat used for the airport transfers, demanded $1.00 per bag being put on the bus. And I mean, demanded. You were not allowed to put the bag on yourself, and he wouldn't put it on, until you gave him $1.00 per bag. The did sell beer, $4.00 usa/can on the bus going to the resort. Because of this, I will NEVER book with Transat again. Even TripCentral couldn't help us because Transat wouldn't work with them either. Hotel: Had some issues with hot water for 2 days but afterwards, fixed and no other issues. We had a great time at the resort. Beautiful, clean, the best animation team we have seen. Stand out staff we met: Felix-Animation team was a really great person. Friendly and genuine. Jose-Server at the morning buffet-friendly. Took care of us. Elvin-Server at the morning buffet and don Pablo. Friendly. Took care of us. Room-We had 53006. Main floor, middle of outside buildings. Absolutely loved this location. It was pretty much central to everything. Very quiet even being on the main floor. Within walking distance to everything. No need for trams. Food-As expected. This is our 3rd Bahia vacation. No issues with the food. Beach-As expected. Very clean but water not clear but not an issue, again, expected per reviews. Pools-There are 2. Beach and quiet. Both nice. Now, lets talk saving spots at the beach, and pools. Despite warnings of no saving loungers, its done. So, if you want a covered spot, wake up early. Excursions-We booked Sanoa day trip through Coming2 . Disappointed with what we were told and what actually happened. Was supposed to be a catamaran both ways. Turned out speed boat to the island. Catamaran on the way back. Because of this, no drinks on the way to the island. On the trip home, only hard liquor, 7up, pepsi and water. No Beer. They saved a lot of money off of us. No one drank the hard liquor. The worse part was driving through the city during high traffic just so we could make a stop at a tourist trap that was not on the agenda. For the price, 75.00 usa each, I wouldn't do it again nor recommend it. We wasted an entire day basically sitting around. The Beach was red flagged and the water cold. The area that was supposed to be a natural hot springs was not even warm. Privilege club: I talked with members who were happy they purchased however, after 2 hours of listening to them talk, taking us on a walk to see a room that looked exactly like the room we paid for, the price was high and came with 18% interest. Within 5 minutes, the price came down and the interest was 0%. And the couple we spoke with had the original price with 0%. So, if this interests you, make sure you tell them what you want because to save the sale, they will give you what you want. We did get a 25 min massage each out of the 2 hours. Spa: We used the free 25 mins massage and both enjoyed it. Very relaxing. I recommend this service. All in all, we had a great time. The Bahia line delivers on service, cleanliness and everything you would expect. No complaints about the hotel. This hotel is on our list of possibly returning and I highly recommend it. Transat however, I am not a fan. When we book a flight based on the price and departure and arrival times, we expect to get that within reason. Transat did not deliver what they sold in my opinion.

Sunscape Dominicus La Romana: Beautiful Beach & Amazing Staff

Hotel grounds are well kept. Workers always making sure the grounds are maintained. Some rooms are more updated than others. But house keepers work hard and rooms are cleaned well. Beds are so comfy. We stayed in building 19. Japanese Restaurant so good and fun. Pizza Restaurant was simple but pizza was really good. Drinks are strong. Coffee bar amazing! Get the VIP package. Mario in the VIP lounge will be missed. Beach is beautiful. Entertainment staff are great and work very hard. [... read more] All main line staff spoke several languages. The vendors can be a little aggressive so that would be my only suggestion to management would be to ask them to tone it down a notch.

Bahia Principe Escape Bouganville: Great resort

This was our fourth time to the la Romana Bougainville resort. The staff are all amazing they go out of their way to make you feel at home. The only thing I would change would be that they change to menus in the a la carte restaurants. Other than that it was an amazing vacation.

Dreams La Romana: Disappointing

The hotel was lovely and the food was very good. But I found the site to be too noisy for my liking and the beach was a disappointment considering I am used to the beaches in Cuba. It was small and noisy. A public beach was right next to our hotel’s small beach and it was noisy and also the main location for the tour boats to pick up the tourists to take them out to the reef etc. There were over 20 tour buses everyday and hundreds of tourists being moved on and off boats. The entertainment tea [... read more]m at the hotel took over both the pool and the beach so it was very difficult to not have to listen to the constant heavy beat of their music. Also the “privileged” guests, those who paid more for upgrades, were noticeably treated better with special areas on the already too small beach roped off for only them to use. We were actually told to move one day as we didn’t know we were not allowed on that part of the beach. And it’s not obvious or somewhere removed. It’s right in front of the hotel and eating area. Created a bad feeling. Much busier and more touristy than I am used to in Cayo Coco, Cuba

Bahia Principe Escape Bouganville: Beautiful resort

The hotel was spotless. The landscaping/gardens were lush and very well maintained. Pool and beach were clean and beautiful. Food was good. Restaurants and buffets served large selection of meats, fish, vegetables and fruits. Nothing about the resort was disappointing. Service however...was slow. We found communication with the front desk was difficult and were misinformed about a couple of things due to inability to understand. Service in the buffet outside was very slow and unorganiz [... read more]ed. We think this was due to lack of training. Staff would cut you off while walking back or around the buffet area. All staff were pleasant even though they could not understand.

