Bahia Principe Escape Sian Ka'an: Great Resort would go back!

We travelled the week of December 12 - 19, 2015 Pros: The hotel was fabulous, grounds, public areas, food (there definitely is something for everyone even picky eaters, we also had no problems booking Ala carte) ,rooms and staff. Although not on the beach no trouble to get there. love the fact that the resort was quiet and great for a restful vacation. being able to use the other resorts for beach and food was great. Cons: distance from airport especially when leaving you had to leave early in t [... read more]he morning so you lost a whole day. Also, if you wanted to leave the hotel to do anything it was very expensive by cab i.e. $35 U.S. to get to Playa Del Carmen one way, however you could take the bus and that was only $3.50. Entertainment: I really think especially being an adult only the entertainment could be updated if you travel a lot seeing Michael Jackson becomes redundant. and if would have been nice to see something different. having said that the weather was awesome and the vacation was great.

Bahia Principe Explore La Romana: Health Inspector Required ASAP! Food poisoning!

We stayed at this resort from December 25th - January 1st/16. We were in a group with my parents, my husband and our toddler. We came from Vancouver, BC so it was quite a bit of money and time to get to this place. To give you a little bit of background, we travel frequently, about 5 times a year and stay in all-inclusive luxury resorts in the Caribbean about twice per year. We have previously stayed at Grand Bahia Principe in Runway Bay, Jamaica and Grand Bahia Principe in Punta Cana which are [... read more] actual 4.5-5 star resorts. This place has nothing to do with the Grand Bahia Principe name which we experienced before. It is generous of me to give this a 2 star rating. There is absolutely nothing 5 star about this place. If luxury and five star experience is what you are looking for, this is not the place!!! I'll start from our arrival. We arrived at the resort in the evening around 11:00pm. After nearly 12 hours of travel we were exhausted and starving. I should also mention that I am PREGNANT. While checking in I asked the employee if there was room service, as I had thought there was but he said "NOT FOR YOU" (referring to our particular package, I suppose). After 12 hours of travel, pregnant, and exhausted with a toddler the answer should have perhaps been "unfortunately not for the particular package you purchased, sorry" instead of “not for you". He told us that there is a snack bar where we can grab something to eat. As a pregnant woman I am very restricted with what I can and cannot eat and have to be very careful for obvious reasons. All that was available at the buffet style snack bar were hot dogs (which by the way were sitting in a pool of water), sandwiches with deli meat, and burgers. No fruit, no French fries, no pizza, no nachos, no dessert. I am not allowed to eat deli meat and hot dogs as a pregnant woman, therefore I had one choice left, burgers that were sitting in the heat. You can imagine how happy I was at this supposed "FIVE STAR LUXURY" resort from the start. We got to our room, which looked like we went back in time to the '90's. Everything was worn down and falling apart. Our room was on the ground floor and our balcony door did not lock properly and could easily be opened. Also, the chain lock on the main door was missing and my toddler was able to open the door without hesitation. So there we are, still hungry and now feeling unsafe and very much so irritated. We had to put the couch on the balcony door and chairs on the front door so that we could somewhat sleep. Food and safety are basic needs, there is nothing luxurious about that. The next morning we were woken up around 8:00AM by the housekeepers who scream at one another to communicate right in front of your door. Absolutely zero consideration for the fact that guests are there on vacation to REST and RELAX. This continued for the duration of our trip. That morning our safe also started breaking down. It basically just stopped working. We called the front desk who sent someone to fix it. He told us the battery was out and he needed to change it. In total 4 people came by to fix the safe which was very, very strange that a simple battery needed that many people. They also "fixed" the balcony door and eventually added a chain link to the