Bahia Principe Grand El Portillo

Bahia Principe Grand El Portillo
4.244.244.244.244.24
4.24 based on 883 reviews
#1 of 7 hotels The Monarc.ca popularity scale (#1/15) classifies all the hotels of a single destination according to the number of grades received on 5 and the total number of reviews. in Samana
Rated 4.5 stars
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January 2024

, Beaumont, AB
2024-03-18
Overall enjoyable
Had a fair bit of rain
Loved the sports bar and staff
French and Brazilian restaurants was fabulous [Details]
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The strong points
Good is good Samual at the front concierge always happy to get u a taxi are golf cart to take u to your villa.
The weak points
The rooms are very outdated and beds are terrible.
Certified

The picture is not correct

, Oakville, ON
2024-02-21
It was great, staff wonderful, beach amazing. They did not enforce the no saving of loungers which was annoying. Food was great. Bathroom in suite needed updatng [Details]
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The strong points
Great Beach, super Staff, felt very safe. Good Food
The weak points
Loungers were saved without being used. Smoking in outside areas annoying. Bathroom needed updated
Certified

No return

, Montréal, QC
2024-02-11
It was the first time that we did not enjoy ourselves in the Dominican Republic. Our experiences at Punta Cana were fun. Not so much in Samana. The staff should be trained to not ignore guests. Food can be improved greatly. The resort and room were great, but we will not be returning. [Details]
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The strong points
Beautiful resort. Room was great. Lovely beach
The weak points
Did not enjoy the food eg cold crepes and pancakes at breakfast. Staff ignored guests for the most part. Some staff were nice. Smokers on the beach who put out their cigarette butts in the sand. No waves.
Sanitary measures
Everything was clean.
Certified

Beach Lover

, Rockland, ON
2024-02-10
If you like walking on the beach, this resort is for you. This was my second trip to this hotel because I've yet to find a great beach with no other resorts and yet very safe for women to walk by themselves.

The food is good and the restaurants' are very good. The room was well appointed but the bed was hard. VERY clean! [Details]
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The strong points
BEACH, BEACH AND THE BEACH!
The weak points
The bed was hard. Sometimes the service at the buffets for drinks was slow.
Certified

Very satisfied

, North York, ON
2024-01-27
We just returned from our trip from Samaná and we truly enjoyed our time there! We've stayed at Bahia principe Grand and the service was amazing as always! Danny at the reception was extremely kind, professional and accommodating. We will definitely be going back again hopefully soon!
Thank you Danny for your warm hospitality, we were very satisfied with everything at Bahia!
Please keep up the good work!
Regards
Nadi Jahedan [Details]
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Certified

Wow great vacation

, Eel River Crossing, NB
2023-12-23
Totally satisfied with everting at the hotel. Great beach, excellent food,, clean hotel, very polite and helpful staff. [Details]
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The strong points
Great beach with lots of beach chairs and very good variety of food.
The weak points
None!
Certified

NOT ALL INCLUSIVE

, Georgetown, ON
2023-10-21
POSITIVES:
-Beach = Amazing
-Entertainment Staff = Fantastic

NEGATIVES:
Rooms:
-Air Conditioning is not that great. Some of our family member's rooms their air conditioning did not work at all.
-We had a leak in our bathroom ceiling. They said they fixed it but nope! We had towels down on the floor for 3 days. Towels were drenched with water.
Service:
-Slow and line up at the bars were about half hour or longer wait. ALL THE TIME!!!
-There was never the feeling of "how can I make your vacation great". The staff had an I don't care attitude. Not like other resorts I have been where staff always went out of their way to make sure you were happy. Even if it was just to say hello as you walked pass staff. Rarely did you get a staff that said hello first as you walked past them.
-To get mediocre service at best - BE PREPARED TO TIP!!!!!!

All Inclusive Hotel....NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-You get a choice of 5 rail spirit drinks and one type of red and white wine. Everything else was an extra cost. And let me make a note...all the extra cost (not included) spirits were what you would expect as low-quality alcohol at any other hotel. Basically, the alcohol they were charging you for was low-end basic stuff.
-Have you ever been to an all-inclusive vacation and you go to the a-la-cart restaurant and they say you get 1 appetizer, 1 main, and 1 dessert???? Well, expect that here. If you want a salad an appetizer the answer to that is NO....You can't have it. But this is supposed to be all-inclusive?????

Buffet:
-same food at lunch as they have a dinner and same food ALL 7 DAYS!!!!
-all food is overcooked!
-some food edible only.

On the weekends the locals get to come to the resort. This made for even busier bars and the buffet was a joke. People eating at the buffet line! Yes with their hands over the food. Eating as they stand in line. [Details]
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The strong points
-Beach = Amazing -Entertainment Staff = Fantastic
The weak points
-Service -Food -NOT all-inclusive -poor air conditioning -Lines at the bar half hour
Certified

Not as expected!

, Terrebonne, QC
2023-09-14
Small resort, it is clean but have stayed to 4 different Bahia Principe Hotels this one was a real disappointment. Very crowded everywhere. Food not great Will not return. [Details]
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The strong points
Entertainment was great, grounds are clean, nice long beach great for walks
The weak points
Outdated rooms, slow service, food not great, did not respect our request. Crowded. A few times flooded bathroom and roof leaking from bathroom and were on 3rd floor.

