When we arrived we were concerned that we had not picked the right place for us. Our rooms were not ready and we walked around in fall clothing with 100 degree temperatures for 6 hours. Once we were told our rooms were ready, it turned out only 1 was and it was not clean at all. The other room had to change and we waited 3 hours for new keys.
That said, once my sister connected with a young lady at the front desk she made everything right. We were moved to very clean rooms, close to the po[... read more]ol and beach (as we had asked for to begin with). The rest of the week with the exception of 1 day, weather was great and we had a excellent time.
We have decided to go to this resort on a yearly basis.
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Bahia Principe Explore Punta Cana: we found the resort too large
Our trip was really quite nice and enjoyable. It was great to get away. We got to the resort fairly late and it was already dark We had no idea where we were going but were taken directly to our room way at the end of the resort. Trying to get around, at first was a nightmare especially in the dark when you can't get your bearings. We did get lost and realized that we had (or should) take the trolley to get back to the main building to get something to eat.
Our first room as I said[... read more], was at the far end of the resort in section 10 building 2, room 202 and it was really musty smelling. Once in the lobby, and after some dinner we immediately asked at the front desk if we could move closer to the pool area. This was going to be arranged the next day. We did have an enjoyable evening in the outside night club area. The music was great. Each night was a theme night.
The next day we did go to the reception desk and without any problems we were moved immediately. First they asked us to check the room which was in building 15, room 306 and it was lovely. There was no musty smell and we were right at the pools. I know you did ask about that, and the garden area would have been nice as well, but we were so far from everything. The change was made uneventfully, and the rest of the week was good. The weather cooperated, except for one day (Sunday morning) when we had about 3 hours of a down pour.
The beach area was less than desirable. The sea weed was really bad which was probably caused by the hurricane and even though we could walk on the beach near the water, the clean up was an endless task every day. We went to the beach a couple of times that week but we mostly sat around the pool enjoying the swim up bar a couple of times and the sun.
We did book 4 a la carte dinners - Japanese which was very uneventful. There was a huge language barrier. They asked what we wanted to drink, but never came around with our order. But the white and red wine was plentiful.
Our next a la carte was Italian, which wasn't much better. The Mediterranean restaurant was even worse. I asked for cod and the food came to me cold not once but twice. They didn't seem to understand what I meant by "the food being cold". That night we had to go back to the Buffet Orquidea for dinner. Also, when booking we were told we could have baked sea food - shrimp, crab, lobster, but no mention of an additional cost of $30.00/person for this. Our next dinner was the Grill where we had a great steak dinner and that was really good - grilled to perfection.
We were not aware when booking this resort that there were 7 resorts in one totalling some 3,000 suites. We wanted to check out the other exclusive areas but we were not allowed to walk on the premises with our green wrist band. The ONLY way we could see any of the exclusive areas is if you attended a presentation in the PRIVILEDGED CLUB section. We did this a couple of years ago at a Bahia Principe and wasted a whole day. Even though the Bahia Principe resorts are nice, we do like to try other locations and resorts.
On the whole, the resort was nice, very clean, and the rooms were cleaned daily. One of the things we didn't like was the fact that the resort itself was way too large to enjoy in its entirety. We had to take the trolley everywhere we wanted to go.
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Bernd -
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Bahia Principe Escape Aquamarine: Very large Generally Very Good
My wife and I stayed Oct 17 to 31, 2017. Over all, the experience was excellent and we would rate the resort at 4.5 out of 5. We were there during what is still considered the low season and in some respects we were glad it was.
The actual Ambar Green resort is about average size. However, since there are 6 other resorts that guests have full access to (which includes drinks at any bar), the overall area available to explore and drink in is huge. The 7th resort "Fantasia" is not available t[... read more]o Ambar guests. We had absolutely no problem putting on well over 10,000 steps every day and over 20,000 steps twice, so bring good footwear for exploring the site.
