Bahia Principe San Juan Resort All Inclusive

We have just returned from the Bahia Principe after a fabulous 2 week stay. Loved the holiday. I traveled with my husband and 18yr old daughter. The daughter was desperate to get back to her Lizard !! however the husband and I could easily have stayed another 2 weeks.

Drink is not watered down as previous reports have mentioned. Yes there are sand fleas and mosqitoes so take some good repellant. We were not that badly bitten, just a couple on our feet.

The rooms are smaller than we were used to, but very clean. The mini bar was always stocked with water, soft drinks and beer. If you want more, just phone reception and they will send someone over within 10minutes with your request. Hint - the bottle opener is in the bathroom on the wall next to the light.

We went on 3 trips, the Jeep Safari @ $45, Ocean World @ $325 and Pariso Island @ $105. The Jeep safari price and Pariso price is per person, whereas the Ocean world price was total for all the activitys we did as a family. Of all the trips, the Ocean world was the best. Daughter swam with Sharks, Dolphins and Sting rays. Parison Island, although beautiful, is not worth $105. We spend 2.5 hrs getting there on a very small bumpy coach and 4 hours coming back, driving through the mountains in a Tropical storm.

We also took a taxi from the hotel into Caberete. This is the place to go to get presents as here you can barter and get drink, etc much cheaper than on the trips or at the hotel.

If you want to take hime Duty free Cigerettes, wait until you get to the Airport. Here you will find most UK brands and very cheap. The plane does not re stock before it leaves, so you may not get what you want. The hotel only does American and French Cigerettes.

The Entertainment is what you would expect with an Animation team, however they are friendly and they work hard.

Another tip we discovered when we were there is that the English £ has a far better exchange rate than the doller and the Scottish £ does even better.

I enjoyed the holiday that much that I am already looking for next year.

I went on holiday with my two daughers (then 14 and 11) two years ago to this hotel... And this year we are going back because it was just so amazing.

Just a few things to let you know....

The rooms are great- really clean and tidy and the staff are more than happy to help (went on a holiday to Mexico last year where it was the complete opposite so I can now really appreciate how amazing this hotel is).

The entertainment was dire! When we went anyway... I've read some reviews and hopefully it might have improved... But it was nothing you wouldn't expect and was a good laugh anyway!

The food was good.. Found the pasta bar where they make pasta exactly to your taste lovely in the main buffet. The restaurants were lovely... Especially the Italien and the Mexican..

However... My 14 year old came down with an ear infection the day before we were due to fly home! We went to the onsite doctors who were absolutly amazing by the way - so helpful, and we didn't have to pay anything, as opposed to our last holiday last year where it was $300 for 2 boxes of tablets and a consultation. The doctor told us we needed to go to the hospital for some antibiotics, and we would presumably be able to fly home the next day. But when we got there (about an hour journey), met by the translator who was lovely, we got told we needed to stay the night and the flight would have to be rescheduled for the following day... And fair enough... But we ended up staying a week longer!!! Connected up to about 4 drips was my daugher. However, the staff were amazing, in particular one nurse called Manwella, and even though it was a scary experience for us, we were treated with the best possible care ect.

And when we got back to the hotel for the last couple of nights before flying home, they couldn't do enough for us and were really helpful.. We got told the ear infection probably origionated from the pool but my daughter has had previous ear problems... wears an ear plug ect. and swears by the fact that she never got any water in her ears....

So just be wary.. Apart from this we never got ill (as opposed to our last holiday where the 3 of us had food poisoning on 3 seperate occasions!!!) so it was really good.

This was the best holiday ever and we have never been back to the same place twice, but will make an exception here.... Would reccommend the holiday to anyone and everyone :D

Well what can i say about this place, it was wonderful, i am 18 years old and i went with my partner of the same age for just a relaxing holiday away. I would recommend this to anybody, no matter what age you are they have something for everybody. I will just give out a few pointers, good and the bad to people who are booking or thinking about booking this place, but these things are what you would expact on holiday anyway.

O - Sandflies - there are alot of sandflies on the beach but not everybody got bit when i went, i got bit a few times but they just came up like little red dots and didnt bother me at all, a tip would be to take some garlic tablets 1 a day 2 weeks before you go, a couple did that i they did not get bit once.

O - Mossies - i got biot quite a bit at the begining of the holiday buy tehse very annoying flies, but at the first choice holiday rep hut thingy, they sell some yellow patches for $15, i advise you to get some of these, you get 24 in a pack and they really work, you just walk round smelling like lemons thats all ha.

O - Hairdryer - this is for the girls, i have long hair so i took my own hairdryer thinking that the hairdryer that they already have would be poop and hardly work, no need to bother taking your own ladies, they are really powerful, so thats more shoes to put in your case instead.

O - Market - there is a market in the resort on a sunday night (market stalls by locals) and they place it right in from of the buffet so they can catch you coming in and out, be very very careful, once you look you cant get away. I ending up buying a necklace and bracelet and my partner bought 15 cigars, originallty he gave us a price of $130, we got this down to $40 so be sure to haggle, they like it when you do that anyway.

O - Safe - you dont get the safe free at this place, you have to pay $22 a week, it is very pricey but well worth it as alot of staff have keys for the rooms, the maid and minibar man has there own key it is not done by the same person.

O - Freezer - in your mini fridge there is a freezer, be careful you dont accidentally turn this up like me did, because out whole fridge just turned to ice and everything froze and in the end exploded in there.

O - Umbrella - in your room there will be an umbrella which you keep there in case it rains, which was very handy at night as we stayed in hurricane season, if you dont have one just ask reception and they will pop one down to you.

O - Drinks - some reviews on here have complained about the drinks being watered down, i didnt seem to have much of a problem with this, in the lobby bar sometimes the wine was a little, doesnt bother me though. (i advise you to try the Banana Mamma which Rum - Delicious)

Overall our stay was wonderful, the food was great, everywhere was spotless, you get treated like royalty, never go without food or drink either, there is even a take away burger bar that is open til 3am on the main strip when everything closes at 11pm, it is a really good night if you want to stay out, it is really for anybody.

There where mostly couples when we stayed (05/06/09 - 19/06/09) and there where not really that many children. But there are plently of things for the children and families to do there and they do some wonderful shows and games round the pool, but warning you may get a little tired of hearing the same songs everyday for the Aqua Arobics at 12:15pm haha.

If you are staying at this resort you will have a brilliant time and i wish you all the best.

Myself and my partner stayed at the Bahia Principe San Juan from May 24th. We landed in Samana and the journey to the hotel was slightly longer than if you flew into puerto plata but that was not a problem. Check in was a bit slow but we had drinks brought round while we waited and your bags are taken to your room for you so once you are checked in you can explore/drink/collapse in room!

The rooms were a little dated but who goes on holiday to sit in the room exactly??? Our Air con didnt work so I reported it to the Rep and it was fixed within 20 minutes (I would recommend sorting problems through your rep rather than reception but that's just because they speak the lingo and can get a direct line to the manager not because the staff are crap!) We didnt use the safe in the room and left ciggarettes, camera, phones etc in the room on many occasions and had no problems with them going missing, but knowing the safe is available is good. If you bring any prescription medicine with you it may go missing from the room though!!

As a veggie I thought I may have a problem finding things to eat but I was wrong. The food selection is amazing and we has no problems finding something different every night. Also my partner was ill one evening and all you have to do is go to the resturant and explain and they will give you a plastic plate to take back to the room with you so no need to go hungry if you are unwell. Talking of illnesses a few people came down with an ear infection (my partner included) some blamed it on the pool but I think if that was the case a lot more people would have had it, just a little advice really 2 people we know of were taken to the hospital from the onsite doctors and prescribed antibiotics, ear drops and anti inflamatries, this meant they wasted a day at the hospital and had to claim on thier insurance etc etc. We found that the chemist next door to the doctors sold the exact things they were prescribed over the counter each costing $20 but it meant we didnt have to spend 3hrs travelling to and from the hospital.

The Animation team were fantastic and made the holiday even better, they were quite happy to be chased around the resort, captured and thrown in the pool and took time out to just have a chat with you. We didnt find that anyone pestered us for tips and were happy to fetch us drinks, pose for pictures etc etc.

When it came to money we found the best thing was to have a mixture of dollars and pesos, be careful with the pesos though as it can get confusing and we overpaid one night for cigars as we hadnt got to grips with the value of the peso!! - our fault though really!!!

The most amusing part of the holiday has to be the either rather old or rather large ladies who have met a local lad previously and have now flown back to holiday with them at the resort, this gave us and our friends hours of amusement - usually when we see the lad in question leaving a different room and the ladies spending most of the morning looking round the resort for them, but whatever floats your boat!!!!

I dont want to stereotype as we met some lovely canadians and americans but a few others we met were intent on moaning constantly, fighting (each other most of the time) and generally being rude and obnoxious to everyone they came into contact with. Although a few fellow Brits also fit this catergory I mention it only as most of the negative comments on here have come from canadians or americans.

Overall the Bahia Principe is a great holiday destination choice and I for one definatley enjoyed my two weeks there.

I went here last week May - First week June and had a great time.

Accommodation was fine if a little dated but I didn't go to sit in my room! Safe was fine, $22/wk, fridge kept well stocked just ask for whatever you want. Grounds were immaculate and beautiful and staff were really friendly and helpful. They weren't money grabbing like some other places, a tip is a treat to them, not expected. The pool was clean and not too cold and the beach was great if you have a hangover - plenty of parasols to sleep under! There were sandflies and some people were eaten alive but I was fine even without repellant.

The drinks were a bit watered down but the measures were generous so it worked out about even, especially on the street. All the cocktails were gorgeous and if you give a tip they'll be brought over again before you've finished your first one. Food was great, plenty to chose from and always something cooked fresh if you're worried about buffet style. I went to all the restaurants and loved them all except the Italian which wasn't great.

The entertainment staff were amazing. They were always up for a laugh with the punters and there was plenty going on round the pool. The shows at night dragged a bit. They were great for the kids but I found the adult shows a bit cringy. The icebreakers were funny though and be prepared to be dragged up for a boogy!

The best bit was the street. Everyone piled into the karaoke bar and had a right laugh - you don't need to be a good singer to get up, you still get a good response! I only went to the disco a few times but that was good too, only problem was occasional smell of sick / flooded toilet. When that was the case we just took our drinks outside.

I'm surprised how much I enjoyed myself considering I went on my own (I'm 31) but I met some really great people and the staff took really good care of me,and some kept trying to take me on a night out to Cabarete! Another tip is don't book your trip through your rep, go through Campo tours - its much cheaper and just as good. Their office is just beyond the resort on the beach past the scuba centre. Book yourself out and go over the bridge and you'll find them. It's perfectly safe.

All in all a great time and I'd definately go back.

Went to this resort with 3 of my girlfriends (for one week) after our trip to mexico was cancelled because of the swine flu. We were all 18 years old so were hoping for a pretty energetic lively place to have fun and have some drinks and get a good tan! We got that and a lot more.

Bus ride was fine, air conditioned and lots to see. Lasts about an hour and 20 minutes. Check in was fast and easy. Rooms had air conditioning and were always really clean. If you are expecting 5 star rooms, or planning to stay in your room the whole trip, then this isn't your best choice. The rooms are a little small and are nothing special. But they are comfortable and they were perfect for us as we didn't spend a lot of time in them anyways. Only issue was there are no clocks, but thats not a big deal just bring a watch. Had no problems with the bathrooms or the safe.