front door after I had to convince the employee that my child could open the door. He thought it was fine as is!? The tub in our washroom did not drain properly, so every evening when we would shower we would literally be standing in a foot of filthy water (with sunscreen, sand and salt, trust me its FILTHY) Five stars right?! (Y) Often we did not have enough towels in our room and had to call the the front desk for more, who would take an hour to bring them while we waited to shower. The ones that were there half the time had strange yellow and orange marks on them. We took our toddler to the kid’s park area to play. It was the biggest joke of a play area that I have ever seen at any resort. It’s basically a bunch of plastic swings and slides that were half broken and completely unsafe all placed on top of sand, also not a good idea as it got in her eyes as she crawled around for 5 minutes. The pools are nice but dirty. There are always random things floating around in murky sunscreen water so we spent most of our time on the beach. 90% of the staff could care less that you are there. They will ignore you for as long as they can to avoid having to do their actual job. We sat at the lobby bar area, there was nobody else but us at the time and the waitress just would not come over to ask us what we wanted to drink, just ONE example. On the third day I woke up nauseous. I assumed that it was just pregnancy sickness but unfortunately I was wrong. My symptoms quickly worsened. On the third day I woke up nauseous. I assumed that it was just pregnancy sickness but unfortunately I was wrong. My symptoms quickly worsened. I developed a low fever, vomiting, loose bowel movements, chills, aches and all the works that go along with food poisoning! Did I mention that I am pregnant???I was so, so, so careful. I avoided all deli meat, salad, hot dogs, anything that sat there for a long time, made sure to have everything fresh off the grill and made in front of me and well done. I even brushed my teeth with bottled water. My symptoms persisted for 48h and I was confined to my room, more precisely the bathroom. We had to cancel our trip to Catalina Island and considered going home early. Please, do not ignore all of the reviews regarding food poisoning, they are not a joke. Wish so many complains, if this were a hotel in Canada, it would have long ago been shut down by health inspection as it is completely unsafe. My husband developed food poisoning symptoms on our last day and had diarrhea the entire flight home and still two days later. I have never, ever had food poisoning in the Caribbean and I have visited over 20 times. This is a first! We were only given half of our money back, for the Catalina cancellation. There was zero understanding. The only employees who will give you attention at this resort are the ones who are aggressively trying to sell time shares to the point of harassment. What part of we are on vacation trying to relax and not interested is so hard to understand? Also on the beach, if you have any length to your hair you will be asked if you want it braided at least 5 times daily. As for the drinks, they ran out of mint leaves for the mojitos on the 2nd day and for the duration of the trip. How is that even possible, honestly? Again, five stars? There is wifi available, you get 1 hour a day and you have to go to the reception for them to log you in and it’s only available in the lobby, how convenient? Every 5 star resort that I have stayed at thus far had 24H free wifi even on the beach. The shows were really fun and our toddler really enjoyed them. The entertainment team is really energetic and does their job well. For breakfast they have delicious donuts which we really enjoyed! There is also a nice selection of fresh fruit and fresh fruit juice. The girl who makes the fruit juice was super nice and stood out. There was always room on the beach and the pool and we easily found chairs. The beach is clean but is not as turquoise and crystal clear as other Caribbean destinations. The new year’s eve party was amazing. Tonnes of champagne, live music, an overall great party. Karaoke was great too! Overall, despite the few positives, this resort was a big, big letdown. I don't know if I can trust the Grand Bahia Principe name after this experience. The 4.5-5 star rating is a complete lie. I would never go to this place again and would absolutely not recommend it to anyone.

