Bahia Principe Luxury Ambar

estoneovh wrote a review October 2025
London, Ontario

Phenomenal resort. You won’t be disappointed

First time visiting Bahia Principe luxury Ambar. Well worth the money my girlfriend and I spent to go. Our room was amazing. The whole resort was amazing. We met some excellent staff. Orlando the manager, Miguel one of the egg station staff members, Juan Carlo one of the guest service staff, Bianca one of the poolside bar staff members, Antonio a staff member at Palmyra. All staff were very friendly and professional. Tried some of the a al carte restaurants on Ambar such as MEAT and Portofino and really enjoyed the food, atmosphere and music. The resort was nice and clean all the time. The beach and poolside were wonderful. Definitely plan on going back there again.

Date of Stay: September 2025

Culture781168 wrote a review October 2025

Great beach

My wife and I just returned from a week at the Bahia Principe Luxury Ambar. Overall, we felt the resort was very nice, with spacious, comfortable rooms, pleasant staff, good food, and a wonderful beach.

Bahia Principe is a sprawling complex of several individual but co-located resorts. Staying at any of them gives access to facilities of the others with the exception of the Fantasia resort. You must also only use the buffet restaurant at your own resort, and, of course, there are limitations such as children not being allowed at the adults only facilities. Arrival for the Ambar is actually at the lobby for the Aquamarine, where you and your luggage will be taken to the Ambar by shuttle (golf cart). The Aquamarine and Ambar lobbies are only separated by about a 5 minute walk, if you did want to walk it, but the shuttle is much better when toting your luggage. Pickup follows the same routine in reverse at the end of your stay.

The first room we were given had some maintenance issues – the air conditioning wasn’t working properly, primarily – but Nikki from Guest Services in the lobby took care of it and had us moved to a different room. Nikki was just the best, even arranging for a bottle of champagne and some room decorations on my wife’s birthday while we were there. Likewise, the rest of the staff at the resort were always friendly and helpful. High marks for housekeeping – our room was always spotless, and we always had everything we needed.

We were in a corner junior suite, which we picked mainly due to the soaking tub (my wife loves to soak in the tub). The room was spacious and well appointed, with plenty of room and comfortable furniture. The bed was quite firm, which is just the way I like it, but my wife thought it was a bit too hard. The air conditioning could have also been cooler, we thought, but I wouldn’t call it uncomfortable. The mini bar was a bit of an issue. The first one we had didn’t work at all. Maintenance replaced it, and while the second one worked, it didn’t really get drinks cold, just slightly cool. The resort uses peltier cooling refrigerators, which don’t get nearly as cold as compressor systems. If you want a cold drink in your room, you’ll have to call for ice. The soaking tub was also a disappointment. Only the hot water worked – if you turned the faucet to cold, no water came out at all. The small trickle of hot water that did come out of the faucet would have taken hours to fill the tub to a level sufficient to soak in. My wife really only considered using the tub if we had a rainy day, which we did not, so it wasn’t an issue. I would suggest visitors consider the tub more of a room decoration than a functional tub.

The beach area was wonderful. Our last several beach vacations have been to Cancun where the sargassum was so bad that the beach was not usable. That was not an issue at all at the Ambar beach. Only on one morning was there a small amount of seaweed on the beach due to a storm overnight, and the resort had a small army of people removing it very early in the day, making for a pristine beach. The water was blue and clear. We spent the entire week enjoying the sand and ocean. The pool area was also very nice, and we went there to cool off when needed and to have drinks at the swim up bar. I suggest bringing your own Yeti type cup which the bartender will use to make your drink if you like. If you don’t, drinks are served in small glasses, maybe 8 or 10 ounces (about 250 mL) – I was ordering beers two at a time in the heat of the day.

One annoyance was that guests reserve chairs at the pool and beach well in advance despite signs forbidding it. Many chairs were reserved the night before, as evidenced by wet and/or seaweed covered belongings the morning after the overnight storm. Often the people reserving these chairs made no appearance until lunchtime or after. Several couples who caught our attention did this with four chairs at the pool and 6 at the beach, never arriving until mid afternoon and never spending more than 5 minutes in their seats in any given hour. Guessing when they would finally show up got to be a joke between us. While I put this mainly on rude guests, the hotel should do something to enforce the rules or they will continue to be broken.

