Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: good resort

nice resort, luck of variety of drinks, the room 27310 to far from the beach and playground, but over all it is a good resort for the money, stuff was good ... will recommend this resort to our friends

Bahia Principe Explore Punta Cana: Huge complex

The grounds are extremely well maintained. The lobby is functional and well situated. The villas /rooms in the punta Cana resort we found to be dated. Also, we had plumbing issues. Short on bath and face towels but would be supplied when we requested. Beds were not comfortable and neither were pillows. Food at buffet was very good as well as service. Found booking our entitled al la cartes very stressful. Look into it early. We figured that they must reserve a bunch of tables for gold members or [... read more] more privileged guests but that is unacceptable given how much we paid to go to the resort and our entitlement. Overall it was a great vacation. We found the "complex" too big however which resulted in a very busy beach. We instead opted to hang by our local pool which was nice but water was freezing cold. Staff are great.

Bahia Principe Explore Punta Cana: Decent

Resort was nice, food was edible. Resort was waaayyy too big for my liking. And because of all the people the beach was packed! Couldn't get a al la carte reservation either. Probably wouldn't go back.

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: We love it here! We've gone twice now!

We have gone twice now and are going again next year and taking our kids -16 & 18 years because they will absolutely love it too. Food was even better this time, drinks were great, beach is beautiful and you can snorkel while still standing ten feet off shore. Love, love, love. We've also recommended this place to friends who have also all loved it!

Bahia Principe Explore Akumal: Nice resort

Resort was nice. Room was dark and small... we requested anything but a ground floor unit and received a ground flooor unit - they were not willing to change this for us. The food was pretty good. Beach was nice to swim in calm waters on this side of the boom and water break. Expensive for what you got But a great holiday Rented a car which was great - a bit of trouble processing it early as they did not open on time as posted so delayed is about 1 hour. Second day the car would [... read more] not start ...so we had to wait again for them to assist.

Bahia Principe Explore Punta Cana: superb resort

We visited luxury Bahia Principe Esmeralda resort for the first time last week. We felt so welcome.The staff was so polite and helpful. The food very well presented, delicious and lots of variety. The rooms very spacious and super clean. Pool and beach area very nicely kept. Thank you Brianna for finding this paradise for us. Be aware of the (gold privilege Club)they are situated in the hotel lobby. They will go after you like sharks.they offer free gift ex:helicopter ride ,massa [... read more]ge . Special spot on the beach for members and more perks. They call it free gift. You will have to go to an information session about time share for a couple hours. Unless you want to buy into it. stay away from them. Privilege club are in every hotel lobby.

Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: Fabulous Resort

Everything about this resort was first class. The staff went out of their way to be friendly and helpful. The rooms and grounds were extremely clean and well maintained. Although it is a very Maarten resort it was fairly easy to navigate and there are plenty of trams if you don't want to walk.

Bahia Principe Explore La Romana: Not a Resort for English Canadians

This is by far a 5* resort. A 5* food resort however the service and English staff would rate this a 1*. We spoke with our Air Transat rep who let us know La Romana because it's in the middle of nowhere has the lowest paying staff wages on Dominican Republic. All staff are trainees and do not speak any English. Service was awful. Plates would stack up on your table at buffet and had to ask manager to have someone remove them. Ordering a drink at a bar would take 15-20 mins every time. If they co [... read more]uld up the service this would be a 5 star all the way around.

Bahia Principe Explore Esmeralda: Welcome "Home "

From day 1, minute 1 through to day 10 last minute the GBP Esmeralda exceeded my expectations in every way possible. Timely and efficient internal transportation, easy/peasy check in and out with efficient and friendly staff, exceptionally manicured and beautiful grounds, beautiful beach, spacious and well serviced room, clean and sanitary pools with awesome bar service, great entertainment, and scrumptious meals, all of which was only exceeded by friendly, personable a la carte and buffet [... read more] staff who treat every guest like he /she was the only guest in the resort. Kudos and high fives to the Esmeralda staff for making my stay so memorable and enjoyable. I was restricted to a wheelchair for most of my stay and everything was fully accessible, including my internal transportation!

Bahia Principe Explore La Romana: Awesome resort

Hotel was spectacular. Great amenities. Rooms very nice and great variety of foods at buffet. A la carte restaurants were excellent also. Nightly Entertainment was good and daytime pool entertainment was a lot of fun. The beach was beautiful. The only drawback was the water at the beach was murky so you couldn't see the bottom which was too bad. We had a blast here!!

