Bahia Principe Grand Punta Cana

Shaz Henny

We were at this resort back in 2017 and it was great. Went back last week and things have changed. We were in one of the updated villas near the beach. First night the toilets plugged up twice. No flush paper was the maintenance guys mantra. Moved to another villa.. we get there and there was no sheets for the couch (3 of us in the room). Food gets very repetitive by the 3rd day lol. Staff are great. There is a gift shop (see photo) half way between the lobby and the beach. Be very careful in there as the guy overcharged us by $55 USD and wouldn’t give my money back. I spoke to one of the managers up at the lobby who accompanied me back there. I had to get their help to get my money back. The sales guy said he wouldn’t return the refund to my CC.. I had to pick out more merchandise to bring back. I didn’t want it lol but I sure wasn’t going to let them have it. Be aware. In the new villa we only had one more issue with the toilets plugging up. It’s a resort wide issue. As a final bit of info to share bring bug spray with you. Mosquitoes will devour you. Some of my daughter’s bites got infected and had to take antibiotics when we got home. The pools at the mid section of the resort are not as busy as the pool near the beach.

Zachary Motter

So we originally booked the Grand Turquesa, but were "upgraded" to the Grand Punta Cana. We stayed in the Junior Suite Superior for three nights. The décor was charming, but the room itself was very outdated. There were almost no accessible outlets to charge devices — we had to move furniture around just to plug things in. The TV didn’t work at all (no channels), and the Wi-Fi in the room was almost nonexistent, with maybe one tiny spot where you could catch a signal. The door was very hard to open, and only one of our key cards worked consistently. The room just doesn’t meet a 5-star standard; realistically it feels like a solid 3-star. Walking around, we saw the Junior Suite Premium rooms, and those looked significantly more updated — closer to a true 4-star experience. The pool areas, however, were fantastic. The main pool near the beach was clean, lively, and had a great party vibe — clearly well-maintained and recently updated. The local pool near our building was also spectacular, very clean, with plenty of shaded seating and refreshing water. The swim-up bar was excellent, with friendly bartenders and quick service. They happily filled our tumblers. Food overall was just okay. There was variety, but the quality was hit-or-miss. Service at the buffets was inconsistent — we had to be seated multiple times because the first two attempts didn’t get attention. The truck restaurant was charming at first but turned chaotic fast. They called out order numbers that people didn’t pick up, some numbers were skipped entirely, and the system fell apart. On the plus side, they had self-serve beer and wine, which was a great perk. Dinner at Restaurante Rodizio Las Olas was amazing! We love Brazilian steakhouses, and this one matched the quality of the ones we visit at home. Excellent service and an unbeatable beachfront setting. We didn’t spend time on the beach itself, but it looked clean and beautiful. We did catch the Circus Show, and it was genuinely awesome — highly recommended. The spa was spotless, and our couples massage was a great value and genuinely relaxing. Getting around the resort is easy on foot, though they do offer golf carts. We never figured out the schedule, but walking was manageable and we enjoyed the exercise. There are several shops in Principe Village for souvenirs and essentials. Most shops carry nearly identical things, but if you need another size or color of something, check a second or third — the inventory varies slightly. Check-out was smooth and very accommodating. Even without late checkout, they let us eat, use the pool, and even offered a shower before we left. Overall, we had a good time and most guests around us seemed to be enjoying themselves too. We just think the resort is mislabeled as 5-star when the room experience says otherwise. Thanks again!

Ellie Coleman

Had an amazing time at this hotel. Upon arrival we were given a free room upgrade. This room was cleaned by Jolanda everyday who always made sure the room was spotless and we had clean towels. The pools were not very busy and the bar staff were very helpful to everyone. They have shared tipping rather than the tip going to that specific person. There are sun beds available at all times. We stayed in September so the beach did have a lot of seaweed but the staff were out everyday trying to get rid of what they could so guests could enjoy the beach. The only negative would be how the waiters and waitresses treat some guests at meal times in the main buffet - we got ignored on a regular occasion and had to go out our way to get drinks whereas other tables around us would be getting their drinks refilled at the table and brought to them. Buffet food was delicious and had such a great selection with different themed nights. We went to the Asian and Italian restaurants which I would also highly recommend booking. The ground staff were constantly working hard to repair the cracked floorings (assuming from earthquakes), and the gardeners were always out making sure everything was up to standard. Overall we had an amazing experience and would definitely look at coming back in the future.

John Guevara

Decent resort with limited options. For a better experience stay at the Esmeralda or sister resorts all connected to each other for more services/features. The app is slow. The workers gave different details and updates so we were provided the wrong information half of the time. The alarm in our room kept going off at night (11pm), we called several times and waited over an hour before grabbing a stick and luckily found a way to turn it off ourselves instead of waiting for someone who never came. In general, friendly people and staff. Good drinks. Mediocre limited food. Only 30min from PUJ airport.

Marcos Moro

We stayed 14 nights at the Bahia Príncipe Grand Punta Cana. This allowed us to try everything at least twice — restaurants, shows, activities — and thus clearly distinguish what could have been a random issue, which might happen to anyone, from what was actually a systematic fault of the hotel. The most positive point was the care for children: a solid 10. The staff was always very attentive and kind with them, there were plenty of well-organized activities, and we truly valued this aspect of our stay. On the other hand, the service for adult guests was extremely poor. We had problems at the reception that took two days to resolve, with several back-and-forth visits. At the à-la-carte restaurants, service was consistently terrible, without any improvement, even when repeating the experiences. In short: kids, 10/10; adult guest service, 4/10. Overall, the hotel does not go beyond a 6 (0 worst, 10 best). For the time and money invested, we will not return to this resort