Grand Bahia Principe Punta Cana Resort - All Inclusive

Just got back from a 5 day, 4 night stay at the Gran Bahia Principe Punta Cana Resort. This was our first trip to the Dominican Republic. Previously we have went to the Barcelo Maya Beach Resort in the Riviera Mayan, Mexico. We decided to try something different this year and this happened to be a little cheaper. For most of this review I will compare our experience at Gran Bahia Principe with that at the Barcelo Maya Beach Resort. The one great thing about Gran Bahia was the distance from the airport. Compared to the Riviera Mayan this trip was only 20 mins compared to an hour and half. However after that one item everything else is downhill. THE BEACH: The beach is horrible....the seaweed is overwhelming and you can't walk in the water unless your standing in seaweed. The beach is crawling with vendors that are trying to sell you stuff, and they are very very pushy. And good luck finding a seat. At the Barcelo in Mexico the beach is kept clean, is off limits, to vendors, and always has plenty of seats. TIP: take your towels down to the pool or beach and claim your chairs early in the morning (everyone else does). THE LAYOUT: be prepared to walk the resort is long inland and you have a good half mile walk from the beach to the reception area. They do have trams but they run every 10 mins or so and are often crowded. Barcelo in Mexico has this place beat hands down on layout. THE POOL: Gran Bahia has a nice set of pools but only one pool down by the beach with a bar. The pool is nice but often crowded. THE ROOMS: The rooms are ok, you have to pay for a safe which is a rip off but well worth the money because its very sketchy who goes in and out of your room throughout the day. Our friends found some cockroaches in their room. THE FOOD: The restaurants were good not great the best by far was the Japanese. The buffet, breakfast, and lunch is very redundant, be prepared to eat a lot of the same stuff over and over. THE STAFF: The staff is not very welcoming, very few speak English fluent and they don't seem as friendly as other resorts. OTHER ITEMS: Beware the Shopping Plaza in the resort, they will steal you blind and are very very pushy! The entertainment is on par with a Grade School production, some great dancing but the sound, lighting, and overall shows were a waste of time. The activity staff seemed more interested in hooking up with girls then doing their job. If your going to drink do so in the lobby bar, they have the best drinks. OVERALL: It was great to go to the DR once in my life but would not go back to this resort and left a very very bad impression on the Bahia Principe. For my money if you want a great all inclusive vacation, great beach, great pool, great staff, and great experience I would check out another resort and from my experience Barcelo is the way to go!

Be prepared to bring your walking shoes! This resort is hug and very widespread. The beach can be very far away from your room depending on where you situated on the grounds. We brought our 9mo old along and she did amazing! Coming all the way from California we had several plane changes. The staff is so extremely friendly weather you speak the language or not. Be prepared to wash your hands often, all they have is hand sanitizer at the restaurants. Over all a great trip!

I'm shocked how everybody's reviews for this place are so good. That's why I stayed here. I would never come here again or recommend it to anybody! Check in took over an hour and a half. Even though check in is at 3pm, our room wasn't ready until after 4pm. The room only had 2 bath towels. Later someone snuck in and added 2 hand towels and a bath mat. On the second day, we got no hand towels again. But like the first day, the hand towels appeared later on in the day. There is no clock in the room and also no outlets. I had to unplug a lamp and the coffee pot to plug in my camera batteries and such. The tv is a small box tv with only a few fuzzy channels. The so called mini bar had only 2 beers! Seriously, this is a 5 star resort? I've stayed at Sleep Inns with better amenities! And I'm talking about simple things like a cold refrigerator and business center! I will say that the room did look nice at least. You have to insert your key card in a slot by the door when you come in to turn on the electric, which would be fine if it didn't turn off the AC when you leave! It's disgustingly miserable hot outside and you have to go back to your room being hot? And it also turns off the fridge! And even if you leave a key card in when you leave, that fridge keeps everything barely above room temperature. I really would appreciate some cold water! And who wants to drink warm beer? When you open your balcony door it also turns off the AC. But there is no handle on the outside of the door to fully shut it! Their wifi only works in certain areas of the lobby, if at all. And apparently the business center in our lobby is not for our use. The buffet food is honestly not good. After around 10pm the only place to get any food is one of the snack bars by the beach that only has leftover burgers and hotdogs. This resort is huge and it IS very nice looking. But the workers are all so very rude! They either love you or hate you. If the men (yes, including hotel workers) aren't hitting on you and not taking no for an answer, then they are literally scowling at you in disgust in passing! They make up their own rules too. If they don't like you or the way you look, they refuse to serve you. One of the workers we kept running in to was friendly, but way too flirty and touchy with me, and he even tried getting my friend to leave the resort with him! I will mention one bartenders name, "Rafael", because he was very nice to me and did not cross any lines. Another of the workers was at a little alcohol stand outside by the shops and he refused to serve me because they "close at 10". I said "it is 9:30". He mumbled something in Spanish with a dirty look. An hour an a half later we saw him serving others. One of the store owners kept calling me "cheap" because I didn't want to pay his outrageous prices for junk. Yeah, that's definitely a way to get me to buy anything! I was actually assaulted and blinded with pepper spray by a random crazy guest while I was minding my own business walking to the buffet with others, and not one hotel worker did anything! My friend chased her down. And everybody around us just ignored that anything happened! The beach and pools are very nice, but I imagine that stuff is nice at any of the resorts. Why would I ever want to come back or recommend a resort where I was treated like complete garbage??

