Bahia Principe Escape Samana: Beautiful resort

The resort is small, but very beautiful everything is close by, only problem is there is alot of stairs to go to the beach, the restaurants the pool, you can't avoided,but that's how the resort is built, great for people with no health problems,while we were there on our third day l got very sick, from something l ate, it was terrible, we have been going away every year for 12 years, and never gotten sick,3 days later l had to see the doctor since l couldn't eat or drink much,and right awayl was [... read more] told there was going to be a extra charge, if it was their food that l ate, why did l have to pay,good thing we always travel with insurance other wise the doctor would not treat me, that's something they need to improve on, taking care of their clients should be top priority especially if the're at fault.

Cayo Levantado Resort: Experience of a lifetime!

My wife and I stayed from June 17-24th in Villa 1, room 1104. It was an amazing trip from start to finish thanks to all the amazing staff! Pedrito and Wander were absolutely amazing throughout our stay and we can't thank them enough for their kindness and friendship. We had a great time talking with Rafael Gomez and Josue from management everyday, they seemed to connect with everyone and loved talking baseball and the Toronto Blue Jays with me, my Vladdy jr shirt might have helped with brea [... read more]king the ice. Manuel our security guard at the public beach access was always smiling and happy to see you. The beach and pool servers Angel, Eduardo, and Erickson were all excellent and funny guys to talk with while making sure you were always being attended to. The lifeguard Yoemarvin was very impressive and extremely helpful and kind with all the guests at the beach pool, and was especially focused watching the children. Our room service staff Jennifer, Alexandra, and Santa were amazing and always cleaning and bringing fresh towels. The butler Jose was always available if needed and didn't impose. The lobby bartender Walky made some of the best drinks I've ever had, and servers Manuary and Gabriel were very fun, courteous guys that had great personalities. We loved the location of Villa 1 since it was centrally located and allowed us to enjoy every inch of the island including Barcardi beach for amazing snorkeling, the beach pool, and the resort's 2 private beaches. We enjoyed that Barcardi beach's bar was only open to hotel guests after 11pm and although not many people were able to stay up after so much fun and sun, we got to know how amazing Wander and Pedrito are and they made sure that we couldn't wait to go back every night we were there! Our room was amazing. We preferred the privacy that the balcony had to offer from Villa 1. The air conditioning was working great and there were 2 separate controls, one in the bathroom and one in the bedroom. We had as much hot water as needed! The food was always good at the buffet and the restaurants. There was always a wide selection to choose from even for the pickiest of eaters. Jose working the grill was willing to make anything for you just the way you wanted it done. Excellent service from all servers and a special smile for Omal who explained he wasnt following us we were following him around the island from restaurant to restaurant. The trip was a memory of a lifetime. Romantic, relaxing and fun! We can't wait to return to spend time with some of the nicest people we have met in our travels. Cheers to all the staff at the resort as there were many I know I forgot to mention. I look forward to seeing all our new friends again in June next year. Thanks to all from Cayo Laventado!

The Eurostars Grand Cayacoa: Amazing location

Beautifully located with a gorgeous view of the bay and islands from the balcony of our room and practically from all other places in the hotel, including the restaurants and the buffet. Nice decor throughout the hotel. Friendly service . If there was a problem it was promptly taken care of. I definitely want to recommend that hotel to anyone.

The Eurostars Grand Cayacoa: Amazing view and beautiful resort

The hotel was immaculate. Staff friendly and helpful and courteous. We were surrounded by the ocean and we could see the ocean from our room. The food in the restaurants were very good with great presentation. The food in the buffet was good as well. The entertainment was great and presented in a professional way.

Viva V Samana by Wyndham: Pleasantly surprised

Absolutely stunning. Grounds well kept. Felt like a 5 star. True meaning of all inclusive, cabanas, sun huts were all included. The view from the lobby was breathtaking. Friendly helpful staff. Pleasantly surprised by the seafood restaurant

Cayo Levantado Resort: Absolutely The Best!

Amazing, amazing and amazing. The staff are brilliant they make you feel very comfortable, always pleasant and helpful. The gardens are very well maintained. The rooms are so clean. Food so much selection and great. We will be back!

