Bahia Principe Grand Punta Cana

P8871GYtonyp wrote a review September 2022

Shopping at Bahia Principe

Update review whilst at the hotel. We are supposed to be silver members at Bahia Principe based on how many times we have stopped at a Bahia Principe hotel as part of a loyalty scheme.
The silver members are supposed to have discounts on lobby shops 10% plus many other things like spa, wine, excursions.
I tried to purchase some gifts at the lobby shop at grand Punta Cana today and was told there isn't a discount on the system with my room number 7205. I then spend over an hour going back and fourth between the customer service staff at the lobby telling me I do have the 10% discount on my room and even printed off proof to show the shop, and the lobby shop saying the till system does not allow discounts with my room number.
After speaking to 3 different customer service staff I gave up and didn't buy anything.
The discount wasn't a lot but that's not the point.
It's the fact the hotel offers perks and discounts for being a loyal customer but does not want to honour them.
There was another couple in the shop the two were silver members and said to me they never got any discount either.

Date of Stay: September 2022

D3039AOjanc wrote a review December 2022

Great holiday !!

What an absolute great holiday is was. I would like to thank the entertainment team for all the hard work.

I would like to thank Elizabeth for her hard work and looking after us and making us feel like family. She was always there to welcome us in the morning and evening. Making sure we had everything and encouraging us to take part in all activities. She is very bubbly , happy and full of energy she is just a ray of sunshine and it has been a pleasure to meet her. She made out family feel very welcome.

Date of Stay: November 2022

Pioneer182288 wrote a review January 2023

Outdated...filthy...bug infested

Long waits for check in and checkout..very rude and unhelpful. If you only speak English you will have a very hard time. Our room was never cleaned..sheets were dirty..only 2 lights worked in the room.completely outdated. Huge water leak in bathroom from room above. I went to front desk and went to the front of the line as the water was pouring through the ceiling light and the ceiling was buckling. I said please there is a big problem in my room and as nasty as he could be...I was told to get on the back of the line. Ceiling panels were removed and the amount of mold in the sheet rock made my skin crawl..refused to give us a new room
Was bitten every night while im bed. Horrible experience...dont go

Date of Stay: January 2023

Jane8910 wrote a review March 2023

Fantastic holiday

Well I wrote a review 1 week into holiday on here and my opinion did not change it just got better daily. Staff are super friendly & happy to help, this hotel really goes the extra mile in making your holiday an experience to remember for the right reasons.
We enjoyed the pool nearest the beach so much going and no pressure to join in but great to observe. Daily a show at the pool at 4pm never had this anywhere before & the little extras I spoke about well popcorn trolley coming round whilst you watch show, ice lollies, hotdogs, pizza, doughnuts-fantastic.
Absolutely immaculate resort and the only time you saw anything out of place was due to others being disrespectful leaving glasses anywhere or food plates or on one occasion whilst we was there someone had totally destroyed all the table & chairs on there balcony - all this is constantly dealt with by the staff .
If I can give anyone advice please please don’t listen to the awful reviews I cannot understand any of it , this is an absolutely fantastic resort with wonderful staff & immaculate so just book and enjoy as we did, will definitely be returning.

Date of Stay: February 2023

M6998XEchristineg wrote a review May 2023

Stay Away!!!

We booked a stay at the Bahia Principe Punta Cana for May 9, 2023 through May 24, 2023zzz yes , we are still here…. let me tell you the things that we like about this place because that list will be much shorter. There was a variety of food at the buffet… the entertainment staff was very energetic and fun! We really loved Lieddy and Katherine! Fantastic morning stretching and yoga. They were both lovely to talk with and we truly enjoyed visiting with them.