Bahia Principe Explore Coba: Great food and friendly people!

The food was great and the people were very friendly. We went during the Christmas holidays and we were spoiled with magnificent feasts, great parties and great shows. The beach and the pool were great as well.

Bahia Principe Grand San Juan: Dated Resort

Rooms were clean bathrooms were updated. Resort just s need a minor makeover, the sand fleas and mosquitoes terrible take lots of bug spray and the food tends to repeat every second day the staff could not be more friendlier or helpful and I know we were there for New Years they made it spectacular from the food to the whole evening.

Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: This resort would be heard to beat!!

Beautiful resort! Well maintained and kept very clean at all times. Staff is always working hard and they are all so friendly. Beaches are AMAZING and so is the food. Rooms are fantastic and beds are cozy. Will not regret booking a vacation here and I will be returning to this resort for sure!!!

Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: Amazing Resort

Spent 10 days over Christmas and New Years at the Bahai Principe Ambar Blue. The room was clean, and everything worked. No issues at all. The beach was beautiful and well maintained. The food was great in the buffet. Especially the fresh eggs station and the pasta station.The staff were friendly and helpful especially Julio, Roberto, Franklin, Sarah and Angie Thanks to them for helping to make our stay so memorable.We would recommend this hotel to anyone and hope to return some day

Bahia Principe Explore Turquesa: Beautiful resort -- fantastic landscape!

The resort, Bahia Principe Turquesa, was beautiful. The grounds were fantastic with maintenance happening all over the place to keep it in top shape. We drove through the neighbouring Rui resort a couple of times and were surprised at how run down and poorly maintained it was. Service was fantastic. You didn’t have to wait long to get a drink. The food was terrific especially the a la cartes. My teenage son made sure we got our money’s worth from the all you can eat buffet. I don’t r [... read more]eally know where he puts it all. The entertain wasn’t bad. There was something happening every night. Not as good as big cruise ships or Mexico’s Mayan Riviera Grand Palladium resort. It could be due to multiple shows happening simultaneously versus the single show. Most of the hotel lobbies had shows plus a theatre and open air show all at the same time. Our rooms were terrific. They actually look bigger than the web site pictures. Air conditioning worked well. Very well maintained every day. Very few downsides. It rained a couple of times for all of 10 or 15 minutes. Unfortunately, one of those times was ten minutes before midnight New Year’s Eve. Of course, we’re dressed up for the event and it poured. We were drenched, in the open with nowhere to go for cover. Fortunately, it was a warm rain and stopped after 15 minutes. Fireworks were tremendous. The Turquesa is the furthest hotel within the resort complex from the beach. The shuttles run often so it wasn’t a problem. We often walked there and back just for the exercise. The Turquesa pool wasn’t as busy as the others which was a bonus. For the first few days, definitely peak volume, it was difficult to find an empty chair at the pool or beach. So many drop their towels early in the morning then disappear for the day. The beach was absolutely beautiful. White, pure, soft sand including out into the ocean. Gentle waves. The flag was yellow but we didn’t have any problem swimming or enjoying the ocean. The seaweed that washes up is quickly raked and removed. We walked up and down the beach a few times. While our sheets and bath towels were changed every day all of us noted the pillows weren't as fresh. Not sure if the pillow cases weren’t changed or if the pillows themselves needed to be washed. We did one excursion to swim with the dolphins. It was a bit pricey since there were 7 of us – 5 swam and 2 of us watched. Cost was USD$815. We didn’t purchase the USD$350 pictures. Definitely would recommend this resort.