The Eurostars Grand Cayacoa: AWESOME Hotel, Staff and Scenery! June 1-8 2019

The 5 STAR reviews we read before we booked were correct! We read about the great staff, the cleanliness, the gorgeous views and they were right! We would definitely go back again. We have told all our friends to go here! The scenery is so lush and beautiful! We could not get over how beautiful the property was. It was like Fantasy Island! The rooms are lovely, we had an ocean front room of the main hotel, which are slightly larger than the standard rooms in the same building. The views from ou [... read more]r balcony were gorgeous of the beach, pool, elevator and the bridge to no where! The rooms have a stocked bar, but only pop, beer and water, which was fine by us. The King beds are very firm, but we loved ours. The room has a safe and large closets, but not many hangers. There is a TV, but we never used it. The bathrooms are roomy and very elegant with a bidet. Our room was cleaned twice a day, as they have a turn down service. Everywhere you looked was clean or being cleaned. We enjoyed a beautiful and very romantic couples Spa treatment. We had a romantic Jacuzzi and then a massage and facial. One of the best ever! The Beaches were well maintained and very clean, especially the big one out front. There were always more than enough chairs and umbrellas or trees to sit under. The water was cool and refreshing and just enough of a wave, not overpowering. The bar was convenient and had a few table and chairs around it along with washrooms. On the other side of the elevator was the sports and equipment area, I never went, but I saw people having fun with the Banana boat rides or equipment they had there. The main pool is beautiful up on the lush cliff and very clean, with a pool bar and access to washrooms. This is where you get your soft large blue beach towels. They have a water fall there and games are played on the pool deck, like Bingo. Lots of lounge chairs and no one saves chairs here or at the beach, so you can always get one. The elevator to the beach was intriguing and we loved the views from the bridge of the elevator. There are windows and its a glass elevator, so you watch the ocean as you ride the elevator. The elevator in the hotel is the same and you watch the pool while you ride it. The nightly entertainment had a great variety and you had a lovely view of Samana while you watched. I have been to resorts where its the same entertainers, but different dancing, this was so much better, with different entertainers every night, like a Circus, or Latin dancing, Karaoke, lounge singers, bands and International dancing. They also bring in some local people to sell their wares. Nothing is forced on you and you are not bothered by the staff to participate in the shows. We loved attending these nightly shows. The breezes were so cool coming off the land and the setting under the tent or on the patio with white wicker furniture was beautiful. The main restaurant closes breakfast at 10:30am so you must go to the Snack Bar, down the hill, which is okay, as the large golf carts were always going back and forth. We never had to wait for one, especially if you asked for someone to call them. The snack bar was beside another pool, more Jacuzzis than pool and some Cabanas and the natural beach and back-bay, which we enjoyed one day chatting with some other Canadians, who also loved the resort. The specialty restaurants - Le Pescadar -seafood, and the Viva Dolce- Italian - were delicious, we had the seafood lasagna and then the seafood saute and we were very pleased each night. The Snack bar had delicious pizza, salad, fruit and hot dogs. The main restaurant was hit or miss, we could always find something to eat, but not everything was great, also we are not in Canada, so we had made to order omeletes for breakfast, stayed away from any meat, and enjoyed the rest of the food. In the restaurants the staff was very attentive and our glasses were never empty. The Staff are awesome and made our trip even better because of their friendliness and big smiles - A shout out to - Front desk - Eduard and Laura, Concierge - Juan Shepherd, Lobby bar - Manuel, Spa - Lairilyn, Elsa, Yively and Sara, Restaurants - Dady, Ramon, Aneury, Junior, Erik, Mercedes and Barbara, Entertainment - Lewis. These people shined very bright and made a difference in our holiday, but ALL the staff were amazing! Only three things happened that may have been an issue anywhere else, but we were so happy with everything we couldn't imagine being upset, beside we aren't in Canada, these things can happen: (1) The A/C didn't work for the first 3 days and when it did it wasn't chilly, but it cooled us off, I enjoyed listening to the waves crashing on the beach and the breeze coming in our room these few days: (2) A part of the pool deck needed renovation half way through the week, but the pool was still used and the work was quiet after the few hours one late afternoon, where they had to use a jack hammer, and (3) We didn't have hot water one day, I like cool showers! But again these are one offs and can happen anywhere. I hate to say it again, but we aren't in Canada! FYI - The bridge to nowhere was built many years ago to facilitate the people watching the Canadian Humpback whales that migrate there every mid-January to mid-March and frolic in the bay outside the hotel. I will be back to see that. A shout out to Westjet Premium service on board, we truly enjoyed the experience and the Tapas type of meal, along with the little extras. It also included our baggage fee and seat selection fee, so it was a good deal. A shout out to Luis, the Westjet representative in Samana, he was very helpful as we called him later one night and he helped us, saying call anytime. He always had a smile. He sells the tours at your meet and greet. We really enjoyed our tour with RL Tours - Raffi was our guide and he was awesome. We took the Playa Rancon and Safari tour which we loved. We had children sing their national anthem to us, in their classroom, and then we visited a lovely family farm and ate mango and passion fruit off the trees, bought some cheap local honey, coffee, Mamawhana, rum, cocoa etc. Then a lovely lunch looking over the bay of Rincon Beach. We spent two hours on the beautiful beach, we rented an umbrella and chairs for $8.00USD total, soaking in the crystal green-blue waters on the whitest beach - 6Km- National Geographic says its the 4th best beach in the world, then down the other end of the beach for a dip in the natural fresh water pool. The tour was $90.00USD each and worth it. They had a somewhat professional photographer with us and we were able to get some great shots of us for $60.00CAD prepaid and we got the email with the pictures the next day. They were actually very good of us, but I thought we would also get the pictures of our surroundings, so I am working with them on that. We will always remember this awesome week and the friendly people!

