Bahia Principe Explore Jamaica: Lovely time!

My husband and I were at the Grand Bahia Príncipe last week and had a great time overall. First the good... Lovely resort, well manicured gardens, very friendly front desk and staff all around, large clean room on the 1st floor with all amenities like bath robes, slippers, iron, hairdryer and usual toiletries. Good room service. Good a-la-carte restaurants. Conrad, our server at Don Pablo was excellent! We were given a room on the Luxury side of the hotel (block 23) which was quiet and away [... read more] from the main pool area. Now, the not so good....beach area is small for such a large resort and from where we were, quite a long ways away,no long walks on the beach, Piscis the beach restaurant is quite far to walk to for lunch or a snack if you are lounging on the west side of the beach, no wash rooms inside the main buffet area. Wonder what parents of little kids would do in an emergency! Food, while plenty, not enough variety for vegetarians. A vegetarian omelet will be cooked on the same grill as one with the meats, so if you are a staunch vegetarian (thankfully I am not) then this would not work for you. Instructions to operate safes in the rooms were incorrect and outdated. Lack of proper signage, the elevators are the slowest in the world so good luck if you have a room on the upper levels! Wi-fi in the Lobby (only area) was very spotty and connection was quite tedious. I didn't really care because I was on holiday..but felt sorry for the front desk staff who had to deal with disgruntled guests on a daily basis. Go without any expectations and you will have a good time!

Bahia Principe Explore Coba: Awesome resort

Everything was perfect at the resort from the grounds to service quality of food and transportation around the resort. Shows were very good and rooms were clean and spacious . No musky smell at all. English speaking on the resort is excellent as well

Bahia Principe Escape Sian Ka'an: Absolutely Amazing Resort (Sian Ka'an)

Great resort with so much to offer it's clients. Golf, the beautiful beach (with plenty of chairs to sun in) bars to get your drinks at or be served by 1 of the bar girls who walked up and down offer to get what you wanted, so many swimming pools to choose from with bars attached, many different restaurants to dine at or just that big huge buffet that is open all day long. Also available is a 24 hour restaurant, maid service daily and restocking the bar fridge in your unit. LUSH green trees, pl [... read more]ants and beautiful pathways to walk and explore this very large resort. Truly a absolutely beautiful 2 weeks in Bahia Principe. My one complaint was a day manager IRIS RODRIGUEZ who showed no compassion for a Mother who son was MUGGED and badly beaten and drag with a car. The resort did absolutely nothing for this family as the other guest helped with the rest of their stay. You can look on YOUTUBE and see their interview when they got back to Toronto. Thank You TERESA GATES for your advice and recommendation of choosing this beautiful resort and 2 weeks in the sun.

Bahia Principe Grand San Juan: Lots of fun

Had a fabulous week at this resort. Check-in was so quick and easy, the room was great, cleaned and restocked daily. The beach and pool areas were beautiful and spacious. The staff and entertainment team are what make this resort so great. They really go above and beyond. The only room for improvement would be in the food department. While variety was good, often it was repetitive and not hot. However, i would definitely recommend and return to this hotel. Another great stay at the Bahia princi [... read more]pe chain.

Bahia Principe Explore Coba: Home from home

Just returned from our 9th time to GBP Coba, fantastic 2 weeks as always. Staff, service, resort, A La Carte dinners top notch. We shall be going back 22nd December-5th January. Carol Webber was great to deal with @ Trip Central, we shall be booking with her again.

Bahia Principe Explore Jamaica: Adequate Resort

A vacation can never be bad when you are in Jamaica with good friends. That being said we will not return to this resort for a few reasons. The beach areas were too spread out and much too rocky. The hotel and grounds need some maintenance. The pool and beach washrooms are not cleaned or stocked well. The carpet in the hallways was disgusting and should be replace with tile. This may help keep down the cockroaches. The elevators had a most unpleasant smell, all the time. Our room was always ke [... read more]pt up nicely and they stocked the mini fridge with our preferences. Buffets had plenty of variety and service was good in all but one "a la carte" restaurant . Bar staff in the main areas were excellent but the pool bar was very slow.

Bahia Principe Explore Coba: A fantastic overall experience.

Super resort for children. Friendly staff and fantastic food. Only complaint is speed of check in is very lengthy and service at bars was slow. The pools were well maintained and there was lots of activities to keep busy.