Pools were awesome, really big and never had a problem finding a chair.

There were lots of bars, so that was never an issue and they do NOT!! cheap out on the alcohol, whatever people are saying. Ask for a shot of something and they'll fill up about half the glass. And all the drinks were very strong, which was perfect because if you want less then just ask for less. Lots of variety of drinks too and there's a menu to help you choose.

The staff is wonderful, so friendly and so helpful and i was absolutely amazed by how much work they do in a day. They honestly don't stop working from the morning to late at night. ESPECIALLY the entertainment crew, i have no idea how they do it. All really nice people, you'll want to meet them if you go.

The whole resort is such a beautiful place, there are plants and palm trees and flowers everywhere and everything is so well maintained, I absolutely loved it.

The food is food that you should be expecting at a 4 star resort. For me, it was all perfect, exactly what i was hoping for. They had a HUGE variety every single night and it never really got boring. I enjoyed almost everything I ate except for a few things. We only went to the mexican and mediteranian restaurants but they were both really good, nothing too different from what you could get at the buffett but still its nice to change things up. The burger bar on the beach was always good, great for lunch, and theres also a burger bar on the strip.

The night shows were.... well some of them were great. Like the crazy show was hillarious and another one, not sure what it was called but it was all glow in the dark, it was really neat. Some of them are a little repetitive and boring but i don't blame them at all, they put a lot of energy into their shows and they do a great job and i think the older and younger people would enjoy them.

The beach was fine. There are sand fleas though, just to warn you. We didn't spend a lot of time on the beach, mostly by the pools. Really though the beaches were fine, I only had about 8 bites by the end of the trip and they arent big and didn't really bother me... apparently they were a bigger problem for others though. I also didn't use bug spray once so if you like the beach then just put some OFF on and you'll be fine.

The best part of the trip i think was the strip. SO MUCH FUN. Perfect for a group like mine, or any age really, there were people of all ages there and everyone looked like they were having a good time. It is still all inclusive which was the best part.... the kareoke bar is a blast, and the discoteque is so much fun. Theres a burger bar on the strip (all inclusive) and a casino which is good for those who like to gamble. The shops have some really nice things in them and the prices aren't awful.

Another great thing about this resort is the clinic. I had an accident while on the trip and went to the clinic and everything was handled so well, an ambulence came right away and in a couple days I was back at the resort. They were very helpful, spoke perfect english, and i'm so thankful they were there. So if you are worried about accidents then dont because you will be taken care of.

I could go on about this resort forever, for myself and my friends it was a perfect place to go to have fun and meet people and relax. We got everything we asked for. For teenagers I would definitely recommend this resort. There were tons of older people too, and tons of children, and families... and i can't speak for them but we got to know a lot of them and none had anything bad to say.

I would go back a thousand times and I definitely recommend this resort for people of all ages. Had a great time, will never forget it.

My gorgeous son decided to take me on holiday, once again, but this time he fancied the caribbean!! We set of to book our holiday about 6 weeks before we where due to travel, and after alot of discussion finally decided on this one.....Ideally my son would have liked the south of Dominican Republic being on the caribbean side, but it was a bit too expensive for him!!! We where later to find out that it probably would have been a huge mistake as the north is where all the fun is!!!! You can imagine our concern when we got on here to read some reveiws and where horrified to hear all the bad news about this resort.... Well, what can I tell u.....The hotel was beautiful, the pools, the food, the rooms, and we saw quite a few!! where all lovely, and I must add where upgraded to golden club, which was lovely.....we read alot of complaints about the beach and how horrible it was.. Well.... the only problem with the beach was that the sand wasn't white, apart from that it was beautiful...gorgeous...The gardens, pools ,rooms ,beach ,everywhere was spotless...We had lovely days lying by the pool and then wandering over to the beach which wasn't a stones throw away, also lots of fun around the pool with the animation team who where all so helpful, friendly and made sure everyone had a great time, without being too pushy if you just wanted to laze by the pool....The evening entertainment was great and something for everyone..Know i'm going on a bit but we where really worried after reading all the moans on here and can now say it was one of the best holidays we have had and we have had quite a few.....One tip for the ladies... dont be surprised if your straighteners don't work, mine didn't. you need 110 not 240....also.. you can go on the beach and have your hair braided for 30 dollars as I did and didnt have to worry about doing anything to it for the whole stay!!!!! So... all in all a great holiday and a great hotel.....

Travelled here in early May. It is Spring for them so it rains almost daily. Rain is gone quickly though. Resort itself is beautiful, but the majority of the staff don't speak english. Pools are clean and the topless ladies add to the scenery. Here's a tip though, just because you can go topless, doesn't mean you have too or should. And men, fashion update - speedos are out - especially for fat guys!

Food is good, but beach did have sand fleas. I saw them spraying the beach one night.

For the money, ($1200 for 10 days) awesome deal (including flight)

George and Debbie

Vancouver Canada

I'm going to keep it short and to the point. Everything was wonderful from the time we arrived. Check-in was extremely quick and to top it off we were upgraded to a Diamond Club room without even asking. The room was clean and had a large balcony with a view of the ocean.

The grounds in this place are immaculate, the grounds keepers are out as an army in the early hours of the morning and are constantly cleaning all day long.

The food was wonderful, not what you would consider gourmet by any stretch but the buffet was enormous and the lobster tail I had at the seafood restaraunt was very good. The Mexican restarant was not the greatest but it could have more to do with the amount of cerveza I had that day so you will have to judge for yourself.

No complaints about the beach, the sand was light brown in colour but so is most of the sand in the world, if you want white powder may I suggest Varadero or Cancun. We never had a problem getting a lounger on the beach at any time of the day and the water was nice and warm, just watch the tides.

The entertainment staff was everywhere (including the roof of the pool bar, and then a 20 foot dive into the pool) from morning till 2am everyday and I have no idea how they managed to keep up that level of energy all day, every day.

The mini-putt was fun for a break but we never made it to the tennis or enything else that involved that much energy.

If you want souveniers, go down the beach to the east. There are a row of vendors licenced by the hotel ready to haggle with you, and from what I heard the best deals are to be had further down the beach at the "Walmart".

The shows were pretty good with something different every night, alot of crowd participation most nights which kept it fun for everyone. At 11pm the main part of the hotel shuts down and everyone heads to the street to keep drinking and partying till sometime in the morning. ( I personally never made it to the end). There was a kareoke bar that had its good and very bad moments, a disco that was good and an all night snack bar that was very welcome at 2am.

I would recommend this hotel to anyone, it was a solid 4 star resort. I have no complaints at all and it was worth every penny.

We have just got back from a brilliant holiday & wedding & would highly recomend this hotel. Lets start with the wedding, it was amazing. the wedding co-ordinator was fantastic we had one meeting with her when we arrived & she organised everything. The wedding gazebo was beautifuly decorated with flowers & a red carpet. The ceromony was wonderful & very well organised. We had a section of one of the bars all to are selves in the evening, then we had a table in on of the ala-carte resteraunts for the whole wedding party. It was a fantastic day.

The hotel in general was exellent all the staff were very helpful & friendly.

FOOD: The chice was amazing we ate something different every night, it all tasted so good.

ROOMS: the rooms were very clean & tidy, the mini bar was free & re-filled every day. Being the bride & groom we got a free upgrade, so we got a few extras, but the rest of the party were very happy with their standard rooms.

BARS: There were plenty of bars to choose from each one providing good service & a good choice of soft drinks, beer & cocktails. The cocktails were very nice i think we managed to try all of them.

POOLS & BEACH: There were 4 pools but 1 was closed for maintenance, but the 3 we could use were very nice, they were all clean & there was always plenty sun loungers. The quiet pool had a jaquzzi which we used quite often. The beech was lovely not quite white sands but this is because it is on the atlantic ocean.

The only complaint we have is that the shops on the complex were far to expencive. A newpaper cost $7. Apart from this it was a fantastic holiday & wedding. So if you are looking for a great holiday or a fantastic wedding you cant go wrong with the bahia principe.

Arrival

Being a group of 14, we we're hoping everything would go smoothly. Our wish was granted. We booked with Sunquest - Air Transat and left on Saturday, February 16th @ 9:30 pm from Ottawa and returned on Sunday, February 24th @ 7:20 am. The arrival to Rio San Juan was smooth. The bus ride is a little long to get to the hotel (1h15 - 1h30). When we got to the resort, the check in was quick and efficient. We were brought to our rooms, thank god because the resort is huge. It was beautiful.

We were there for a wedding and everything was perfect.

Rooms

The rooms are very clean and maids come in daily. The fridge is stocked every day as well with beers, water and pop. On the first day, we encountered some very small ants in our bathroom but remember... you are in the TROPICS. Bugs are abundant there. I just sprayed a bit of Off! and the problem was solved for the rest of the week.

We had two single beds put together (to make it seemed like we had a queen size bed). Although, some in our building had a queen bed. Not a big deal.

The TV was working fine but we didn't watch it. The A.C was on all day, no problem.

Restaurants

We practically went to the buffet every day/night. Sure, some complain that it was always the 'same food' (although they have theme nights, they don't have different foods from every other nights), but remember: how much food do you want? It was pretty varied (fruits, veggies, fish, pork, chicken, a lot of pasta, etc) so people who complain have nothing to do on their spare time.

We went to 2 a-la-cartes dinners:

The Mediterranean was VERY GOOD. I would recommend it! It was a delight.

The Italian restaurant was also very good!

No complaints on the food - everything was well served, well cooked and nobody got sick.

Bars

The bars were awesome as well. The service was excellent and you had some variety of drinks. They are very generous with the liquor, a good thing for people who like to drink!

Pop and juices were also available at the bars.

After 11pm (after the shows - very good entertainment), all the bars at the hotel close and you go in the street (don't worry, it's safe - it's the resort's street). There, you have another show and you can either go in the Disco or the Karaoke Bar for a good time! They close at 2 - 3. On the strips are also a few boutiques and a hamburger place - very good after a good night of dancing!

Beach and pools

The beach was very well maintained, brown and the water was a beautiful green/blue. Some people complain that the sand is brown.... Who cares?

Unlike other reviews, we did not have a problem with sand flies, although I saw a woman with fairly large bits. Just to be on the safe side, spray your legs (mostly) with OFF! before going to the beach and you'll be fine.

The pools were also very clean - we were mostly at the main pool (fairly big) with the swim-up bar. There are 2 other pools, which are a bit quieter if you want to relax.

Grounds

Very clean and if you got up early enough, you would see them washing the path with soap and water. At any time of the day, you would see the workers doing something (cutting grass, cleaning, fixing something on the roof, etc). This resort is very well maintained.

Activities

A lot of activities are offered with the animation group (for the young’s, teenagers, adults and elderly!). You can participate to anything (game in the pool, aerobics, yoga, volleyball, soccer, mini putt, ping pong, tennis, etc).

Tours

While on our trip, we did 2 tours: the 4-wheeling experience and Dolphin swim.

We went 4-wheeling in the small villages. I had brought some gift for the kids and as we were passing through the village, we were slowing down to give them toys and other goodies. They were so happy - it is really rewarding to see their faces. We also visited a house and drank coffee. It was pretty good, but expensive (we booked through the hotel) 63$/each to be on the same 4-wheeler.