Cayo Levantado Resort: Good Time

First of all, let me say that the staff are truly what make this resort. My partner was pregnant and they really did all they could for us. It was hot. Very hot. No AC in the restaurants. The AC struggled in our first room and we ended up moving rooms which had better AC. But the first night was a struggle. Resort grounds are spectacular. Spent a lot of time at the quiet pool trying to stay cool. Our butler Anasacio was so attentive. He was great. Shout out to Gregory too for getting  [... read more]us moved into a better air conditioned room. Finally to Lizairi...thanks for taking such great care of us and making sure we got to try all the restaurants.

Bahia Principe Grand Samana Roulette: Decent resort

The resort was pretty good. I think we both felt that the food was so so. The staff were lovely and helpful. The resort itself was slightly dated but clean. I would not go there if you have mobility issues.

Cayo Levantado Resort: Super Location, Great Hotel and Staff

We had the pleasure of staying at this great hotel for the past week and it was really great and lived up to our expectations! One of the most relaxing hotel and location ever. We are frequent travelers to this great region of Samana and it was our first stay at this really beautiful island hotel. The hotel, beach and most of the staff are really great...just take a look at the pictures... Our butler Jose really made our stay super enjoyable and a really great person who was always one though [... read more]t ahead of us and it was like he knew in advance what we wanted during our stay... really special person and a real valuable asset and person to this hotel! Thank you very much Jose for making our stay so enjoyable. Another person that really stood out was Eduardo the main bartender at the beach bar. Really nice guy, very professional and he really knew how to make great drinks and take care of his customers. Thank you Eduardo! And let's not forget his great team of Erickson, Martin and Angel! Really great team and I hope the hotel recognizes their potential for their organization. Best drinks and service hands down! Now let's get to the only issue we had at this truly unique and beautiful hotel during our stay which was very surprising and even frustrating on some days...some of the staff at the main buffet (evening), terrace (evening shows) and beach restaurant (lunch) was very unprofessional in their service (Important to note it’s a small but very visible minority and not the majority of the great and hard working employees). No eye contact, hiding at the terrace during shows and not serving drinks or taking orders...honestly sometimes I had to give up on drinks! We are frequent travellers and have never heard so many times after placing an order that “we forgot" when asking where are our drinks. And the worst part is that we tip but it seems some staff was just happy goofing around or hiding rather than being active and making tips! We won't name names since it's not our job to ruin people's livelihoods but management should really get on top of this issue and even demote some of these people from direct interaction with guests or re-train them properly...other reviewers refer to this issue as a language issue but it's not....it's a training and people skills issue... This being said we will be back and we hope that management will fix this issue.

Bahia Principe Escape Samana: COUPLES RETREAT WITH LUXURY

This hotel is small only 149 rooms so if you want to reconnect decompress be treated and pampered this is a place for you. Food was great the hotel was beautiful. Recommend the junior suite ocean view.

The Eurostars Grand Cayacoa: Beautiful scenery

Rooms: clean. The view from the rooms with view on the ocean are breathtaking. Fantastic to hear the sound of the waves from your balcony. Staff : I can see that they are very hardworking people. The problem comes if you don't speak Spanish. Most staff ( buffet staff, resto à la carte ) do not speak English. Maybe because of this language barrier, it appeared to me that staff were not friendly. No smiles. No effort to communicate with tourists. I felt a bit ignored. Of course, there [... read more] are some who make an effort. I can count them on one hand 😞. Food : very good. Overall, I did have a great vacation. I am used to the warmth of mexican people and people from Roatan. I was not expecting their not so friendly ways. Despite this, I would go back because of the landscape and mostly because you can snorkel right from the beach .

Bahia Principe Escape Samana: Very good resort

The staff at this resort are awesome, very friendly and helpful. Resort well layed out. Room are nice the view is spectacular. The food is good. Only draw back are the steps, you can not go from one area to another without doing steps. Especially getting to the beach. But I would return