Now for the things we didn’t like …. The vast majority of workers seem to be completely disenfranchised. This is most likely coming from the management down. They mostly have sour looks on their face and act annoyed. If you ask them for anything or ask them any questions. The bar service is not only understaffed, but slow and ask annoyed when you ask for a drink. At the Buffet the staff seems to care less as to whether basic hygiene is followed. People are going up numerous times with the same plate and eating food directly from the buffet or off their plate while at the Buffet…. Staff doesn’t bother to address this. Also, do not ask for a glass of wine or a beer with your dinner if you are at the Buffet. The staff will act very annoyed, and then frequently will not even get it for you. Another interesting thing about this place is that the staff doesn’t seem to feel any type of urgency or ownership for anything that happens or example. I found myself picking up garbage or drink cups that were discarded by other guests so they wouldn’t roll into the pool ….. while bar staff and other staff including the entertainment staff that would walk right by it. This is without a doubt because the management is probably punitive, doesn’t know how to motivate people in a positive way and probably full of ego with the little power over others they have…. Learn how to really lead!!!! Maybe take some lessons from how cruise staff is trained .
In addition to this on the evening of our seventh night at the Bahia Principal Punta Cana I was awoken at 11:20pm by the smell of smoke… thankfully, I am a very light sleeper because I smoke detector was not going off. I woke up my husband and we quickly realized the smoke is pouring out of the ceiling in the bathroom. The room was filled with the smell of electric fire, a very distinct smell and one , as a licensed electrician, my husband knew very well. We opened our front door and our slider door to clear some of the smoke and I’m immediately called the concierge. It took two calls and 16 minutes for anyone to respond. Regarding the response, there was a very nice technician who came paddling up on a very old bicycle with a plunger tied to the front. Here are some of the most important people —- lthe people you call if there’s a fire or something broken or dangerous—— arriving slowly on rickety old bicycles, but the snakes who are the salesman, who will try to sell you all over priced crappy timeshare drive beautiful black golf carts for the privilege members…. SHOULDN'T THE MEN RESPONDING TO DANGER GET A GOLF CART??!!!!!
Speaking of the time share , you don’t find any of these all inclusive resorts in the Caribbean
That doesn’t try to lure you in with a sham of a “ free welcome gift” to fool you into signing on the dotted line. Please don’t ever sign for them don’t even go to the presentation. Please just Google whatever the resort you’re staying at and the words “timeshare scam” and see what comes up prior to visit in that particular resort.

These places pray on people who are on vacation and feeling good and perhaps not always thinking clearly. They will never give you a set price list and the cost will fluctuate according to your income .
They will never put anything in writing. I’m begging everyone who is reading this, please do not sign for any of the Caribbean timeshares. They’re all scams. You will regret it!!
Now getting back to the Bahia principal Punta Cana… we have one more week and even after waking to a smoke filled room, the kind of smoke that permeated all of our belongings in our room …. when the maintenance man left and the smell smoke did not we had to go to the front desk because the concierge stop picking up our phone calls. We had to get loud and insist on being moved to a different room !!!!
We were not apologized to or compensated in any way. Again, aside from a few staff, here and there, and the entertainment, staff and Katherine and Lieddy this resort is not worth the money. We have one more week and while they know we are unhappy , they have done nothing to compensate us. Stay far away from this place!!!!!!

Date of Stay: May 2023

L3886DZrobertm wrote a review May 2023

Bahia punta cana

Absolutely good everything. Bahia is bahia. Very good food,services, nice beach rooms are need to upgrade they are old. But avarege realy nice. Good staff on beach bufet. All the waitresses are good but a bit slow. Resort was realy clean even toilets. Bar staff in lobby realy frendly. The best was Manuel. He didnt speak good english but make good coctails. God bless him.

Date of Stay: May 2023

brittanycU879SG wrote a review June 2023

Great Option for a First-Time Solo Traveler

I had a great time at this resort! Admittedly it's not especially designed for solo travelers, more so for couples or groups. I figured since this was my first solo vacation, that I would play it safe and stay at a resort and I'm so glad I did because it was an awesome time. There were tons of food options, especially since you have access to the other resorts in the area and even reserving the a la carte dinners was easy.

The staff was very friendly, they really go above and beyond to make you feel special and welcome. Drinks were flowing and plenty of options for entertainment like the disco, casino, even nightly shows in the theatre.

Ramon G from Coming2 was really helpful with planning excursions off the resort. He was upbeat and personable and addressed all my concerns patiently! He also made some recommendations for activities and I had a blast with the buggy excursion and Coco Bongo show.

