Small resort
Arrive as guests and leave as family!
Osvaldo and Andrea- Lobby bar - awesome people!!! Always greeted us with a smile every day!
Felix and breakfast n lunch waiters- so welcoming !!
Papa John- always a treat to talk to everyday- great photographer!
Roberto #44- on the beach- very honest and will fund you anything you need or want!
Very clean resort, everything is at arms reach!!!
Will definitely return!!!!
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Bahia Principe Explore Esmeralda: This is my third time returning to this resort and it never disappoints
Amazing resort, great service, beautiful beach, good food, very clean and wonderful overall experience. I recommend it to everyone! I will definitely return with my family and friends. I was also very impressed with the A la carte restaurants at the Ambar. Amazing service and very good food.
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Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: Disappointed
Hotel very nice and clean
Amenities very good
Service poor example no drink orders taken at beach or did not come back with drink order happened in buffet as well
Food very disappointed
We were here before and service and definitely food quality gone downhill
Some Examples ,ordered chicken kabob for Greek dinner got half a pita with a few pieces of chicken in it nothing on the side
Japanese restaurant didn’t make enough for all of us at the table
Covid protocol lacking those who [... read more]wore masks had it under their nose
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Stevie -
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Bahia Principe Escape Aquamarine: Good resort
Overall a nice resort
Only the rooms could do with a update and better service would not say this was a 5star resort we did eventually upgrade to the newly renovated Ambar luxury section of the Grand Bahia resort
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Wyndham Alltra Punta Cana: It was ok overall
Beautiful grounds, mediocre food even for Punta Cana standards. Most food was either too salty or too sweet. Also limited food options. The pool was fabulous. It was super spacious and the pool bar was great. The beach was ok…brown sand and many waves. The water isn’t as clear as Cuban and Jamaican beaches. First room we got was so small. There were 3 of us and we barely had enough room to move around. We were able to switch to a slightly bigger room which made our stay more comfortable. Man[... read more]agement was very kind and helpful. This hotel isn’t worth the money we paid for though.
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Cofresi Palm Beach and Spa Resort: My room was great even up grade
My first stay in the passed I would go here every time my room was never cleaned .I cleaned the room the whole week I requested towels every day my whole family stay togather .love the pools but I'd say they only thing was pools the food was horrible, every time I ate it was late wen I arrived no food all day was not happy .The food was so shitty no one at most dinner or lunch I was so sick of fries ,hambers ,hotdogs garbage food seriuly waste of my money
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Cofresi Palm Beach and Spa Resort: Amazing resort
The staff was amazing and all the accommodations where amazing. Would book again in a heart beat. The rooms where great and the view where amazing. The breakfast was small but the rest of the meals where amazing
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Dreams Dominicus La Romana: Nice to Travel Again......
Dreams Dominicus La Romana is a beautiful , immaculate & spacious resort approximately 1 hour drive away from the hotel. The grounds and gardens are well manicured and preserved. The best part of the Dominican Republic to me has always and will always be the Dominican people. Their warmth, kindness and engaging nature is infectious. Needless to say, the staff in all areas (i.e. Bellman team, housekeeping , dining, car, front desk, customer service kiosk, etc.) were all extremely attentive an[... read more]d dedicated to making our stay as pleasant and enjoyable as possible.
The hotel room was spacious, clean and well lad out. Our housekeeper, Ramona was fantastic and provided service with a smile. The mini fridge was always topped up, we had fresh towels daily and hot water was never an issue.
We did not take in a lot of evening shows but the Circus show was spectacular and reminiscent of Cirque de Soleil.
Food was okay both at the buffet and A La Cartes. The staff work as a team to ensure your needs are met in the dining room and tips while appreciated are not expected. We tipped accordingly. Yesenia was a stand out in the World Cafe for us. No reservations necessary, they are all first come, first served. The Japanese restaurant appeared to be particularly popular, given the long lines but we did not attend. We did go to the Seafood Grill & the Italian restaurant which were both okay. Dreams offers room service with a menu to choose from. It usually takes around 45 minutes from the time of order to the time of delivery. It should be noted that menus are different to ones previously posted online from travellers and that you will need to take your phone with you to access menus via QR codes at both the restaurants & a channel on your t.v. You can also have lunch on the pier as long as there are no events going on.
Drinks / Bar - readily available and served with a smile with the exception of one miserable male bartender at the beach bar & grill who didn't seem too eager to fill our Bubba mugs, even though it would mean fewer visits from us and no one would have to make sure we cleaned up after ourselves.
