Rating:
"My 80yr. old mother and I had a wonderful trip. I would highly recomend the Bahia Principe Royal Golden Room as an up grade. Clean resort the food was out of this world GOOD. Cant say anything wrong about the hotel andthe trip. MOST EXCELLENT. Two of the happest clients."
Reviewer: reviewer5909
Date: Feb. 16, 2012

Rating:
"Stayed January 2012 in the Royal Golden section (Villa 20 and 21). GBP is a large resort and in the season there are approximately 5000 people on this campus. Positives: * Weather and Temperature - amazing but have in mind that beach is windy therefore stayed at the pool area majority of the time; * Water - water is crystal clear; * Common areas: pool's good but quite overcrowded, well manicured lands, clean; * Food - amazing and above expectations for sure; * Drinks and Beach staff - excellent drinks and staff is friendly * A-la-carte restaurants - ok. Did like the La Grille and Mikado, will evade the Le Gourmet (french); * Entertainment: excellent. Number of shows and two huge entertainment places; Negatives: * Beach area -- is small for the size of this campus (RIU is next door so easy to compare the difference). GBP expanded inland rather than along the beach (like RIU) which leads to beach over-crowding. Great walk on the beach area in the both directions though; * Rooms -- Royal golden room was fine but need upgrade due wear and tear. Bathrooms have no fans (?) and air-conditioning works poorly. Tiling of the floors is done in bizarre way; * Reserving chairs - around the pool one needs to wake up at ~7am to book one for the day; * Internet access/Wifi -- big drawback: No internet access in the room (unless in Esmeralda) or on the beach, and there's Free Wifi in the lobby which is far from the ocean. Although rated currently as 4.5 stars based on this factor (which 2 star motel has) is a big drag; * Sales guys -- big drawback: the market folks are extremely engaging and while there's come cultural discrepancy there, it makes a bad impression. * Privelege Club Timeshare -- if you are one of the unlucky ones you will be invited to a sales pitch for Priveleve Club timeshare. Would highly advise to attend but *do not buy* and just get away with the freebies. Look for more reviewes online for this time-share. For sure will return there one more time in either Royal Golden or Ambar sections, and would not recommend Esmeralda being over-priced."
Reviewer: reviewer6785
Date: Feb. 03, 2012

Rating:
"Long way to the beach. Beach and pool chairs were all taken if you didn't arrive early in the day. Food was cold and overcooked if you didn't wait in line for the staff to cook your meal. This resort is too large although they are trying hard to please the clients. Check out was painful. Took over 20 minutes with only one couple in front of us. Returned to our room three times to find the door was not locked. Items were missing from our luggage. Everyone was looking for tips, although this is an all-inclusive facility. Is this resort a diamond in the rough or beginning to wear out."
Reviewer: reviewer4175
Date: Jan. 03, 2012

Rating:
"My husband and I stayed at the Bahia Principe Ambar Resort in November 2011, for one week. We have both travelled and stayed at all inclusive resorts in the DR before.

We had been having a good vacation for the first 6 days. The hotel is nice, the landscaping and grounds very well attended to. The food was decent - repetitive - but fresh and sufficient variety. The drinks were fine, typical all inclusive. We had no problem making reservations in the restaurants, although the only one worth going to was Don Pablo. The gym was mediocre, and the equipment dated, however it did suffice. The beach is quite nice, and in particular the Ambar resort's stretch of beach seemed to be cleaner of seaweed than others just down the beach. Important to note that if you want lounge chairs by the water (whether beach or pool) you have to be out there early in the morning as most are 'reserved' with people's towels, bags, etc.. The service was average - I had no particular complaints, however none I found to be exceptional. The ladies at the guest services desk (where you book restaurant reservations) were somewhat snippy I found, and I don't believe myself to be a demanding or difficult guest. The rooms were fine overall, fairly typical for DR. Clean enough, with sufficient towels, and a fairly comfortable bed, but nothing special.

The trouble came our last night of the vacation. Our second floor room (69212) was broken into via the balcony/sliding glass door - while we were sleeping! That's right, we were in the room. The thief appeared to have climbed up the outside wall (there were obvious dirty finger prints and shoe marks up the wall and on the balcony railing), and the lock on our balcony sliding glass door had been tampered with - not sure when this may have occurred as we rarely went out on the balcony for lack of view. It was resort security who pointed out that the sliding glass door lock was not functioning properly.