All in all it was a fantastic trip. I'm really glad I went and I hope I make it back soon.

Date of Stay: May 2023

loraines187 wrote a review June 2023

Rooms need to be cleaned

Just checked in and this hotel is disgusting. I just checked in with my husband and 4 grandkids and very disappointed. We are considering returning home tomorrow. The sheets are mildewed, the shower tile are mildewed and disgusting. My grand daughter refuses to shower in the unsightly shower. Stay away from the Grand Bavaro.

Date of Stay: June 2023

philtF413IA wrote a review August 2023

Ignore the bad reviews

My wife and I stayed here the first week of August. We were very apprehensive due to the bad reviews. We needn’t have been.

Food - excellent. The choice was fantastic. Staff were slow but didn’t effect us at all. I wouldn’t bother with the A’ La Carte restaurants, the main restaurant was fantastic!!!!

Drinks - excellent. Cocktails very nice.
Yes, you may have to wait a couple of minutes and yes, the staff seem to serve Spanish speaking guests first but hey ho, we were on holiday so were not in a rush anyway.

Entertainment- pretty standard holiday stuff. The circus night was very good.

Beach - lovely. Bit of seaweed but that’s nature!

Check in - seamless

Pool and pool bars - we gave a $5 tip in morning so never had to wait more than a minute for a drink. Foam party was good fun. All very clean and tidy.

Room service was faultless.

Trips - go on the buggy safari to the hidden lagoon, really good. Very enjoyable day out.

We’ve stayed at Sandals in St Lucia. Was this as good? No. It was however, quarter of the price and value for money is excellent.

Ignore the bad reviews, align your expectations to 4 stars and you will not be disappointed.

Date of Stay: August 2023

gailanddond wrote a review February 2024

Disappointing

This resort was a disappointment in many ways. It is very dated - lacks wifi, lacks accessibility, power goes out intermittently, serving staff are unfriendly, surly and inefficient. Coffee machines in the lobby are always broken. Customer service and front desk reps were good and the only source of information. The Indian & Greek a la cartes were good but limited to three restaurants only.

Date of Stay: February 2024

887Traveller887 wrote a review May 2024
London, England

Very Disappointed

This is our second time at the same hotel. We are very disappointed at how run down this hotel has become.
The rooms desperately need updating.
They don’t have kettles in the room for tea/coffee making facilities. They have a coffee filter machine which takes ages and the water hardly heats up.

For hot drinks, during the day and evening, we have to go to the lobby. Unfortunately, the machines don’t work and are not manned. It’s very filthy. If the hot water urn runs out, no one mans that either.

When I complained, the manager litterly started shouting at me and asking me whether I had approached the bar staff. All bar staff were busy serving guests who wanted cold drinks and alcohol. All I wanted was hot water. The lady manager who was in charge was busy cleaning tables and only filled the coffee machines with water after I made noise.

To exchange your money, it’s very difficult as one day we were told they haven’t got any money. So my husband went to the Punta Cana side - he was told, if we are in Bavaro part, we can only change money there.
Next day, we went to change money and they didn’t have any small change. So, then, we were asked to go to the Punta Cana reception to get small change.

Overall, we are very disappointed with this hotel and we will certainly not be visiting it again.

Date of Stay: May 2024

387retaj wrote a review July 2024

Worst resort,customer service and management

Checked in yesterday, so far the worst resort I even been. It took them from 3pm until 12:30am to check us in . And still I got the wrong room and I have to move one of my kids with another family member to be able to fit in the room we were given at 12:30 am . Very bad customer service. And they only speak Spanish with each other so if you do not speak Spanish stay away from this resort. I will update this page with all the photos of the wrong room and the room they check us in was dirty from previous guest. And another room has blood all over the mirror and washroom cabinet. DO NOT WASTE YOUR VACATION AND MONEY at this resort. Will date this page soon with what the head office or management will do for us for the lose of My first day of vacation and 10 hours check in in a wrong room?????

Date of Stay: July 2024