Bahia Principe Explore Coba: Great resort

Hotel and staff were amazing. Food and restaurants selections were amazing. The beach is a thing of beauty, with no vendors trying to sell you things, which is a blessing. Dealing with Carol Webber booking this trip was a pleasure. Thank you, Adrian Sims

Bahia Principe Escape Runaway Bay: Perfect Vacation Spot

This hotel was recommended by our travel agent and it was such a great choice! Everything was so organized from the airport transportation to everything at the hotel. We were welcomed right away from our air canada representatives leading ya to our shuttle. As soon as we got to the hotel we were greeted by the facalty. During our orientation when everything was explained to us, our luggage were brought to our rooms followed by us being shown where we would be staying. The room was absolutely stu [... read more]nning and very clean. I love how we had a balcony although I do wish we had a better view from our room as it was a dirt road. Also, we also recommended to be near the a la carte restaurants which we weren’t but that’s okay! The a la carte food was amazing! Our favourite had to be the Don Pablo with great service and outstanding food! The emtertainment crew was very friendly getting ya involved in dancing and pool volleyball and the night entertainment was fantastic. We enjoyed the beach party the most!! Overall, a fantastic vacation together we would definitely recommend this place to others and we would definitely go back as well! My only suggestion to others attending the luxury side is to explore the grand side as well as there is so much to do and see! We realized later in our trip how big the resorts are and the beach on the grand side is nicer than the luxury side one as that one apparently is man made but still beautiful!

Bahia Principe Escape Bouganville: Very Enjoyable Holiday!

My fiance and I traveled to the Luxury Bahia Principe Bouganville, La Romana from Feb 20-27, 2018. AIRPORT TRANSFER: Shuttle from Punta Cana airport was about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Check-in was quick and easy. POOLS: The pools were nice (a tad cold but tolerable). Lots of loungers were available at the pools and there was quite a bit of shade available as well. You had two options - the quieter pool or the main pool by the beach. If you like lots of activity, definitely go to the  [... read more]main pool as that is where all the fun is. The animation team is fantastic! One of the best I have seen and I have traveled extensively to all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean. Both pools have swim up bars. The washrooms by the pool were exceptionally clean! There was someone in there cleaning them every hour or so. BEACH: The beach is really beautiful, in my opinion. We enjoyed taking walks along the beach. They are in the process of developing the area with condos so right now the beach is nice and quiet - not a lot of people unless they are fellow walkers from the Bahia. Many people comment on the water and the fact that it is murky. I do not agree with this statement. No it is not crystal clear, however it is perfectly clean and swimmable. And you can see that aqua color in the distance so it still feels like you are in the Caribbean. The best way to describe the water is that it is more the color of a lake that you would find back home (we are from Ontario, Canada). Beach chairs were plentiful. The front row of chairs (closest to the waterline) were reserved quite early in the morning but there were still lots of chairs by about 9am. And there is a ton of shade between the palm trees and the huts. FOOD: Food was really good! The buffet had lots of options. Yes, it's somewhat repetitive but it always is. And the a la cartes were really, really good. We loved the Don Pablo restaurant the best. We also enjoyed Los Corales (Brazilian) and the Japanese restaurant. No shortage of good food here. My only issue is the reservation system. It seems reservations book up very fast so my recommendation is that you book asap. TIP: Load the Bahia app on your phone in advance and as soon as you are settled into your room, take 10 minutes to book your restaurants. Alternatively you can go to Guest Relations at reception and book. SERVICE/TIPPING: Service in the buffets was lacking at times. Sometimes you wouldn't be offered water/coffee for 5-10 minutes after arriving (or at all). This is an area they could improve upon. Service at the bars was good - didn't have any issues there. Tipping wasn't overly prevalent at the resort. It's nice to tip when the service warrants it, but it doesn't seem to be an expectation. This was a nice change from other resorts that I have been to. WI-FI: The free Wi-Fi was great. No issues at all. Great reception throughout the entire resort including pools and beach! I'm not sure why anyone would bother upgrading to their "premium Wi-Fi" which you have to pay for. ROOMS: The rooms were very spacious and clean. They have minor aesthetic issues (not really issues unless you are picky) - scuffs on walls, older looking tiles. Nothing major at all. They provide shampoo, conditioner, lotion, a dental kit, shaving kit, shower cap and robes. And they have a hair dryer in the room. And the outlets work with North American plugs. No adaptors or converters required. Beds were firm but comfortable and they have a menu of pillows to choose from which is nice. One issue that we found was that around 5pm there was limited water pressure and hot water. But it passed quickly so we just learned to wait it out and everything was fine. They offer room service but the menu looked limited and we never tried it. We had a room facing the quiet pool which was nice but really, you will have a decent view anywhere you are. The grounds are stunningly manicured with lots of greenery and flowers. The only issue here is with the TV. There are NO English channels. Well, one channel has sporadic English programming in the morning but otherwise nothing! I get that we are not on holidays to watch TV but it is nice to go back to your room before dinner or before bedtime and switch on the TV for a bit. We asked the front desk about this and apparently they recently switched TV providers so they are looking into the issue. So perhaps this will be rectified. TIP: bring your tablet and use Netflix. It streams really well in the room. You could also bring an HDMI cable or use Chromecast to cast to the TV if you want to watch it on the big screen. ENTERTAINMENT: There is a small casino onsite with slot machines and a few tables - blackjack and roulette. They do allow locals into the casino so sometimes the tables are occupied but if you wait, you can usually get in. Nighttime entertainment was enjoyable. You can either watch the big shows at the Bahia Principe or there is entertainment in the Luxury Bahia lobby. We didn't try the disco so not sure what that is like. We would definitely return to this resort in the future, and would recommend it to others.