Very good vacation. A lot of amenities. I liked most of all the entertaiment staff, very funny people,

Overall experience was good. When we got there the first day, it was not a good experience. The staff at the front desk was not particulary accommodating. We booked two rooms and there was only one available at that location. We were told that we will be given a second room at another facility. I insisted that it was not acceptable. The staff member acted frustrated with my request. We waited for a while; hungry, tired, hot, and was told that there was no food avaialbe at that time. Eventually we were given the two rooms. In the end, it turned out to be a decent vacation. The language however, was somewhat a communication barrier.

Experience was not good the first day. We booked two rooms; were given one at a different location. I insisted that it was not acceptable. Staff appeared frustrated, stated that it would be for only one night. We were asked to wait; hungry, tired, hot, with no food in that area. Staff did not take into consideration at all that we had traveled from overseas, acted like we were causing him inconvenience. The communcation barrier did not make any easier. In the end, it turned out to be a decent vacation.

Most of the staff was friendly. Food was good. beds are very uncomfortable, even for just a couple of hours of sleep each night. Hard to find a chair by the beach, impossible to find one by any of the pools, even if you get there by 6 in the morning, because people leave their towel and other belongings on the chairs as if they own them and the hotel allows this to happen. First come first served, that's how it should be. All in all, it's an ok place to stay in, you get what you pay for.

Wonderful!! Provided transportation for you around property. We will return soon. Food was outstanding! Local tours with VIP travel was excellent! Ask for Wendy Polanzo, she was the best. Must go on Bavaro Local tour with Sammy Carwash and Martinre they're the best!

The staff is great - Johanna, Miguel and Federico (pool side bar tenders) are amazing!!!! They went above and beyond. We could not have been happier with their service =D The resort itself is enormous, the rooms are average but very clean and that’s always a plus in my book!!! The shows are great; I would most definitely recommend them. They have a total of 8 pools but if you try and get a pool side chair after 9am you’ll be left standing so wake up early and lay out your towel and just come back later! The restaurants food is good, well better than the buffet that is. The buffet in the other hand needs a lot of help!!! It made two of us literally sick to our stomach :(. The plus side is if the buffet isn’t open they have a snack bar open and we found that the food was better there. If you want to try Dominican food you’re going to have to get out of the resort and let me tell you it is well worth it. Their food is delicious.

I stayed at the Bahia Principe Punta Cana From 6/4/12 - 6/11/12. the hotel is about 35 minutes from the airport. I took my children along with their friends and had two rooms. The resort is wonderful. There is something for everyone and for all ages. The entertainement was very good. There was great variety in the buffet whether for breakfast or dinner. The service is very good. What you need to know is that there are 5 restaurants but if you are staying for a week, you can only make dinner reservations at 3 of the restaurants. Also there is no wi-fi in the rooms, only in the hotel lobby. which is frustrating. Otherwise I really enjoyed the resort. The beach is nice. I would highly recommended as a family get away.