Dominican Republic

This was our first sun destination this year. We've heard good things about this hotel so we thought we should give it a try. We are experienced travelers and our expectations were probably a little high for this one. Our dissapointment came right off the bat, when we entered the room. The concept/design intention is great. However, I've never seen a hotel room finishes more poorly executed in my entire 30 years experience. Right as you enter it, the linoleum floors (first time I see linoleum in a hotel room) look moldy, stained and deformed from all the humidity. The walls are patched and painted over without any attention to finishing/sanding. The paint job also very badly done. A 3 year old could do it better. The grout in the shower tiles were moldy as well, not cleaned properly. The toilet was not cleaned, there were blood marks/splashes on the wall beside it as well. The shelves were dirty with sticky liquids of some sort.The fan in the room makes a bad noise as it will fall off. The phone does not work in the room. Apart from that, the bed sheets were clean, the towels were clean. We did mention the condition of the room to a few employees around but we never got any response back. The hotel staff was polite. The waiters in the buffet were attentive and nice. We particularly liked Wilton so we went there every night for a little desert or chese plate after dinner to be on his station, to say hello to him. Out off all the a la carte restaurants, we tried the Bordeaux, Portofino, the mexican and the beach Grill. The beach grill had a great steak, and the French one had a very good duck confit and lamb shank. The entertainment was very good compared with other all-inclusive resorts we've been at. The entertainers work hard all day trying to make the customers feel welcomed and not bored. The spa was nice, but felt a little rushed through the water treatments and some of the massage therapists lacked proper training, were inexperienced. One would expect a minimal professional massage for the "premium" price they charge. The bathrooms at the pool and on the beach were not clean and often missing soap and paper. The floors and sink area were not tended to often enough as well. The bar staff on the beach were always around if you needed a drink. We did not like the constant harassing of the beach vendors. Another inconvenient thing is that you need to pay around $1000 CAD extra for the "Preferred" status upgrade to get a better room and have access to other amenities of the hotel, like sections on beach, pool, bars. restaurants, lounge, etc. Everywhere you turned, there were signs with privileged area where you would not have access to. This makes you feel a little off, unapreciated as a guest. We were offered that upgrade at the beginning but we refused it because they said that there is no room available for us to upgrade to. Therefore, considering the "spare room" we got stuck with for the whole stay, it made no sense to pay that enormous amount. Overall, not the best place we've stayed at, but the people are nice. I don't think we will revisit this resort. P.S. we did tip all the employees that serviced us, all around the resort, regardless of the service quality provided. We come from a lifetime of services ourselves...

Very relaxing. Quiet space available. Buffet dining excellent with different theme every night. Accommodations were 5 star. Staff were pleasant and helpful beyond expectations. Wasn't overly impressed with a la carte dinning facilities. We much preferred the resort when it was Adult only, not suited for children.. Would highly recommend this resort and we will definitely return in the future.

Staff are super friendly room was clean.

We stayed a total of 7 nights in the "adults only" area which is the upscale area of the whole complex, check-in process was expedite and they provided us a private space to get changed as we got there earlier than the check-in time. Inside the hotel there are VIP areas that belong to the "Exclusive Traveler Club", and there are sellers that are constantly trying to sale you the club, be aware of them. The beach is gorgeous; however the amount of lounge chairs is not enough for all the guests, therefore we had to wake up early to "reserve" a pair, otherwise we would have seated far from the beach. The gardens and common areas are beautiful and well maintained, we stayed on the third floor with an overview of the pool and main plaza, a bit far from the beach but was OK. There is a bar nearby the beach and the staff is always available to serve, in general the people working there are super friendly, kind and happy. There are several restaurants with different type of food, from Italian, Peruvian, Steak house, Asian, etc. most of them needs a reservation which can be done through a website, and of course there is a buffet with good options, including a “Dominican” theme night on Friday with typical food, rum and performance, it is highly recommended! There are more facilities in the other side of the complex including shops, restaurants, pool, theatre, etc. We ended a couple of nights in that area as the shows were more entertained as the VIP area is calmer and quieter. Also, there are kayaks available for free, as well as snorkeling and sailboats. The closest town is only 15 min away by walk, cute area with shops, restaurants and bars. In general we had a good week, if only the beach area was less crowded… :)