In the low season, only about half of the restaurants are open but there are so many that we did not even try all the restaurants that were open. The concierge does book restaurants in the Fantasia resort. Security guards generally will not allow entry unless you have indisputable proof of the reservation. This was a negative when you want to locate a restaurant during the day prior to having the reservation. They should not reserve a restaurant there. Generally, we enjoyed the Don Pablo restaurant in the Ambar Blue the best. The Ambar Green's buffet is half what the Blue is.
Most of the time the Blue buffet was the preference for breakfast and lunch.
I believe that the lobby bars need to stay open longer. At all resorts in the complex, the lobby bars are open between 10 am and 11:30 pm. I don't need to party late but at some times, it is nice to have a drink and conversation with friends after 11 pm. At 11 pm the lights in the lobby bar area are turned off to get the idea of closing out to the patrons. This was annoying and felt rude. This was a negative. There is a 24 hour bar "Piscus" by the beach but I did not see any liquor available, only beer. You can go to the pueblo/village area for the disco if you want noise. Since we are all adults, I believe that the lobby bars should be open at least until 1 am. The Blue lobby bar tended to have more noisy entertainment in the evening until about 10:30 pm. The Green tended to be quieter.
Remember, the beach is about 1 km away from the Green. Since we don't specifically need to be close by the beach this was not an issue and the walk to the beach was preferred by us. The beach was fine and allowed for long walks in either direction. Sea weed clean up on the beach was a constant activity. Remember, depending on wind and ocean current directions, every resort on the ocean will have sea weed washing onto shore at different times of the year. We have been in this area previously and some times there is a problem other times, no problem.
Don Pablo must be a weird guy. Who considers putting a window between the bathroom and the main living area with curtains controlled on the main living area side of the window. Are we expecting a puppet show? This is a negative for the average person but maybe, it is a positive for others. I think that most people would prefer upper floor rooms for privacy concerns since, the bathroom window faces the patio door to the outside.
The main reasons that I was glad that our trip was during the low season are as follows:
The amount of vehicular traffic, (golf carts, motorcycles, trucks, and shuttles) on the foot paths was very high and was a continuous issue for pedestrians. The problem is that due to the size of the resort complex many maintenance vehicles are required. The ability of guests to use more than one resort results in the demand for many transportation shuttles. In the "high season" this may become more than an annoyance. The resort, even though being extremely large started to become more and more busy each day of our stay. Pool chair towel reservation was starting to become more prevalent. Access to the bars and restaurants was starting to be more difficult. In the high season this may become annoying.
Cleanliness was generally very good even in public areas. Some maintenance issues could use more attention.
Staff were friendly and with a little humor or sign language any language barrier could be overcome.
Tipping like a pretentious fool is not required. Use patience, humor and attitude and service is excellent.
The Bahia Principe is a BIG resort, the Esmeralda is set right beside the beach with beautiful white sands and terquoise sea. We went just after hurricane season subsequently, that brings in a fair bit of seaweed which the hotel did its best to clear every day. 90% of our time was on the beach, swimming in the sea was amazing. The grounds were kept exceptionally clean and the staff are very very friendly.
A great place for holidaying families, friends and couples 😃
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Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: Very nice resort
Beautiful hotel, very clean.
Grounds kept very well.
Rooms very clean with everything provided
Building 64 close to pool/beach.
Staff at every level were very professional and helpful.
Ambar Blue and Ambar Green had great buffets, we didn't go elsewhere.
(Food in individual restaurants not too impressive.)
Some of us had dietary restrictions so the managers in both places were very quick to accommodate us.
The beach was totally amazing!!
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Barcelo Bavaro Beach: Great Time!
awesome hotel...great facilities, pool beach restaurants the works! if you're going to this hotel to enjoy the room, then this isn't the place for u.
if youre going to this place to party with ur friends and simply have a great time, this is the place! very relaxing and plenty of restaurant to chose from.