Bahia Principe Grand San Juan: First Time and Not our last

We travelled here as a couple the last week of Feb. 2018. It was our first time in the D.R. and it will not be our last. San Juan resort was very good for being 23 - 24 years old. Friday to Wednesday: sun and rain 24 degrees. Thursday & Friday: hot and sunny 27 degrees. We flew into Puerto Plata via Air Transat with a three and three seating plan with only free water, pop, tea or coffee for a 4 hour flight. Food could be purchased at a bargain price of $25. It was an hour and 15 minute bus ride [... read more] to the resort. Do not watch out of the front of the bus if you want to keep your heart in your chest. Driving in the D.R. is a whole new ball game. Watch out the side windows and find out how blessed you are for what you have. We stayed in the D9 block. The resort is fenced in and security patrols the grounds 24 hours. Our outside stairs needed some work. Inside the room was clean and the fridge had beer, wine and pop. We had to ask for chips. The bathroom was aged and some of the grout needed work. If you're looking for the perfect accommodations you're out of luck. AC is new, no hot water issues and our room was cleaned every day. The mattress was good and there is an outside balcony with a table and chairs. Staff in every part of the resort were great with no issues at all. The grounds are friendly for all ages, nationalities and the LGTBQ family. We were pleased with all the facilities offered. There are kids programs, beach volleyball, darts, bocce ball, night programs, dances, scuba diving and spots to do nothing. You can go on excursions for a fee. Taxis are available. A cab ride to the Puerto Plata airport is $100 U.S. round trip. The beach is fine. No flee issues and we're not O positive blood types. It is west coast Florida sand and not white Caribbean sand. There was still some hurricane damage in one area which was not yet repaired for some reason. Those look alike rocks in the ocean are sand bags. You can swim out to them and the water is about 4 feet deep. The first 30 feet of the beach is murky because of the crashing wake and then it becomes clear. Like any resort there are people walking around who don't know how to clean up after themselves. Cups, straws and cigarette butts are left on the beach. Resort staff are out on the beach trying to keep it clean. The west snack bar is convenient during the day with your basic food, drinks and a sit down area but they have a bird problem here. Watch the back of the chairs for crap. The resort needs to better cover the nacho's and pizza in this snack bar. Worst is people are feeding the birds so some are pretty persistent. The west pool near the snack bar is a lot quieter (and smaller) then the main pool. The sign at the small pool reads that no seat saving is allowed with your towel and unattended ones will be taken away. The main pool does not have this rule yet. So if you want a pool side seat you need to place your towel on a chair at 7 am. Sorry folks you can't eat your breakfast and save your pool seat too! You better have someone sitting there because a growing number of people in all resorts aren't taking this anymore. It's called first come first serve and your towel maybe gone. We only ate at the buffet. The food was good. No, it's not all hot but everything that we came across was cooked and warm. You have to be careful if you have food allergies. We have a peanut allergy. Someone contaminated the vegetables beside the peanut chicken while the clean tongs sat in front of the veggies. The food is well labelled, it's those not paying attention you have to worry about. There was Chinese night, Mexican night and so on. Cats can be found under some of the buffet tables. Make sure you swat under the table before you sit if you don't like them. The issue would not be as noticeable but you have people feeding them so what can you expect. We booked through Tripcentral.ca and they advertise saving their customers money for over 20+ years. Well that was not the case for us. We booked this trip in mid 2017 with Victoria Sullivan from Tripcentral.ca. and made a deposit. We found the trip for a better price in January of 2018 with Tripcentral.ca. We booked for the new price. We contacted Victoria for a price match and was basically told we're out of luck because a) they don't price match and b) our original booking date was too far from our new booking date???? We lost our $200 dollar deposit. So heads up when you're working with these travel agencies. Thanks Bahia San Juan for an enjoyable vacation.

