Bahia Principe Grand Samana

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

1567 reviews

• 

  Luxury? I think not!

  The hotel itself is absolutely beautiful and exuded luxury. But that was the extent of it. My husband and I booked a two week stay at this resort for our 40th wedding but by the 3rd day we were contacting our Air Transat rep to move to another resort. Our room was pretty with an ocean view but no balcony. Since we had booked with Bahia several times before we were expecting more than we received. The resort seemed empty and maybe that should have been a red flag but we decided to give it a few days. Nope. The food was horrible. The selection never changed day to day. The dinner buffet was closed 2 of the 4 days we were there. We relied on a la carte. Same with the pool buffet. No variety. Staff barely spoke english. Fortunately we were able to get a suite at El Portillo. But it did cost us extra plus the transportation to El Portillo.

  Jan 27, 2025
• 

  This is a very nice resort.

  This is a very nice resort. Small, only about 150 rooms, very close to the ocean so you can have the surf lull you to sleep if you choose. It was an hour drive from the Samana airport. Our room was in the smaller separate building. Our room was well appointed and clean with a balcony looking out over the ocean. The elevator was out of order for the first few days but the staff brought our bags up for us and it really wasn't an issue. The grounds are lovely and nicely landscaped. The property has several stair cases and would not be suitable for people in wheelchairs or with severe mobility issues, although there were folks with walking sticks and canes who seemed to manage. The pool area was very nice with lots of lounges so it was never necessary to "reserve" or "hold" a chaise lounger. There was music playing at the pool and was not too invasive most of the time. I expect if I had asked it would have been turned down to a lower volume. There was no animation or games around the pool side and it made for a relaxing atmosphere. There really is little to do at the hotel, but relax in one of the seating areas or around the pool, or on the beach. I might have enjoyed a game of bingo or something in the afternoon to break up the day, but it would need to be somewhere away from the pool area as to not disturb the other guests. There were musicians playing at the lobby bar most evenings from 8-10pm and some of the guests enjoyed some spontaneous dancing to the music. There was a small gym on the premises with some good universal weight machines, treadmills, boxing stuff, and yoga mats. I would have liked a thicker gym mat to do exercises on but there was enough stuff there to get in a workout. We were warned not to walk out of the property on the road, and we were disappointed as we like to explore. There was good reason for the warning as the road has no sidewalks or even shoulders and the traffic is busy enough to make it dangerous to walk. We saw no one walking on the road, not even the local people. For $20US each way you could order a cab to the nearest town, which was the port for cruise ships and geared to tourists. The road can be noisy, as it is a main road with all types of traffic during the day, including large trucks, but we had an ocean view room and it was not an issue for us. The wine included at the buffet was quite bitter/sour to me and I wouldn't recommend it. The wine in the a la cart restaurants was very nice. There was one bar open all day, either near the pool area or in the lobby. These were never too busy. The biggest concern we had was with the temperature of the food on the steam tables in the buffet. For the first 5 days most of the food was not in the safety zone where bacteria cannot grow." Hot foods should be held at 140°F or warmer. On the buffet table, keep hot foods hot with chafing dishes, slow cookers and warming trays. Cold foods should be held at 40°F or colder." We noticed that most of the guests were keeping away from the cooked meat dishes on the buffet and this could have been the reason. The was a grill at all times and so you could get freshly cooked omelettes at breakfast and cooked to order fish and meats at dinner. Except for the concerns above, there was a good assortment of nice food at every meal, and we never had any stomach issues. We enjoyed our stay, as I said it is a very nice, quiet hotel. The staff were attentive and nice to deal with. There were no drunk or obnoxious guests, there were people who were seniors and younger people as well. It was quiet at night, and a nice to place to chill out.

  Jan 26, 2025
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  Lovely, quiet all-inclusive

  I've been to this location 3 times over 10 years, twice solo and once with my husband. It has changed since my last visit, but for the better (likely because there were fewer people). Here's why I liked it: - Quiet. I don't typically like the loud party atmosphere. There was no animation team, so I didn't cringe as I walked past the pool. Nor was I kept awake by bass beats at night by the loud party outside the front gate. The pool had some nice music playing, and in the lobby, they had some lovely music by different singers each night. - Love the design of the building, it's so unique with all the stairs going every which way. Lot's of plants growing within courtyards. There are elevators if you prefer, that will take you from the dining area up to the rooms. However, note there is no way to get to the beach without using longer flights of stairs. - If you're a young couple looking for a party, at this point in time, it's not the place for you. However, if you're of any age and prefer some quiet, relaxing time, this is ideal - The food is pretty good. I was disappointed in the variety of fruit, for example, lack of mangos. It's not mango season in this part of the DR, but it is elsewhere in the DR. Perhaps this is due to the cost of bringing it in? Yet I can see trucks with them in Samana city - Don't even think of "half board". This place is pretty isolated. There aren't restaurants along the beach (like Las Terrenas), or a road full of restaurants (like Las Galeras). - The beach is great. It's kept clean, it's rather private (not too large), there are no large rocks in the ocean. But don't expect anything to see snorkeling. Due to the smaller number of guests, lounge chairs are easy to find. The problem is that in the earlier part of the day, it's harder to find shade. - Rooms are clean and comfortable, staff is friendly. I'd return in a minute if I'm looking for a lovely, relaxing time.

