I booked this trip a bit last minute to surprise my husband for his 40th birthday. The roulette option was very unconventional for me, but I reviewed both Bahia hotels and figured I'd be happy with whichever resort we ended up at. We were fortunate to get the Cayacoa. Our gardeview room was upgraded to a view of the pool and ocean. The views from anywhere on the resort are spectacular. It's a quick walk in to town and the causeway along the ocean is also an amazing option. The bartender (Raul) at the main pool was awesome. The entertainment staff including Flo and Jeffrey were so friendly. They remembered my husband by name! But were not pushy in the least. You could tell they truly enjoyed their job. The dancing lessons around the pool were fun, aqua aerobics were entertaining and volleyball in the pool was a not to be missed event! There was a pretty good selection of food and no issues with the a la carte restaurants. We had issues with our door which required them to change the handle which afterwards caused issues with our keys, but we thoroughly enjoyed our vacation none the least. We were fortunate to have other amazing guests at the hotel the week we were there. We would most definitely recommend this resort.

I enjoyed my trip. The resort was better than my trip last year to Mexico. There are a few things about the resort in DR that I didn’t like. The lobby bar closed at 11pm. You HAD to go to the disco if you wanted a drink after that. There was no place to get snacks. Chips. Nuts. Crackers. Cookies. The room was beautiful. The view was amazing! I would definitely go back to DR. The roulette was pretty cool. If you’re flexible...that’s definitely the way to go! Saved us some big bucks!

When we landed at Samana airport we went to the air canada rep and he told us we were going to the BPG Cayacoa. (Most reveiwes said that 99% of the roulette people end up here). The resort is 45 mins from the airport which was fine. Checkin was ok a little slow the whole bus was at our resort. (Its not like punta cana where there are 20 resorts in a row and they drop off people like bus stops). Since we did the roulette we got whichever room was available. We got the room with 2 double beds. Even though when we booked the trip we had requested a king bed. It was so late by the time we checked in, ate a snack at the snack bar, we didnt care to bother with a room change. Felt like more of a hassle. So we ended up moving some furniture around and pushed the beds together, and it was fine. This resort is not at all suitable for small children or people who are unable to walk too much. It is built on a hill and is ALL slopes and stairs. We stayed in bldg 21 and it took 116 stairs to get to the main buffet. U can call reception from your room and they will send a golf cart to come pick u up. But that could sometimes take up to 10-15 minutes of waiting. So we just walked. If there was a cart waiting to pick up someone else we would hop on. But we didnt wait. We saw maybe 3 kids the whole week we were here. Bringing strollers will be a nightmare here!!! Unless u can get a room in the hotel building which has elevators and not the outside villas. There is free wifi everywhere. Rooms, lobby, restaurants, pools, even spotty connection at the beach. Once you check in you can log on. You can book ala carte restaurants on the app. (We teied the Orcadea, amazing!) We had an amazing week. Walking a lot. Food is great here. Lots of variety. We enjoyed everything and were not picky at all. Drinks were good too. We have been going to cuba the last few years so come back to DR was very refreshing! The place is spectacular so green and grogeous. The most scenic views we have ever seen. Extremely clean and well groomed. Bathrooms by the pool and lobby are very clean. Servers and everyone working around the resort are very nice. A $1 tip and a smile can go a long way. They are Ready to serve and help at all times. Beware of the bahia principe privilege guys in the lobby. They are vultures and will try and sell u time shares and upgrades. They are v annoying and persistant but if u say no to them 2-3 times they will leave u alone. Do not make eye contact with them and do not let them start up a conversation. U will waste 1-2 hrs of a good day just trying to get them to shut up! He will start of by offering u a necklace and then its down hill from there lol The beach is very small, yiu ca the elevatorfeom the main poil area or u an walk down hundreda of steps on the other side. Water is merky. Sand is brown. So if u are expecting to see crystal blue water and white sand u will be disappointed. Its very clean though. The far section of the beach is shared with the locals which was not a bother. Some reviewers complained that there were too many locals on the beach. We did not find that at all. We spent more time at the pools all week anyways. Our block of villas (bldg 21) had its own pool and bar. Very quite...we hung out there on a cloudy day and were by ourselves the whole day which was brilliant. Our room 2106 was great. Big. Clean. Bathroom also was great. Lots of good pressure hot water. Too many mosquitos though! Bring mosquito repellant and keep the ac cranked in the room. Do not turn the ac off...or u will get invaded by mosquitos. Also leave the bathroom door open so the whole area is cold. It gets very cold at night. We ended up wearing socks to bed. But we didnt want to be bitten! So bring long pjs! Walked into town one day which was nice. Its very safe. Theres a Bahia shopping village. Vendors will approach you a lot but will leave u alone if u say no thanks. DO NOT book any excursions with random vendors in town!!! Walked on the "bridge to nowhere" a few times. Its a very long walk. We loved it. Dont walk it at night as its totally isolated and cut ofd from the hotel. We did the National Park excusion which was excellent. I would highly recommend. Be sure to wear running shoes as you will be walking in caves etc. Alot of people wore flipflops and its very rocky and slippery. All in all excellent resort and a wonderful week!!!

