Beautiful Resort

"Roulette" option took us to the Grand Bahia Principe Cayacoa. They definitely look after the grounds and main part of the resort here. There was always someone buffing floors, wiping woodwork, grooming grounds, pressure washing and there was lots of soapy suds in the buckets when cleaning rooms. We had a large room with high ceilings and it seems that most rooms here have a good view. Either ocean, lagoon, or "city" view. The views are gorgeous all around this resort! There was a me [... read more]dium variety of food offerings at the buffet. It was well seasoned and the majority was good. There was less "mystery" dishes that at previous resorts we stayed at. The mini fridge was re-stocked daily and the drinks at the bar were good. Its been a long time at this price point that the drinks were good. The pool. Smaller that other resorts, but it didn't crowd up early. The water was a bit cold though. There was never a shortage of pool towels to exchange and the pool lounges were comfortable. The beach is small and seemed smaller even than in photos and was not a highlight for me. The hilly terrain was a negative point for my husband and I am definitely glad we were in the main resort at the top. The "beach" buffet is down on the lower level on a second water inlet and it desperately needs a new roof. Leaked in in several places when it rained. Can't say much about how the lower villas or pool was maintained as we didn't wander around too much due to the inclined terrain. Daytime generally was quiet with entertainment staff trying to get guests interested. We never stayed up for night time entertainment but the resort sounded like it had more activity in the evening/night as we could hear the activity from the lobby. (the roof top beyond our balcony had a 3 story palm tree growing up through the lower level, up through the lobby and out the top of the 3rd floor). Overall out of about 9 all inclusives in the last few years at about $1200-1500 per person, the resort was one of the more clean and well maintained ones although the beach was the smallest.

Wonderful Resort

We stayed at Bahia Principe Cayacoa recently, the room was very clean with an amazing view. Extremely friendly staff especially the animation team. Food was excellent in all the restaurants as well as the buffet. Evening shows were average some better than others. I would highly recommend this resort for anyone looking for a relaxing vacation. One tip ask for a room oceanfront or facing the pool the rooms facing the village are very noisy at night.

Amazing resort with great food!

Hotel was nice and updated. Food was amazing lots of varieties. Very friendly staff and activities were entertaining. The excursions were a bit expensive but was sceneries to remember. Will definitely refer it to others.

Relaxing & entertaining resort

Good size swimming pool for the entire family.Hotel room is spacious. Foods are very good. Friendly atmosphere everywhere you go. Entertainment for the entire family is excellent. The shows are amazing.

Amazing Resort

The hotel looks great overall. It looks very classy and clean. However our room has roof leak when it rained. I think they need to fix it. Employees are all polite. Only downside is that some dont speak english so it is hard to communicate. The view is amazing! Our balcony view is breathtaking!

Great Resort

We recently booked the Air Canada Samana Roulette and stayed at the Grand Bahia Principe Cayacoa. We had a excellent experience; the al carte's were top notch and I highly recommend. You only have to visit the booking agent once for all of your reservations (you don't have to show up every morning). The food was excellent and the rooms were amazing. This resort is spotless ... we upgraded to the Jr Suite and our room was really nice and spacious. Because we booked the Roulette our package  [... read more]did not include a safe, which I thought was a little petty considering we did paid to upgrade our room ($28.00 US for the week). The staff are very polite and friendly. Pool is very nice with the exception of two sounds systems being played at the same time, not a big deal. Everything about this resort is amazing with one exception ... the beach is lacking. The beach bar and lunch deck is very good and there are enough beach chairs available throughout the day, the downfall is the actual beach. It is not the resort's fault, but we had some rain and there was some garbage washing up from town. Overall I would come back to this resort again and I highly recommend.

Very nice resort

Small hotel with very friendly staff . Beach is very small . Life music Entertainment on the terrace was very good . Food was very good and hotel was very clean . The water pressure in the bathroom shower was law and water was not very hot . Overall the resort was very nice and we were enjoying our vacation there .

Best Dominican hotel I've stayed at to-date!

