The Eurostars Grand Cayacoa: Excellent resort.

Everything about this resort was very good. The grounds, public areas, room was very well serviced. The dining and A L’Carte restaurants was excellent. This was our 2nd visit to this resort in the last 2 years and we will definitely go back. I have also recommended it to friends who went and they enjoyed it very much too.

Bahia Principe Escape Samana: Great Resort

After a 75 minute bus ride, we arrived and we were instantly treated with drinks and the service at the front desk was quick and easy. Our room was an oceanfront with a balcony. Best views are on the 4th floor. Very clean and always kept clean. We met our butler for the week and he was fantastic. It's a small resort and everything is close by. Be aware there are lots of steps to the beach, pool and rooms. The grounds were beautifully kept. The beach was small, so don't expect long walks . No sea [... read more]weed and a very swimmable area. It has a beach bar with full service. The bartenders were amazing. Be specific when ordering because they do like to put too much liquor in when making drinks. The pool area was always fun to be at with many activities throughout the day. The animators were very friendly and always tried to get everyone involved. It wasn't too noisy either. The pool bar had easy access and the bartenders were awesome. Washrooms were close by and seats were always available. The night shows were typical of any other resort I've been too, so don't expect too much. Also, after 11 pm, there is really nothing to do. The bars hours should be extended and there should be some sort of music playing at least until 12 am. The biggest disappointment was the food. Most reviews raved about the a la carte restaurants, but the food was subpar at best. Always cold and not too appetizing. Out of the 3, the Brazilian was probably the best but the food was very salty. The buffet is your best option with lots to choose from, but its the same almost everyday. The best night was seafood night (Thursday) at the buffet. Service at all restaurants was exceptionally good. Overall, we had a great time especially relaxing by the ocean. The people were wonderful. I probably won't go back, as we like to try different places. Cheers!

Viva V Samana by Wyndham: Nice small resort

My friends and I stayed a week at this resort. It is very small and no matter where you are you do not have more than a walk of a couple of minutes. The rooms are clean with nice showers however the pillows are awful and then beds are hard. The pool area is beautiful but small. They do have beds and igloos along with lounge chairs and a couple of umbrellas. If you want a bed or igloo you must get up at 6:30 to lay claim. Otherwise enjoy the scorching hot sun all day. It is the same situation dow [... read more]n at the beach. Towels are not an issue and you can take as many as you like. The drinks are great - not watered down and many options. Food is fine. The buffet has decent choices for breakfast and lunch but it does not change much day to day. The coffee is awful. Service is good but you cannot get your own drinks and often you wait half your meal until you get a drink - even just water. There are 3 restaurants - Mediterranean, fusion and seafood. We did not like the seafood one except for the dessert. You do not need a reservation and can go as many times as you like. The food is much better than the buffet and you have 4-5 choices of appetizers, first, second courses and dessert. Most of the workers are extremely friendly, the grounds are immaculate and the entire effect is paradise.