Hotel is located in the great place. The views of the city, mountains and ocean are very nice. Rooms are very nice and clean. Cleaning staff are great. There are 2 beaches, one is ok, another one is not too good. Entertainment on the beach and on the pool is very nice. Pool is closed at 6 pm, and a beach at 7 pm. Food is good. Evening entertainment wasn't too great. Night club is open from 11pm to 2 am. It wasn't any people there. Overall vacation was great. A lots of sun and swimming.

The resort was pretty good. I think we both felt that the food was so so. The staff were lovely and helpful. The resort itself was slightly dated but clean. I would not go there if you have mobility issues.

We really loved the location of this resort - Bahai Principe Samana Cayacoa. A 45 min. drive from the airport brought us to a mountainside property with a lovely view of the town across the water. The choice of several different pools and 2 beaches made every day by the water a little different which was quite nice. Our room was standard Bahai-type room with a great view, large patio and was extremely clean. We found the buffet a little smaller than other resorts, but the hotel itself is not large. Each of the 3 a la carte restaurants had very good food. I loved the fact that the hotel never felt crowded and was pretty peaceful most of the time except for some lively entertainment in the evenings. Would definitely recommend this resort for those looking for a low-key getaway.

We really enjoyed our week at Grand Bahia Principe Cayacoa. The resort is built on a cliff overlooking the bay and the village of Samana. Beautiful views from everywhere you are. We had a room in the main building, with a view overlooking the pool, and the ocean. Our room wasn’t very big, but was clean and had everything we needed. On our arrival, we had a nice welcoming surprise in our room, a bottle of champagne with a a plate of cold cuts, cheese and crackers. The staff is always friendly, the food was pretty good, we especially enjoyed our meal at the Orquidea “gourmet” restaurant. We love to vacation at Grand Bahia Principe resorts, we are never disappointed.

We took the Roulette because it was the best deal and we didn't care where we ended up. We stayed at the Cayocoa resort and it was beautiful. There is lots of stairs and hills but they have little shuttle buses if you need them. We stayed in Villa 10 on the hill and the view was fantastic. Food was very good and the resort was SUPER clean! Staff are friendly and helpful. Only free WIFI in the lobby is a little disappointing. There were some small maintenance issues with our room but they were fixed very quickly. Five pools and two beach areas made it easy to find a lounge chair without having to get up at 7:00 a.m. (unless you want the main (noisy) pool as that filled up quickly). Highly recommend it.

This is the first vacation that my boyfriend and I have ever taken together. The Grand Bahia Principe Cayacoa totally blew away our expectations. It’s a gorgeous resort in a truly beautiful setting. Everywhere you look, the view is breathtaking. The beach is beautiful, and the pool was a lot of fun. The bartenders are funny and nice, and they mixed our drinks just right. The buffet had tons to options. The Italian restaurant was delicious. We had a romantic dinner for 2, and they made us feel special. We enjoyed every aspect of the hotel that we could. Everything was always so clean. The staff were constantly cleaning and refreshing everything. Everyone was super helpful and nice. The service was superb. I loved everything overall. The only suggestion I have is about the food. It was delicious, but I couldn’t always tell if a dish had meat in it. I’m a vegetarian, so this is very important to me. If they could do something to mark the dishes as vegetarian it would be most helpful. Other than that everything was perfect. The staff was extremely helpful and very nice. They went above and beyond to help us. The food was fantastic, and we enjoyed the entertainment. Overall an awesome experience. Thank you so much for making our stay so enjoyable. My boyfriend and I both rate the resort 5 stars. We will definitely be back. Thank you for everything.

Everything was great! people were really friendly, rooms were really nice, and the food was great! Everything was nicely kept clean. Veiw was amazing and would definitely go again! It was well worth it. Loved it!