I'd only been to Punta Cana, Puerto Plata and La Romana before this, and wasn't sure what to expect. There are apparently only six resorts in Samana, so it's a really big up and coming place for tourists to stay. I did the Roulette, which worked out great. I paid about $200 less than the advertised price this way. Usually you find out around a week before you travel, but because we went during a peak time, we didn't find out which of the two hotels until we landed. I absolutely loved it. The h [... read more]otel was perched on a cliff, so you had the most beautiful view of the city and ocean below. We upgraded for a room with an ocean view and it was 100% worth it. It was so nice to sit on the patio, sun on your face, reading a book or smoking a cigar. We spent more time there than we thought we would, just because of the view. The rooms were okay, pretty standard, a little old looking. The maid didn't really make the bed, but everything else was clean. No issues with the room, but we did have some friends whose toilet broke - the resort fixed it the same day. There were three pools that I knew of, however, I think at peak times non-upgraded travellers aren't allowed to use one of them (it was for VIP guests - way better chairs, we went there anyway). There were always enough chairs, which was nice - you didn't have to wake up at 6 a.m. to reserve your seats. The beach was nice, but pretty small. Again, always chairs available. The elevator takes a long while to go up and down to get you, but you're on vacation, so who cares. There were also stairs leading to and from the beach you could take. The water was nice - lots of fish swimming around even in the shallows. There's free snorkeling and a beautiful little reef just off the shore to swim out to. TONS of starfish and colourful fish there. There was also a bar down at the beach so you didn't have to travel back upwards for drinks. The entertainment wasn't good at all, but I wasn't there for that so I didn't mind. At night there isn't much to do - just get a drink, lounge around and chat with people, play pool or foosball down by the kids area, or gamble at the casino in-house. The food... was disappointing. The last three trips I went to Cuba, so I expected better food from Dominican, based on what I'd experienced previously. The food was Cuban level, if not worse. It was almost always cold, no real good options at all. Breakfast was the best meal of the day, but lunch and dinner were sub-par. I'm not a picky eater at all, but as someone who can't eat red meat, there were very limited options (they only had grilled chicken as an option one of the seven nights I was there for). It was also super bland, whereas usually in Dominican they incorporate spices... or at the very least salt and pepper. You'll basically just eat to get by at this resort. The a la cartes, however, were awesome. Food was definitely restaurant quality there, with tons of great options. The staff was super friendly and helpful. Loved Manuel at the lobby bar - he makes the best drinks BY FAR. We ended up just waiting for him most times. There are a few excursion options here, the typical four wheeling, horse back riding, etc. We saw the national park, which was slightly disappointing (they made it out to seem crazy beautiful, but it was pretty mediocre looking from the boat). We also did the ziplining which was amazing - one of the longest ziplines in the Caribbean. Friends of ours saw the waterfalls and it looked like a great excursion too. Take a trip out to Rincon beach if you can! SO WORTH IT. It's in the top 10 nicest virgin beaches in the world. From the hotel, it's about a 10 minute walk into town. Samana is incredibly safe and super nice to walk around in. A lot of the locals speak English and are helpful. Grab a bite to eat at Antonio's Pizza! One of the best pizzas I've ever had, seriously. The bridge to nowhere was a cool walk, although it was under construction in places. It's pretty close to the airport, about 20 minutes. A downside that travellers should definitely keep in mind are the many, MANY stairs at the resort. As I said, it's on a cliff, so those who can't walk very well or for very long, should avoid this resort. To go anywhere other than the lobby, main pool or beach (so the snack bar, other pools, other beaches, some a la cartes) there are hundreds of stairs to walk up and down. Overall, AMAZING and totally unique trip. I've been to dozens of hotels across the Caribbean, but literally none like this. It felt so peaceful, beautiful and untouched, not built up like typical touristy areas. Definitely recommend!!!

Absolute Paradise, Best Vacation Ever!

Grand Bahia Principe Samana was absolute paradise, it was a beautiful resort, very clean and well taken care of. The beach was small but there was a catamaran tour that took you to a white sand beach for the day and it was totally worth it. The best place to be all day was the pool as there were activities scheduled and the staff were absolutely fantastic and there to entertain you. My favourite staff were Carolin, Ariel, Alex, Carlos, Carlitto, Claudio, Jonathon, and Fernando - all so helpful a [... read more]nd fun to be around every day. They were the best part of the trip and it would not have been as fun without them!!! The only complaint would be the food, it was average but for the type of resort I thought there would be more selection. Regardless, would definitely go back to this resort or another Bahia Principe. Thank you for an amazing trip!

WOWZA!!

This resort is beautiful! The view is breath taking and the staff makes it so enjoyable!! The food was good- especially at the A la Carte restaurants, but the buffet didn't really change over the week. Wifi is included, but you need your own electronics to use it for free, otherwise it is $8 USD for the hour on their computers.

Good Trip

This resort has amazing views from other resorts we have visited. The staff and other vacationers were very friendly. Kudos to Alex with all his energy and good energy that he passes on to everyone. Keep up the good work as you will go places. Grounds are very well kept. Rooms are showing their wear and time for an update. The beds are very hard and need to be replaced. Overall great time and will visit again!

Great escape from the Canadian cold!

Very nice, well maintained resort. The beach was beautiful and long with fine sand and shallow water. There was a great selection of food at the buffet, but we enjoyed the Brazillian Restaurant best. We would definitely go again.

Cannot wait to go back!

This resort was truly wonderful. Long walkable beaches, amazing food and exceptional service. Dancing at the disco on the beach was a definite highlight. Very impressed with the people of Samana and hope that they can appreciate our need to escape the freezing cold of our Northern climes. Particularly liked the fact that Samana does not feel overrun with tourism and the focus is eco.

Cayacoa is the choice for us!

The Cayacoa hotel was lovely, just the right size with the right number of people to spend your vacation with. The beach and pool were not overly crowded and it was always easy enough to find lounge chairs and a place to relax. The outdoor bar patio was the perfect spot to drink your morning coffee and overlook the bay ... gorgeous. We booked through Air Canada Vacations but rep in Dominican proved to be similar to that of a salesman and lost interest quickly in his clients once he made a sale  [... read more]for any of his excursions, to the point where he didn't even speak a word to anyone on the bus back to Samana Airport, not even a goodbye to anyone or a 'thank you for traveling with Air Canada.'