Happy Holiday

This was a wonderful holiday destination for 3 couples who are all celebrating retirement. Friendly staff, clean rooms, good food and fantastic beach. Everything we were wishing for and more. Lots of great entertainment. Good value. Everyone in our travel group had a fantastic time - even the weather was perfect!

Grand Bahia Principe El Portillo

This resort has a gorgeous beach with coral reefs and a variety of colourful fish. It's not a huge resort however there were 4 different à la carte restaurants. The resort itself is supposed to be a 4.5 star however the upkeep to the rooms and other areas on the resort are more like a 3.5 star.. The variety on the buffet is quite good. There is no swim up bar and only one pool which ended up being closed mid afternoon one day. The biggest issue at this resort is that there is a huge langu [... read more]age barrier and although I could speak both English and French fluently, the servers were far from understanding what patrons wanted. The smiles were few and far between. Only a handful of servers at the restaurants and à la cartes had a smile and welcoming way about them. Most of them did not seem to like their job. We witnessed a couple being very rude to guests at the buffet. You had to ask for water many times and drinks were rarely offered after the water. We seen some people pick up the jug of water and go to their table to serve their children and the jug was abruptly taken away by a server who sat it back in it's place and they had to wait for someone else to give them the water. We spoke with others who had been returning guests and almost all did see this resort go down from the service to the joyful staff they used to have. We are undecided if we would recommend it to others. The beach is long and very nice however staff was not great.

Grand Bahia Principe El Portillo (Samana DR) does not live up to 5 star rating!

Stay was from 5-12 April 2019. This resort was rated as a 5 star resort but it did not live up to its star rating. The resort is no more than a 4 star. Hotel room cleanliness - The room was very clean Hotel room comfort of bed - Bed is very hard and not comfortable Room cleaning staff - had to call conceirge to have fridge stocked properly as depicted when we booked our trip Room request - not honored *asked for double beds and got king size Language - language barrier and problems throu [... read more]ghout the resort Service staff - in the buffet area, should all be fired. Had to get our own water. Curdled cream was served in the coffee repeatedly. They never smiled. When you moved plates away from a table to sit down, they got angry with you Buffet food - repetitious. Not many varieties of desserts to choose from Snorkelling - amazing and right off the beach Lounge chairs - signs say no reserving and that was not enforced. Hard to find a lounger Drinks - terrible on the beach (watered down). Better inside but they went down hill fast too Front Desk Staff - language barrier - need to have English speaking people working the front desk Air Transat Rep - there needs to be one available from Monday to Friday. Was not there out last day and he was supposed to give us the declaration documents for our return back Beach - appreciated that it was cleaned everyday Local vendors - keep them off the beach and not to bother the people on the beach. Set aside maybe 2 days per week and have them located in 1 area. It was very annoying to be approached by vendors all the time In speaking with other travellers there, a couple who was there last year for 2 weeks, indicated that the resort had went down quite a bit this year since last year. Shame on Grand Bahia Principe hotel chain - do not deserve the 5 star rating as they are not that in the Dominican. Not as bad as going to Cuba but had 5 star expectations when I saw it was a Grand Bahia Principe. Will not stay again at this hotel chain.

Wished we had stayed longer!

Great food, beautiful beach, excellent service, very nice resort. When we arrived, we were a bit disappointed with the walk from room (villa 27) to lobby, dining room and beach. But we quickly appreaciated the walk with the amazing food selection. We enjoyed walking the beach... beautiful and swimming in the ocean. Just an amazing week... 10 days would have been perfect. Looking forward to going back.

Nice resort

It's a very nice resort with beautiful beach, perfect for children. Rocks in the fairly shallow water allows for some snorkelling. The resort has very good food options but lacks the entertainment at night.

Beautiful resort

The resort was beautifully maintained. Grounds lovely, main lobby and public spaces very clean. Food was delicious and beautifully presented. Staff was extremely friendly and accommodating. We liked the size of the resort and loved the beach for walking. The beach was clean, close to bars/dining, restrooms and lots of shade available if desired. We participated in some of the activities around the pool and enjoyed them very much.

Great Resort

Fantastic staff Great beach Food and services excellent Feel safe Snorkeling great fun Love this place Good resort for families or couples I would recommend this place to friends and would definitely come back

Awesome Resort!

This was the cleanest resort I have been to. The grounds were beautiful and well maintained. The food was amazing, both at the buffet and the a la carte restaurants. The people were always helpful and friendly.

Very relaxing week at the Bahia Principe El Portillo

Had a very pleasant March Break at the Bahia Principe El Portillo near Samana DR. Also very grateful for the support of Tripcentral.ca that assisted us with the booking and provided great support and follow up. Having vacationed at All Inclusives throughout the Caribbean over the past 20 years, this resort will be remembered by my wife, daughter and I as being among the best we have enjoyed. Really appreciated the covered lounge areas, remarkable beach and accommodating staff. Definitely exc [... read more]eeded our expectations and a solid 4.5 star experience from our perspective.