Bahia Principe Explore Esmeralda: Wonderful

What a wonderful trip. My wife, son (Jefferson or JJ) and I spent 2 awesome weeks at the Esmeralda Dec. 11-25. I can't say enough about how wonderful everyone was to us. I will mention a few names and am sorry for the ones that I can't remember. The guest services person, Anny Kerry, is wonderful. Thank you very much for all your assistance. Charlie and Devlin and everyone on the front desk were equally helpful. Our room service people could not have been more kind and professional. Particularly [... read more] we would like to thank the people at the Geranios buffet where we ate almost every day. Our 2.5 yr old was so happy there. (Everyone in the resort seemed to know his name and took time to play with him). Thank you to Franklin, Wilson, Luis, Altagracia and everyone else at the restaurant. Franklin would always take the time to play with JJ –thanks for making his trip special. The Esmeralda is excellent in every way. Our room was great, the pools are nice, the beach is kept clean and there is always something going on. The food was excellent, especially on Christmas Eve. It was truly amazing. We didn’t try the a la carte restaurants because the buffet worked better for our son, but some of the friends we made recommended the Don Pablo, Olivar, Beach BBq, and the Grill. Everyone works very hard and deserves your respect and tips. I can’t say enough about what a wonderful experience it was thanks to the staff. We will definitely be returning. We met people who had been there 3 or 4 times – for a very good reason. A very Happy New year to you and your families.

Bahia Principe Escape Sian Ka'an: Fantastic adult only resort!

Excellent service, fabulous food, beautiful rooms, and a fantastic animation team (shout out to Rigo & Joel) hit this resort out of the park! This was our first time here but we have previously stayed at Gran Bahia adult only resorts in DR - this was a while different level up (ironically, for a lower price). The beach is not that great or convenient but we are not really beach people so we don't care. The pools are fantastic, surrounded by beautiful trees. We will definitely be back.

Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: Amazing vacation!

My boyfriend and had a wonderful time at this resort! The grounds were kept very clean, our room was beautiful and we loved the food. We were pleasantly surprised that we were able to book an a la carte restaurant every night of the week because we were in the "Adults Only" section. We spent a lot of time at the pool and the drinks in all the bars were delicious. I had previously stayed at the Bahia Principe Bavaro which was right next to us and it was nice having access to the facilities on tha [... read more]t side (casino, disco, theatre, etc.) We would definitely come back :)

Bahia Principe Explore Jamaica: Good Resort

Resort was good and the staff good. I would not rate this resort as excellent due to the following: Some staff are in a bad mood especially the bar tender... I do not and did not drink much but thought when I approached the bar, the bar tender at was rather rude. I think this may be because you have to show the tip first. The constant up-sell of the resort package by the resort staff where they want $29K from you for their resort is a real BS. they need to take this away as it is bothering.

Bahia Principe Grand San Juan: Very nice and clean resort

Lots of good food,great people, and entertainment! Love the Pina Coladas and Banana Mammas :) We had a very nice stay here! The only bad experience was the satalite kept going out and our ride to the airport did not show up, other than that we'd be happy to visit again! :)

Bahia Principe Explore Punta Cana: resort is way too big

You can't walk around to see everything you need a trolley to get around. The food was terrible and unless you speak Spanish good luck on getting someone who really understand English I would not go back and a lot of people I spoke to said the same very disappointed

Bahia Principe Escape Runaway Bay: Amazing Resort

We just got back from spending an amazing week over Christmas at the adults only section of the resort. The staff were incredible and the weather and food was perfect. They just need to work out a few kinks; not all of the alcohol on the menu was behind the bar. We also reported water leaks in the bathroom from the room above and from the shower going into the toilet area to management twice and they never came to fix either of these issues. We also found the wifi a little awkward, depending on  [... read more]where you were on the resort it would loose connection and you had to wait until you were back on the adults only side to reconnect it again. The beach was not constructed yet at the adults only side but they were working on it and should have it done soon!

Bahia Principe Explore Punta Cana: Huge resort!

Most lush and green grounds we have ever seen at a sun resort. Impeccably clean also. Shuttles run every few minutes but a short walk if you prefer to wear off the food and drink! Beautiful beach area.

Bahia Principe Explore Akumal: Great experience

Overall great experience. Buffet was quite good and the Restos were a good change. Beach was terrific and enclosed ocean space was great for kids. Didn't use the pools but the one by the beach next to the outdoor resto was beautiful. Ended up eating most meals at that place as the setting was so nice.

Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: wonderful

I can say that this resort met or exceeded all my expectations. There were a few issues however. 1. It took 3 days to get our air conditiong repaired. 2. The advertised christmas mass at midnight christmas eve. When we arrived we were informed it was cancelled with no prior notice. 3. We bought tickets on christmas day to attemd the Carabana party that eas advertised all over. Once again on arrival we were informed it was cancelled. Frustrating that at the very least they could have informed us. [... read more] And last. All nee arrivals recieved a gift bag. We did not. When ee enquired about it they said they were all out. This was on our 6th day there. If thede situations did not happen. I would have given 5 star review.

Bahia Principe Grand San Juan: Nice staff, had fun, but beware the sand fleas!

Stayed at the resort from 12/12/2015 for a week, I was advised the place was recently renovated. I couldn't really tell, I believe they just painted everything white? My room: -It was very close to the main lobby and buffet restaurant. A nice room on the 2nd level with a few palm trees blocking my view from the ocean. -shower pressure weaker than a drinking fountain horrible unless you shower at 3am (this is pressure is normal apparently when conversing with my friends in 4 other separate rooms  [... read more]across the resort). When the staff called to ask me about how the room was, I advised them the shower pressure was horrible. They advised me it will be looked at in the future. (probably just working out the kinks after the renovation) -FYI. Toilets get easily clogged. so flush constantly :) -TV works but has only 1 channel, you have to do a channel scan and maybe you'll get about 10 channels. (i learned this from some random people at the resort I spoke with) -mini fridge was stacked with beer, pop, and 1 large bottle of water daily. this was very useful. Restaurants: The main buffet - open during the normal meal times. Becomes the late night snack bar at 11pm. Note: my flight arrived at 9:30pm, takes 1 hr to get from POP airport to this resort. We arrived at 10:30pm starving, apparently no food was open, no one at the snack bar restaurant spoke any English, the reception kept pointing us that way and not telling me that it wont open until 11pm (which they actually opened late at around 11:30pm that Saturday night) leaving us frustrated and annoyed. Late night snack bar only had burgers, hot dogs and nachos. only later to find out in the week, they can fry you some bacon, make grilled cheese and ham sandwiches only if you ask. Mediterranean restaurant - A very nice indoor restaurant, tiny portioned food, but very good in quality. No complaints here (Although I went to the buffet to eat a little more afterwards as I was not full.) Japanese Restaurant - The food menu was okay, Sushi quality was about the "all you can eat standard", the duck was the same taste as the Mediterranean restaurant, nothing really stood out here. This restaurant is outdoors, so beware the bugs at night Italian restaurant - I have to recommend the lasagna as your entree and have some pizzas to share as an appetizers as I was in a large group. The pizza quality is definitely better than the buffet pizzas. the mini appetizer buffet there was good quality as well. I wish we could go there twice. Daytime Snack bar - This place is very far on the west side of the resort. (where all the some of the sand fleas are) and where all the flies land on the open food. this is the only place you are allowed to get food if you are still wet from the pool. Otherwise you have to change into dry clothing to get into the buffet. Amenities: Tennis/basketball courts/Mini golf - TONS of tiny micro sized SAND FLEAS, stay away. On top of that, the staff in that area always wants to play basketball with you (more than do his job). Which was nice if we had an odd number of players, but I felt bad for the families trying to get equipment for mini putt or tennis. Gym - No treadmill surprisingly. Just weights, bikes and ellipticals, very old and run down, smells like B.O. I just went for a run around the resort instead. I don't think they renovated that area yet as there were some construction guys just outside as I was working out. Pools - The main pool is very big no issues there, the two small pools have a good amount of sand fleas but once you're in the pool, they wont bother you. Casino - Get an air-conditioner in there please. The room was hotter than outdoors due to all the slot machines. No one played in there because of the heat. (Bad move as I went in there to play, won money, and left within 5 mins due to the heat) Otherwise I would have stayed and probably lost my winnings. Shows - The magic show and the dancing group from the city were good. All the other shows I had no idea what was going on. The lip syncing parts every day just hurt until it became funny as how bad they were. (their dancing skills are top notch on all the shows though) WiFi - I paid $70USD for the week, it works everywhere except the disco and karaoke. Speeds were about 300kbs, not spectacular, but good enough for video calling through we-chat or face time/google hangout. main lobby has free wifi for 1 hour Beach - stacked with sand fleas. they get bloodthirsty around 6am to 9am, and 4pm to 6pm, so stay away during those times. otherwise they are manageable throughout the day. The Ocean water is greyish green, not clear anywhere unless you drive out on a tour. the beach is tough and dirty, the ocean water is nice and warm during the day. they definitely need to spray something on the beach to kill these fleas, my legs have about 50 bites a leg. the mosquitoes didn't even bite me more than 10 times all over. Drinks: -The only place to get liquor after 11pm is the disco and karaoke area (side by side) -after about 2:30am, the only place to get wine or beer only is the late night buffet snack bar area. All in all this is a nice place to meet and mingle with strangers and was very relaxing. if that is all that you are looking for. Excursions are too far away, maybe the only excursion which I heard mixed reviews on was the $75 jungle bus tour. Most of them good, some bad.

