Beautiful Resort (at first Glance)

Grand Bahia Aquamarine is part of a massive resort complex divided by what you were willing to pay for your holiday. Each hotel has all the amenities you need and there is a very good tram that takes you to the beach or a’la cart restaurants. The grounds and buildings are immaculate. The rooms are dated but well maintained. Housekeeping staff are great during the week. Part time people on the weekends don’t pay as much attention to detail. There was never a concern with cleanliness although [... read more] I did take wipes and do the phone, remote, handles etc for my own piece of mind. The biggest weakness overall is the staff. Service in the buffet was inconsistent with the weekends almost non existent. There is very little enthusiasm for their position except for the lobby bar fellows who made every night fun. I had a Baileys mug for coffee as their cups are so short. It looked like a specialty resort mug so I believe it was taken to the kitchen. I started asking for help getting it back but after 5 days all I got was nods and smiles but no one did anything. My last day was ruined when a guest services person told me it was my fault the mug went missing because I didn’t keep it in the safe. Then he said since I didn’t see the girl take it so I probably made up the whole story. It spoiled my last day to be treated so rudely. Don’t take anything you can’t afford to lose. Safes are small, made for passports. Apparently anything not in the safe is fair game, That incident and the lack lustre staff means we won’t rush back but your experience may be better. It certainly has the potential to.

The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

Lets start with The Ugly, and there is only 1 but its huge. They WATERED the liquor down. At my age I know the taste and effect of it and I can say with authority is was about 50% (20% alcohol by volume) of what was stated on the label. I am primarily a beer/wine drinker so when I go 2 fisting it from noon till 10 and go back to my room sober that pretty much says it all. This was not the case last year when I was at the same resort and don't know why it was this year. The Bad - not much real [... read more]ly. A bit short staffed by my estimation. The Sports bar didn't open until 6:30 PM despite the Grapefruit League games playing at 2 PM (Jays) each day and there's enough Dominican representation on the team is should be a natural. Its also the only AC'd place you can get a drink during the day if you want out of the heat. The Good - Lots, awesome staff as always, any small issue with the room fixed immediately. The buffet was good with lots of options and different theme nights. Grounds and beach immaculate as always. I'd go back in a heartbeat but not if they are watering the alcohol.

Our initial room was as far from the beach as could be possible. i am a senior with walking challenges. The second room we got backed on to the lot which served as a main supply road for which was noisy and lousy view of the industrial lot. Our third room had a better view bust was still a far distance from the beach. The mini bus setup helps somewhat but is dangerous with people walking amongst the vehicles day and night. This was our fourth stay at the hotel (Esmeralda was best). Based on our most recent stay it will be our last

Service was slow and lacked professionalism. Food was good but not great. Best feature of the hotel was the beach Beach towels were hogged by guests. Focus on letting guest reserve spots makes the lack of towels the point of discussion everyday. OVERALL Focus is on the Privilege Club. Regular guest are and after through

Something for Everyone

Beautiful and very clean rooms and resort. Food at Restaurant and also the buffet was excellent!! Great activities and pool bar team! Lush full trees and very nice beach with miles along the beach you can walk.

Not great

Definitely not what I expected can’t say I really enjoyed the stay. I’m not picky and I definitely don’t have high standards but the staff and service was no 5 star maybe a 3 star. Many things didn’t work in our room alone then the buffet is probably the worst I’ve experienced on many trips. Pool service is terrible and one morning just before 9 am we witnessed the staff taking towels and tanning lotion Ect back to the towel bar then folding those dirty towels and then proceed to give  [... read more]them out again. Not good. Not return here. Hey but it was hot!!!

Best Experience

I was very impress with the quality of this resort. Rooms were very nice and clean. The variety of food was great but not easy getting A La Carte reservations for convenient dining hours. Pool is really attractive and beach was just enjoyable.

Average

Beautiful surroundings and I rate as follows. People are fantastic workers and fellow travellers. The buffet was repetitive everyday .Food was too salty and the selection was limited. The pool was great and the pool entertainment was good. In my opinion it is a fourstar resort cause of the food. I am not sure I go back to this resort.