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: Decent place for getaway

In general our week of vacation has been spent well: direct flight from Toronto to small quiet Samana airport with quick passport control and Customs formalities, rather short transfer from airport to resort, prompt check-in (because we knew the rules from previous visit and broke away from the group from the bus, otherwise we would waste the time), food and drinks all day long and remarkable beaches not only within resort limits but specially outside of them. It looks like resort management rea [... read more]lly pays attention to the guests reviews and we saw no any shortage of chaise-longues on the beach, there were plenty of them. But a few remarks should be addressed to resort management for further improvements. Room cleaning should be better organized with less hassles to the guests. On the first day of stay we came back to the room around 4pm and our room was not attended yet. We simply asked the maid for the fresh towels. On the second day our room was not cleaned at 4.30pm and I had to talk to the administrator at the front desk to expedite the procedure. We could not apprehend the schedule for room cleaning but certainly the guests should not adapt their time to the cleaning operations. The second issue is the room entry door. We could not open it to the full opening because it ground against the floor but we did not make a big deal of that. The big deal was the lock - we could not get into the room three times and had to wait for security guy to open the lock and then for service guy to fix it. On the third time we simply demanded to change the room and had the nice room for one night. But as I mentioned in preamble a few nuisances did not spoil our vacation and we will definitely come back again soon.

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: OVERALL A TRULY WONDERFUL/FAB VACATION.

JUST RETURNED FROM GRAND BAHIA EL PORTILLO SAMANA.FLIGHTS AND TRANSFERS WENT SMOOTHLY.RESORT WAS ABSOLUTELY BREATHTAKING WITH BEAUTIFUL AND IMMACULATE GROUNDS.THE SERVICE WAS PAR EXCELLENCE.STAFF WERE METICULOUS AND EAGER TO ACCOMMODATE EVEN THOUGH ENGLISH WAS LIMITED.AMAZING CHOICES AT BUFFET.FOOD WAS REALLY GOOD AND DRINKS WERE PREMIUM.WEATHER WAS SUNNY AND BEAUTIFUL ALL WEEK.A LA CARTE RESTAURANTS WERE TERRIFIC AND PRESENTATION OF FOOD NOTED.ENTERTAINMENT WAS PRETTY OK.ACCOMMODATION WAS DECEN [... read more]T EXCEPT FOR THE POORLY LIT ROOM,SLIPPERY BATHTUB AND LIMITED WATER FLOW FROM SHOWER.FELT SAFE AT ALL TIMES..WOULD SURELY RECOMMEND THIS RESORT.ALL REQUESTS REGARDING ACCOMMODATION WERE FULL FILLED.WOULD SURELY REVISIT.FEEL TRULY BLESSED AND GRATEFUL FOR AN AMAZING TIME.SPECIAL THANKS TO LIDIA,OMAR,ANA,ESPERANZA,JOSE AND OTHERS.WARM FRIENDLY PEOPLE..ALWAYS SMILING AND READY TO SERVE.GOD BLESS.

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: Very relaxing vacation

The hotel is in a very beautiful setting. The beach is perfect with clear water and nice coral reefs with fish, you can walk on the beach left and right side of the hotel for kilometers and enjoy the view. The hotel is nice, food is good and the overall environment is friendly and relaxing. The hotel is perfect for couples who want to relax and enjoy quiet time, for families with children.

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: A Must Return Resort

Food is excellent, beaches are spectacular, room second to none, easy to get around, super staff, great bar service, Relax Pool is really relaxing, scenic drive from the airport. Looking forward to our fifth visit soon.

Viva V Samana by Wyndham: Pictures don’t do this resort justice

Check in was fast and easy, room requests granted and easily found with all items in working order and clean. Food was great with enough selection to satisfy, all seasoned well in my opinion. No reservations at a la cartes, and guys can wear shorts, also never any wait. Beach is stunning and clean, clear water with no seaweed or shells/corals to hurt your feet, nice waves but not too big. Great drink selection and top shelf liquor, also they’ll serve you by pool or beach if you tip. All staff  [... read more]was kind and courteous, no one stood out more than the rest because they were all great. Nice secluded resort with enough activities to keep you entertained, but never overbearing or pushy. Evening entertainment was a bit of a let down..but the disco was available to dance if desired. I’d go back as it’s a short drive from the airport and secluded. Make sure you land at AZS not puerto plata All in all a great holiday.

The Eurostars Grand Cayacoa: 10 out of 10

This resort was beautiful ! The staff was very friendly. also, the food was great. Thank you Danielle Friel for suggesting this resort. I highly recommend this vacation resort. This trip was not expensive . It was great value for the dollar.

Cayo Levantado Resort: Beautiful and relaxing!!

This resort is breathtaking from the moment you approach on the ferry. It’s grounds are lush, green and very well kept. The views from the villas are picturesque with the soothing sounds of the ocean, and cooing doves. The rooms are very spacious and clean. Our butler was always available for attend our needs. The beaches are clean, with a nice steady breeze, and waters are clear. The public beach offers the perfect venue to watch the sunset. The main pool was clean with great service, and th [... read more]e quiet pool offered a relaxing vibe. Food was very good in the buffets with a nice selection. Private romantic dinner on the beach is a MUST! 5* quality food and dessert. Overall fantastic experience. This place is ideal for rest and relaxation .