Bahia Principe Explore Coba: Top notch everywhere

Well kept, clean, well run. Only downside was that the beach was not near. But a system of trains ran there continually. Staff were very helpful and never grovelled for tips. I was thoroughly pleased with every experience there.

Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: Very beautiful resort

The beach and grounds at this resort was very clean and well maintained !! Very friendly staff and dining areas were clean and food was delicious !! Rooms were very comfortable and clean !! Room service and housekeeping was well organized and polite

Bahia Principe Explore Akumal: Terrifc resort

resort was beautiful, very clean, great food, great service loved it! seaweed was unfortunate but not resort fault and they worked hard every day to remove it. Christmas eve feast was out of this world the hand carved food was incredible.

Bahia Principe Explore Akumal: Worth the trip!

Our trip central agent pick this hotel for us. The Bahia Principe group of hotels is a great option in the Mayan Riviera. We stayed at the Akumal. Great, clean hotel. Beach was seaweed free. Staff worked so hard to keep it that way. Advantage of staying at Akumal was that you could access the other Bahia resorts(Coba, Tulum, Premier and Sian Khan )(using their pools, beach area, eating at their buffets and a la care restaurants ). But those guests at the other resorts did not have the same privi [... read more]lege. Akumal was more adult oriented, not as noisy compared to Coba and Tulum. If you want to go to Playa del Carmen you can grab a "collectivo" for 40 pesos. Cheaper than a taxi and very easy to use for pickup and drop off. You can catch a collectivo at the end of the large property, just hop on their efficient trolley for free. The trolley connects you to all bahia resorts I mentioned above. Did i tell you the resort staff are friendly and helpful. I also felt safe at the resort and travelling to playa del carmen. My first time in Mexico and with the Bahia Principe resorts. I recommend both.

Bahia Principe Grand San Juan: Very Clean

Overall the food was good, staff very helpful & friendly. The food areas very clean, no birds on the tables nor near food areas, because the staff kept things very clean. The bad part was the "sand fleas", on the beach & at the "patio areas" at night.

Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: Awesome resort ... No need to go elsewhere!!

Service was fabulous.. constant and friendly.. My maid from last years trip remembered my name!!!! Grounds were immaculately clean and well groomed.. Food was incredible, delicious and great variety .. Entertainment was everywhere and resort is big enough not to get bored! Love, love, love this resort and will definitely go back for a third time but for two weeks next time.

Bahia Principe Explore Coba: Our 18th visit to Bahia Príncipe Coba

We returned here for our 18th visit and are already looking forward to going back. The management and staff are so fun and always professional. The room was again very comfortable and clean and anything we needed was attended to promptly. The grounds are beautiful and well maintained and the carts were great to get you to any place that was a bit far to walk. Christian, Victor and Candelario (my favourite bellmen) were always there to help with any questions or problems or to translate for us.