I will start off by saying I love Bahia Principe resorts. They are very consistent with their service across all hotels within the carribean. Bahia Cayacoa was a beautiful and unqiue resort. This hotel was spotless and I always saw the staff working hard and cleaning. ( I even saw someone polishing with a toothbrush ) The animation team here is the best! Carlos and Amanda were so funny and friendly. The animation team is not overly pushy with the games and they radiate so much happiness. The food was great for the value and the buffet had a different theme everynight. My favourite a le carte was personally the French and Italian resturants. The service was good although sometimes you needed to ask more than once. I remember to humble myself when in a developing country and I understand everyone is working as hard as they can. It did not bother me if i had to get up to get my own water once in awhile. If you love the beach I would not suggest this hotel. The beach was ok. A little rocky, sand is not white, nothing to look at in the bay if you would like to snorkle. This hotel is all about the views and again is beautiful for different reasons. If you want a beautiful beach I suggest staying at Bahia Elportillo or the luxury hotel on Cayo Lavantado. I would also suggest the walk on the bridge to nowhere which is attachted to the hotel if you are into a little side adventure.

Beautiful scenic resort with everything at your fingertips! We travelled with an infant and had minimal issues getting around the resort with our stroller. The staff were beyond amazing with our 6 month old. I would highly recommend to everyone.

Hotel is good,staff is very nice,food is ok,beach is very crowded,local people asking for food and money in the water,this is not good.Ee wish that shows start early ,everyone on the beach were talking about it,overall this is a nice place,for older people.We are enjoyed our one week vacation 🏖

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.

First of all when you arrive to this resort you are welcomed by the staff dancing and given a welcome drink which is a nice touch and you definitely feel welcomed. The views surrounding resort is stunning of Samana Bay and town. The staff are amazing on this resort. So efficient and friendly and hardworking. Can't say enough about them. They truly made our trip. The resort itself is beautiful. Very clean and pretty. The food and drinks were great. Big selection and very tasty. The only negative thing about resort is the beach. Very small and Stoney, not soft sand and the ocean is brown. Not the typical turquoise water we are use to seeing in the Caribbean. So because of this you can't really snorkel. Don't see any fish. As well because the resort is on a cliff, anywhere you need to go has many stairs. There is an elevator to beach which is nice but to get down to the restaurant that is open when buffet isn't, it's 150 plus stairs down. There are little golf carts that they can take u down but very few far between to get one. Besides these couple things the resort was fantastic. We really did have a great time!!!!

We just returned from our Anniversary celebrations in Samana. We had booked the Roulette option, so we did not know until we arrived at the airport, which resort would be ours. We were taken to the El Portillo. Everything was great, even the weather. Staff was excellent, food was great, no complaints. The only drawback was the flight - Air Canada Rouge. But the wonderful time at the resort made it all worthwhile.

Absolutely amazing location Close to Samana airport The beach and lounge chairs are plentiful The restaurants and food are top quality A wonderful experience The spa was a great price and great massage

Pool's where good Beach, okay not clear water Food-More fish than any fish lover would want Pool's where good Beach, okay not clear water Food-More fish than any fish lover would want Staff excellent Rooms clean Service Good Bus ride to resort was peaceful and smooth. Buggy rides to get around very helpful for people that cant walk step hills.

No complaints Staff friendly food amazing rooms nice and very clean the scenery great and grounds well kept and beautiful beach was small got beach chairs everyday the shows were typical resort shows animation staff engaging and alot of fun The restaurants Italian and french very good

The food was great. Resort very clean! Staff friendly! Beach lovely. Slight musty smell when using a/c in the room but we used the ceiling fan most of the time. Second time to Grand Bahia Portillo and very pleased both times.

"Roulette" option took us to the Grand Bahia Principe Cayacoa. They definitely look after the grounds and main part of the resort here. There was always someone buffing floors, wiping woodwork, grooming grounds, pressure washing and there was lots of soapy suds in the buckets when cleaning rooms. We had a large room with high ceilings and it seems that most rooms here have a good view. Either ocean, lagoon, or "city" view. The views are gorgeous all around this resort! There was a medium variety of food offerings at the buffet. It was well seasoned and the majority was good. There was less "mystery" dishes that at previous resorts we stayed at. The mini fridge was re-stocked daily and the drinks at the bar were good. Its been a long time at this price point that the drinks were good. The pool. Smaller that other resorts, but it didn't crowd up early. The water was a bit cold though. There was never a shortage of pool towels to exchange and the pool lounges were comfortable. The beach is small and seemed smaller even than in photos and was not a highlight for me. The hilly terrain was a negative point for my husband and I am definitely glad we were in the main resort at the top. The "beach" buffet is down on the lower level on a second water inlet and it desperately needs a new roof. Leaked in in several places when it rained. Can't say much about how the lower villas or pool was maintained as we didn't wander around too much due to the inclined terrain. Daytime generally was quiet with entertainment staff trying to get guests interested. We never stayed up for night time entertainment but the resort sounded like it had more activity in the evening/night as we could hear the activity from the lobby. (the roof top beyond our balcony had a 3 story palm tree growing up through the lower level, up through the lobby and out the top of the 3rd floor). Overall out of about 9 all inclusives in the last few years at about $1200-1500 per person, the resort was one of the more clean and well maintained ones although the beach was the smallest.

