Rating: 
"Thanks again to Nancy for the fabulous service ! We always have the best with her. We travelled to the LaRomana airport on March 26th for a week - wonderful weather! If you are looking for good food, beautiful grounds, clean rooms, time to relax and recharge your batteries then this is the hotel for you. It's a quiet place with good service and excellent food (if someone complains about the food here ... they should stay at home) We didn't even try the a la cartes ... everyday the buffet menu changed - we were more than satisfied with the choices offered. The beach is huge and there are always chairs available (there was a little of the ''chair hogging'' but not to the extent that i have seen in other places). GOLDEN upgrade is a good idea - beach towels in room - free computer time - and rooms are closer to the beach - we were in block 36 - room 3616 (corner unit upper floor) some reviews mentioned the noise from the air conditioning units - it wasn't an issue whatsoever with us. Room balcony overlooked the wide expanse of beach."
Reviewer: reviewer9896
Date: Apr. 17, 2012
Rating: 
"Not as good as previous visit. Food could have been hotter. A couple of waiters in dining room a little rude when asked for a cup of tea at breakfast was told it was on the buffet and they refused to serve us with it although they were going around with coffee pots. Entertainment was excellent and those staff very pleasant."
Reviewer: reviewer9290
Date: Jan. 04, 2012
Rating: 
"Our stay at the Gran Bahia was wonderful. (Except for the 3 days of rain, but that is not the hotels fault). Was a little weary as we had read several bad reviews on trip advisor. The rooms were big and clean, the ground immaculate. There were several nights when heading back to room around 10:30pm that they were still cleaning the chairs around the pool. The beach was raked every morning, there was actually workers in the water with nets cleaning the ocean. When we first arrived the ocean was murky, but whatever they are working on to clean the ocean seems to be working because by the end of our two weeks the water was clear. The buffet was good you could always find something to eat. The al a cartes were ok. The seafood was disappointing, ate there twice and both times not great. The service at the buffet, restaurants and bars was fantastic. They hotel also for the final hockey game between Canada & US set up a big screen in one of there conference rooms so people could watch the game. If you plan on going to this resort please remember that it is remote. You are looking at $100.00 return taxi if you plan on going into either La Romana or San Pedro de Macoris. The only excursions we went on were to golf. We golfed at Guavaberry (ok fairway and greens not great) and La Estancia (fantastic, fairways and greens exceptional). Overall a great trip."
Reviewer: reviewer8916
Date: Mar. 17, 2010
Rating: 
"We were at this resort Feb 02 --09, and the best thing of all was the weather. We have been in several resort in Mexico, this was our first time in the Dominican Republic. When compared with Mexican resorts, Gran Bahia Principe La Romana is not a five-star resort as it was rated by the Transat Vacations. The property is old, therefore the grounds are beautiful due to the mature landscape, but the villas are old too, so they are in need of repair. They have renovated bathrooms, but there is no fan, so when you shower, the entire room turns into a sauna. All the bathrooms have pot-lights, so they were always dark. How can you event tell if they are clean!? Our patio doors had to be repaired twice, but they came and fixed it right away. It seems some rooms are in better shape than others. Ours had old, beat up furniture. We had hot water all the time, but we met some people that had cold showers all the time. If you are leaving later in the afternoon, do not count on the guest suite. It is an old building with no air-conditioning, with one male and one female shower, and only one change room. It was open only for Gold Club Members, and by 4 PM it was so crowded that most people did not get their turn to shower.
The food was below average. Meats were tough, vegetable dishes were tasteless, and for fruits we had pineapple, cantaloupe, bananas, mango and papaya. Most of the time the fruit was tasteless as well. Deserts were pathetic. They definitely need a new chef!
Nightly entertainment is a joke, but they try hard. There were lots of older people, and I would say this is a quiet place. I didn't see young people had too much fun.
The kids club is also pathetic. It is far from the pools and the beach, it has almost no toys, and the staff is not very motivated to look after the kids. We kept our kid with us all the time, and most other people did too.
Pools were clean; the resort was not full so there were always enough beach chairs and plenty of shade. The water is very murky; we did not go in at all.
All in all, we felt it was a good value for money, since we paid $1,100.00 CAD per person (including taxes), but were disappointed because the resort was rated as a five-start. It is barely a three-star resort.
"
Reviewer: reviewer9902
Date: Feb. 22, 2010
Rating: "We staying at the Gran Bahia Principe La Romana from January 26th - February 2nd 2010. Our initial impression of the hotel wasn't that great - we didn't arrive until 3:00AM, and when we did get there, the staff seemed confused as to what to do. We were told 3 different places to go and get food, finally the bell boy told us where we should go. We had to wait an hour to get our luggage in the room.
The beach is beautiful. Yes, the water is a little bit murky. But it is wonderfully warm, and because this resort is on the smaller side, there was never any problem finding shade on the beach. The weather was warm and sunny every day. We had a couple of rain showers, but they only lasted 10-20 minutes at a time.
The food is okay. We only used 1 out of our 4 a la carte reservations. We tried the gourmet restaurant and weren't impressed, so we ate at the buffet for every other meal after that. In the buffet, you need to learn what to pick. Most things are just warm. Try the pasta station, and the omelette station in the morning (but watch to make sure they're cooked - when it gets busy, he won't cook the omelettes all the way through).