We also went to Ocean World for the dolphin swim. After a 2-hour drive, we watched the shows, went through the Rain Forest, saw the birds and we swam with the dolphins. WOW. It was amazing! I would recommend it. A bit expensive, 155$ each, but it is worth it. The 2-hour bus ride was long but comfortable and we could see the different towns of Dominican.

Conclusion

I would recommend this resort to anybody who wants to have fun! Don't mind the negative reviews - you will not be disappointed! If you have any questions, please feel free to send me an email : kim.savage@tc.gc.ca

At first, I had my reservations about this place after reading some bad reviews. I was very surprised on how beautiful this place was. Very clean in and out the rooms. Never had any problems with the service. The service was excellent. The food was superb. The beach was not the most beautiful but then it was not their fault. The people working there were very friendly.

Jose and Terry

I don't know where to start to be honest. Both my girlfriend & I can't get over how beautiful this resort was... Green, clean, sunny, spacious; I could go on but that wouldn't tell you much.

The reception we received upon arriving at the Bahia Principe was splendid. Waitresses met us with cocktails, we were very quickly checked in and given our room key. Within minutes we were walking into our nice air conditioned room and our bags were delivered to us moments after we walked through the door. Obviously after a 10 hour flight we didn't get to see the rest of the resort until the next day as we crashed out very quickly.

Upon waking the next morning we were greeted by a scorching sun and the peaceful sound of wildlife in the immaculately kept gardens surrounding all the bulidings. The room it self was clean, tidy, air conditioned with a private balcony and a bathroom that was more than adequate.

The restaurant was open plan with a buffet style service. The quality of food did seem vary between ok and gorgeous depending on how many people where staying there and there was always plenty of choice. Also for your dining needs were four 'speciality' restaurants - Mexican (amazing), Italian (good), and Mediteranian & Seafood (ok). Also there was what I would call a 'junk food' joint if you just wanted a quick mid morning burger, hot dog, chips or something of that nature.

Wandering round we noted the resort had two pools where you could sit in the quiet and relax; A large, main pool with music, water aerobics, a swim up bar and a surrounding of trees, plants and the beach a matter of meters away. Facilities around the rest of the resort include a nice little mini golf course, bicycles for use on the resort (which however should be noted that only a couple of them have brakes and should only be used by compotent and sober adults... Who don't think that riding a bike through a pool would be funny!!!), beach volleyball, there are also boardgames and books available to sign out for your use. Also fresh beach towels are available everyday.

The one big and rather glowing report I would give is to the Scubaquatic water sports facility. The staff are friendly and accomodating and offer you activities ranging from litlle pedalos and kyaks, to jet ski's and speed boats and all the way upto your PADI open water divers course. I can, having undertaken said course, highly recommend this as the instructors are top class, the equipment easy to use and readily available and once you get into the water the scenery and aqautic life have to be seen to be believed.

In breif:

Good Points - Immaculately kept.

- Rooms more than adequate.

- Food above average.

- Staff are friendly and accomodating

- Excellent value for money.

Bad Points - If you are a none drinker there are very few options for you to choose.

- Smoking is allowed across the resort (no smoking seats available

in the restaurant).

Over all I'd say top marks if you just want to go somewhere to kick back and relax for two weeks and do as little as possible. But please don't, and I can't stress this enough, don't book this resort if you want thumping nightlife and clubbing until 6 in the morning...

April 19-April 26 2009

Well this was my first time down south. I have to be honest, I was bit paranoid going down, but once we were there I realized I had nothing to worry about.

THE RESORT IS ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL! Very colourful! Very clean! People working on the landscaping constantly.

The beach was not white sand, but was still nice. The water is a bit dark, but there are some clear patches. Also, there are sand bags in the water. People call them an "eye sore", but they didn't bother me. They were there to prevent the beach from washing away, which is understandable.

When we first arrived there was a smashed bottle of pop in our fridge. We called them after 2 days of filling it and not cleaning it to come finally clean it. They arrived within an hour. We also didn't have a fridge restocked one day. We called to ask them to fill it, and no one showed up.

I only went to 2 nights of the entertainment they offer. Both I found very enjoyable. Almost every night we went to the street to party. Had an awesome time every time. Kareoke was a hoot! Drinks were inclusive out there also.

They offer sports.. we played beach volleyball, tennis, mini golf, and took the hobicats out. They offered other sports as well.

The buffet food was good. They kept it filled constantly. They did close for a few hours during the day but they do have a snack bar along the beach. Believe me, they don't let you go hungry. We went to the el la cartes too and they were delicious!

You had to wait a while for the drinks, but thats like any bar. Lots of customers, very few bartenders.

The staff were all very nice. We actually became really good friends with a few down there.

Mainly Canadians down there (including myself). Everyone was very friendly! We met A LOT of people!

We did the catamaran excusion. The first bit, we had to motor, it was raining, and I was sea sick. So was not a good time at the beginning. But when we got in the water to snorkel, the sun came out, and we got to actually sail back. So it turned out to be a nice day.

Over all, it was a good time, met lots of people, and got a sweet tan! Would definitely return!

just got back 5 may 09 really good time excellent place would go back Eddie is the best man to serve you for breakfast lunch and evening meal always with a smile just dont book trips with Herman on beach rip off better paying bit extra with rep .we only paid 650.00 for 15nights with first choice best money ever spent .

My girlfriend and I returned from a week (april 20 - april 26) at Bahia Principe, San Juan. The resort far exceeded my expectations. I went to Punta Cana (Riu Hotel Chain) in 2002 and didn't like the food at that particular hotel. I enjoyed the food at every meal at Bahia Principe. I expected a dark sand beach, and that is what they have. The water is great, but the beach is not the white sand like Punta Cana. The grounds are beautiful and well maintained. Overall I couldn't critique the hotel or services.

I played golf at Playa Grande. Unbelievable views of the ocean and cliffs.. great caddy too. We also did a catamaran trip, booked at the hotel just in front of the reception. $94 per person for a catamaran ride, food and drinks all day, and snorkeling at two different reefes. We had a blast. Great snorkeling too.

There were some Canadian kids (22 years old) that just finished exams. For the most part they were fine. And the Canadians were ok as well. Nothing to complain about, but be prepared, the resort is mostly canadian tourists. Didn't bother me at all.

Great value in this resort. I will return. The room was great, view of the ocean and vegetation. I enjoyed the firm bed. I couldn't say a bad thing about this resort.

My boyfriend and I stayed at the Bahia Principe from April 20th - 27th.

Let me start by saying it was and AMAZING holiday...

The resort and BEAUTIFUL, they are always cleaning and grooming the grounds.. amazing..

The rooms were cleaned everyday and they were nice.. We had a king sized bed and our balcony overlooked the golden section pool and the beach. The AC worked very well, even tho you can only have it on when you are in the room, the room stays quite cool with the fan on and the AC doesn't take long to really make the room cold. Mini Bar was stocked daily. TV worked just fine. Toilet worked and we have hot water every day, but sometimes you just have to let the water run a bit. We have no complaints about the room. Oh and the bed was comfortable, we asked for another pillow and got that within the hour.

The Beach was fine. Was not the nicest beach but it was nice. The sand is not white and the water is not always clear, but the temperature of the water was amazing. There are lots of palm trees on the beach and its very long, so in that light its a very nice beach.

The food was amazing, best I have had at a resort. SOOOOOO much selection, I didn't have enough time to try everything. The al carts were good, the Mexican being the best. we did not make it to the Mediterranean because we were just too beat that night so we just went to the buffet, but I bet it was good. the seafood was alright.. I expected more I think from this restaurant so maybe that's why I wasn't as pleased..

There are 4 pools, the sports pool (which was closed for deck repairs when we were there), the golden pool, the diamond pool and the main pool. When we were not on the beach we spent most of our time at the golden pool since it was closest to out room. Also there was less noise and we didn't have to worry about any problems with lines to get a drink.

There were alot of bars, so no need to worry about not being able to get a drink. The bars on the resort close at 11 and then the party moves to the strip which is still part of the resort and I think those bars go until about 5:30 or 6, not really sure. The coco locos are really good along with the blue Hawaiians.

This resort is just simply amazing... we wanted to stay longer, and if it didn't cost so much to change our flight we probably would have. We probably will not return next year only because we want to see other places, but we will go back sometime and I do recommend this resort to anyone... soooo much fun, so beautiful, so clean, everything was awesome.... I am very jealous of all of you leaving soon... :)

Do not listen to the bad reviews.... go and have an amazing time... you will not regret it.

I looked at several revies of the Bahia Principe San Juan AFTER I'd booked and thought heck what the hell have I done. Well, my doubts were totally unfounded. We have just returned from two glorious weeks (April 9 2009 to April 23) as our silver weddining holiday. Right from arrival you could not fault the place, the people, the weather. Everywhere was so clean - they even bleached and scrubbed the paths twice a week - load of gardeners and labourers kept the gardens and the beach spotless, too.

Our room was an upstairs corner one close to the beech (1240} and our maid Daysy was wonderful, it was well cleaned and spotless and she looked after us well.

The choice of food was such that even the most discerning diner would find something to like. Ans of the four al-a-carte restaurants we tried em all, didn't go a bundle on the italian though. We loved the Mediterranean and Mexican the best.

We went with a UK firm called First Choice which has a Canadian subsidiary and as a result we had a rep on site all the time - a Canadian lass, Firzana, and what a joy she was. So helpful, informative and damn good at her job too. She was nearly six months' pregnant but still accompanied some of the trips and was a real gem. Thank you for making our stay so memorable!

Went here with my partner and had an absolutly amazing holiday.

The hotel is wonderful and exceeded my expectations. The food in the buffet restaurant is lovely, there is always a variety and its always hot and fresh. The beach's and the pools are kept very clean, and the staff are always happy and willing to help. Would definitly be happy to go back in the future.

Had a wonderful holiday.

Traveled with my husband (both in our 30s) and 8 other adults and two 5 year olds for a friends wedding at the end of May. Had a great time but now that we've seen it and done it won't be hurrying back. Great value for money though if you want a pool/beach holiday, good weather and just to chill out.

The weather, and the service were fantastic. The beach is average but nice to walk along and paddle while feeding the fish that eat bread and banana right out of your hand.

Buffet Food has something for everyone. Pasta bar and Omlette bar at breakfast are excellent, if like me you prefer your food hot! And cooked fresh without flies buzzing about! We tried all the a la carte. Nice to eat indoors off a menu for a change but the food is very average. Service is good though.

Pool and bars are great but drinks are very watered down. Being from Scotland we soon discovered some great tactics - buy a cheap bottle of rum from one of the shops and top up your drink or just order coke and make up your own drink. I am SURE the drinks were watered down with tap water! Or wait til 10 and drink up at the strip as the drinks are much better up there.

Ten out of ten for effort on the entertainment but we were soooo bored by the second week - we were literally standing outside the bars on the street/strip at 9:30 waiting for them to open. The Casino kept us sane as it was air conditioned - and remember you can take free drinks from the bars and disco in and out of the Casino.

I stronlgy reccomend doing at least a couple of trips. They are generally worth the money and it is really refreshing to get away from the report for a day or two. We did Ocen World and swam with Dolphins and Sharks - this is amazing and really worth the money.