We ate breakfast and lunch at the beachside restaurant every day. The fresh grilled options were good, with selections of fish, beef, and pork that varied a little each day. Pizza there was also pretty good, and there was the usual assortment of buffet items. Our favorite restaurant for dinner was the Limbo, which also had our favorite bar. Portofino was also good, as was M.E.A.T. The Los Olas churrasco was just OK – we found that most of the meats were overdone, and the sides served at the table were so bad as to be inedible, although there were other perfectly fine sides available on the buffet, along with a huge salad bar in line with the churrasco experience. The only other restaurant we tried was the Makio Japanese restaurant. We did the a la carte, not the show cooking. It was, in a word, awful. The only entrée offered was teppanyaki, the same as the show cooking but without the show. You got a choice of protein, which came with a side of something similar to fried rice. The food was overcooked and dry, the restaurant was very hot and loud, and there was no real choice of what to eat. Do yourself a favor and skip this restaurant – it is not on par with anything else at the complex, including the buffet. Some of the restaurants have their own special drink menu, so be sure to check that out – we liked the negroni at Portofino and the circus cocktail at M.E.A.T., along with everything at Limbo.

The resort is very active and has activities and entertainment all day and well into the night. I could have done with a bit less loud music late in the evening, which could be heard in my room as if I had a radio on in the room. If you’re not one to stay out late, you should request a room away from the pool to be further away from the bulk of the noise. There are quite a few feral cats on the property, and while they’re cute and much more accustomed to humans than ferals you might see at home, they are still feral and could bite/scratch or have parasites - I would avoid them.

Overall, this was a nice resort that I wouldn’t hesitate to return to at some point in the future.

Date of Stay: October 2025

Connector50512429871 wrote a review October 2025
North Muskegon, Muskegon County, Michigan

Beware if want Beach time

⸻

I’ve been to this resort seven times in the last ten years — clearly a slow learner, because this place has absolutely fallen apart.

Credit where it’s due: the food’s still great. But if you’re coming here for the beach, do yourself a favor — stop reading and book literally anywhere else.

This place has mastered the art of not giving a damn. Guests throw towels on the front chairs the night before like they’re claiming beachfront property, then maybe show up around lunchtime… or not at all. Meanwhile, the staff just shrugs. So congratulations — you’ll get to enjoy your beach day from the back row, 100 yards away, while staring at a sea of empty “reserved” chairs.

If your dream vacation involves fighting towel ghosts for a glimpse of the ocean, you’ve found your spot. Otherwise, keep scrolling.

Date of Stay: October 2025

aries2kmvm wrote a review October 2025
Manassas, Prince William County, Virginia

Great Time with a Entertainment Suggestion

My wife and I had an incredible stay at Bahia Ambar. The staff was attentive and the service was amazing. Huge thank you to all the entertainment staff who work diligently to keep everyone engaged. They do amazing work. The wait staff and cleaning crew also were great. We never had any issues with availability of amenities. One suggestion for the activities would be to use a reservation system so that activities that require a certain number of equipment doesn't get overbooked..an example would be bicycle tours (bikes) or yoga (mats). Other than that this was a great trip and we will definitely consider Bahia in the future for our vacations.

Side note...at some point the music/dj selection needs to be updated. This is strictly cultural. It is 2025 and resorts we have visited seem to be stuck in the 70's - 80's. Musically it's fine to try to appeal to the older crowd but there is music from the 90s to now that is also good music...Also when you come thousands of miles it would be nice to hear local music as well...Not everything needs to be Euro American centric...this is said with the understanding that you try to appeal to the clientele as well... This statement applies not just to this review but for other locations we have visited...if you know you know.