The thief had come into our room, taken a couple of our smaller bags out onto the balcony and gone through them, and then proceeded to steal my wedding rings (which I had put on the dresser at the end of the bed), a pair of earrings, and my husband's watch from the bedside table. They left the sliding glass door wide open, which is what alerted us to something being wrong when we woke in the morning. We immediately called front desk, reported the incident, and asked for security to come to the room. 4 resort security persons showed up about 15 mins. later, after we had called back a second time to ask where they were. They proceeded to ask us general questions about the incident, took some photos, and went through our things - which I thought to be odd. We then were asked to visit the front desk and see the assistant manager Maria to provide a written account of the incident. My husband being unsatisfied with the response so far, asked Maria to return with us to our room to review the obvious signs of entry. In addition, we found that there was a hole in the barbed wire fence outside of our room (which was on the peripheral of the resort property - bordered by undeveloped land), which well could have been where the thief gained entry to the resort property. We are of the belief that either we or our room was targeted, and this was either an inside job or the thief had inside assistance from resort staff.

We were scheduled to depart later that day. Maria assured us that our report would be followed-up and submitted with a report from the resort security to head office; customer service department. We had been under the impression that they would be contacting the police regarding the incident - we later found out that they did not. It is 8 days later, and still we have not had any follow-up from Bahia Principe's head office to the incident report we filed. I have followed-up with Maria twice.

In addition, we reported the incident to the on-site representative for our tour operator - Air Canada Vacations. The rep Chantal was unsympathetic to our situation, and seemed to take a 'blame the victim' attitude, finding it hard to believe that we didn't wake up during the incident and why hadn't we put our items in the safe before going to bed. She seemed to miss the point that we were in the room when the theft occured, and that was the most concerning fact; that our personal safety had been compromised.

It was a horrible and frightening experience to begin with, compounded by the lack of action or even response by the resort. At this point I suppose I am just thankful that we were not harmed during the break-in, as it could have taken a different direction and been much worse. I feel that the resort has demonstrated negligence in their attention to the personal safety of their guests, failed to address an obvious issue with break & enter/theft incidents on their property (see other reviews on Trip Advisor), and would strongly caution others against visiting this resort."
Reviewer: reviewer1555
Date: Dec. 19, 2011

Rating:
"This resort is huge with 4 resorts in one. Good food selection in the buffet section. Entertainment was good and fun to watch every night. The downside was the beach. There is a ton of sea weeds in the ocean which is not appealing at all. The sea weeds are removed on the shore but collects again. I walked 40 mins on the beach and all I saw was sea weeds every where. This was a big disappointment as I am a beach person and wished if someone had addressed this on the previous reviews."
Reviewer: reviewer8774
Date: Nov. 07, 2011

Rating:
"This was my third time at this resort, and it was not disappointing. Service - The service at the Gran Bahia Principe Punta Cana is excellent. The staff is attentive and welcoming, they work quickly to ensure your comfort, and they immediately make you feel comfortable. We had an issue with our room which they resolved within minutes. They aim to please, and meet my expectation of excellent service.

Food - There is always large selection of food available at every meal. From salads to pastas, rice to meats, there is something for everyone. There is a good selection of fruit available at every meal, and it's always fresh. Their ice cream is delicious - I look forward to having it whenever I go.

Rooms/Accommodations - The room was very clean and simple. The housekeeper kept the room spotless and provided ample towels and bottled water. She was very friendly and accommodating.

Entertainment - The entertainment is fabulous! The entertainers are extremely talented. I especially enjoyed the Circus show; it's Cirque du Soleil on a smaller-scale. Overall, I find this resort to be very well priced for the quality of service you receive. The grounds are very big, which allows for nice walks both on the resort and on the beach. I have recommended it to many of my friends, who also share my good experience at this resort. I would definitely go back for a fourth time!"
Reviewer: reviewer2076
Date: Jun. 07, 2011

Rating:
"We had a fantastic time here. It was very clean and safe. Great food, great entertainment and very friendly, helpful staff. And the best beaches in the world!! Would definitely go again.
"
Reviewer: reviewer8174
Date: May. 10, 2011

Rating:
"I am actually reviewing the Gran Bahia Principe Ambar, which is the adults-only section of the Gran Bahia complex. It is a beautiful resort and completely worth the money. The staff is excellent, very friendly and helpful. The food and drinks were suitable. The only complaint we had was the it was a very quiet resort. Understandably, the adults-only section is kid-free, but we think there should be music playing around the pool to liven the place up a bit. Aside from that, it's a great place to stay."
Reviewer: reviewer1089
Date: Nov. 05, 2010