Bahia Principe Explore Legend: Great resort for the families

We have stayed at Grand Bahia Luxury Fantasia hotel for the Christmas 2016. We are very pleased with this hotel. Advise: book your restaurants as soon as possible, since they are all booked and very few spots left. However, you can go to the restaurant, and take chances if someone does not come. If something is missing in your room, like toilet paper, do not make a big fuss about it, just ask cleaning personnel on your floor, or concierge to get you some. Also ask them for the reception ph [... read more]one, since the phone numbers information is missing in the room. Grounds: Grounds are very well kept. Trains that connect beach with different hotels are running all day and night. Fantasia is an ultimate choice for families with kids. The resort has great swimming pools, big kids club with trampoline, Water Park, teen’s club. You can visit all the hotels, entertainment is happening in all hotels, dance parties, theaters performances, or you can just chill in some lobby bars. All hotels lobby bars/grounds look very nice. Fantasia has three buildings in the castle shape, and really looks like in Disneyland. In the evening all castles are lit in different colors, and they change colors all the time, so it looks fantastic. They run a short entertainment gig in the evening in which the main castle is illuminated with different characters from fairy tales... The fountains near lobby are illuminated with different colors in the evening. Very nicely envisioned. Food: The buffet restaurant is very good with waste choices of food. We have been travelling to Mexico, Cuba, Jamaica and Dominican Republic all 4.5-5 * hotels, and this hotel is very high placed. I must admit, regarding food, that Iberostar Montego Bay Rose Hall Suites and Cap Cana Sanctuary are so far holding the first place of all resorts we have visited. The snack bar in the castle which becomes circus restaurant in the evening was our preferred place for breakfast, since was close to our room and also closer to the beach. I would not call it snack bar, since it has everything - probably the same food as in the buffet. The fantasia gourmet restaurant was exceptional, but probably not for small kids, since you have to wait for the food, and kids may become bored, and everything made was like a small art piece on your plate. Esmeralda Brazilian restaurant was a big disappointment. Also Circus restaurant was very good and better choice for dinner with smaller kids. Fantasia has a snack bar on the beach, but is not near the snack bar in the Circus restaurant. Very small choices of food, but enough for a small lunch. You can always walk to the Punta Cana or Bavaro buffet on the beach, and to Ambar snack bar (without kids). The new rule is that you cannot eat anymore in other hotel's buffets except your own hotel. However, you can eat in other hotel's snack bars, and some snack bars are as large as buffets. Beach: Beach is very nice, powdered white sand; tens of kilometers walk either way. Little bit windy, but not unbearable. Very nice and comfy beach chairs in Esmeralda part of the beach. Plenty of palapas, chairs, so you will never need to rush to take a place in a shade. Very busy place too. Volleyball, dance lessons on the beach. I was little bit annoyed with the banana boat and tubing since they were running most of the day very close to the hotel swimming boundary and luring people all the time. They would run most of the time empty and spoil the air with their fumes while waiting for someone to call them. They should put the boat in the designated places for boats and wait for people there, or ask people on the beach, not while running empty in the water. The swimming boundary is not far. I did not like the empty part of the beach for 'preferred guests', since it is a waste of land, it is always empty. Even if I was a preferred guest, I would not like to sit alone in this section, while all other people sit around this empty section on the beach, behind volleyball field. Rooms: Rooms are very nice, huge, long hallway, separate washroom with door inside bathroom, shower, whirlpool-type bathtub, two sinks. There is a place for one king bed, one twin bed and sofa that can be turned for 2 kids sleeping sofa bed. If you are family of up to 4, you have king and sofa bed in the room. A/C is tricky to operate. There are no any instructions, you need to hold longer second button from below (if I remember well) to turn it on/off. If a door or terrace door is opened, A/C becomes a fan instead of cooling. We are not sure, but if there is no movement in the room, A/C becomes a fan (or our A/C did not work well). However, you can turn ceiling fan on, so there is a movement all the time. You can manually change cooling modes , from fan, to snow flake, which I think is the cooling mode. So it is not correct as some people say that you cannot turn the A/C off, you just need to hold that power button long enough. It is not loud, but not too quiet too. Some people complained that were confused how to operate this A/C. Perhaps hotel should provide some manuals. We had an A/C leek first night, but they repaired it the same day we complained. They are cleaning room twice a day, in the morning and in the evening, so before your dinner, is a good time to ask them to provide you whatever you want in your room, like we were missing some pillow cases, and toilet paper, and they would just give you extra if you ask. It is hard to speak with cleaning personnel, since they do not know English, but body language works! Also they are missing important telephone numbers in the room, for example reception number, since concierge number works only during the day, not in the evening. You can ask the reception to provide a number. They should have it in the room. The bar fridge is daily replaced with fresh water and chips. There are some drinks in the fridge, and is all included. We had very pleasant and great vacation in fantasia and we recommend it to everyone and especially families with kids. It is a 'paradise for kids'.