  Jan 21, 2025
• 

  A well-kept promise

  We decided to celebrate New Year's Eve 2025 in the Dominican Republic, at a place where we could enjoy both natural scenery and a good hotel. Choosing BAHIA PRINCIPE GRAND SAMANA was the best decision we could have made. From the moment we arrived until the very last second we were there, each and every one of their staff made us feel special and that they truly cared about us. During our first dinner, Basilio from the hospitality team told us that their goal was to make each moment special, and he was not lying. Everyone, including him, Marielba, Margarita, Jose Antonio, Yrineo, Maria Leticia, Maxuel, Pedro, Luis Joely, Alejandro, Mayelin, Nely, Víctor, and the others whose names I couldn’t collect, made our stay a wonderful experience. We are very grateful for the amazing time we had; thank you.

  Jan 07, 2025
• 

  Relaxing week in Samana

  Sharing this review, fairly lengthy but hope you find it helpful as I struggled to find good info before our travels. Travelled to Bahia principe grand samana adults only all inclusive December 26, 2024 to January 2, 2025. Overall small resort (as advertised) and I don’t think was full the whole time we were there. Very quiet, not busy at all. No on site activities at the pool or beach, so it is a relaxing place. If you are looking for a party or lots of activities, this is not your place. There were several facilities at the resort that were not open. The sunset grill, and some bar and grill looking things at the main entrance that were not open, I assume because the resort was not full. But overall good resort if you are looking for a relaxing week. Lots of stairs, I would not recommend for anyone with mobility issues. Firstly- we booked all inclusive, and did not encounter anyone else in our week who was not all inclusive. Contrary to some of the reviews here, IT IS all inclusive, and although there were up charges available for certain drinks and food if you choose to indulge, we never encountered an issue with any on the all inclusive inclusions, and never had to pay extra for any food or drinks. ROOMS- we arrived very late at midnight. Small shuttle from the airport that took about an hour and fifteen minutes to get to the resort. Check in was fine, it was late and the buffet was closed, they had put a plate of meat and cheese in our room for our arrival. Room was clean, only downfall was the bathroom. Small and very dated. So much silicone around the tub, which was chipping and looked old, but clean. Bed was very firm, lots of pillows. Room was clean and daily cleaning service was good. Refilled the fridge with beer, pop and bottled water every day. You can hear the road noise in the rooms, but quiet at night, air conditioning worked well. Ocean view was amazing from the room, we were on the second floor. POOL- pool was good, lots of chairs, had to move around for sun/shade depending on time of day and what you are looking for. BEACH-beach was great, but small, Also lots of chairs, hard to find shade in the morning though. Waves were big, and crashed into shore, depending on the day, but nice to swim after you got past the break. A lot of road noise at the beach, as the road is above the beach. Being so small, there is no food, drinks or bathrooms at the beach. FOOD & RESTAURANTS - buffet breakfast was the standard all inclusive fare, omelettes, eggs, bacon, sausage fruit, toast, pastry, grilled veg etc. always good and the egg and omelette chefs were great! Buffet lunch only served at the one small pool/beach restaurant. Quite small but we never had a problem whether we wanted to sit indoors or outdoors. Food was good, chicken, fish, hotdogs and hamburgers and vegetables. They served drinks from the pool and wine and beer bar with lunch if you wanted. Dinner at the buffet was quite good, and we enjoyed it. Fresh grill with meat and fish, fresh made pasta bar and the many other selections at dinner. The food was quite good. A LA CARTES- we ate at the a la Carte twice, which were included in our week. No selection of restaurants, or the nights you could book, as they were only open Saturday and Sunday when we were there, but one night was international and one night was Italian. The food on both nights was fabulous! From lamb kofta, pork tenderloin, lamb medallions, salmon and finished with eclairs and cheesecake, was all wonderful! After reading some of the prior reviews about the food I was a bit worried, but we found all the food good, and always something we could pick to enjoy. BARS AND DRINKS- drinks were typical all inclusive. Good, but sweet. Pina colada, daiquiris etc. They would however make whatever you wanted if you asked them to. My only “complaint” would be the house wine. It was not good, I had a glass with food, but that was it. Pool bar opened at 10 am and lobby bar opened at 4 pm. Again, being a small resort, only one bar was open at a time, but there was always an option. SPA- we indulged in a couples massage which was great. We talked to a few other couples who also had positive reviews of the spa. Overall, this is a quiet adults only resort. We spent a lot of time in the loungers reading, overlooking the ocean. It was Great, if that is what you are looking for. The resort is a bit tired, with some Reno’s required, but we were pleased with our week, and the service was good.

  Jan 04, 2025