We stayed for 10 days and were 2 couples. We enjoyed our vacation. The hotel was very nice and clean. The food was pretty good and there was a decent choice. It's a smaller complex so great for those who have difficulty walking. We had a swim out room and loved the privacy of being able to cool down without going to the bigger pool. We had some minor issues, mix up at check in ect but they were handled without too much trouble. I would recommend this hotel if you're looking for a quiet getaway to soak up the sun and relax.

Bahia Principe Esmeralda.

Travelled from Halifax with a group of 17, families with older children 15-22. It was our second trip to Puerta Plata with this group late in April (due to university exam schedules) and had an awesome time. Overall this resort is a little older but the upkeep and ongoing renovations make this a great value for your money. The grounds are very well kept and there was continuous morning grooming around resort/pool/beach. The buffet had a large variety of fresh food that was replenished regularly with very good quality. The beach buffett had the usual lunch options of pizza, fries, burgers and nachos but also offered a full salad bar and fish/beef/chicken options. It also had ice cream and cones. Japanese and Italian a la cartes were very good and they did their best to accommodate our large group. We thought the Mexican was only ok but no one left hungry. Premium drinks were offered at all bars and there was a drink menu to pick from which was nice after filling up on the usual drinks. All servers were very friendly with the usual waits during busy times. Pool seating was busy but with a small group I'm sure you could find a few seats even during busy times. The beach had available seats all day which was amazing in my opinion. Also not a lot of vendors all day at beach, they came and went with out a ton of interaction and they were all friendly. Lobby was great, shops were great, shows were great. We played pickleball with our group a few mornings and Pablo at the rec centre was awesome. There's 2 real courts and they offer equipment. Disco was fun for younger members of group, opens at 11:00 Taxis in town were a great option for a day trip and pretty cheap. Overall I think that if your looking for a solid 4 plus star resort, this would be the place to visit.

Firstly, I found the rooms to be very outdated and in need of renovation. The decor and amenities are not up to modern standards, which detracted from the comfort of my stay. Additionally, there was no air conditioning in the restaurants, making it extremely difficult to enjoy dinner without sweating profusely. This significantly impacted the overall dining experience. The buffet restaurant was another major disappointment. The food quality was subpar, and the area itself was quite dirty, which was unpleasant and unappetizing. Oceanside and ZEN restaurant food quality was another let down. Hunters steakhouse and Rio restaurants were amazing and together with lazy river the highlight of our trip. Furthermore, the customer service throughout the hotel was poor; staff seemed disinterested and unhelpful when approached with concerns.With exceptions at the diamond club pool bar. Regarding the Diamond Club, I found it to be not worth the extra cost. The lobby had no air conditioning, making it uncomfortable to spend time there, and other hotel guests (not Diamond club) were using the Diamond Club pool and beach area, leading to confusion and a lack of exclusivity. Lots of locals on weekends making the pool, beach and bar area very noisy and crowded. We will definitely not recommend this hotel. This hotel is at most a 3 star.

We just got back from this resort. If your thinking of booking here don't do it. Service is 0/10 they promise the use of all the restaurants which isn't the case. The buffet is garbage same food every day they put out left over food from the dinner service for breakfast. The room service food is also garbage I wouldn't feed it to my dog and when it comes to restocking the mini bar and changing the sheets etc. They never came to changing the bedding until 4-5pm daily and mini was never fully stocked like they promise at best they would give 2 bottles of water and 2 beers never replaced the juice boxes for the kids. The main pool was so hot it felt like bath water. I will never go to this resort again.

Overall my husband and I had a wonderful honeymoon experience at the Aquamarine resort. The staff were helpful and the accommodations were comfortable.