Date of Stay: October 2025

Typhoonlilly57 wrote a review October 2025

Hotel badly needs renovating

The rooms desperately need renovating. There are several problems TV not working, toilets not flushing, water pressure awful, sometimes no cold water or only hot or vice versa. Cupboards and drawers not closing properly, old towels. For a 5* hotel this is appalling. The grounds are lovely, most of the restaurants are ok, apart from the Indian Thali, poor service and nothing that resembles Indian food. People reserving loungers round the pool and at the beach and just leaving them empty which is really frustrating when the hotel is so full. We have been here many times but no more things are just not working and need attending to. Today something had been spilled all over the buffet floor it is slippery as hell it needs to be washed throughly already seen a few people fall over, very dangerous. Unless the hotel actually deals with the problems and do a thorough renovation it is not worth wasting your money here.

Date of Stay: October 2025

billiejoc2025 wrote a review October 2025

The best holiday I've ever had

Went to the luxury amber the entertainment staff, Rolando, Popeye, Wilson, Madolina niarhobi , Julio made me feel very special couldnt do enough for you, Melvin the pool guy was great, bianca the drinks lady had a smile everyday on her face , alisinio the barman was so funny, everything was clean and tidy all over the resort , beautiful place , restaurants where beautiful the good was wonderful xxx

Date of Stay: October 2025

kaysJ3400UP wrote a review October 2025

Another great stay.

Another great stay at Bahia Principe Luxury Ambar, this hotel provides myself and my husband with everything we need to enjoy a stress free relaxing holiday. The staff are all a credit to the hotel and we have never had any issues with staff being rude. Our room was clean and very comfortable, food at the main buffet was plentiful although we mainly used it at breakfast with the occasional visit when we were unable to book one of the a la carte restaurants. We did on this visit find it more difficult to get booked into a restaurant at a reasonable time or a particular restaurant was FULL on the days we tried to book especially the YURTA (Mongolian) restaurant which is one of our favourite restaurants. This did not spoil our visit it was just something that we noticed this time around. A special mention to Adriel for managing to secure us a reservation when we were unable to get a booking at one of our favourite restaurants. The bar tenders and the lovely ladies at the lobby bar who were taking our drink orders also deserve a mention as do the beach bar staff who were always so friendly. We spent our days on the beach and although we are early risers arriving at 0630 we still was unable to get a sun bed with shade as we heard people were getting up at 0400 to “reserve” their spot and most not returning until 1000. This was disappointing but once again not really a problem but sometimes you just want to get out of the sun for a while so we would just go to the beach bar. There was nightly entertainment at the lobby or around the pool and especially enjoyed the Karaoke. Can’t wait to book again for next year.

Date of Stay: October 2025

chr15hh wrote a review October 2025
Birmingham, West Midlands, England

Not 5 star hotel

Just returned (October 2026) after spending 10 nights at the ‘Bahia Principal (5 star) Luxury Amber’ adults only.

Note this is a massive complex with multiple other hotels included in the vast area.

- Holes in bed sheets
- Bedsheets not fitting bed (1 foot of exposed mattress)
- Patio furniture falling apart,
- Pool tiles and pool bar fallen off
- Water pressure for showers low
- Dubious cup washing at the pool bar. I recommend taking your own drinking vessel like many Americans.

Maintenance and refurbishment needed especially round the pool and bar.

Having said that the vast majority of staff are helpful and pleasant.

This is not a 5 star hotel!

Date of Stay: October 2025

johnbH1317ZL wrote a review October 2025

Best bang for the buck out there

Best bang for the buck out there - food variety and quality outstanding, clean, rooms need some tlc, service excellent from staff, swim ups great, beach beautiful with wait service, entertainment tops, sports bar loved it every night, liquor choices abundant, will be back asap

Date of Stay: October 2025

loriannyr448 wrote a review October 2025

Best restaurant in Bahia principe

Ivelisse from meat restaurant was so great and the manager too. It was the best restaurant that we went to in the resort. They were so welcoming and nice (genuinely) that i just wanted to stay another week! and the food was great!!!😌

Date of Stay: October 2025

MikeC770 wrote a review October 2025
Ilkley, West Yorkshire, England

Very Loud Music spoilt an otherwise great holiday

This is the third time that we've been to the Luxury Ambar in the last 18 months. Unfortunately this time the entertainment team had the music volume so loud in both the Lobby bar and at the pool that we probably will not return as it was like being in a heavy metal disco.
It's a shame really because otherwise the hotel is excellent with good food in the buffet restaurants, very friendly staff and a resort that is especially disabled friendly. I have to use a wheelchair and everywhere is accessible even down to on the beach where there are wooden walk ways and wooden platforms for disabled people to use.
Why Bahia Principe think that patrons at an adult only luxury hotel want unpleasantly loud music is beyond me - many older guests were complaining.
Without the noise I would give the hotel 5 stars.