If the Mosquitos like your blood they will bite - not matter what you do - you just have to live with it. Ligtht coloured long trousers at night are the only advice I can give.

Rami at the Scuba center is brilliant so make sure you go scuba diving or snorkelling, or paraliding or something.

Visit the beach huts along the beach but don't go alone - they are friendly but very pushy. And pay no more than 1/4 of the first price they offer. And know your dollar to peso coversions as they will kid on they don't know the exchange rate.

Further along from the beach huts you can go on organised tours with Camp tours. The reps will try and scare you off this but don't listen - they do really good trips and half the price and are well organised and reliable as far as we could see.

Overall, we had a great time 9and so did the young kids thanks to the great pool and entertainment staff). However, if you are looking for more stuff to do that just lark about by the pool, and enjoy fine food and wine like us, you might be a little disapointed. That being said - you get exactly what you pay for. Most people would enjoy this holiday and especially this resort. The Dominicans are lovely people and it was a great place to visit overall.

We as a family of 3 children and five adults had fabulous weather only 2 showers, from 26/05/09 to 07/06/09.

Staff at the resort were very friendly, if we asked for anything staff responded instantly.

Our biggest recomendation is Rami, who does the pool scuba lessons, and a local snorkelling and island tour, he was fantastic, you could not ask for a nicer person who has plenty of time and patience.

Our 13 year old grandson and my daughters partner did there first dive,with the help of Rami.

Hotel was clean, food was nice at the buffet, and really good at the four bookable restaurants.

My only criticism was the biting flies,i felt the grounds were not fumigated often enough.

Would definitely recommend this Hotel for any travellers of any age,there is plenty to do for everyone

I travelled for vacation to Bahia in April of 2009 for one week. It was low season and the resort was only at low capacity, so was quieter then other times, (from what we heard). This was the perfect time for a relaxing vacation, and the resort was nothing less then amazing!

The resort is large and beautifully laid out. We were members of the Golden Club, so had a building closest to the beach. It was so convenient! The beach spans the entire length of the resort and though was narrow and without the white sand found in other areas, was still the perfect location to relax. Neither one of us had any problem with the sand fleas others have mentioned. The pools were perfect, with one smaller pool being quiet and an enjoyable place to have some drinks and relax for the day, while the large swim up bar pool was upbeat and always busy.

The food was really good, with variety and great service. We only had the opportunity to try one a la carte; the Mediterannean. The food was excellent and the atmosphere perfect.

The strip of shops and bars/restaurants on the wa into the resort entrance was a perfect place to spend the nights, where there are street parties, a casino, disco etc. It is part of the all inclusive packages and is definitely a good time!!!

All in all, I would have to say this hotel is worth every penny. Though not a top of the line resort, it was nothing less of what is expected for what we paid. Clean, fun, and everything I needed in a vacation!

My husband and I just got home yesterday. I wonder why some people gave an awful review about this place at all, maybe way too picky,unhappy people. This place is awesome! Clean room and bathrooms, friendly staff, great meals. We tried the horse back riding which is one of the activities offered and we think it's the best amongst all. We had such a blast. Worth every penny.

we went in march and the weather was a little chilly, but the atmosphere here was great! EXCELLENT animacion team! they keep you busy all day! book with Transat/Nolitours and get excellent reps, Canadian reps who will bend over backwards for you! hi Emilie!! we ran out of money there and one of them was kind enough to lend me some till we got back to canada. the rooms were clean and the buffet and staff were excelent! we had a blast here.

We found the rooms to be clean and comfortable. The staff at the resort were friendly and very helpful. The atmosphere was lively and visually apealing. Bright and beautiful colors are every where. The food is very good. At the buffets there is something for everyone's tastes. The ala cartes were good. I recommend the mediteranian my self. The cold beers and tasty rums were great in the 30+ temperatures that prevail here. The service and the people are excellent. Approximately one hour from the air port to the resort. This is hardly noticeable because there is so much to see. I would definately go back again.

Me and my partner went to this hotel in September 2008 and had a brilliant time. Like with any holiday, there was its ups and downs.

To begin with, the negatives. We found the food in the a la carte restaurant wasn't very warm, and also repetetive, so we tried booking other restaurants. There was a seafood, a Mexican, and an Italian. The Mexican we would not rate at all, the food was cold and the portion sizes were tiny. The other restaurants we enjoyed very much. Also if you take a walk down the beach there are other burger bars etc that are open till late if you get hungry later on!

The entertainment wasn't great towards the start of he holiday, the shows weren't very good and sometimes we didn't know what was actually going on! As the holiday progressed. the shows did get better.

The entertainment staff were all very friendly and dedicated, but sometimes they would literally drag you on to the stage which was a little annoying, but fun at the same time!

There was a wide choice of drinks in all the restaurants, and also at the different bars, lots of different cocktails to try!

The grounds of the hotel were beautiful and always kept clean, the only problem was walking back to your room at the end of the night could be difficult as the grounds weren't very well lit!

No complaints about the room, beautifully kept, the fridge was always stocked with beer, water and pop, which was free to drink. The maids were lovely, leave them a little tip and they'll leave you lovely things in your room! We did have a problem with ants on the first night but it was cleared up. There is also a safe in the room which is useful. Air conditioning was also provided. There is also a dry cleaning service which was useful, and also very cheap.

On arrival at the hotel you are given towel cards, in the hut where you get your towels you can borrow books and also hand in books that you don't want to take home with you, having known that there were books there I probably wouldn't have taken so many!

The pools were lovely, always kept clean.

The beach is also beautiful, with plentiful loungers to relax on.

The best part of the hotel was the strip leading up to it, that opened from about ten at night, the karaoke bar was fabulous, a lot of fun and the bar staff were fantastic! The pina coladas in this bar are great!

The casino was also fun but be aware that the drinks in there aren't included in the all inclusive. There is also an internet cafe, and some shops for souveniers.

There is also a shop in the hotel with basic essentials.

There were excursions available, but we only took the Bongo Bus trip which was fun, they took you to watch a voodoo show with food included, the bus was great, with alcohol on board and music!

The rep we had was lovely, easy to get in touch with and very helpful. There are patches that you can buy off her for a reasonable price to stop midgies, I recommend buying some of those!

We also went in hurricane season but got very lucky with the weather, having about two days of rain in total! Also there was a thunderstorm one night which was amazing to watch over the sea from the Italian restaurant!

In general, we really enjoyed the holiday it was a brilliant experience and we had a great time with the people we met! I would recommend this holiday to other people looking for a quiet relaxing holiday which we found was value for money!

I just got back yesterday from a weeks stay at BP San Juan with my friend. It was a great place to stay and superb value for money.

We had a room with side sea view and it was great, the block we were in was right on the front just steps from the beach and the snack bar. The room was nice and big and had all the facilities we needed. The only problem we did have was on the day it rained (like I have never seen rain before!!!) our room was flooded through the roof and we got moved. I could only stay one night in the new room as it was awful. We moved back into our original room next day. I did manage to get everything sorted but not with any help form reception, they didn't know how to show any humility and really let the hotel down.

The food however more than made up for any issues I had...it was fantastic!! The drinks are very very watered down but still tastey and plentiful. Animation team were quite childish but fun all the same. The hotel is spotless and the beach is very clean with shallow and safe water to paddle in.

I wish the hotel could be picked up and moved up the road by about 40km as it's not near anything. There is however a strip of shops/bar/casino/internet cafe along the drive leading up to the hotel. This was a really nice feature.

I would definately go back to BP San Juan as it was teriffic value for money and suits all different types of travellers.

My fiance and I have just returned from the Bahia Principe San Juan and would say our experience was nice, a fun holiday for both.

I have been to the Dominican before as you will read from the other hotels I reviewed and always make sure to give an honest opinion, so future travelers know what they are in for.

Location/Beach- The hotel is located 50 minutes ( no stops) or 1.5 hours ( 2 stops) from the airport. It is a beautiful drive and there is lots to see! The resort itself is magnificent with 3 pools ( one private) and 4 bars and lots of landscaping it really was beautiful. The resort is very clean and they are constantly making improvements. The beach however is a different story. Due to a hurricane in 2006 the beach is not very appealing and doesn't do Dominican beaches any justice. If your a beach bum like me, you may want to look elsewhere.

Before leaving I read reviews and hoped the sand fleas were just bad luck, however I have never before on any of my travels been bitten but i write this with a swollen ankle covered in bites.

Food- As far as buffets go it was fairly average. There were parts of the buffet that were excellent ( hot dogs, fries, shrimp bread etc) We visited the Mediterranean, Italian and Mexican a la carts and they were all phenomenal ! We highly recommend the chicken burrito!

Service- the service at the golden club was very average and the bartender was not very friendly. However Eddy in the dinning hall is wonderful!

Drinks- the drinks are VERY WATERED DOWN. and when you say no ice, you still get ice. Some drinks I would recommend are: Dominican Baileys, Coco Loco, Blue Hawaiians, Ron Punch! However they really weren't anything special. Unfortunately the bars are not open long enough that the drink mixers get a chance to become icy and end up pure liquid and not tasty.

Rooms- very nice! clean sheets, hot water, towels and we received turn down service 5/7 nights we were there. My only turn off was there were coffee stains on my bath robe. however you must realize you are in a third world country and the cleaning capabilities and products are not as advanced.

Entertainment- Pretty average at best. Kids club is hilarious haha.

Overall the trip was nice and relaxing. I may return however I feel there are other resorts I would much prefer to return too, but on a cheap last minute i would definitely go again.

We stayed at the Bahia from the 19th to the 26th of March and we loved it. There was a group of 4 of us that went and had never been somewhere hot like this. We were Golden Club members and our room was very big with a big queen size bed. Our hotel was one of the last buildings in the section but we didnt mind cause you get to walk off your booze and your close to the markets. The food is WAY better at the buffet then at the a la carte restaurants. We ate at 3 out of the 4 restaurants and cancelled our 4th reservation and just ate at the buffet. We were never disappointed at the buffet, there is always selection and lots of it. The alcohol does taste different then ours here in Canada but its only because they use a lower percentage alcohol. The night entertainment is awesome. The kids entertainment is the same every night but the adult is not. They always involve the audience and it makes for a great evevning of laughing. At 11 the hotel closes all the bars and the street turns into a party where you will find the "pub" , the disco bar and the karokee bar. Its lots of fun. We did 2 excursions while we were there. The buggy tour was AWESOME. It's well worth the $50 a person, you go throughout the Dominican and see how the people live, you learn how to make coffee and chocolate and in the process you get completely filthy. Wear old clothes. We also went to OceanWorld where we got to swim with the dolphins. There is so many neat animals and birds there, that it makes for a great day. All and all we were very impressed with this resort and are very excited to go back next year. I recommend this resort to anyone who is looking for a great time and lots of things to do. Anyone who has anything negative to say either is really picky or there expectations are really high.

We travelled to the Bahia Principe March 30th to April 6th of this year. We were sceptical because of the reviews we read but were very pleased with the resort and out overall vacation.

We really lucked out with our room location, we were in the first building in the Golden Club Section which was about a 30 second walk to the Brisas buffet restaurant, the Mexican restaurant was directly in front of us and the Golden club pool was off to the right from our room. No 10 minute walks for us to go anywhere! Bonus! The room was cozy, dated but was clean, although the bed was as hard as a rock and my husband and I both would wake up several times in the night with sore backs but that's the only gripe I have!

