Grand Bahia Principe Punta Cana Resort - All Inclusive

Great place if you like the sun, beach, water and walking. Grounds are beautifly capped. Its our second time in 3 years, first time with 2 other couples this time with 6 couples.

This resort is huge. Everything you need is within the resort. There is no reason to leave. The train takes you around the resort. It was wonderful. There are bus stops everywhere, so you always have access. The people were the nicest we have ever met. They were so friendly and helpful. There was wonderful entertainment by the pool all day and at night in the outdoor theater. They put on amazing shows from dance shows to the circus. The restaurants had good food, but I would recommend not to eat the buffet outside by the pool. The only thing we did not like was that you could only make a certain number of reservations at the restaurants depending on the number of nights you were staying, so you could not eat at the restaurants every night. The nights you weren't eating at a restaurant, you were stuck with the buffet. The buffet food was okay. They did not have a great selection of food at the buffet. The beach was stunning. The sand was perfect and the water was beautiful. The palm trees on the beach completed everything. The resort was just gorgeous. Everything was maintained so meticulously. The rooms were nice, but the air conditioning did not work so well. The ceiling fan was a huge help. I would recommend getting a room closer to the beach, otherwise your view from the balcony is not the greatest, and you have to hike to the beach. There was a small shopping area on site right near a small casino and a disco club. The entertainment was great, just wish the food and drinks were as well. The alcohol was not top shelf, and the bars were always very busy, making it hard to get a drink right away. Overall, good experience.

The staff did not speak english well or at all. the staff was not friendly, my sister was assaulted by a male housekeeper and we had to fill out reports and the guy was fired but the hotel by no means went out of their way to make up for the situation. no where near enough was done, the manager seemed to think that it was part of their culture. the people booking trips, [...], were making ppl pay with cash so that they could keep the money for themselves, all in all the staff was not to be trusted in any area of the hotel. i would not recommend this place to anyone.

horrible service

We had a great vacation! We upgraded and stayed at the Esmerelda. I would recommend upgrading if you are thinking about it. You get far more amenities and services.

When coming, upgrade to very best rooms possible A MUST--will get you into "esmeralda" hotel, which is perfect: very new, excellent A/C, perfect housekeeping, private butler, spacy, excellent bathrm. --rooms just do not get any better than this---five to six stars (and we have stayed at a lot of all-inclus.)!!! Now, with highest Upgrade possible--Esmeralda section is separate: perfect beach and pool, and jakuzzi--all five star plus--- real good food etc. Would have been perfect vacation if it hadn't been for half of the Dominic. Rep. people's bad, non-caring-rude attitude...Esmeralda people were trying to be very friendly if you tip high and a lot---but everyday we encountered one who was very annoying to deal with--incl. resort shuttle bus drivers....store employees---just unheard of bevavior--- how for you to deal with this? 1. Maybe come prepared knowing this so you are ready to expect sometimes no cust. service and 2. be super friendly first with them--then they come around to you. Do not get me wrong---a lot of very nice people at Esmeralda, incl. top exec. manager (because I had to report an incident: one hotel shuttle driver almost hurt my 82 yr. old Mom really badly...)-why? because he didn't pay attention nor cared...)--- just enough annoying people there to leave a little sour taste behind--but that is a problem of the whole island, not hotel.... BUT: overall, yes go there, very fancy, you will love it!!!

*Gold Club all the way- we would NOT have been happy otherwise! The resort is WAY too big and your room would be FAR Away from beach/pools if you don't book Gold Club and I like to walk and am not very picky.*Gold Club junior suite was excellent- adjoining rooms with my parents made it extra great- spacious and clean- oversize sofa bed a plus for young kids to sleep on- bathroom was huge with jacuzzi tub- plenty of storage- coffee pot, umbrella, toiletries provided. Maid service everyday- very friendly- - drawback- room keys stop working OFTEN- even when not stored near electronics- you need to go to Lobby to get new key- 4 times for our stay of 5 days- boo* Buffets were great- daily theme nights- seafood night was outstanding- crab legs, shrimp- everything you could imagine- No one got sick at all. A la cart "Garden Grill"- very good lamb special and shrimp wrapped with bacon- chewy steak- angus burgers a hit with kids. Gold Club offers 24 hour room service- BUT chicken I ordered for kids was 75% raw in the middle- thank goodness my dad checked or that would have been terrible- maybe how the other girl on TA ended up in the hospital- don't drink alcohol and order room service unless a sober person is around to check your chicken! * Pool/Beach area is gorgeous and fun- with alot to do- but it is SO overcrowded and noisy that you feel like a sardine- the beach is clean and beautiful- minus the 5,000 people and chairs on it. Very hard to get your own little ocean space, you keep bumping people. The water was alot clearer toward the Esmeralda. no fishies to be seen. "Pisci" buffet near main pool- open early for lunch, the other one closer to the Ambar didn't open til 12:30- same food at both- SAngria and Mamawauma (wine drinks)- very good- Mojitos can be found at lobby bar but no where else. *Water activities- fun and reasonable- (turn right on beach facing ocean, you can't book through Ambar to the left) parasailing $80 for 2- and a nice boat ride- very peaceful and great view of shoreline.[@]

Though this in not the fault of the resort, it rained every day we were there. What is the fault of the hotel is their strange rules, such as only one pool/ beach towel a day, even if it gets soaked in the rain, so basically we had to walk around with sopping wet towels. The other issues we dealt with were a severe language barrier, you must speak spanish if you want to stay here. We asked for certain thngs to be fixed in our room and they never were. It took three hours to get bath towels up to the room even after three phone calls to the front desk. I was hung up on by the front desk because my spanish was not fluent. The rooms are kept very clean and they are nice size. There are a lot of pools and places to sit by the pool and the beach. There is definitly plenty of food to go around, and the entertainment and wait staff was awesome. The other staff was at best pleasant, at worst rude. Again my opinion is swayed by the fact that it rained all day every day of my tropical vacation, but I think there were a lot of things that could have been better about this resort.

great relaxing trip, comparable to previous trips

The Resort and Dominican Republic was great. I was concerned with Haiti's post-earthquake situation, but it was a great time. 1st, we stayed at Esmeralda (newer suite-style and only $9 more a night; worth it). 2nd, we stayed for 3 nights/4 days and went to the beach, different restaurant every night, and a whole lot of relaxing (1 catamaran ride) on the beach. 3rd, we previously stayed at Sandals Resort, Negril, Jamaica, & 2 cruises on Norwegian. The beach is just as it looks in photos with plenty of lounge chairs, shade, and activities. WHAT WE LIKED: Large beach area, quiet locations, loud music locations, clean rooms, FRIENDLY Staff, non-aggressive solicitation ambiance unlike in Jamaica. Great variety of foods & activities. Of course, all the drinks you and your liver can handle. WHAT WE DID NOT LIKE: Included activities were quickly reserved; FOOD IS very average in taste, but very nice ambiance and nice decor; The staff will not know English in depth so it can be confusing for those who speak absolutely no Spanish, but basic talks and requests can be done easily.