Bahia Principe Explore La Romana: Tropical resort

The grounds are simply beautiful & immaculate! From our beach front rooms the ocean views were amazing. Staff very helpful, pleasant. Food was good - drinks even better! Weather was beautiful. Overall a wonderful vacation.

Bahia Principe Escape Bouganville: Great resort

Very nice resort. Exceptionally clean. Beautiful pools, grounds and beach area. Food good. Only security processes could have better. Rather than connecting me to another guest room, they gave me room number. Needed room key recoded and they did so without thorough questioning to ensure that was my room. Other than this, all was great.

Bahia Principe Explore La Romana: Great Resort

The Grand Bahia Principe is a beautiful hotel well maintain and great services. The A la carte restaurants is very good. Thanks to everyone for the good services that made our stay more enjoyable. I will recommend this hotel.

Bahia Principe Escape Bouganville: Great as always

Nancy Anne: This was my 7th visit to this resort and it was great as always. The staff were very friendly, the grounds and beach area were beautifully maintained and food was amazing. Lina: This was my first visit to an all inclusive resort and I can’t wait to return. The place was absolutely beautiful and pictures do not do the resort justice. The staff were super friendly and some even remembered my name. I loved the beach with all the palm trees and bushes. There was no shortage of foo [... read more]d. The meals were so good and I enjoyed trying new foods daily. Nancy Anne told me this was her “Happy place” and I can see why. Thanks for a great vacation.

Sunscape Dominicus La Romana: Great Beach,Good Resort, Amenities lacking. 3.5/5 Star Resort, not 5 or 4 star.

Pros: -Friendly Staff and efficient -ViP upgrade (25 USD/day/pp) is worth it for the Adults only part of pool and beach and room service and snack bar and pool bar and safe key and lounge bar and snacks and small minibar in room and fast WiFi. -Large rooms, lack decor and seem "tired". Comfortable beds. Good bluetooth speaker in the room with USB ports. Incense provided in rooms. Ensure tipping daily though for best room prep daily. -In room minibar was adequate with daily tipping Cons:  [... read more]-Towel service often runs out of clean beach towels. Only one towel per person permitted. -About 4 loungers in the VIP adults only part of the beach (mattresses with part shade) need to be squatted for at 06:00 in the A.M. with your towel. People hold them all day long with their towels. Its a "towel game". -Buffet can be underwhelming at times. -Billed as " Adults Only " resort but only the VIP areas are adults only. -Wifi is 10$/day if not with VIP. The free one is too slow. -Restaurants are very underwhelming. Limited free alcohol selections at supper meals are avalaible, as they prefer you order from the various bottles of wine available for Cash purchase outside of all-inclusive. Only the ViP restaurant was good enough. -Gift shops have limited selections of pharmaceuticals that are sold, along with Sunscreen, at 10 times the price of the same items in the shopping centers in town. -Electrical outlets in room use american style two-prong 110v system, but cannot plug in 3-pronged US electrical plugs (such as my laptop.) due to missing ground hole. -The GYM facility was very bad. One functioning treadmill with limited weight machines and difficult towel availability. -The use of table tennis paddles and various other recreational items on the beach required cash deposits. -Room service menu was limited. Sometimes hours of meals were not respected (menu states breakfast 'til 11am, but when you call at 10:40am they refuse breakfast and suggest you order the lunch items. -No hair conditioner provided, just shampoo and soap provided. -Room keys often de-magnetized requiring unplanned 20-minute walks back to the front desk to reset the cards every 48hrs or so. -Room toilets were located close to the beds so all body noises are heard by all in the room... -Room TV channels only has 3-4 english channels with no possibility for streaming or VOD or Netflix even if you bring a streaming HDMI device due to wifi firewalls. -Air-conditioning was not optimal in the top floors, and ceiling fan only worked at medium speed. -Single, not double, occupancy jacuzzi in the room. -Clothes dry racks not available in most rooms with stickers reminding everyone NOT to hang dry item onto the balcony rails everywhere.

Whala Bayahibe: good resort

Problem with long chairs not enough, people reserve them before 6 am. Safe to pay (34$/2 weeks). Public beach nice, long chair to pay 10$/day.The best of resort are pools with salty water. Entertainment very poor.

Bahia Principe Explore La Romana: Great

I enjoyed it, despite what many others had to say.. staff were nice.. entertainment was pretty good.. food was decent. yes water was murky directly on the resort but if you walk further down. its completely clear waters and the area is even quieter and nicer..