The food was good...I recommend the Mexican restaurant for the a la carte restaurants.

We tried the Med.restaurant too, I liked my food but my husband's was questionable. The dessert was the best part of this experience. The buffets always had something that Iiked, by day 7, I was ready for some good ole Canadian food...lol

The grounds are immaculate, the grounds staff were constantly working picking up stuff and pruning the shrubs,flowers etc...the beach is long and has nice sections...the sand bags are an eye sore and so are the concrete barriers in the ocean but I understand why they are there. They are just trying to stop errosion from taking away more of the beach and palm trees. It was nice to lay on the loungers and just relax with a Bahama Mama

drink in hand of course!

The resort this time of year was about 65% full...so there weren't a lot of rowdy people around. I'm sure there were a few but we never encountered any. Everyone was just having fun! The staff were nice and friendly. We gave little gifts everyday to the maid and the guy who replenished our fridge. Also tipped at the a la cartes and every once in awhile at the bars and buffet. A dollar or 2 here and there won't break us...

We did one excursion while we were there. The catamaran cruise. It was a long day, gone for 12 hours and cost $92 a person but in our opinion was well worth it. The weather was beautiful. although the wind picked up and there were a few people not feeling so well...lol...Breakfast and lunch were included as well as drinks after the first snorkelling stop. Well worth the $

All and all I would recommend this resort and we would definately go back. There are a lot of repeat guests at this resort. That should say something for the resort and staff itself. I spook to one older man who told me this was his 5th time to this resort. He said it has all that he wants and enjoyed his first stay so figured he didn't want to chance not liking another destination and came back to the Bahia...good choice!!!

Background Info: couple, later 40’s looking for R & R. This was our 3rd time in the DR and we have been to many AI’s (3.5 – 5 star) in Mexico and Cuba as well. We stayed at Blue Bay in POP last year and overall preferred Bahia.

Air Canada Vacations: Plane was a bit late but nice to have leg room. No free meals or snacks but you could watch current movies for free which made the time go quickly. We were in a standard room (B-9) but we found out that a few people were placed in the Diamond Section so you may want to try and request that area. Our room was near the snack bar and beach. We did receive the perks AC offered except the cocktail party, lol… don’t think we missed much. I actually enjoyed the hour bus ride (bus was comfy, had air cond and a bathroom) to and from the resort.. there was a lot of country side and towns to look at along the way.

Resort: very clean and beautiful. Workers are everywhere cleaning and fixing stuff. Bathrooms always had toilet paper, hand sanitizer and were being cleaned constantly. This is a HUGE resort and I really recommend taking the time to figure out where everything is, what they serve and when they serve it. I did quite a bit of research before we left and still found it a bit overwhelming at first. This is a true DR 4 * and people need to remember that this is the DR. The place wasn’t full with it being so late in April so our experience may differ than when it is full.

Beach and pools. We are beach people and only went to the pool for 1 day. No problem getting lounge chairs, pool was large and clean and lots of activities going on. Beach towels were easily exchanged daily; they never ran out while we were there. Someone in an earlier trip report mentioned not having towels as they had to be turned at night??? No, they don’t.. exchange the dirty one for a clean one whenever you want to.

Beach – we spent most of our time at the beach in front of the snack shack. The sand was soft, no need for water socks in the ocean, it had a very sandy bottom. We thought it was by far one of the best sections of beach… much nicer than the main area by the pool and some of the gold zone. The beach was natural and quite beautiful in a lot of areas… you could walk forever. Lots of palapas and trees for shade. The sand bags kept the ocean calm so we had no issues with them. We took a kayak out and you could easily see down to the bottom of the ocean. We spent a lot of time in the ocean. One thing I loved about this location was the fact that the bathroom was right there, as well as showers and you could pop into the snack shack, ask for a plastic plate and bring fruit or food back to the beach if you wanted. There was also self serve soft drinks and beer on tap. We rarely went to the buffet for lunch, just snacked in between breakfast and supper. It’s rare for a resort to allow this (at least the ones we’ve been too) and we appreciated it. Never saw a sand flea. The beach vendors were not allowed on the beach and no timeshare people hounding you. It felt like paradise to me, lol.

Rooms: As others have stated, could use a bit of upgrading but the room was large, huge king bed (typically rock hard, lol but 1 bed not 2 pushed together), lots of cupboard space, clean, decent pillows and a great balcony. Always had hot water (need to let it run for a few min) and you can vent the air conditioning to blow toward or away from the bed. Our maid always made nice towel arrangements with fresh flowers, candy and even a balloon! Leave a tip in the fridge and the mini bar guy will make sure you have extra bottles of water, beer and pop. No face cloths so I brought my own. Room is a bit dim but I was able to read in bed. We had a coffee maker and lots of coffee and sugar but will know to bring coffee mate with us next time. Never leave cups or food out as they will attract ants... we had a couple in the bathroom but we usually do see a couple in most resorts. We did not have an iron in the room but asked for one at the front desk and got it and the ironing board the next day for a few hours. The best thing about this resort was between the loud AC (white noise)and the fact that the partiers went to the strip at night, you could actually sleep undisturbed! This is the first time that I could not hear my neighbours at all... it was great!

Food/drinks: The buffet was huge and quality was that of your typical DR 4 star. Lots of choices and something for everyone. Figure out what you want before you load your plate or you’ll food will get cold while you wander around. DR beef isn’t great so we ate alot of chicken, fish and pork and lots of veggies. There are several cooks cooking several different meat/fish choices continuously, look for them to get very fresh meat choices. The freshly made chicken was always great. We never had a problem finding a table. Great service, you barely sit down and they are offering you water, coffee and/or wine. They are also quick to clean your table so if you are just getting desert, leave something personal on the table so they know you aren’t finished yet, lol. The ala cartes were good, order the vegetable crepes at the Mediterranean and don’t order the Greek salad which is nothing like a greek salad, lol . In the morning, hubby would order our omelettes and I would take care of the toast...everything stayed warm that way. The yogurt looked runny so we kept away from it. There is ice cream at the buffet and we saw someone place it in a plastic cup and take it out... good idea. You can find plastic cups and spoons at the self serve drink bar in the buffet.

We are not big drinkers so not alot of help here. Hubbie mostly drank beer or rum and coke. A lot of sweet drinks , mostly the slushie kind but they will try to make you whatever you want. I liked the rum punch myself. No International drinks unfortunately. Lots of self serve stations if you just wanted water or pop which I really liked....no standing in line, lol. We used our thermal mugs alot at this resort.

Excursions: snorkelling with Juan booked through the beach water sport shack was great. It was 40.00 pp and was about 3-4 hours. Bring bananas and buns from the buffet to feed the fish. We also did the dune buggy tour which was fun but stopped alot for photo opportunities. Lots of begging children on this tour which was rather sad to see. ..dangerous as well as they run around the moving dune buggies. We had already done several excursions in the past but if you haven’t, Campo is a good deal as they combine 3 for 132.00 but if you only want 1 or 2, they are not cheaper than the rest.

This resort is not perfect (no 4 star is especially in the DR or Cuba) but we had a great time and would not hesitate to go back. Everyone we met said that they really liked the resort and had a great time. We never used the Deet we brought, I did have a couple of skeeter bites but hubby didn’t have any. The entertainment was ok, typical and not too exciting but funny sometimes. The best part of this resort was closing the bars at 11:00 and taking the party to the strip.. lots of fun when you want to keep partying but kept your room quiet if you wanted an earlier night. All drinks and food are included on the strip except the casino but you can bring drinks in with you. There is also internet service for 12.00 an hour but it was down for 3 days while we were there so only got to use 15 min of our hour. If you want to shop, go to the little village at the end of the beach and haggle for better deals.

Have a great vacation, we did.

We just return from the Bahia Principe. We had been reading the reviews on here after we booked the trip and were very worried we had made a bad decision but it turned out to be much better than we had expected. You have to remember you are going to a third world country. Also remember the majority of ppl who have good experiences never think to write up reviews and it is the majority of bad experiences that end up being told about. This resort holds 3000+ ppl, so there are a lot of ppl who have not wrote reviews.

We booked our trip through sellofvactions.com and had no problems there. The bus from the airport takes about an hour or maybe longer to get to the hotel depending on traffic and how many other stops they have to make along the way. But this is a good chance to see the country side/ the real Dominican Republic, so get your camera out and take some pics. Our bus driver was nice enough to stop and pick up some cold beer for the long drive.

We arrived at the resort around 12 but we had checked in on the bus and were ready to eat/drink when we arrived. I suggest maybe taking a beach towel if your going to be arriving early in the day or leaving late at night b/c you don’t get your towels until you get your room key and get checked in at 3 and when you check out at 11 you have to pass your towels back in. When we arrived there was a welcoming crew dancing and brought us nice cold drinks. Due to the time we arrived we left our luggage with the bell boy and had no problems there.

We were told our room was to be ready at 3pm. There was a little mess up and we ended up having to wait until 4 to go to our room because it was not cleaned. We didn’t mind this too much though. We just sat by the pool and relaxed.

When we got to our room, we were suppose to be staying in just a regular room but i guess they had been all booked so we were put in the golden club section. Our room was over looking the sea horse fountain which was nice. Also we received complementary bath robes and slippers in our room. Our room was a 1 min walk to the beach and about a 3-4 min walk from the main pool/buffet which was good b/c it was very quiet.

In the room we had no problems. Yes it is not as update as home with flat screen TV/digital cable/satellite but lets face it guys, your on vacation and how much time do you spend in the room??? I got a kick out of the ppl complaining there TV didn’t have all the channels and they only had 6 or whatever channels in English?? I know I didn’t care to watch the TV too much. On to the good things: The fridge was restocked daily; the room was cleaned up when we came back in the afternoon; the beds were comfy enough, and pillows were good too, there was always lots of water pressure and hot water for showers; the air condition worked well (and yes you cannot leave the air condition running when you are not there due to it is welded to your room key) some suggestions here would be to ask for a second room key, or to close your curtains and try to keep the room as cool as possible. We never found the room to be overly warm anyway so it did not bother us that we could not leave the air conditioner going all day.

The buffet was good. We found out one day though if you leave it too late to go a lot of the food was cold or dry from sitting out for hours etc but usually we were always up and at the buffet shortly after it opened. The buffet did become repetitive but we always managed to find lots of food to eat and there were usually a few different things each day. The staff here was excellent in refilling water glasses etc. The a la carte’s were excellent. We had no problems booking these and at a decent time (6:30pm) The Italian restaurant was our favorite, I had lasagna and it was probably some of the best I have ever had. Then Mediterranean and Mexican were also pretty goof, we did not go to the Seafood due to a shellfish allergy. We had the house white wine at almost every dinner and they were all pretty good. It did switch frequently but we like having a change. The snack bar was pretty good. We ate here twice, once when were going to miss dinner due to an excursion, and the second time b/c we had to get on a bus and head to the airport.

The lawns and gardens were immaculate. The main pool could become quite noisy with the entertainment crew so I suggest going to the sports pool or down the beach if you want quiet. I never encountered anyone who had a major problem with Sand fleas. I got bit a couple times as did my boyfriend but they never really bothered us.