Cayo Levantado Resort: Great, but not perfect

We have stayed at numerous resorts throughout the Caribbean, and this was definitely one of the best. The grounds are absolutely beautiful. How they maintain them to look so amazing, and with such varieties of plant life, is beyond me. The island is not flat, so be prepared to walk up and down some small hills from your room to the other parts of the resort. Nothing unreasonable, just something to be aware of if you have mobility issues. We booked a Superior Junior Suite, and the room [... read more] was huge, with a beautiful 2nd floor view of the ocean. It appears that all rooms surrounding the property were equally big and luxurious. There are also smaller rooms in the main hotel area, so I am happy that we booked the Superior Junior Suite. We had a few issues during our stay, but they were dealt with quickly. No air conditioning when we arrived, but that was fixed the next day. The safe did not work at all, but that was fixed within an hour. There was no hot water one day, forcing us to take cold showers, but that was resolved by early that same evening. We were assigned a butler, but only saw him on the first day, when we arrived. This is in contrast to the Chic Resort that we stayed at in Punta Cana, where your butler is always checking in on you, booking your dinners and massages, dealing with any room issues, and making sure everything is perfect. Our butler at Bahia Principe was invisible. We had to deal with everything ourselves. Not a big deal, but a bit of a disappointment after having a completely different experience at another 5 star resort. Food was very good, at the buffet as well as at the 2 restaurants we tried: Don Pablo (French) and Rodizio (Brazilian). I especially liked the welcome drink that was available at the buffet every morning at breakfast (mimosa) as well as a unique drink every dinner that was tied to the buffet theme of the night. There are effectively 3 beaches: 2 next to each other by the activity pool, and the public beach. The beach by the activity pool gets quite windy in the afternoon, making it a bit uncomfortable. But it is possible to find some shelter further down the beach. The public beach has boats coming and going during the day as part of their excursions, since it is a beautiful beach. It was fun to hang out there one day, although you will get kicked off of the lounge chairs, since you did not pay for an excursion. Every night, the hotel uses the public beach as a disco party area, which is always a fun experience. My wife and I just loved hanging on some lounge chairs by the ocean sipping on some drinks under the stars, with music playing in the background. My biggest issue is that the resort does not have a true "adult" vibe. It just seems to be a standard family-friendly resort, with no kids running around. The shows were all the same shows you would see at a standard family Dominican resort (Micheal Jackson show, Dominican show, Vegas show, etc.). Contrast that to other adults-only resorts we have been to, where the atmosphere is more like a club, with go-go dancers, more adult-oriented humor and games, pool parties with foam, etc. None of this was to be had at Bahia Principe, which was a disappointment. I understand that the resort will become family oriented later this year, so maybe that is why. It just could have been much more fun than it was. Overall, I would say this is more of a 4 star resort than a 5 star resort, since we have been at other 5 star resorts in the Caribbean where they treat you more like royalty (eg. bringing ice cream to everyone on the beach, replacing your wet towels with dry ones throughout the day, etc.). Still a nice resort to go to, which I summarized in the title of this review: "Great, but not perfect". It might do better as a family friendly resort.

Wyndham Alltra Samana: Decent resort!

The shuttle bus from the airport is quite long (2 hours) but was neat to see other Dominican culture and the pretty scenery. There was not much direction given once arriving at the resort. We were pretty much on our own to figure things out. Front desk people are not very good at English so communication was a big barrier. Animation staff were amazing! Very good at engaging people and making all the activities fun. Night shows were great however quite late. (Kids show starting at 8 and adult  [... read more]show starting at 930... could be pushed an hour earlier.) Food was great! Lots of selection and very good tasting.

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: Great Resort

Best resort I have visited for the price. Great service, clean grounds and wonderful food. The easy check in on the bus meant no line up and the choice to go directly to our room to drop off our bags and organize our things before returning to the main village to eat.

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: Wonderful Holiday!

Totally enjoyed our vacation. Resort clean, excellent food, excellent people. Only down fall was the internet, possibly better instruction. Reception was good, but no info given. Example,we got to the lunch buffet on day of arrival, and waited to be seated, as this is what we were used to from previous vacations. At this resort you seat yourself. Was not informed of this. Other than that, it was an incredible holiday.

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: Nice place.

This is a beautiful clean resort.The food is pretty good. The brazilian a la carte was great. The service was good. Lacking in emuntrtainment. Beautiful long beach to walk.Must have been march break for quebec. Alot of french families. A lot of young children. Its our second time to el potillio. Ithink we will try somewhere else .

Viva V Samana by Wyndham: Very nice place!

We were very happy with our stay here. Beautiful location! Resort very clean and beautifully decorated. Staff were amazing and so friendly! Mix of guests, most expecting quiet...some need to be friendlier and relax and have fun!!! Loved being on ground floor with patio and plunge pool. Food was very good, we do not agree with other complaints of food, as many options including the 3 a la carte restaurants. Air Canada was only complaint, issues travelling both ways and would seek out diffe [... read more]rent airline next trip.

Wyndham Alltra Samana: Dissapointing overall

The beach has a beautiful view, but overall the resort has got so prioritized to making sure you are aware of which area is available for only Select or Privledge patrons, that it spoils the overall vacation. The small pool, which cannot be used by the Deluxe room customers now, use to be our favorite area to spend time in, and we noticed that less then half of the chairs around this small pool, were ever occupied. They have lost a lot of the English speaking guests, mostly French and German  [... read more], spoke now. We have visited this resort 6 times in the last 10 years, and now, will not be going back again, because of the changes in privledges of guests, according to what room you book. Deborah did promise us an voucher for 100 dollars, which we never have received.