Date of Stay: October 2025

Chris_061993 wrote a review October 2025
Frankfurt, Hesse

Pathetic for a Bahia property

Bahia Luxury Ambar offers a spacious setting, friendly staff, and good food, which are definite positives. Unfortunately, the experience has been affected by ongoing issues with customer service and technology. We are currently on our fifth night without a properly functioning air conditioner in our rooms (buildings 67 and 68), an issue that appears to impact much of the resort. Despite several reports, the only response has been that the matter is being worked on, without any clear timeline or further communication. For a property presented as five-star, this situation has been underwhelming. The reassurance that “you are not alone” does little to improve the experience, and the absence of any proactive follow-up or discussion about compensation is concerning. Considering the price range, it may be worth exploring other Bahia properties such as Portillo or the Grand Samaná. Should someone wish to discuss this further, we can be reached at room 68217.

Update: Unfortunately, the situation has only gotten worse. The customer service at Bahia Luxury Ambar is a complete disgrace. After days without air conditioning, mum is now locked out of our room and we have been waiting for over an hour with no resolution. There’s no manager available—only inexperienced staff who seem unsure how to help. This level of disorganization and lack of accountability is unacceptable for a hotel that calls itself “luxury.” Just avoid this place altogether.

PS: don’t forget the cockroaches

Date of Stay: October 2025

Companion35625601276 wrote a review October 2025

Ambar - Worse than Carnival Poop Cruise

I am so disappointed that Ambar has let us down. I had saved up for months for this

- Customer Service:
Customer service was fine. There were certainly fantastic employees that tried their hardest to make it a great trip. Most simply did not seem to care. I called around 6 times over the span of 8 hours to get our toilet fixed in the new room. They continued to hang up on me time and time again leaving me extremely frustrated. No one ever came to help. I had to go down to the lobby and demand someone fix the toilet. Once they did, they left a GIANT mess of poop and toilet paper everywhere. The room also smelt disgusting and like sewage (see photos). The AC was also broken EVERYWHERE throughout the entire trip, even though staff continued to tell us multiple times it would be fixed the next day.

- Room:
The room was spacious and modernized. However; there were multiple flaws. The fan was not updated and made a loud squeaking noise, we had to turn it off to sleep. The air conditioning was broken our entire trip, there were many sweaty nights and cold showers. The humidity and heat inside the room was unbearable. The noise is awful, people screaming/ yelling all night. On our second night we saw a HUGE cockroach, this thing was probably 4 inches. I was also getting my eaten alive by mosquitos in my sleep. The shower was extremely hot to the point it was unbearable, even on the coolest setting. This was great after a hot and sweaty day. They offered us a new room which ALSO had no air conditioning.

- Food/ Drinks:
Not having 5 star food is expected at most all inclusives. They have extremely large amounts of people to feed, but the food here was mixed. The sports bar was absolutely disgusting. The chicken nuggets tasted like rubber and I almost threw up. The room service was also a complete joke. We ordered nachos and a sandwich. The nachos were literally just chips with watery cheese sauce in the middle and the sandwich was so bad I spit it out immediately. MEAT steakhouse was very good, steak was cooked to perfection and the desert/ appetizers were delicious. Their selection of alcohol is EXTREMELY weak. I recently went to an all inclusive in Mexico that had lots of great options. Here they try to nickel and dime you every chance they get. Jack Daniel’s honey not even included. They also do that with the food, we were constantly offered upgrades like lobster, steaks etc. all of which (in my opinion) should be included at the price point.

- Pool/ Hotel:
We did a couples massage and it felt like it was 90 degrees inside. Not relaxing. The hotel also is huge, probably half a mile connecting all of the Bahia’s, we were told that golf carts run all night and day, the morning of our excursion they were none to be found. We had to walk the entire way at 6 AM to make sure we got to our tour bus. We made it by 1 minute. Very frustrating. The pool is very nice and all of the bartenders are fantastic, the cocktails were also delicious.