There is an “Indian village” down the beach where they practically grab on to you and pull you into their hut trying to get you to buy stuff. Be prepared to argue with them and get your price down to about half of what they start out at. There is a security guard that makes you sign out when you leave the resort area further down the beach. We felt totally safe being there.

TIPS that we had gathered from reading previous reviews and experience were:

- Bring a face cloth/wash cloth/bath puff (the hotel does not supply them as in most southern countries).

- Bring a large hot/cold drink mug so you don’t have to continually go up to the bar to get a drink in those small plastic throw away cups and it is more environmentally friendly as well.

- Bring citronella smelling repellant; regular bug spray such as “Off” does not work against sand fleas.

- Go to the Buffet shortly after they open to get the best choice.

- Make reservations for the a la carte when you first arrive.

- Go to the Indian village to purchase souvenirs but look at the quality before you buy. And be careful when purchasing wood products to bring back to Canada. Customs usually confiscates these things.

- bring american money and do not bother switching any money over to pesos because everyone there works in US dollars and it is much easier. We switched some over and had trouble using them.

If you have any questions feel free to send me an email

We just got back from Bahia Principe San Juan on Friday. I had spent a lot of time on this site and was terribly worried about this vacation. I think having read all the reviews, good and bad was a benifit because I was prepared for the worst. Fortunately the worst never happened.

We had a fantastic time. We spent all of our time at the beach, not the loud pool as we can sit at a pool at home. I do have to say the drunk teenagers do becopme a bit of a problem but that is why they are there. They will eventually grow out of this and become responsible adults if they don't do too much damage to their brain cells.

We prefered the buffet restaurant to the ala carte restaurants. We went to the buffet at different times and didn't notice any difference in the quality or temperature of the food so those that say if you go late just enjoy complaining. We went to dinner a half hour before it closed and the food was still great. We usually sat in the section with Julio and Raphael. These guys are great. They could not have been nicer or more accomodating.

If I had to complain about one thing it would have to have been the plane trip. We flew with SkyService out of Toronto. I'm not sure if they can make a plane anymore uncomfortable than the one we flew in but I'm sure they will try. If you get 2 inches for your kness it would be a miracle. The crew on the way down were sullen and nasty but the fight back was a bit better with a much nicer crew. If you can prebook your seats, try to get the exit rows with a bit more leg room, your hips and knees will thank you. I will never fly SkyService again. It would be worth the extra money to get on a real plane. It just put me in a foul mood when we landed.

For those that say the transfer from the airport to the hotel is a nightmare? Just remember where you are and take it as a blessing that you come from the place you do with so many more advantages. It is very humbling to drive these roads and see how people live. It made me greatful for what I have and that I was lucky to have been born where I was.

That being said I was quite impressed with the driver and the drive. I am a terrible backseat driver and this to me was just fantastic. I will never again complain about the traffic on the 401. We really enjoyed the ride and even took the City Tour which got usout on the bus for a drive into Sosua and Caberete. Kudos to the driver again. I would not want that job. Just take the bus ride in stride and enjoy it. It is a once in a lifetime ride.

The grounds of the resort are beautiful. We stopped at a few resorts to pick up people and drop off people on our transfer and have to say the BPSJ was by far superior.

We were blessed with perfect weather our entire trip. 29-32 degrees with no rain or cloud.

We realized that you make your holiday what it is and if you go with a negative attitude you will have a bad time. Go with an open mind enjoy your time and have a great trip, you won't be sorry.

Just like to say to all you people who are thinking about going to Bahia...... GO!!! Please don't let the nay sayers get to you..... We travelled during March break (12th-19th). Yes, there were lots of teenagers that were out of control; Maybe staff should look at placing party animals in one location so as not to affect the rest of vacationers trying to get a little R & R during that time.... however, we didn't spend a tremendous amount of time around them....( Bring ear wax for sleeping and you won't hear a thing)! We stayed in the Golden section and had a fabulous time. It was our second trip to Bahia and my sister and her husbands 1st trip and they really enjoyed themselves....

Unfortunately this resort was hit with a hurricane in the fall of 08 and it affected their beautiful beach.... Very unfortunate... and it seems they are working hard to try and maintain the beach with the sand bags..... and I might add... you probably don't see a lot of heavy equipment to help them with that! My husband and I were here in 07 and had a fantastic time... Met a very special couple then from the UK and also a couple from New Brunswick....The beaches are not flour white; however, during the Canadian winter they are pretty special.. Food.... well, I really enjoyed breakfast the most and have to say more so at the Italian restaurant....that crispy bacon was great and I didn't have to cook it! The banana smoothies were fantastic! A smaller venue than the main buffet... The main buffet was pretty crazy during March break and the al a cartes were pretty good in the evenings ... My favorite was the Italian.... The buffet section of the Mexican was great... The Mediterranean was elegant but a bit over the top.... my palate is not that fussy...I enjoy a great steak, burger, salad... not familiar with rack of lamb.. and certain foods that are somewhat unrecognizable .... not trying to be a snob, just am adjusted to North American cuisine....

Poolside...

We didn't really enjoy the main pool as it was loud (really prefer the sound of the ocean)and the quieter golden pool...

The people native to the D.R. are very special people.... Regardless of the poverty of their country, they are very polite and eager to please for the paltry few bucks they get...

It also doesn't hurt to look up a few Spanish words on the internet before you leave home so you can try to communicate. A special thank you to Eddy our wonderful pool guy! Your the best!! and Juan.... You took us on a special excursion on those crazy boats.... my tailbone still hurts! But we had a blast! Thanx....

The snorkelling was awesome!.... Sorry we didn't get to go to dinner with you and your family..... Maybe next year! The animation team around the golden pool was crazy..... Great job! Sometimes when you didn't want them around because you wanted to chill... well, we just went for a walk on the beach or for a bite to eat or whatever..... Also a special thanx to the bartenders who made our drinks "just right"..... especially the mamajuanas....

Knowing that you are going to a country that is mostly impoverished, in my humble opinio, n they treat you very well.... For the price of admission.. awesome.... the weather is as good as mother nature says for the time of your stay... no control on that one....

We met some pretty spectacular friends over the one rainy day we had out of 7....

Yes the rooms are a little "tired", but how much time do you spend there...If you spend your time complaining about how bad things are you will probably have a crappy stay; we were so greatful to just enjoy not doing the usual everyday routine it was just great to do what you wanted to do when you wanted to do it..... Hope you all have a great stay at Bahia.... We sure did! Cheers....

This was our second trip to this resort so we knew what we were going back to. We travelled with a group of 6 couples who were all just looking for an inexpensive escape from the Canadian winter. We travelled in prime end of January for rock bottom prices (Golden Club for less than $900 Cdn). This resort is just fine for an inexpensive getaway - the resort is getting old and it's definitely showing its age but that is greatly reflected in the price. Rooms are very basic but they are kept clean. The buffet is huge and everyone can find something they like - the beach isn't pure white sand but the water is warm and fun to play in. We weren't looking for fine dining or a big nightlife or daily trips - we just want to be beach bums for a week, take afternoon naps and relax. This was the perfect location!

Great place.. grounds are excellent as is the service and the food. Although we noted a marked downturn in all aspects on the second week, we were told this was because of the lack of clientelle..hmm!!

Weather was very wet and very hot.. in that order. It's a long way to and from anywhere, so if you want an excursion (expensive) expect to be on the bus for a long while.

The staff try very hard to keep you entertained but it's difficult when they are so few few.

OK... the beach!... yoikes!.. nasty sand and even nastier sand flies... please please please.. take heed and go prepared to fend the flies off or you will regret it. We ate well.. the flies ate better..:o)

All in all a good holiday, but was glad to get to the end, shame they don't offer 10 or 11 night stays cos boredom does set in.

Just spent 2 weeks at the Bahia Principe near to Rio San Juan and can now understand the wide range of reviews that have been written about this resort - it's a good value break, but it won't suit everyones tastes.

The resort is 90 mins from the airport and there is nothing nearby so it's just as well that the complex is large, with good pools, a good range of food and reasonable daytime entertainment. The evenings grew a little tedious towards the end of the second week and could do with more variety with the same routine occurring every night.

The rooms are ok, being fairly spacious but they would only just make 3 stars based on UK standards. The main thing is that they are cleaned daily to a good standard and we didn't see any creepy crawlies the whole time we were there. OK, so the TV's are circa 1980's and you can only get American or Hispanic channels but we didn't spend that much time in the room so it wasn't a problem to us.

Sand-fleas are a problem at the resort and we found that none of mozzie repellent products had any affect against them. The best bet to avoid getting bitten is to keep the room closed up and stay away from the beach (which isn't really that great a loss).

The buffet food was ok and the "proper" restaurants were quite good, particularly the Mediterranean one, however we were ready for some normal food by the end of the holiday. The restaurant staff were really good - Eddy in particular is brilliant and Cesar, the Head Waiter was really entertaining.

Weather-wise we did pretty well considering May / June is the rainy season - the mornings start off clear and sunny, the cloud comes over in the afternoon and then you usually get a spectacular thunderstorm in the evening/overnight which blows over in time for the next morning. Just remember that you're just as likely to get sunburnt when it's cloudy - so don't fall into the trap of not putting on the sunscreen.

The Spa is quite plush and the massages (an extra) are relaxing way to spend and hour or so chilling out. In contrast to this the gym is not what you'd call "David Lloyd" and it could really do with some money spending on it.

The shops were very expensive ($4 for a tube of Pringles!!!) and the excursions were pricey too, however the Laguna Jeep "Safari" was well worth doing to see the beautiful countryside and to see what life is really like for the locals.

Just back from two weeks at Bahia Principle, we went for my husband's 50th Birthday.

First of all I know it was nothing to do with the hotel but when it rained it just did not stop! We were in a ground floor room and had to put towels at the doors to stop the water coming in and flooding the room.

The room - clean but not what i'd call a 4 star plus, plugs hanging off the walls and sparking when they were used. Room cleaned every day with fresh towels. Coffee maker in room with lovely coffee daily. Fridge filled daily with beer and cola. (Cola light if you left a note)

Bathroom - again, clean but chipped tiles and a bit grotty. Had to go to ask for shampoo and soap most days as they forgot to replace them.

Food - Buffet was very good with plenty of choice. There are al a cart restaurants available to book three times a week, we loved the Medeteranian and the Mexican, stay away from the Italian - not good.

Biggest let down was that i booked the Med restuarant for the night of my hubby's birthday with champainge and birthday cake - we ended up toasting his birthday with water because they forgot, i spoke to the manager twice about this and he just shrugged and said he knew nothing about it. Spoke to another manager about this and he offered us another night with champers and cake but we said no as the moment had gone.

Staff were lovely but you learn very quickly that they are wanting tipped all the time. At the Karoke bar the Animation staff were there hanging out with the guests having a laugh one of them came over to us being all friendly and chatty then whispered to us if we could go up to the bar and get him two drinks then when we did this he asked us for some of our cigs and off he went back to his room for the night!

Shops at the complex are very expensive so too are trips and motorised water sports. Worth a trip to local town for great bars and shops, $3 on local bus or $18 if you book it at Hotel.

