Rating:
"The trip started with a shock. Upon check in at the airport I find out that I was on gated standby. The flight was over sold by 13 seats. I waited for 3 hours at the airport to see if I was going to even get to go. Had I know my spot on that flight was not a definate, I never would have booked it. I will never book with anyone who uses Air Canada again. We did get on the flight and were able to make our connecting flight to Samana. This resort is a 3 star at absolute best. I was sick with diarrhea for four days during my stay and became sick again the day we left. I did take Dukoral prior to the trip thinking this would have eliminated the problem. There were many people sick during my stay. The bracelet you get when you check in denotes what kind of service you are going to get. Red (France) amazing attentiveness, White (German) not bad, Yellow (Canadian) seat yourself get your own drink and make room for those with the red bracelets."
Reviewer: reviewer6924
Date: Apr. 12, 2012

Rating:
"I have just returned from Grand Paradise Samana where I stayed for one week with my husband and two children (8 and 2). We got a last minute deal with Air Canada vacations through escapes.ca. This hotel is a perfect choice for families with children. The beach is amazing! Long stretches of endless white sand and turquoise water with a green lush backdrop of tropical jungle. There is a good part of shallow water before it gets deep so it's great for little kids. The food at the buffet restaurants is good and varied but it's almost the same variety everyday so you may get bored by the 3rd day. We tried the a la carte seafood and Italian restaurants and we liked the Italian; the seafood one was not up to our expectations. The kids club is available for kids between 4 and 12 so our younger child couldn't benefit but our daughter has so much fun at the club. The animation team keeps you active with beach activities during the day and the nightly shows are nice and varied. We booked a standard room and was upgraded to an ocean view room as promoted. We got room # 1145 which was nice and spacious and the air condition worked great and was so much needed. The furniture needs some updating but nothing too serious to spoil your stay. The hotel staff is friendly and smiley but most of them don't speak English. We asked the cleaning lady for more shampoo as there was only a small (one-use) bottle in the bathroom but we never got more. They provided a small bottle of conditioner instead so we had to buy shampoo from the small village of Las Galeras which is less than 10 minutes walk on the beach to the left side (if you're facing the water). Our guide stressed that we should not go past the hotel's premises to the right side (if you're facing the water) as the area is abandoned and unsafe. Reservation with escapes.ca was smooth and the customer service was efficient and helpful. Overall it was a Great vacation and we would go again."
Reviewer: reviewer1202
Date: Jul. 18, 2011

Rating:
"The resort is great!! the beach is beautiful and we had so much fun. I went with my husband and my two daughters, 12 and 10 years old and we had a great family time. The flight went to Puerto Plata and then we had about 3 hours and a half to go to the hotel. This is the only thing I would change because it was a bit scary and too long. We hired the quad with the RAZOR agency, and I would not recommend it. The quads are too old and two of them broke down during the trip. The flight to come back to Canada had a delay of 7 hours approx but it wasn't a big deal because we could stay in the resort. I would definitely go back , however we try to visit new places all the time."
Reviewer: reviewer7720
Date: Apr. 06, 2011