Bahia Principe Explore Tulum: Lovely family resort

We spent 5 days at the Grand Bahia Principe Coba over New Years. It is a very nice large resort with many amenities including a large splash pad for kids and a big theatre for shows and celebrations. Beach access is easy with the many little trollies that transport vacationers around the resort but was a bit of a hike if you just wanted to walk there. Rooms were large and clean and had balconies. The pools were lovely and the main buffet was readily accessible and not too crowded. Food was avera [... read more]ge- at times it did not seem to be kept hot enough but there was a wide variety of things to choose from. Staff were friendly and helpful. This resort is a long way from the Cancun airport (1 hr and 20 min drive). Check out took a long time on the day of departure due to insufficient staff so check out earlier if possible. We were almost late for our airport shuttle despite giving ourselves an hour leeway.

Bahia Principe Explore Jamaica: Clean and very well maintained but...

I went to the Grand Bahia Principe in Jamaica with my 18 year old son. Overall we had a great trip, and enjoyed our stay. Pros: The al a carte restaurants were all good, I particularly enjoyed the Gourmet, my son the Japanese, and the buffet was fine. The place was very clean and clearly well maintained, and the staff all very courteous and kind. The free catamaran was awesome, my son learned how to sail and loved it. Neither of us are beach bunnies so I can't speak to the quality of the  [... read more]beach or swimming, but we both enjoyed beach volleyball in an area not by the water. The mini-casino has 2 very nice Black Jack machines which seat multiple players and actually seemed to play legit. My son really enjoyed learning how to play Black Jack - properly! Lastly, like all resorts in Jamaica (at least all those on the national water supply), you CAN drink the water no need to brush your teeth using bottled water and no more concerns about the fruits and veggie or cocktails. The resort wasn't responsible for it but they recommended and booked for us, and we very much enjoyed a half-day trip on the party catamaran which takes you to Dunns Falls where you can climb up the falls (more like rapids to be honest but lovely just the same), have a jerk chicken lunch at Margaretville, and then sail back with dancing and drinks. Great value at $103 USd each. Cons: The buffet hours were not particularly accommodating - closing at 10AM and not opening until 1PM for lunch meant if we wanted to enjoy a nice breakfast we would have to get up "early". We're on vacation MON!!! There is another Bar & Grill style place that opens at 11AM but it is not a breakfast place. As my son pointed out there is actually 1 hour when you can't get food anywhere. Our package also included free room service which I thought was awesome until I read the Room Service Menu - forget it. If you decide to try your luck in the mini-casino count your cash when you turn in your receipt from the Black Jack machine. The morning after I collected my money I noticed I seemed to be short $20 but I wasn't %100 sure. The 2nd night I cashed out I counted it in front of her and sure enough I was $20 short!! Another complaint would be the scarcity of bars, especially with the central bar poolside (including the swim up bar) closing at 5:30. What's up with that? In short, being an all-inclusive loses a lot of its lustre if you have to work around their hours, and plan when to grab drinks in order not to have to walk for 5 min each way to get another round. Lastly, our package was supposed to include 4 al a carte restaurants. Despite the hotel pre-booking the gourmet and Japanese, and going on-line as soon as I got in our room, I was unable to book a night at the Italian restaurant. Despite calling and asking for assistance not once but twice over our stay and being told they would look into it and call me back, neither time did we get a call back. We were supposed to get 4 al la carte dinner nights and we only got 3 and nobody we spoke to gave a damn - very very poor customer service!! We had a look in the Italian place a couple of times and they were never full - I don't get it.

Bahia Principe Explore Jamaica: Fabulous vacation!!

This resort is the best out of 3 trips I have made. Very luxurious, very well maintained, beautiful pools and beach!! Food was excellent and varied. The service was very good as were all the people we met!! We will for sure book this resort again!!! 😎🌴🇯🇲

Bahia Principe Grand San Juan: A great place for what it is!

The pool is great, beach is beautiful, drinks are good, buffet food was as good as you'd expect from a buffet, and the a la carte restaurants were delicious. Our room wasn't extravagant, but I didn't book a trip to the Dominican to sit in a room. Our bar fridge wasn't working, which we didn't notice until 6pm on the day way came. We called the front desk, they came within minutes to investigate, and when we came back from supper there was a new fridge in the room. The showers didn't have as  [... read more]much pressure as I'd get at home (many of the resorts I go to are like this), but the water was always hot enough. The only complaint I will agree with is that the bugs are terrible -- many of us in my group came back with a lot of bites. But I'm not sure how much control the hotel has over this. They spray for bugs daily so, in the end, it is what it is. Overall, I think if you're not a spoiled diva, you'll love this hotel. The people are extremely friendly and helpful and service was always good.