The Spa was gorgeous and clean. We had massages which we enjoyed and then were given 1 hour in the hydrotherapy section where you could find a Jacuzzi, pool and cold pool on the roof so you still had access to the sunshine and fresh air.
The beach was not to our standard and a little disappointing, in that, it was unkempt and a lot of erosion had taken place. There was a lot of seaweed and rock at the base in front of the hotel, as you entered the ocean. A problem that could easily be resolved by having a crew attend to this every morning. It definitely does not look like it does in the picture. However, once you waded into the water it was warm and reasonably clear. We found it more enjoyable to walk a short distance towards Catalonia hotel and enter the ocean there as it would appear as though they cleared their section of the beach. It was also notable that there was a divide between "preferred guests" (paid upgrade) area & the commoner section. They had a security guard monitoring the area. Loungers in both sections were much closer than we would have liked if the hotel was fully booked. We observed that towels were laid out on all loungers in the "preferred guest" section to give the illusion that it was busier than it was, and collected at the end of the day. Beach towels were handed out according to preferred guests versus commoners. No difference in the access to the beach, only lounge chairs / cabana like structures.
Souvenir shops were available on site and market vendors were present on two of the seven nights we were there. There's also a vendor market on the beach if you go left of the pier.
Saona Catarman Tour - there were two options for two different prices. one was $80 U.S & the other was $90 US. We opted for the latter taking in Blue Lagoon Beach (which includes lunch), Natural Pool & Saona Island. The crew was entertaining and lots of music en route. Our favourite stop was the Natural Pool, we could have stayed there the entire day and been happy. Deep Lagoon was a nice beach. Saona was a disappointing due to lots of beach shoreline erosion.
Air Canada Terminal @ Pearson International - we arrived early given the horror stories we had heard from others about getting through security in the post COVID era. Thankfully, we had checked in online and only had to do luggage drop off. There were Air Canada staff available to assist with the check in kiosks and we moved through this section rather quickly ,ten minutes at the most. The security line was busy but we managed to clear security in around 35 minutes & people were generally cordial. Upon return, we fully expected to be waiting on the tarmac, to our surprise we were in the terminal within five minutes. Customs & luggage pick up 30 minutes total. We made arrangements for curb side pick- up.
Airport Punta Cana, Dominican Republic - This international airport knows how to clear passengers coming and going. I was last in the D.R 25 years ago and this experience was no different. It doesn't seem to matter how many people are moving through the terminal, they clear house in 15-20 minutes and send you on your way. (And yes, I mean customs, luggage and in your mode of transportation). Impressive. Upon our return, same thing. We did online check in, dropped off our luggage and cleared security within 15-20 minutes.
Dominican Republic Online Form for entry & exit of the country were pretty straight forward once you understood what they were asking of you. It's basically their customs declaration card & a few COVID screening questions. For return, it seemed like they just wanted to make sure the person leaving was the same person who entered. Both forms generated QR codes which you needed at the airport coming & going respectively.
ArriveCan - what a waste of time. A lot of rig-a-mo-roll for nothing. It generated a QR code which no one asked for upon return, so unless it's linked to your passport in some way, I couldn't tell you why it was necessary to fill out. You still have to complete the Canadian declaration form via kiosk upon your return in the arrival terminal. Green sticker on your passport and you're good to go. Pink sticker means you have been randomly selected for COVID screening.
This was a much needed break for us and we found ourselves able to relax & feel safe at this resort.
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Grand Palladium Select Bavaro: Clean resort with great staff
Beautiful grounds with lots of greenery. It is a maze to get around which means more walking than I am use to. We managed and had a great time. Rooms were clean and very comfy. Checkin process is very long. Disappointed in coffee options as the real espresso machines are hidden in the back rooms.
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Bahia Principe Escape Aquamarine: Great Resort
Very nice vacation at a great resort. Staff was friendly and helpful. Resort well kept and clean. Restaurant options were good. Food was good. Nice beach. Entertainment was okay. Would recommend this resort to anyone.
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Senator Puerto Plata Hotel: Amazing resort.
Grounds, pool. sports bar, buffet, room, special dinning all amazing. The staff were always very friendly and obliging. Ramon went out of his way to accommodate all our requests. The trip to Puerto Plata was fun.
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Bahia Principe Explore Punta Cana: Amazing Resort
The grounds were prestine. The buffets were outstanding!! The alacartes were TOP NOTCH!!!!!!!! The maid service in the room was not so good (clean yes, but no coffee.3 days). Service in the lobby was poor, basically because they were short staffed compared to what we were used to the three times we stayed before. All in all......Great Resort
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Impressive Premium Punta Cana: Impressive Premium
There are a lot of amenities and activities. It is a huge resort with many paths to get where you want to go or just want to go for a walk. The pools are clean and the beach is as well. There are a few specialty restaurants besides the buffet.