We stayed at Bahia Principe Cayacoa recently, the room was very clean with an amazing view. Extremely friendly staff especially the animation team. Food was excellent in all the restaurants as well as the buffet. Evening shows were average some better than others. I would highly recommend this resort for anyone looking for a relaxing vacation. One tip ask for a room oceanfront or facing the pool the rooms facing the village are very noisy at night.

Hotel was nice and updated. Food was amazing lots of varieties. Very friendly staff and activities were entertaining. The excursions were a bit expensive but was sceneries to remember. Will definitely refer it to others.

Good size swimming pool for the entire family.Hotel room is spacious. Foods are very good. Friendly atmosphere everywhere you go. Entertainment for the entire family is excellent. The shows are amazing.

The hotel looks great overall. It looks very classy and clean. However our room has roof leak when it rained. I think they need to fix it. Employees are all polite. Only downside is that some dont speak english so it is hard to communicate. The view is amazing! Our balcony view is breathtaking!

We recently booked the Air Canada Samana Roulette and stayed at the Grand Bahia Principe Cayacoa. We had a excellent experience; the al carte's were top notch and I highly recommend. You only have to visit the booking agent once for all of your reservations (you don't have to show up every morning). The food was excellent and the rooms were amazing. This resort is spotless ... we upgraded to the Jr Suite and our room was really nice and spacious. Because we booked the Roulette our package did not include a safe, which I thought was a little petty considering we did paid to upgrade our room ($28.00 US for the week). The staff are very polite and friendly. Pool is very nice with the exception of two sounds systems being played at the same time, not a big deal. Everything about this resort is amazing with one exception ... the beach is lacking. The beach bar and lunch deck is very good and there are enough beach chairs available throughout the day, the downfall is the actual beach. It is not the resort's fault, but we had some rain and there was some garbage washing up from town. Overall I would come back to this resort again and I highly recommend.

Small hotel with very friendly staff . Beach is very small . Life music Entertainment on the terrace was very good . Food was very good and hotel was very clean . The water pressure in the bathroom shower was law and water was not very hot . Overall the resort was very nice and we were enjoying our vacation there .

