We have just returned from our two-week holiday in Bahia Principe and we had the most wonderful time. Before we went I was a little concerned after reading a few negative reviews but we found it to be a lovely place and did not have any complaints whatsoever.
We arrived late afternoon and were greeted in reception by the entertainment staff dressed in the native outfits who performed a traditional dance routine which was great. We were then handed a cocktail which was very much appreciated after a long journey! I read on other people's reviews that they check you in on the coach before you get to the hotel however this wasn't the case with us so I presume this must be based on which company you book with - we were with First Choice. Check-in to the hotel was smooth though and we weren't kept waiting very long at all.
Our room was lovely - quite basic which is to be expected in my opinion but exceptionally clean and the bed was huge. Air conditioning is provided as standard and I must say that our system was a bit temperamental, switching itself on/off during the nights! However when we eventually mastered the switch (which was about 100 years old), when it was on it was very good. And it switching itself on/off during the nights didn't bother us too much else we would have complained about it. Apparently other people complained that their air con wasn't working and the maintenance staff came and fixed it straight away so it's not a problem. Your safety deposit box is available for 50 dollars but we didn’t bother and didn’t have any trouble at all. The maids work hard to keep your room clean and tidy and often left us nice towel art on our bed or in the bathroom.
The food is great, it's not the same quality as the food you get here but you have to remember that you are in a different country and the way they cook is different. It is very pleasant though and once again the standard of hygiene impressed us as you have to use the hand sanitizer on entrance to each restaurant. The main buffet is very good - the variety is fab and I should imagine that even the fussiest eaters would find something they liked. Breakfast in particular is amazing as they serve everything you can think of - pastries, full English, omelette, cereal, pancakes, crepes, toast.
You can visit the a la carte restaurants up to 6 times over the course of the two weeks but we only managed to visit them 4 times in total as they get booked up so quickly and I think they are slightly reluctant to book you in to them to be honest but once you get there they are nice and the food is good.
The snack bar is great - especially for those with children as they serve pizza, chips, burgers, hotdogs etc, and it's right on the beach which is a nice setting.
The staff at the hotel are so polite and very friendly, they cannot do enough for you and the entertainment staff in particular work so hard. They are always coming up with things to do during the day to keep you occupied and on the days it rained (we had 2 days of rain in total) they found loads of things to invite you to join in with. If, like my boyfriend and I, you just want a chill-out holiday they totally respect that and if you say a polite no to their invitations to join in they accept it and move on with no questions asked which was a relief! However if you do like to join in and/or have children with you then there is constantly something going on by the main pool.
I can't say much about the evening entertainment as we didn’t catch it very often; the only entertainment we saw was for the children which seemed quite good - not our sort of thing of course but the kids seemed to love it.
As I said before, the main pool is very busy and lively which is great if you like that kind of thing but if you prefer a more quiet and relaxed atmosphere then there is a smaller, quieter pool which is where we spent most of our time.
The beach is also very nice, not pure white sand but it is lovely. We were warned about sand-fleas on the beach in the evening or when it rains but we didn't experience this luckily.
We did two trips – Ocean World where we swam with dolphins and the Catamaran trip. Both were fantastic days out and the reps on the coaches keep you entertained on the journeys. The Ocean World trip did not include food but the café there was reasonably priced and the food was good. The Catamaran trip included your food and drink and once again they provided great variety and catered for all tastes and ages. We booked both through First Choice.
Overall I would definitely recommend this hotel as it exceeded our expectations and we had a fantastic holiday. People who have written complaining of food poisoning etc were probably just over-indulging as this place is so clean and hygiene-conscious. With the food and drink that they offer it is easy to be tempted into eating more than you would at home!
A piece of advise which is not relating to this hotel but for anyone travelling abroad – when you check-in at the airport check your boarding passes for your seat numbers – we didn’t think to do this and later discovered that we were not sitting together even though we checked in together, 3 hours before departure. By the time we realised it was too late to try and change it so consequently spent the 9 hour flight sat next to strangers.
Another piece of advice that I was given before my holiday is that Avon do a range called Skin-So-Soft and their moisturising oil spray repels mosquitoes. We took a bottle and wore it every night and did not get bitten once, while others at the hotel were bitten multiple times wearing their standard insect repellent. So if you have access to Avon then I would recommend you use this as it’s cheaper and smells much nicer than the insect repellents you buy in the shops!
Hope you have a great holiday, I’m jealous of anyone going here as I would love to go back!
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Would I recommend this hotel to my best friend?
absolutely!
I recommend this hotel for:
Young singles, An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, People with disabilities, Older travelers, Great pool scene, Families with young children, Tourists
I do not recommend this hotel for:
Families with teenagers
I selected this hotel as a top choice for:
Beach / Sun, Great food / Wine