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Stacey -
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VH Gran Ventana Beach Resort: Ok place
Nice small resort
Ok pool though no bartender at pool bar, and the activities posted did not happen. The room was musty with a broken patio door
Melady the housekeeper was awesome, the only one we actually got to know over the week.
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Amy88 -
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Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: Bahia Principe Ambar
The hotel was amazing, staff extremely friendly. Stephany and Roberto brought a lot of entertainment! I used the gym daily and was impressed by the upkeep and sanitizing. Air Transat deserves a whooping zero. Our rooms weren’t ready, we had to be moved to ones beside each other. We didn’t get seats besides each other on the flight there because the app crashed, waited 3 hours and still unable to talk to someone. Elaina was great though, answered questions and emails promptly. Booking excursi[... read more]ons was a nightmare!!! Ramon refused to refund my Mom’s ticket after she was throwing up for two days with a migraine. Absolutely ridiculous and lack of compassion for someone who was ill and notified this the day prior. Will not book with air Transat again and will be sharing our terrible experience. Completely disheartening that my 64 year old Mother was refused a refund, makes me feel sick to my stomach that they would take advantage of people like that. Stay away.
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Denise -
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Lopesan Costa Bavaro Resort: Amazing Resort!
This hotel was wonderful. It is fairly new so very clean and beautiful. The grounds are impeccable, with many gardens and water fountains. The rooms are large, clean and very comfortable. We enjoyed the unique experience with a swim up room and it was excellent! There are many restaurants and so much variety of foods which was all delicious. The pool and beach were wonderful. They could use another beach towel hut as they only had one and often ran out of towels and had people waiting for[... read more] clean ones. Overall this resort was excellent and we had a great time.
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Stove33 -
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Bahia Principe Explore Esmeralda: Beautiful as always
Comparing our trip in 2019 to the trip this year it seemed as though there was less interaction from servers poolside and few of the alacartes were disappointing, specifically MEAT, as we all were excited to eat there. The only other thing I noticed were a lot of people from the other Bahia resorts coming to Esmeralda’s pool. Other than that the resort was as beautiful as before. Oh also the seaweed at the beach seemed a bit extreme, but that could just be the season.
Thanks for another rel[... read more]axing trip to the beautiful Dominican Republic!
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Finest Punta Cana: Fantastic Resort!
Beautiful modern resort! We stayed with our 2 children aged 3 and 10 months. All of the staff were incredibly kind and friendly especially with our kids. We stayed in the family suite which was beautifully decorated, very spacious and had a seperate room for our children to sleep so my husband and I could enjoy our evenings while being in the same suite uninterrupted. Room service is 24/7 and was very good. Our room had a box near the front door so the staff could deliver room service without ha[... read more]ving to come inside the room. We absolutely loved this feature.
The pools and the grounds of the resort are impeccable. The efforts to keep things clean and sanitized were very apparent. During our stay occupancy was low and we often had the pools to ourselves which was amazing. Although the food wasnt the best we have had while in the Caribbean everything well was made, generous portions and fresh. We enjoyed steak and lobster on our first night and it fantastic!
I would highly recommend this resort for families, and couples looking for a relaxing getaway.
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Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: Ambar Pool
The hotel staff were very diligent in keeping the resort sanitized but the pool and beach area was a different story. The Ambar pool was very murky and there was a definite sewage odour. We spent 6 of our 7 days at the Aquamarine pool which was crystal clear. The only problem was that we had to walk a fair distance and was not near our room if we needed anything. The rooms were nice and clean. It was definitely not a 5 star hotel. I would give it a 3.5 or 4 at best.
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Zoei -
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Royalton Bavaro Resort and Spa: Excellent!!!
We went there to celebrate my daughter’s 10th birthday and everything was amazing. We loved everything about the resort. Thank you so much for making lots of unforgettable memories and a woNderful vacation for us. We loved the swim up bars at the pools and also the beautiful lazy river. The surfing was a great experience for my daughter and me, we used the water park at Royalton resort which is very close to Royalton Bavaro and we had so much fun there and we could eat lunch there by our day p[... read more]ass. The entertainment, salsa dance at the beach, white night beach party, foam party, food, and all other things were great!
The only thing is that there was a lot of weeds at the beach so I did not really like to go swimming in the ocean.
We did not have diamond club and still enjoyed lots of drinks, foods, entertainment and so much more. I did not see any much difference with having it! Go there and enjoy your vacation at paradise!