Feell the whole experience was a let down after all the "awesome" reviews we read.

just got back yesterday after 2 weeks at the hotel. everyone has aked me and ive said the same thing to them all. "it was ok" the thomas cook rep Carla scares you into staying in the resort (which come night time is a boring place to be unless you meet the right people) the main reason she does this is because the trips are extortionate! if you go to campo tours at one end of the beach you can get them for a third of the price and they dont bully you. we paid $132 each for 3 excursions and she wanted that for 1! the flights got changed on the way home and she didnt bother to tell anyone until the day before we returned and when a family of 10 asked if she could call the minibus company for them her exact words were "i dont have that facility, ring from your room and claim it back on your travel insurance". this combined with telling people lies just to get them on the excursions, never being in her office when she said and the professional viewing of her grinding herself all over a local lad and then going home with him from the onsite nightclub made her the perfect professional!!! anway enough about her, the main problem we found was that there wasnt enough to do, the hotel is in the middle of nowhere so you cant get out and walk to anywhere, yes its a big resort but if you didnt get a bus or taxi you were trapped there. the food was ok! the mediterranean was the pick of the bunch and really gave you the feeling that you werent on the complex anymore, the main buffet was ok but seeing as it wasnt busy myself and my partner liked to get in there as soon as it opened, if not it was a little stagnate. the entertainment at night was woeful. for kids a giant smelly rabbit dancing to the birdy song and various others for an hour, for adults an hour of out of sync spanish dancing. that finished at 11 so down to the karaoke bar then the discoteka. if you didnt like these guess it was back to the room. the beach didnt look too clever but to be fair we preffered the quiet pool away from the main pool which harbourd the large groups of canadian men and women (remember they cant drink until 21 so they lap it up big time) keep your eyes peeled for the local dominican escorts with there partners (easy to spot, usually an 18 yr old skinny lad with a 25 stone or 60 yr old women) this is entertaining.

i can see why the reviews are what they are on here, some people will love this place and some will just hate it. if youve been the likes of cancun in mexico before and want something similar then keep away. 11 hours on a plane home just isnt worth it

Have just got back from this resort today, along with several hundred bites from the sand- fleas/flies/mozzies and that is no word of a lie. Unfortunately this put a real downer on the holiday and we did try to get a flight home after the first week because the biting was relentless but could only get one the day before we were due to go so forking out £1600 was out of the question - resorted to staying in our rooms on the last few days in the evenings. So go fully loaded with antihistamines and repellent (we did but it made no difference!) because the pharmacy charges are extortionate. Stay off the beach as that is where we are sure we got bitten the most - they are aware of this problem but we only saw the place being fumigated three times while there by a man on a motor bike? - not much bloody good considering the size of the place! The sea was "muddy" looking too?

Could have tolerated one week here but it became like groundhog day on the second week as the shows were exactly the same and I hope i never hear the Bahia Principe song ever again and as for the scary rabbit that danced with the kids well it gave me nightmares so god only knows how the kids felt!

Food was ok, drinks a little watered down - everything from the bars to the eating areas was open air which was not good when it rained and of course for getting bitten (could have done with being closed buildings with air con). Be very careful of the slippery floors in the buffet areas when it rains my daugher fell over, luckily she never broke anything but she went down very hard and at the time there were no signs warning you of the slippery floor.

Rooms ok - (realy needs up grading). Staff nice. Street was ok but a lot of it was closed. Shops were very expensive. Trips were a pricey too.

All in all for us - we could not wait to get home.

Booked this hotel after my daughter's wedding in Mexico was cancelled due to swine flu. Our party of 7 adults 3 children arrived for 2 weeks but after 6 days we managed to move to Peurto Plata.

The food was pretty awful and seemed to be the same ingredients rehashed meal after meal. The food in the 3 A la carte restaurants was worse with the food simply being reheated from the main kitchens. The final straw came when our party were served almost raw lamb for lunch.

The drinks in the bars and restaurants were extremely weak and the wine in the a la carte were certainly watered down to the point where the white wine had no colour or taste whatsoever.

This was our first and last all inclusive holiday.

It is a shame that this penny pinching spoilt our stay at this hotel as the facilities and staff were very good as were the grounds which were imaculate, although the rooms were alittle dated with a cracked washbasin and very hard home made bed, the maid service was good but it took several attempts to get drinks for the fridge.

Travelled from April 6th, 2009 - April 13th, 2009

We are 33 and 38 and parents of two boys. We (just my husband and I) travel South every year (Cuba, Dominican and St. Lucia so far) just to get away and relax and have some fun.

I'm going to make this review short, sweet and to the point.

We booked our vacation through Selloffvacations.com in the "Golden Club" section. We got a smokin' deal on this trip paying $438 each (plus taxes) - departure from Halifax, NS. Therefore, I consider this to be a GREAT resort for the price. We met up with other couples/people there who paid in excess of $1,000 for this vacation, and for that price, NO, it's not worth the money. I think, if we had paid that, I would have been disappointed to say the least.

There isn't really anything that stands out about the Golden Club...you get slippers and robes, an umbrella, a bottle of rum upon arrival and one more a la carte reservation for the week....and the room is a little more spacious that the regular rooms. If you are planning on paying EXTRA for the Golden Club, DON'T. It's not worth it, by any means. When we booked the GC was cheaper than the regular room, so we went with it.

The only complaint I would have about this resort is the beach....it's "below average". If you are a beach person, this probably isn't the place for you. It's rocky, the shore line is being washed away and staff are trying to remedy the situation by placing sandbags everywhere. There are also huge wave breakers in the water which I've never seen before...the beach isn't very wide and the sand is typical of the Northern area of the island (ie. dark and somewhat pebble-y). My husband and I DO love the beach, but for the price we paid, no complaints from our mouths....

The food was adequade. A La Cartes were alright.....only one that I really enjoyed was the Mexican.

The rooms were average. No bells and whistles, and like some others have stated, they could use referbishing, but hey, how much time will you/do you spend in there anyway?

The grounds are immaculate and well kept....some of the nicest we've seen....I believe this is becuase of the age of the resort (oldest of the Bahia chain)....very lush and beautiful grounds.

Pool was nice but smaller than what we are used to. The resort was pretty packed and the pool was always full.

One thing I should mention is at 11:00pm, the resort pretty much shuts down (bars) and the "party" atmosphere moves out to what everyone calls "the strip". They shut down the street that enters into the resort and fill the street with tables and chairs. There is a Casino, a Karaoki bar, a burger joint, a Disco and some shops.....The bars and the burger joint are part of your all inclusive package.

To sum it up.......we feel we got a great deal for the price we paid....No bells and whistles, no ooohhhh and ahhhhhs from these two travellers but well worth what we paid. If you can get somewhat the same deal, by all means, LIVE IT UP. If you are paying $800 - $1,000 you could probably do better. The resort is nice, but it is starting to show it's age and like I said, the beach will probably create issues for some people.

For $438, we consider our vacation to be a huge success and we met some great people along the way that, hopefully we will keep in touch with for years to come! (HELLO PEI, we miss you!)

i was into dominican republic for vacation, hotel " bahia principe-rio san juan". we spent 2 weeks, from 1st to 16th of april. everything was okay, we´ve enjoyed our holidays,only the service from one of the guys at the watersport "scubaquatic" was not really nice. this guy, ANALDO GONZALES, Assistent Instructor - Scuba Diving, took me out, monday 13th of april to do a dive overthere. after 20 minutes under water, only using the half tank, he brought me back to the boat. i, as a Padi certified diver was surprised about that, because i know for my own, i can stay with one tank around 45 minutes under water. after asking Analdo, what happens, he said to me the pressure gauge is not working correctly. i´m wondering myself, because before we left the watersport i´ve checked my equipment and the pressure gauge show me full tank.

the following day, i went to the watersport , to talk with Analdo again, but he only tried to find some finish speaking, tried to show my his dive computer, to give me the dive informations, but his old thing didn´t work. how this employee try to treat clients of the watersport is not really nice, because the rest of the staff is very friendly, helpful and professional. if you go there be careful if you have to do with this employee, try to speak to anyone not to analdo, what his doing is not professional. after a nice vacation i was very disappointed about this circumstances.

i´m sorry to write this mail, because our vacation at all in that hotel was very beautiful, also all the other emploees of the watersport.

I had been to this resort a couple of years ago and nothing much has changed. The food is basically okay..not amazing...the a la carte restaurants were very very good. The booze...well, let's just say this....the bartender took a half bottle of rum into the back room, came back with a full one and was stirring it...so, all the drinks were watered down...most of the staff were okay...some were rude.

The rooms were okay, needs upgrading that's for sure. The bathtub was rusty but water pressure was fine. Mini fridge was stocked upon our request with beer, water and pop...so good service there.

The grounds are very nice, the beach is good and the weather was fantastic. I came home with over 100 bites...no one else in my group was affected..>I still can't figure out why they like me so.

Nightlife is okay if you out to the strip..there is a bar, disco and casino and a burger joint..which is okay. The night shows are terrible, as usual..they really need to think of something else. Activities during the day were boring...nothing new and exciting.

Banana boat ride was very fun, snorkeling was amazing and dune buggy excursion was a "TOTAL RIP-OFF"...do not waste your money unless you want to go super super slow and at no time, are you allowed to go fast. They bring you along the countryside which was interesting and we were able to ride in one.....just one puddle....then a small portion of water...that's it...most of the time, it was on severly bumpy roads, so we could not go fast.

Overall, I won't go back to this resort. We got a good price of 750 bucks per person..and it was worth that...no more though...more than an hour from the airport is a pain too.

Hi everyone. Me and five other friends (18-23) stayed here Jan 21-28, 2009. Flying out of Calgary Alberta where the temp was minus 45 to plus 30 degrees was nice. That bad part was that it rained the first 3 days we were there. Our phones didnt work, the toilets barely flushed, airconditioning leaked or didnt work and the rooms had bugs everywhere. Mostly everything outside the rooms is very nice, but when it pours everyday you tend to stay in your room.

The food was usually not too warm, and it all seemed to taste the same after the first few days.

On the fourth day we got invited to go to the Gran Ventana resort as ours was overbooked and we heard rumors of rooms with 3 feet of water inside.

Needless to say we took them up on the offer and had a great last half of the trip.

Resort plusses:

Large in size and has alot to offer

negatives :

remote and rooms getting old and outdated

Other people there seemed to have good rooms and were having a great time, but I belive that it is a hit or miss if you get good weather and a good room. I reccomed choosing a newer hotel because of this.

however, had we paid up to 3 times more than we did as some people we met had, we would have felt let down and disappointed. The resort was clean and tidy, grounds well maintained and mature. The room was nice but in need of refurbishment as was becoming shabby. Food was samey and average.

There was a mini bar containing soft drinks and 2 beers per day but getting the promised re stock became difficult even after leaving a couple of dollars a day! We found that the maid was taking the mini bar tips. We very quicky felt that we were expected to tip in order to receive a service that was supposedly all inclusive!? We are from a culture that tips AFTER receiving good service so were a little miffed about this.

The drinks at the bar were served in pastic cups. This I can understand in the pool areas but didn't exactly add to the experience in the evenings at the bars and entertainment.area. The drinks were very definately watered down most of the time until there was a large influx of Canadians and also as it was holiday weekend also an influx of domincans too. Then and only then did the drinks appear to be at full strength. My husband actually witnessed wine having water added. That was WHEN wine available!?!??. ALL the bars ran out constantly of the various all incl drinks. We were of the opinion in the end that once they'd depleted their quota for the day they'd say no more wine, beer or whatever. But this was happening sometimes late afternoon!!!