I went with a group of four guys and we stayed at the adult side, it was great! although all the better restaurants are on the palace side.
one tip: please make dinner reservations fo[... read more]r every night WHEN u get there on day ONE, don't settle for buffet for dinner as they have AMAZING a la carte restaurants. buffet gets boring after a couple times but still very tasteful, atleast on the palace side.
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Blau Natura Park Resort: Beautiful Grounds
Blau Natura Park Resort is truly a beautiful place. The grounds are beautifully landscaped. Flamingos walk the grounds as well.
Beach always has seaweed on it and the workers are so slow cleaning it they never finish. Beach next door to the hotel (Dreams) always clean. Only one washroom to accommodate beach dwellers and people using pool.
Food is great as well as the rooms.
Only draw back for older people is no elevator from lobby down to main area and getting luggage up those stairs is[... read more] hard. Thankfully a young man offered to carry my bad up when we were leaving.
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Nancy -
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Riu Republica: FANTASTIC HOLIDAY
this was the first time we were every away alone without children. we had a great time, the resort was clean and very new, the staff was friendly and quick to respond to your requests. The entertainment crew was great !!!!!
fully recommend this resort !!!!!
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Tasha95 -
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Riu Republica: Amazing resort
Everything was amazing from the food, entertainment, drinks, service, pool, beach. They had nightly shows going on, and the entertainment dancers were really good. Buffet was massive and steak restaurant was good as well. Had a lot of strawberry daiquiris at the pool bar. The beach was beautiful and pool was massive as well. They even had a foam party one day which was a lot of fun. There was always something going on at the resort which was nice.
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CdnMrs -
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Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: A Great Time!
A beautiful resort with well kept beaches and gorgeous accommodations.
Food is good and all attempts are made to avoid any buffet boredom. A la carte choices were varied and easy to book into.
With several minor exceptions service was excellent and all staff were friendly and courteous.
We would definitely consider going back.
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Deb -
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Bahia Principe Explore Esmeralda: Great Resort
Just returned from another great vacation at our favorite resort. Everything was great food ,room,pools,ocean,. We will be returning again in February for two weeks and can't wait. This will be our 7 th time at the Esmeralda .
This was the first time we have gone at this time of year and it was extremely hot . But still great!
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Riu Naiboa: Very clean and super service
The only thing I would recommend is better coffee and access to the other hotels would be nice. Could also do without the bingo or make it at an earlier time and just add more dancing before the show..................................................................................
Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: Amber Blue Old rundown disappointing
Hydro goes out, Tv does not work, air conditioning did not work properly, room was beat up run down, smells of mold, beach was nice, food was good. We changed ROOMS 3 times until we moved to Amber green which was better but not 5 star. Resort was huge staff did not know where shows were difficult to find. Shuttles to beach or restaurants were not always available as they would only take you to certain areas we met at least 10 other travelers that had trouble as well. Some had no hydro at all, o[... read more]ne complained faucet broke off in hand.
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Secrets Royal Beach: GOOD AND BAD
its was not what was explained to us at all , nobody understood English and just answered everything with yes , food was rarely even cooked and sat out with flies on it all day. constantly hounded by people on the beach and they were all over the resort for a flea market and chased us right to our restaurant. photographer told us $10 for a picture and then we had to end up paying for a bunch of pictures when we only wanted one but got tired of trying to explain this to him. TV , fridge and safe [... read more]all had to be fixed in our room . Fridge as only filled twice in 7 days . We had to walk all the way across the resort EVERYDAY to get beverages and water
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Secrets Cap Cana: Secrets was everything that I expected.