We will Definitely go back

Great place with beautiful facilities and we had a ton of fun. Food was excellent with lots of great restaurants to choose from and the main buffet was very good. All the staff was so friendly and happy made you feel really welcomed. In particular the entertainment crew under the direction of Walter were really fun and put on great shows and things like AquaFit, dancing lessons and more. The only issue was a natural one, when we were there the beach was filled with seaweed and lots of bittin [... read more]g insects. So it was not great, but the beach was beautiful and hopefully is not always like that.

It’s not a 5 stars resort!

We would rate this resort 3,5 to 4 stars, not 5! The rooms are old and dirty. Sometimes things just falling apart. It’s a very busy and noisy place. The stuff has no idea about “ invisible “ service or about any respect of guests quiet time, even at night. Two times somebody tried to enter our room after midnight. … There was so many unpleasant things… In two words, I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone.

Great resort

Great hotel, needs some maintenance. Staff were awesome and rooms were cleaned. The food was good, but don't eat the fish I got food poison. The a la carte was good, but they need to make italian a la carte better ( not Italian).

Amazing Resort

This resort was amazing the pool the beach the rooms the food I can’t say enough good things about this resort the only thing is there is a lot of walking because there are another five resorts that you can go on and look and it is huge thank God for the shuttle buses so just beware there is a lot of walking which I loved

Amazing resort

This hotel is amazing it's my six time there and it's only gotten better .The food was so fresh and the choices were plentiful .The people are super friendly and if you can speak Spanish it's a big help.covid restrictions were not appicapple almost invisible .A few people on plane wore masls but not many .Almost seemed like regular days .a fantastic trip and I would highly recommend this hotel .

Beautiful Resort

The Bahia Principe Aquamarine was a beautiful resort. It was very clean. The staff were lovely and the entertainment staff were fantastic and lots of fun. They interacted with the guests and made them feel very welcomed. I would definitely come back.

Expected more from this resort...

I had a lot of high-hopes for this resort as it's part of the Bahia chain. We stayed at the Aquamarine which is the adults only section and is supposed to be "Grand". The first thing that struck us was that the service was beyond poor. In speaking with others around us, they felt the exact same way. It took hours for someone to come and ask what we'd like to drink. There were days at breakfast where our coffee came after we finished eating. The second thing was that the food was super li [... read more]mited. There was no choice at the buffet. Breakfast was the only meal where you could get a decent variety of food as the eggs were freshly made to your liking. Lunch and dinner had the same stuff everyday and the fruits were not fresh. The rooms are okay. They do need some updating as it is a bit old school in terms of the decor and design. The rooms also need a fair bit of deep cleaning as the shower head did not look clean. Other than that, the rest of the room was decent. A huge shoutout to the staff and food at MEAT restaurant at Amber. This was the best experience we had all trip that we booked that for dinner twice. Another huge shoutout to the waiters at the Village area - their service was amazing. I would not return to this resort as I have had better experiences at other resorts in the past.

Mixed experience

This resort is one of 5 clustered together with a total of 6000 guests! We didn’t know that going in, so pools and the beach were extremely crowded. Some staff were nice, others not so, and many spoke little or no English. Buffet food was good, à la carte restaurants were mixed. Most food was heavily salted. Avoid the so called Brazilian! Grounds are beautiful and lush, but off resort poverty and garbage everywhere are common. Tipping is expected. We would NOT return.

Amazing Resort.

The room was a junior suite and was quite nice. There are like 4 other resorts in the same area that you can visit if you want they do have mini golf carts to drive people around to and from of the hotels and the ocean. My favourite part was the food and the pool. I would go again to this resort. My stay was seamless.

Top drawer!