The shaver point in the bathroom was hanging off of the wall and was only repaired after 4 requests to guest services and then finally the rep.

The main pool had slimey stuff around the edge which the staff tried to sweep away daily but not adequately and we regularly saw the pool underwater lighting floating about on top.

Entertainment was dire though the staff tried their best.

And finally sand flies were a huge problem. I was bitten too many times to count and am still suffering from the itching 11 days after getting back home.

We really did try to give the resort the benefit of the doubt after reading previous reviews here as we are not usually ones to complain but after our experience we shall not be returning to the Bahia Principe.

We had a lovely time but only because we were priveledged enough to have met some really lovely people and it was they that made our holiday.

the hotel and grounds were nice but the people there seemed intent on laying next to the pool, drinking and getting a tan and nothing else!! the country is beautiful but nobody seemed to be interested in seeing it. also the taxis are a complete and utter rip-off. The level of services offered to us on the first week was pretty good but as soon as a massive load of american and canadians left, the service levels dropped massively. the rooms were no longer cleaned properly, most of the food was left-overs and for the entire last week we didnt eat any fresh food at all. infact my wife (along with 3 people we made friends with there) got a very dodgy stomach after eating some fish there and was ill for 3 days. on top of all that the thomas cook representitives were terrible. the guy there was, although nice, pretty dim. and one particulat rep (Carla) was very very rude which was rich considering she was never once available in the whole 2 weeks. to top it all off the beach is man-made with building grade sand, which is very obvious because the sand bags underneath were all on show. all in all, although the country is beautiful, the local people very pleasant and the resort a fairly nice place everything else was very below par. definately will not be going back there again, inface i will not be travelling with thomas-cook or any other bahia principe resort again.

I travelled to Bahia Principe San Juan Dec 13-21 after my parents had a really good experience at another Bahia resort location in Punta Cana (Ambar collection). This hotel didn't make me run screaming out the door or anything (actually...I guess there aren't any doors) but, I just think that if you're going to spend over 1000 per person, you might get better value out of a different resort.

Some things to mention (I won't exaggerate, I promise)

- When we booked the vacation, I didn't even think twice about the fact that the resort is about an hour away from the airport. Doesn't seem so bad right? But when you're crammed into an old van/bus type thing, it's really hot, it's super bumpy terrain, and you've just been on a plane or stuck in an airport for many hours, It's not so fun.

- The service wasn't the best in the world either. On the surface most of the staff seemed nice, but I noticed a good chunk of them would smile at you and then they'd drop the smile as soon as they turned around. We also had some difficulty with the front staff in getting the in room safe and extra a la carte sitting that was included in our package with air canada. They looked at us like we were crazy, demanded money and then argued with our air canada rep until they "gave in"

- The food wasn't horrible, but it definetly wasn't great. The buffet usually had a decently sized selection, but I had trouble finding anything with flavour (except the pinneaple - which was delicious - but how do you screw up fruit? lol). Also, if you didn't go to the buffet within the first half hour, the quality of food decreased rapidly, since it wasn't well shielded from the heating lights. The condiments tasted like they were made using vinegar (including mayonnaise, ketchup and mustard) which is maybe just how it is down there? But it wasn't a pleasant taste. The a la carte restaurants were good though! but unfortunately you are only given 3 sittings per week you are there (4 with air canada)

- If you're trying to pick a hotel, and you find one that offers food and/or snacks 24hrs a day, it's probably a convenient idea. It's not a huge deal, but the hours the buffet was open was a little annoying, since you had to pay attention to the time so you didn't miss out on a meal (which might leave you hungry and without food later). When you're on the beach you'd rather just relax and not have to worry about it, or have to bring a watch/cell phone etc down near the water with you so you know what time it is. It's much more convenient to just be able to "eat when you feel hungry"

- We got lucky and had a room that was a happy medium between being close to the central area, but not so close that at night you couldn't sleep because of the noise. I wouldn't have wanted one farther though since it was a lot of walking back and forth to get changed to go back and eat, or grab something. Many of the buildings (8 rooms per building) were quite far from the main area. Also, the "double" beds are actually two twin beds pushed together that slide apart while you are sleeping... so I hope you don't like cuddling (let alone romance!). Another odd thing, is that if you have a room on the second floor (which we did) you can see into the rooms below you through the bathroom window as you walk down the stairs, which is awkward if people are walking around half naked...which happened...

- The entertainment at night was pretty lame (unless you were drunk, which I'm assuming most people were). It was never in one language, which is good I guess, but it was really confusing because he talked super fast and randomly switched back and forth between languages so you only caught single words of sentences (if anything). And it was just really bad dancing, singing...everything. Occasionally there was some comedy but very few and far between. Again not a huge deal, but it would have been nice to have something decent to do at night.

- It was also really cloudy and rainy when we went. The whole week we were there, the red flag was up (telling people not to go into the ocean) which kind of sucked. I mean, the rain wasn't that bad becuase it usually didn't last too long, and was just enough to cool you off, and you saved on sunscreen! (Silver lining?). Obviously too, the weather was in no way the resorts fault, or anyones for that matter. It was just a bit unforunate, and ended up usually wearing a sweater on the beach...and Im from winterpeg! (which explains why I even had a sweater with me, from before we left lol)

- Lots of people seemed to have trouble with towels too. You had to turn in your towels at night (for them to be washed) but very rarely were you able to get one the next day unless you woke up super early. One lady who was on our flight ended up being without a towel for almost half of her stay. What's the point of going to the beach/swimming if you don't have a towel?

- We also ended up coming home with really itchy mosquito looking bites that look all over our bodies. We're from Winnipeg, MB so we know mosquito bites, but these were itchy for upwards of 2 weeks and were in clusters of usually 3's. I did some research, and I'm pretty sure they were bed bug bites. I e-mailed air canada and the resort, who (2 months later) sent us a letter back basically saying we were stupid tourists who didn't know what we were talking about. I just wanted them to check the room so that it didn't happen to anyone else, but apparently they didn't even look into it. Just incase....try not to get room 1407

I consider myself a pretty easy going person, and I wasn't expecting the best vacation of all time, but I honestly don't think this place is the best out of all the options. I mean, no hotel is going to be absolutely perfect every time, but it's not overly comforting to know that if a problem does arise, you will just be ignored - what if something serious had happened? It's hard to differentiate between people who are maybe just picky or whiners, making a huge deal out of nothing. Unfortunately, I found it was easier to brush off the bad comments and just kind of go for it anyways, hoping your odds of having a good vacation are better than not...but with this hotel, I'd honestly say don't risk it.

- Hope that helps!

We travelled to this hotel on the 5th of May with Thomas Cook.

I had read the reviews but was hopeful that they were just exaggerations. However

our own experiemce put into perspective for the period was a poor one.

When we arrived the Hotel seemed pleasant enough, although we were subject to a delay in booking in as my wife had booked a family room which didn't exist on the complex. We then had a 2 hour wait while they found and prepared 2 adjoining rooms. So we had some food then settled into our rooms for the night.

The rooms were clean and the cleaner came in everyday and left some towels in cool shapes.

The first couple of days were very good weather wise, however this did not last - I think we only had 4 or 5 nice days out of the 14 days - I suppose it is rainy season...

The second night we braved the hotel entertainment - it was an extremely poor show. It made heaven holidays entertainment look top drawer. This consisted of what appeared to be a local family with young girls getting up on the stage and dancing. This was supposed to be the kids disco, however my kids wouldn't have been seen dead getting up with them. This was followed by the animacion staff pulling people to dance or getting involved in a make the tourist look stupid competition, which wasn't really to my taste.

Maybe it was because it was low season, or the credit crunch, but the hotel was half empty, and it seemed that most of the staff just couldn't be bothered.

The food was reasonable, we tried the a la carte restaurants as well as the buffet restaurant. However by the end of the first week myself and my youngest girl had picked up a stomach bug and had the runs.

We couldn't even really leave the hotel as all the exits were blocked by dominicans desperate to sell you tourist tat at rip off prices. Then as if that wasn't enough they brought these guys onto the site to harass you while you were trying to relax.

My wife got bitten quite badly by sand flys despite only going to the beach once, by the end of the holiday she looked as though she had a serious case of poison ivy.

There were various activities throughout the day which you could take part in free of charge, but it was tight jumping between the rain showers.

In normal circumstances if I was on a holiday this boring I would have just have gotten drunk and made the best of it however due to my stomach problems I couldn't even do that.

This hotel is best for young couples or groups who are going to get drunk, and have a laugh - not a good family holiday

Stayed here from the 19th April 2009-27th April 2009.

Arrived on a Monday afternoon we were checked in quickly but found arrived in our room to find a man fixing our air conditioning which was a bit annoying as all we wanted to do after a 9 hour flight was sleep! he didnt speak a word of english in fact no one at this resort spoke very good english which we found quite difficult to deal with when we had a complaint and belive me we had many! Anyway the air condidtioning didnt work so we were moved to another room which had a sea view a bonus! the rooms were quite old but clean none the less shower always had warm water and there were a few small bugs running around. The TV was small and old and not many english channels we were annoyed there was no dvd player or even a connection as we had planned to watch movies when it rained and we were indoors this didnt happen!

The most horrible thing for me was the food! it was VERY repetitive especially the buffet in the main restaurant. It was basically pasta, pizza, rice and sauteed veg all day every day which eventually took its toll on me on by the 4th day in. This resulted in me being violently sick with a severe upset tummy!. I went to see the 24hr doctor straight away as it was becoming increasingly worrying on arrival it was closed so we went to the front desk and complained and he eventually scurried in. He spoke good English but seemed more interested in gaining the 100 dollars on my insurance then my health as he inisisted on calling my insurance company before giving any diagonisis on my condition. Anyway he stuck a needle in my hand in the wrong place and put me on drip and then proceeded to shovelling me in an ambulance with my partner for an hour and half journey to the hospital. This was very scary as it was night time the roads were very bumpy and he was driving like maniac. I was just praying to get there alive.! Arrived at the hospital which was clean and had a sofa bed for my partner. The doctor however had good reasonable level of English but made a diagonis (gastronisis) and then proceeded to shove me one several drips. I stayed the hospital over night and the next day and said I had eaten something dodgy.! What I find funny is I am a vegetarian so didnt eat any meat or fish!! I drank lots of the bottled water provided and stayed away from the diluted alcohol!They also seemed keen to keep me as long as possible to claim on my insurance and provided me with a concoction of various drugs to help me feel better. Anyway was discharged in the evening and had to pay 100 dollars to get back to the hotel. After this ordeal I was left very weak and tired and I could not face another week of the hotel food so we decided to cut our holiday short and come home early at our own cost! we stayed 6 nights out of 14 we were suppose to stay. The service was poor, the rooms below average and food horrid to say the least. The beach is not white champagne sands and is choppy all the time and is not private. I admit the grounds are well kept and it is nice on the outside but rooms are very 3 star below average! pay a little bit more and go 5 star not worth risking your health or go to the south punta cana I'm told that is the carribean sea side so the beach is much nicer! Also paid £4 for a box of pringles here and £4 for a can of cola at the tuck shop rip off! Not the holiday I was expecting and would never go back or recommend to anyone ever!