Not so grand for me

I arrived at Grande Bahia El Portillo on March 5 ready for my week of solitude on the beach. I got settled in my room and walked around the beautiful resort. My first few days were fantastic...sunshine, cold beer, great food and relaxation. March 6 power out in my room at 10:30pm...looked outside other rooms had lights. It was back on within 1/2 hour. March 7 I noticed bites that were fresh & itchy in the morning....bedbugs. March 8 I asked that my bedding be changed...front desk said give u [... read more]s an hour and we will fumigate & change bedding. I asked if it would be safe for me to return to room...I was told yes. 1 & 1/2 hours later nothing was done so I told front desk I would wait in room for housekeeping. They did come clean and change all bedding...no fumigation. March 8 power out again for 1/2 hour in the morning. March 8 to bed then up during the night feeling ill (diarrhea) & I found a big cockroach on bathroom floor. I managed to trap it under a glass. I was ill and weak so I decided not to do anything until the morning. March 9 I was moved to another room but the new room did not have a deadbolt. I was ill & exhausted so I chose not to pursue that problem. March 10 I went to customer services to return restaurant reservations...I wasn’t able to eat. They did offer medical support but I didn’t have patience for the detailed questionnaire. My choice and I accept that...I was ill, weak and feeling miserable. Grateful that my sister drove over an hour to bring me some medication. I went to buffet to get a few things to take back to my room...I was told I could fill a plate, it would be delivered and I must tip the person who delivers the food....really! I spent the better part of 4 days in my room ill, weak and miserable. March 11 I spoke with the Transat rep to get information about flight on March 12. I started to tell him about my experiences over the week expecting some empathy...all he did was berate me for not informing him sooner. I tried to explain I had dealt directly with hotel staff regarding my concerns but I did not get any understanding or compassion from the Transat rep...it was very disheartening. I have travelled to the Dominican Republic many times for more than 40 years sometimes staying with family and sometimes staying at a resort. I am sure many people enjoy this resort but I will not be returning...for me it has been forever tainted!

Amazing hotel

I have no complaints. food was excellent. people friendly, lots of activities. beach safe. If you want relaxing it was relaxing. if you want excitement - there was that too. truly an amazing place

Would recommend for Family Travel

Very busy resort; better suited for Families, lots to do for kids. The “quiet pool” is NOT quiet. Kids being loud, splashing ect ... not a peaceful relaxing option at all. The Lobby bar closes at 11pm sharp; offering no other options other than a disco tech that is way to loud and plays obnoxious music. The food was pretty good, the service was excellent and the hotel and beach front was lovely. My room was clean, but shower barely drisseled and went from scalding hot to cold fr [... read more]equently. Very frustrating. Also my a/c was on the fritz; had high ceiling and a fan that worked well to compensate. Overall I would recommend this resort for a Family; but my group of friends and I (40-45 yrs) would not recommend.

Good resort

Great food and rooms very clean. Entertainment terrible.I know it is family friendly resort but just too many kids for 1 pool near beach. Staff good but no service at pool, no swim up bar either. I would not go back. Not because of resort but because I want adult only resort.

Satisfactory Resort

Beach was beautiful, can walk for miles. Nice location because it was not too commercialized. The only resort in the area that I was aware of. Few concerns that we didn’t care for.... When we arrived they put our kids in a separate building from us even though we requested our rooms to be close. Only 2 pools and too many young kids (noisy and splashing). No swim up bar. Sometimes very slow to get a drink. Fridge and coffee maker in room broken and did not get fixed. Overall though we had a go [... read more]od time.

Great resort but could be made better

This is our first visit to this resort and our fifth visit to a Grand Bahia resort. Overall it is a great resort, beaches ,food and rooms are all good. It is a fairly quiet resort especially at night. To bring this resort up to Grand Bahia standards they have to improve the service at the lobby bar and the buffets restaurant, some of the service was excellent but it was very hit and miss. We would definitely return to this resort and recommend it to friends.

Amazing Beach

Probably the best beach we have ever seen. Resort was nice, but many of the staff had difficulty understanding english. Food good, pool nice and good rooms. Understaffed at the bars, took quite a long time to get drinks. Even though signs said no reserving seats under the palapas, all were taken before 8 a.m.

Lovely,nice resort

grounds, hotel, rooms, food were all very good. Beautiful location, view of the mountains awesome! lovely beach, and nice for strolling along.Food, lots of choices at each meal! Could have more choices for alcohol, ie. rye whiskey(like Canadian club or something similar).Very well laid out, private pool was an nice added touch! Circus show was amazing!!

Snorkeler's Paradise

Of the three resorts we have been to in the Dominican Republic this was by far the best. The rooms were more than adequate rivalling some of the 5-star resorts I have been to in Hawaii and the Middle East. The rum was free flowing and the staff amenable. The only problem I had was there was an occasional shortage of water; as is common in any Dominican resort. Another point of note was there were two beach bars open to all resort patron and the pool bar was not a swim up. (Thus I felt more c [... read more]omfortable swimming in the pool) Of particular note was the coral reef that was part of the resort's beach. With the breakers being at the start of the reef, 500 meters offshore, the waters we usually calm and clear enough to snorkel and watch sea life just steps into the water. The vibrant reef continues right up to the breakers if you are brave enough to swim past the boundary buoys. It's a great spot of the novice to expert snorkelers. Highly recommend this beach.

Absolutely first class resort

The hotel and grounds were very neat and clean. Staff were constantly sweeping and cleaning the building and grounds. There was a great selection of food, the beach was terrific with lots of loungers and shady spots under the palm trees if you wanted a break from the sun.The staff were all friendly and polite. We would highly recommend this resort. The only thing we would recommend is flying into Samana, which we understand is about 35 minute drive. We flew into Peurto Plata but this is  [... read more]a four hour drive away from the resort.

Great resort

Second time around and would go back for a third time. Food was great, service was good,rooms were clean, what more can you ask for. Weather was 30 plus most days and fair entertainment in the evenings.