We found that the activities staff weren't helpful at all. We wanted to try the scuba diving (it was advertised to have one free lesson), but after they found out that we weren't interested in going to Catalina Island on one of the excursions, he avoided us and when we finally tracked him down, said it was no longer free.
The nightly entertainment was touch and go. The Michael Jackson show was the best of the lot - go if you get the chance! The other ones really depend on the audience, and who they manage to drag up on the stage.
The service was so-so. We tipped throughout the week, but it did seem like some servers were expecting more. One of the woman seating the buffet was downright rude to us the entire week, but for the most part everyone would go out of their way to make you happy.
We went on the excursion to Saona Island. Definitely worth it! The ride out on the catamaran was a blast. Tons of drinking and dancing, and if you can make it out onto the nets, it is just beautiful. The beach on Saona was gorgeous...
All in all, it was a fun vacation. I would go back there again, and I would recommend it to friends and family. The problems that I had with the resort were minimal, and could have been fixed had I spoken up about it."
Reviewer: reviewer1563
Date: Feb. 12, 2010
Rating: 
"The resort was really pretty the upper rooms as previously stated are great the lower rooms while nice were not as nice and had a funky smell. The people we met were and are great and the vacation was overall good!
The Beach was nice the water not so clear, so if you are a beach lover this may not be for you, we are pool people so the murky water was not a big deal for us at all. The pool was very nice and the swim up bar was great. I love a pool that you can walk around.
Mosquitoes were bad, bad, bad!! Make sure to take bug spray with you if you are going here...we were okay but the kids who stayed out later then us were covered in bites. It is important to keep in mind that the resort can not control this and do try to help by having the area fogged every night between 6 pm and 7 pm...stay in until the fog has cleared because it is really smelly and I would bet not very good for you to breath.
The food.....hmmmm, not as good as some other resorts and yet at the same time not as bad as others. The buffet was better then the ala carte's in my opinion and my family of 4, consisting of myself, Hubby, 22 yr old Son and 16 yr old Daughter. We went to the Italian and ordered the Penne Arrabiata and it was horrible...it was cooked in or with Fish, we sent it back. My Hubby had the beef and it was great according to him until he got sick from it or maybe a virus or flu, not sure. There were a lot of people sick including small children; one lady was actually put on intravenous for several days. We skipped the seafood all together and the Gourmet was okay, but like I said the buffet was better. We enjoyed the Burger Principe after 10:30 pm the Pizza was very good...the best food we had all week!
The staff, tried but as much my fault as theirs we had a language barrier, I think it is important to know that yes they should know how to speak English, however if I am going to travel where a different language is spoken, I should try to learn it for my own benefit...that is my goal for our next trip.
Would I recommend this resort, probably not, as there are better resorts out there, but it was not that bad really!
All in all a vacation is what you make it! There were other small things that went wrong but for the price it was well worth it!
"
Reviewer: Trishap
Date: Feb. 22, 2009
Rating: "I have stayed at Sirinis cocotal (Punta Cana), Barcella Capella (Santa Domingo) and by far this is the most beautiful hotel. The rooms are spacious, bathroom suites are huge. Beach towels, housecoats and slippers are provided. Fresh towels everyday. We had the gold package (which did not cost extra at the time booked). There was no check in, an envelope was provided on the bus and you went straight to your room and the luggage came 10 minutes later. There were no mosquitoes, or sand fleas. Yes the beach is in a bay and murky, but the beach is all fine sand, calm water and very good for children. Kayaking is very safe because of the lack of waves and a nice little island, close to kayak out to and back, or peddle boat, sail boat etc. Lots of huts and lounges for everyone, which was a big problem at Sirinis in Punta Cana. For the most part the staff are very friendly and obliging, as with all Dominicans. The only thing we noticed was at the disco the glasses were only rinsed in warm water and replaced for use. We chose to use plastic cups after that. I apologize for the misspelling of these hotels, but you know who I mean.
The food was wonderful, everything you could think of. We were there on Valentine's Day and there was a lot of extra effort with desserts and cupid carvings out of fruit etc.
Someone brought the 24 hour flu to this resort, which just continues to go around. A fever and vomiting for one day, some people are mistaking this for food poisoning, it is definitely not.
Check out was easy and a late check out is available, we shared one room with one other couple and the cost was $10 per hour which we split. It was worth it to enjoy more swimming and a quick shower at 4:00 which is the latest check out.
The only thing that left a bad taste, which is no fault of the hotel, was the airport at departure. We stood in line for 3 hours and when we went to check our baggage, they then handed 3 forms to be filled out, which we could have done waiting in line and the line would have gone a lot faster then, leaving more time for duty free and dinner on the other side. The Transat agent was very good, but missed out handing the forms out ahead of time, and I spoke to him about handing them out earlier. They are pretty quick to change and I doubt this will happen again.
We did the trip to Catalina Island, which was spectacular here the water is the beautiful turquoise that we look for- fair snorkeling. The ride on the boat, snorkel for an hour at a reef edge, then about 2 hours on the island and you're back by 2:00p.m. Well worth it for only $55 us per person. I definitely would recommend this hotel and any of it's chain.
"
Reviewer: rhroutledge6876
Date: Feb. 21, 2009
Rating: 
Reviewer: Anonymous [via Escapes.ca]
Date: Mar. 16, 2008
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