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 El Portillo: Nice resort

The resort is really clean, good food, nice rooms, long walking beach, beautiful staff willing to help in anyway. We tried all the specialty restaurants and liked them all. My favourite was the gourmet restaurant.

Cayo Levantado Resort: Almost perfect

Luxurious, well-maintained, scrupulously clean property. Wonderful staff. Food is plentiful, varied, and beautifully presented. Ranges in quality from superb to not-so-great, but is mostly quite good. Definitely no worries about bacteria or parasites. Pools and beach are terrific. Beds are a little on the hard side.

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: Wonderful experience and great resort

We enjoyed our room so close to all the amenities. We could listen to the music from our patio. We were concerned about noise there but at 11 pm all was quiet. Maid service was great and never did we need to wait for them to clean the room. They seem to work around our schedule and rooms were cleaned when we got back. So grateful to Josephina that she ensured we had our drinks ready prior to dinner. Alta Gracia was an amazing woman. Always entertaining. Yisel and Yudelka made sure our ta [... read more]ble of 8 was available for lunch and we enjoyed our servers Ronnie and Luis with their wonderful wit and smiles. Overall, we would come back again. Thank you for a great experience, Jim & Michael

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: Great

The hotel was great but should highlight the stairs in the lobby better. My husband, who is disabled fell down them and I also saw two other people fall. If you walk up the stairs, you see the signs but there are no signs that there is a step going down. The lighting in the lobby was poor. I saw one guy slip and fall, and not one person from the hotel came to assist him. I must say they were very accommodating when tripcentral screwed up our request for a bottom room as my husband is disa [... read more]bled.

Cayo Levantado Resort: Heaven on earth!

This place was heaven for us. Great food, great pools (beach was small with big waves), rooms were super clean and big. Lots of lounge chairs at the beach and pools. But what stood out the most was the service. Everyone had a smile on their face and worked very hard to please us. This was our second time there. We never go anywhere twice, but heard that it was going to become a family resort this summer so wanted to go again when it was adults only. It is quiet, serene and a great place to [... read more] go to relax and restore. Loved the jungle feel with a semi shaded walking path all over the island.

Cayo Levantado Resort: Amazing resort

Thank you for a wonderful week long experience. 1. We found the all Staff & happy to look after us through out our vacation. 2. The Animation Team especially Paulina & Jesus encouraged us to participate in the activities throughout the day and evening. eg Bocce Ball, Stretch, Aerobics, Spanish lessons, Bean Bag toss, Bingo and the Coconut demonstration with Monkey Boy climbing, The Acrobatic agility at both evening entertainment was amazing. 3. We appreciated the wide se [... read more]lection of food offered in main Grill restaurant. The Brazilian dining experience was #1. Pool side restaurant was handy throughout the day. 4. Nice touch with the evening essential oil lamps, beverages and chips in the mini bar, comfortable Bed and great view of the bay. 5. Great Birthday cake and staff singing Happy Birthday at Don Pablo restaurant for daughter's birthday. 6. A wonderful and enjoyable experience. Sincerely, Corry and Edwin Chow

Bahia Principe Escape Samana: Nice resort for first all inclusive vacation

The vacation was great. Only issues which cannot be changed are weather and location Food was great and so was the service. Entertainment could be better however we had a wonderful vacation. I will be returning in the future.

Bahia Principe Grand Samana Roulette: Second time to this Resort and enjoyed it very much again

Very beautiful area and the grounds are lovely also. The Hotel was very clean and well looked after. We found the Staff very friendly and helpful especially Laura at the desk who went out of her way to find us the right room.

Cayo Levantado Resort: VERY QUIET

This hotel is on a beautiful island . It is very windy and not much opportunity to swim in ocean but amazing to look at There is no swim up bar, no music and very little going on All hotel bars and restaurants are closed at 11:00 pm so if you like to stay up and party on your vacation, this is not the place