I'd only been to Punta Cana, Puerto Plata and La Romana before this, and wasn't sure what to expect. There are apparently only six resorts in Samana, so it's a really big up and coming place for tourists to stay. I did the Roulette, which worked out great. I paid about $200 less than the advertised price this way. Usually you find out around a week before you travel, but because we went during a peak time, we didn't find out which of the two hotels until we landed. I absolutely loved it. The hotel was perched on a cliff, so you had the most beautiful view of the city and ocean below. We upgraded for a room with an ocean view and it was 100% worth it. It was so nice to sit on the patio, sun on your face, reading a book or smoking a cigar. We spent more time there than we thought we would, just because of the view. The rooms were okay, pretty standard, a little old looking. The maid didn't really make the bed, but everything else was clean. No issues with the room, but we did have some friends whose toilet broke - the resort fixed it the same day. There were three pools that I knew of, however, I think at peak times non-upgraded travellers aren't allowed to use one of them (it was for VIP guests - way better chairs, we went there anyway). There were always enough chairs, which was nice - you didn't have to wake up at 6 a.m. to reserve your seats. The beach was nice, but pretty small. Again, always chairs available. The elevator takes a long while to go up and down to get you, but you're on vacation, so who cares. There were also stairs leading to and from the beach you could take. The water was nice - lots of fish swimming around even in the shallows. There's free snorkeling and a beautiful little reef just off the shore to swim out to. TONS of starfish and colourful fish there. There was also a bar down at the beach so you didn't have to travel back upwards for drinks. The entertainment wasn't good at all, but I wasn't there for that so I didn't mind. At night there isn't much to do - just get a drink, lounge around and chat with people, play pool or foosball down by the kids area, or gamble at the casino in-house. The food... was disappointing. The last three trips I went to Cuba, so I expected better food from Dominican, based on what I'd experienced previously. The food was Cuban level, if not worse. It was almost always cold, no real good options at all. Breakfast was the best meal of the day, but lunch and dinner were sub-par. I'm not a picky eater at all, but as someone who can't eat red meat, there were very limited options (they only had grilled chicken as an option one of the seven nights I was there for). It was also super bland, whereas usually in Dominican they incorporate spices... or at the very least salt and pepper. You'll basically just eat to get by at this resort. The a la cartes, however, were awesome. Food was definitely restaurant quality there, with tons of great options. The staff was super friendly and helpful. Loved Manuel at the lobby bar - he makes the best drinks BY FAR. We ended up just waiting for him most times. There are a few excursion options here, the typical four wheeling, horse back riding, etc. We saw the national park, which was slightly disappointing (they made it out to seem crazy beautiful, but it was pretty mediocre looking from the boat). We also did the ziplining which was amazing - one of the longest ziplines in the Caribbean. Friends of ours saw the waterfalls and it looked like a great excursion too. Take a trip out to Rincon beach if you can! SO WORTH IT. It's in the top 10 nicest virgin beaches in the world. From the hotel, it's about a 10 minute walk into town. Samana is incredibly safe and super nice to walk around in. A lot of the locals speak English and are helpful. Grab a bite to eat at Antonio's Pizza! One of the best pizzas I've ever had, seriously. The bridge to nowhere was a cool walk, although it was under construction in places. It's pretty close to the airport, about 20 minutes. A downside that travellers should definitely keep in mind are the many, MANY stairs at the resort. As I said, it's on a cliff, so those who can't walk very well or for very long, should avoid this resort. To go anywhere other than the lobby, main pool or beach (so the snack bar, other pools, other beaches, some a la cartes) there are hundreds of stairs to walk up and down. Overall, AMAZING and totally unique trip. I've been to dozens of hotels across the Caribbean, but literally none like this. It felt so peaceful, beautiful and untouched, not built up like typical touristy areas. Definitely recommend!!!

Grand Bahia Principe Samana was absolute paradise, it was a beautiful resort, very clean and well taken care of. The beach was small but there was a catamaran tour that took you to a white sand beach for the day and it was totally worth it. The best place to be all day was the pool as there were activities scheduled and the staff were absolutely fantastic and there to entertain you. My favourite staff were Carolin, Ariel, Alex, Carlos, Carlitto, Claudio, Jonathon, and Fernando - all so helpful and fun to be around every day. They were the best part of the trip and it would not have been as fun without them!!! The only complaint would be the food, it was average but for the type of resort I thought there would be more selection. Regardless, would definitely go back to this resort or another Bahia Principe. Thank you for an amazing trip!

This resort is beautiful! The view is breath taking and the staff makes it so enjoyable!! The food was good- especially at the A la Carte restaurants, but the buffet didn't really change over the week. Wifi is included, but you need your own electronics to use it for free, otherwise it is $8 USD for the hour on their computers.

This resort has amazing views from other resorts we have visited. The staff and other vacationers were very friendly. Kudos to Alex with all his energy and good energy that he passes on to everyone. Keep up the good work as you will go places. Grounds are very well kept. Rooms are showing their wear and time for an update. The beds are very hard and need to be replaced. Overall great time and will visit again!

Very nice, well maintained resort. The beach was beautiful and long with fine sand and shallow water. There was a great selection of food at the buffet, but we enjoyed the Brazillian Restaurant best. We would definitely go again.

This resort was truly wonderful. Long walkable beaches, amazing food and exceptional service. Dancing at the disco on the beach was a definite highlight. Very impressed with the people of Samana and hope that they can appreciate our need to escape the freezing cold of our Northern climes. Particularly liked the fact that Samana does not feel overrun with tourism and the focus is eco.

The Cayacoa hotel was lovely, just the right size with the right number of people to spend your vacation with. The beach and pool were not overly crowded and it was always easy enough to find lounge chairs and a place to relax. The outdoor bar patio was the perfect spot to drink your morning coffee and overlook the bay ... gorgeous. We booked through Air Canada Vacations but rep in Dominican proved to be similar to that of a salesman and lost interest quickly in his clients once he made a sale for any of his excursions, to the point where he didn't even speak a word to anyone on the bus back to Samana Airport, not even a goodbye to anyone or a 'thank you for traveling with Air Canada.'