The hotel staff and accommodations were excellent. The staff went out of their way to serve you. I was a little disappointed in the preferred room bar. I have stayed at Sandal's and Excellence, and both these resorts have a bar in the room, along with red and white wine, which is replaced daily. Secrets only had four miniature bottles, and no ice. We had to keep going down to the preferred lounge to get ice and a glass of Canadian whiskey to
have in our room before dinner. Very disappointed in [... read more]this. The food could have been better. I am not a fussy eater and enjoy all kinds of food. We went to the French restaurant for our anniversary and the lobster was overdone and also the steak. We went twice to the preferred restaurant for
fish. The second time it was awful. We had ordered shrimp & scallop risotto. I love risotto. The fish was overdone and the risotto was not creamy,
It was thick and dry. I took one bite and couldn't eat it. We did get an upset
system from something we ate and were unable to go for dinner on our last
night. I was very disappointed as it was Caribbean night, and we ended up
not being able to eat anything. Other than the food, everything was perfect.
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Thunderstruck56 -
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Bahia Principe Grand Bavaro: Some hiccups but overall a great resort
Bavaro was a huge place and very well kept, the pools were amazing the food and drinks were great especially the Italian al a carte. The people very friendly and the beach very clean all things considering (aftermath of Maria we assume?) The Micheal Jackson Show was out of this world!!! It's as if you saw a real MJ Concert. Recommend the Dune Buggy (Boogie), the Safari and Zip Line excersions, they were GREAT!!!
Things that disapointed us were the fact that all the Bars [... read more]and entertainment shut down at 11pm. We Canadians like to party until the wee hours of the morning at least until 1 or 2 am LOL. And the Big one was that we had to pay (one or the other?) $24 or $28 US each room for our safe. We've never had to pay for a safe in our room ANYWHERE.
Watch out for the Jelly Fish at the beach. My son was stung by one and it hurt real bad. We found out a lot of people suffered the same fate but urine, vinegar or making it to the First Aid Station on the beach soon cured my son of his hurt.
When we got there we we'nt told of the trolley system that would take us from the front lobby to our rooms and else where around the Resort, would of been nice to know instead of running around trying to find our Room the first night. And men, remember they won't let you in the Dinner Buffet unless you are wearing a T-Shirt or Dress Shirt, NO MUSCLE SHIRT!! WE found out the hard way.
All in all we had some hiccups but it was a Great Resort none the less.
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Majestic Elegance Punta Cana: Nine times to PC, first time at Majestic Elegance
We found the food above our expectations. Steaks and fish were excellent. Room was cleaned very well every day. Entertainment was well done by the staff. Beach was well kept. Nightly shows were a lot of fun especially Broadway, what great singers and dancers.
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Kkmoore1 -
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Occidental Punta Cana: Much needed vacation
I have personally been the Occidental Punta Cana once before in 2013 and stayed in first club with my parents. I instantly fell in love, the people were so friendly, the food was amazing, and the resort was stunning. This time around I decided to show my boyfriend the place I fell in love with. We decided to stay Royal Club this time. Everything was a breeze when we first got to the airport, boarded the plane, and were transferred to the resort. They had a bell boy bring us to the Royal Club lob[... read more]by to check in, and was told our room wouldn’t be ready until 3. Within the next 45 minutes our room was ready early. amazing customer service. The next day we met with the Transat rep who was phenomenal. We decided for our excursion to go adventurous and go zipling and the dune buggies. Both excursion were fantastic. All in all Trip Central did an amazing job with the booking of this trip. Air Transat got us there and back safely and the staff at occidental Punta Cana made us want to rebook again. Highly recommend going here
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Dreams Royal Beach Punta Cana: Excelent stay
We just got back from our vacation. We stayed in Now Larimar.- Punta Cana. The resort is excellent. Very well kept grounds, nice rooms, excellent food.
Now Larimar has the best entertainment crew of all. Every evening there was a different show.
Overall, good experience. The only thing that we did not like is staff pushing you to get into their preferred members club. I understand business but I'm on vacation and if I say "no" that means "no". I don't want to be pushed and coupons given, if [... read more]I promise to spend 1/2 day listening to their lectures.