Honestly, I really had such high hopes for this hotel due to the positive reviews. We had saved up for months to stay here and when bringing my concerns to the manager he simply said I can give you an email to write to after your stay, no apology, no attempt to make it right, absolutely awful. After our stay I will NEVER stay here again or any family property. I hope you do the same.

Date of Stay: October 2025

richardwZ9864XU wrote a review October 2025

This hotel has really gone down hill don't waste your money

This hotel has sadly gone down hill .
The reception staff con you in to giving them a tip for your upgraded room its nonsense. Don't say you have not been warned .
The majority of the staff are really not friendly at all . If you want there attention just show them your CASH .
The food is average at best very poor choices and quantity only one toaster get ready for a long wait utterly ridiculous for the amount of people.
Mini bar in your room is extreme poor.
Its completely obvious to see how they are charging more for your stay and what you receive in return is poor this is a 2 _ 3 ☆ at best now

Date of Stay: October 2025

Excursion16762022527 wrote a review October 2025

Not worth going until its renovated

The grounds are beautiful. The waitstaff and entertainment staff are great!! We just came back Oct 25,25. The resort is falling apart. Supposedly closing for renos. I recommend not going until after that.
I had 3 rooms. One room had water running down the wall when it rained. The TV remote didn’t work for the TV. Requested concierge service on the hotel app and no one came. 2 requests over 2 days were also made to the building concierge and no one came. After 2 and a half days with no tv we had to go to the lobby and complain to a manager and they finally got a new remote. First day building 61 had scorching hot water and you couldn’t shower because there was no cold water. I have screenshots of other people complaining on Facebook. Sunday night to Monday morning Oct 21st the air conditioning went out all over, including the coffee shop and the lobby buffet. I asked 3 people and they all said it was a generator issue. No idea when it would be fixed. For 5 days all 3 rooms didn’t go below 22 degrees and we sweat while we slept.
I have a video from the afternoon when there was no hot water. Not just no hot water but no water coming out of the tap when its on hot. All 3 rooms had no hot water. I went to lobby again and spoke to the concierge and got a manager. She took all 3 room numbers and said she would check all the rooms for me. After an hour she never showed in any of the rooms but we got warm water back, not hot. Other people in the building were complaining on Facebook.
5th day Toilet broke in room 61315 for a big flush, not small. We’ve given up asking for help.
6th full day 6:20am fire alarm going off on third floor of building 61. When I went up to my kids 2 rooms to get them out all you smelt was burning plastic. We all called and waited for someone to show up. When a few of us called, and specifically me, I was told “its an electrical issue. Its fine”. I said there is a burning plastic smell. He said “oh I only had half the information. I will send someone now”. So all the calls people made they never sent anyone for a fire alarm!!!! People were also hung up on because there were so many calls they just hung up on them. After 30 mins about 12 of us or so went to the lobby to find a manager at 6:50. We were told he would be there in 20 mins. We were told he was at the building at 7am looking into it. I have a video of us all in the lobby. I also have messages from my kids who stayed at the building that the alarm kept getting shut off and coming back on.
In a meeting with the manager Mr. Abel at 9am he told us someone was smoking in the hallway and set it off. He said “the hallway fire alarms are attached to the grid so there was no notification unless it was a room fire alarm going off”. An electrician on the floor of the alarm said he's an electrician and he knows what electrical fire smells like and its an electrical fire. I’ve had one in my house and it smelt the same. All he did was give us the customer service email. Others who just got there got free spa treatments. We just wanted to go home early.
I emailed at 9:20am Oct 24th. No response. It is now Oct 26th at 12:56pm and still no response from the hotel.

Date of Stay: October 2025

jennifervC3476LX wrote a review October 2025

Absolutely perfect! 10/10!

From the helpful guest experience to the luxury resort and room, this place is absolute paradise. Room was clean & comfortable. We enjoyed the swim up pool. The main pool was clean, inviting, and staff took great care of us!

Date of Stay: October 2025