If not for the oppressive heat and humidity, this vacation spot would rank as the best of our 5 visits to Punta Cana- all different resorts, mind you. One minor hurdle was the watery welcome mat from the A/C leak, which was repaired within the hour. Really, you don't have to travel to encounter this, so no need to complain. From there, it was smooth sailing. The room was huge and well equipped, and the fridge restocked daily. The king bed and pillows were very comfortable. The sea was calm- even [... read more] fish swimming around my feet- and the beach was absolutely beautiful the 1st 4 days, then low tide started coming in, so brought seaweed with it. No biggie... that's nature. But the heat... the humidity... If we'd travelled in November, this would've been heaven! Not pool people, so really can't say anything about it. Daily buffet at Acuario was awesome- delicious food, with great variety. Dinner reservations at Tequila, Portofino & MEAT were well worth the trip! Limbo & Rodizio were just a notch below... again, just the heat & humidity dampening the mood. Entertainment options were fun & within reach, as the lobby & pool were just across from our room in Bldg. # 80. Grounds were well looked after. Considering the stresses from the pandemic, & hurricane worries, the hotel & cleaning staff did a commendable job. Special thanks to Yanibel- I so hope I have it right- a concierge who helped me get my eTicket for our departure. I couldn't navigate the all-Spanish instructions. Will definitely think about coming back- between November & March months! Thanks all, for your efforts in trying to make our stay memorable. Cudos! And...salud!

NOT a 5 star resort!!

Totally ridiculous wait to check in in a HOT and festering lobby with no AC. No one offered even a cold/refreshing drink on arrival! After standing in line for long time, I a, 78 year old senior, had to go myself to the lobby bar to get refreshment. Not acceptable for an acclaimed 5 star resort. The mini fridge was not restocked daily as it should be. I had to go out and get my own drinks. The shuttle was not at the stop near my room. Long walk to buffet every day, three times a day! The wors [... read more]t food I have had at any resort I have stayed at, including 4 and 4.5 resorts. There was no variety of food, from day to day. The same basic food was offered day after day. My stay was for two weeks and I got sick and tired of the same food every day. Yeas the variety consisted of a few variations to the basic chicken and meat dished, but basically a repeat of the same dishes for lunch and dinner. Once something finished, it was hard to find it replenished. That goes for the fresh fruits also! I am not a pork/bacon eater. The grill used to prepare meats is one big surface where all meats are grilled together, including pork with the the fish, chicken and beef!! The mixing of pork with the other meats, renders the other meats inedible for me. The service was totally unacceptable! The salt dispensers did not dispense any salt. One night there was no black pepper to be had, according to our server. Many days there was no Splenda!! Asked for Tabasco and was told they didn't have any, when every morning at the entrance, cocktail was "Bloody Mary" and Tabasco was there!! Most days I had to reject the coffee, because it was COLD! I rejected 5 cups, one day, before I was provided with hot coffee. At the bars there were days when there was no Tequila and I was told the resort had none anywhere. Days went by without mango juice anywhere! This is not a 5 star resort by any set of standards, I have been to 4 star resorts better than this. Absolutely and totally disappointed, I will never go to any Bahia resort again!! Went to a couple of entertainments and found them lacking in every respect! The quality of the entertainment was nothing that would induce me to sit in a hot outdoor arena. The overhead fans provided no air and no relief! I stayed for ten minutes and left. Totally ridiculous. Even 4 star resorts arenas are indoors and air conditioned!!! The Fridge in my room did not work properly. I am Diabetic and need to use insulin to control my sugar levels. I need to store my insulin supply in the fridge. The first day I complained about the fridge. No one came to do anything about it. I had to go to the lobby and request they store mt Insulin in the Lobby fridge, until my room fridge was fixed, Long story short, it took me three days to get a working fridge in my room. Totally unacceptable. There is no coffee shop at this resort, even though they advertise it as a 5 star! There is a coffee dispensing machine in the lobby which works sometimes and doesn't at all times. Besides, it is available from 7 am to 6 pm only!! If you want coffee after 6 pm, you are s... out of luck!! There is a sister resort next to Aquamarine balled the Ambar. It has a nice coffee shop, but we were not allowed to go there!! Totally ridiculous and unacceptable for a so called 5 star resort!!!! You have a long way to go in terms of facilities and service to claim this as a 5 star resort!!! Either improve it or take the 5 star rating away and at best, call it 4 star so people don't get misled and ripped off!!

Amazing!!

Hotel was great, the food the animations ( Walter and Eddy) just amazing!!! the service (Mayra)She was our waitress awesome and our bartender served our drinks (Alexander) super nice. Can't wait to go back had an amazing time 😊😊😊

Good resort

Overall a nice resort Only the rooms could do with a update and better service would not say this was a 5star resort we did eventually upgrade to the newly renovated Ambar luxury section of the Grand Bahia resort