Bahia Principe Grand San Juan: Very Good

The hotel was very good, nice clean and daily serviced room, grounds very nice, evening entertainment was excellent, staff very courteous and helpful, Oriental Rest. excellent, helpful for staff to know more English (service staff). Very large buffet that could be more organized, hot food not together so sometimes cold when sitting. In general very nice place with long and lovely beach and large beautiful pool1

Bahia Principe Explore Coba: Family friendly fun

Family of four just returned from a one week stay at Coba. Pros: great Waterpark, few slides a bit dangerously fast for little ones. Buffet had great selection. Shuttles came often to go to the beach or other hotels on site. Kid club was good but only attended one day. Great Disney show. Cons: beach on Tulum side was hard to get chairs in shade when busy too much seaweed but staff were working super hard to clean it. Wait staff at buffet took a while to come at times. Rooms and beds are sma [... read more]ll. Overall we had great time. If going now beware of seaweed. Akumal beach has less. Times for shows not very clear. Long distance from airport.

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: Perfect week!

We always stay with Bahia Principe, and Samana area is our favourite part of Dominican. We loved this resort. Food was terrific with a lot of variety all week. Beach is stunning and the snorkeling, right on the beach, is awesome. A couple days of wind stirred up the sand but the rest of the week was crystal clear. Highly recommended.

Bahia Principe Explore Tulum: Good time at Grand Bahia.

Cleanliness - resort was very clean Food- good variety Pool - clean Hotel room - cleaned everyday. Friendly staff - very friendly, hard working, courteous and polite We didn't go to the beach so I can't comment.

Bahia Principe Escape Bouganville: Luxury Bahia Principe Bougainville

Tout était parfait, accueil, nourriture, personnels toujours souriants et accueillants. Belle température malgré un peu de pluie. Décors magnifiques, magnifiques fleurs et aménagements paysagés. Merci,

Bahia Principe Grand San Juan: Great resort features other than the beach

Extremely clean and well taken care of. Great staff and very good food. Amazing a la carte restaurants with great service and food. The beach has two creeks/rivers on both sides of resorts and with the heavy rain, they make the ocean water very muddy. Pools were very well maintained and clean. A great place for those that do not spend time in the ocean.

Bahia Principe Escape Runaway Bay: Average Resort

It's a beautiful resort. Very nice rooms. Food was good but average. Drinks were great. Bars on Luxury side closed at 11 pm...way to early! There wasn't too much to do in the evenings. Very quiet. Housekeeping was ok but 5 out of 10 days they would take the face cloths and not replace them. They only had one restaurant that you didn't need a reservation. The other restaurants booked up fast so you had no other choice but to eat at the same restaurant every day....boring! We won't be go [... read more]ing back to a Bahia resort every again. Cynthia Bobbie-Lefebvre

Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: Awesome Capsulated Resort

We stayed here for our first time late March 2018. Everything you need can be found in the Ambar Blue section without having to leave. There are 3 buffet restaurants and also 4 additional reserve only restaurants including the Don Pablo which was exceptional. The pool was clean and warm and the pool bar was hopping with lots of servers so not much wait time. We had a room on the 3rd floor in building 60 which was the closest to the beach and facing the pool gave a nice partial ocean view. The fr [... read more]ont desk staff was 1st class and I found everyone spoke sufficient English. I would go back anytime.

Bahia Principe Explore Punta Cana: Nice Resort

The resort was beautiful and clean, the food was good but hard to get a decent time for the al a carts , found that the staff could have been more friendly, they totally screwed up our rooms , I had booked three rooms one with king bed and the other two with two beds, we got 3 rooms with king beds, they said they change them next day at 3pm, we moved out of our two rooms for the day and when we went back for new rooms at three they gave us one room said the other won’t be ready people were sti [... read more]ll in them, we went to the one room that they changed and it was a room with king bed and they threw in a cot, not acceptable we were stuck with this room and ended up taking back our old room that had one bed and had to share, when you pay that much money for 6 people and three rooms you expect to get what you paid for, very unexceptable as far as I’m concerned.