It was alright

, Bellevue, AB
2023-05-22
We had an okay time at this resort. Our room was great and we liked the size of the resort.
Sadly, the swim up bar wasn't open and the main buffet was pure chaos. The staff here were not welcoming or very helpful. I have had much better experiences in Mexico and Cuba. [Details]
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The strong points
The resort is a great size, has good pools, and the French restaurant was delicious with a great atmosphere. The resort was very clean.
The weak points
Most servers at restaurants treated everyone like an inconvenience. It was exhausting dealing with the front desk/guest service staff. Most of them were not helpful. Got put on the overflow bus to and from the airport when we booked ahead.
Sanitary measures
The room was clean and so was the resort.
Certified

Beach!!!

, Toronto, ON
2023-04-24
Check in and out as expected, arrive with large group wait with large group. Booked a la carte restaurants before we left so no disappointment getting reservations. Italian [Details]
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The strong points
Beach great for long walks and snorkeling
The weak points
Wine
Certified

Nice refreshing stay for a middle age couple

, Toronto, ON
2023-01-02
We have been in this hotel before covid and loved it so much. We tried a few times to return, but it did not work due to the different reasons. Actually, it was our first place from others, we stayed for vacation, we wanted to come back.
Finally we succeed to come in December and were not disappointed, though there were some changes, slightly diminished our satisfaction. The coffee machine was not already available in the lobby for example, and vegetarian station was not existing anymore. It was mixed with other dishes. However, don't take me wrong, I still loved the place this time. It was a beautiful renovation of buffet area, which became more spacious, and life music at 7 pm was a great time to spend with others by dancing and playing games. The only restaurant we went was Brazilian, and it was the same high quality.
The service everywhere is excellent. Everyone is very welcoming and cheerful, in spite of the massive crowd they have to serve every day. The meals are delicious, and there is a big variety of veggies and fish.
The beach is amazing, long and quiet without waves and sea weeds. The staff cleans the sand of the beach every morning. the Entertaiment in overall was fair. We enjoyed the circus show. It was on a very high professional level and retro one was not bad. The entertainment team worked hard to make our stay even more pleasant.
Our room was small, but clean and cozy. Everything you need was there.
We appreciated the hard work from everyone, who made our stay refreshing and enjoyable. We will come again! Thank you El Portillo!!! [Details]
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The strong points
meals, beach
The weak points
a bit crowdy
Certified

Lovely Time

, Collingwood, ON
2022-11-25
Had a good time with friends and family. [Details]
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The strong points
Beautiful and long beach. Excellent wifi service all around hotel and in room.
The weak points
Restaurant food and service mediocre. Hardly any English spoken or understood by staff.
Certified

Vacances de rêves

, Terrebonne, QC
2022-05-14
L'hôtel est magnifique, taille moyen, bien entretenu [Details]
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The strong points
Plage, propreté numéro un, personnel très accueillant et serviable. Chambres modeste mais bien, la chambre fait à tous les jours et le mini bar rempli aussi, nourriture excellent! 4 resto à la carte!
The weak points
Fermeture du lobby bar( sport bar) et lumières à 11pm. Pas de musique du pays à la disco. Devrait avoir plus de temps pour les shows en soirée ( spots bar) la mini disco pour les enfants devra être localisé dans un autre endroit. Internet pas très fiable
Certified

Fun in the sun at Samana Dominican Republic

, Worthington, OH
2021-12-20
This resort is doing a great job during difficult Covid times. Staff are all competent, hard working and friendly. Food and service are great [Details]
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The strong points
All interactions with staff were positive. Great food, beautiful grounds and location.
The weak points
none
Sanitary measures
Excellent
Certified

William

, Brossard, QC
2021-12-15
The hotel should respect their guess's booking requests . We were given a room completely different from our requests. The toilette was broken, we had to call services three times during our 1 week stay, finally they change the whole toilette bowl in the last day !
Overall, it's an excellent hotel if renovated and good maintenance .
5* beach, 5* food, polite employees . [Details]
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The strong points
the beach,food,services,employees
The weak points
room,bathroom
Sanitary measures
good
Certified

Great Resort

, Toronto, ON
2020-03-18
Highly recommended. Our stay was from March 8-15. Clean, friendly, something to eat for everyone. Lots of activities and a beautiful beach with a reef. Great for walking. Someone mentioned the reef was dead but this is not the case. It's not full of colour but lots of life. Fish, sea cucumber, hermit crabs, anemone... caution swimming if the waves churn up the sand. It will be hard to see the coral and they are large.
We stayed in a family suite, block 27, and it was perfect. Our requests were addressed immediately. Extra blankets, patio light... daily toiletries stocked up.
The resort is not large so it's an easy walk anywhere. There are carts that drive around to take you to diff locations.
We ate 2x at the Italian (we liked it that much) and once at the Mediterranean. We are not meat eaters so opted out of the Brazilian, and could not get into the French.
We also appreciated the extra diligence towards hygiene during our stay (Covid-19) with antibac offered entering the restaurants, washrooms always being clean and stocked.
We would absolutely return to this resort without hesitation. You will not be disappointed.
The Dominican culture and people are amazing.
Enjoy!!! [Details]
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The strong points
Clean, friendly, requests taken care of immediately.
The weak points
We really wanted to try the French Restaurant but could not get in.
Certified

Great resort

, Arnprior , ON
2020-02-27
Beautiful hotel with great service for 4.5 stars. The food is great, rooms are comfortable, room service is acceptable. Beach is OK, no snorkeling but longshore to walk. [Details]
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Certified

Wonderful week

, Bowmanville, ON
2020-02-17
We enjoyed a wonderful week at the Bahia Principe Grand El Portillo. The grounds are lush and beautiful. The beach was great and we have been to some beautiful beaches in Cuba. The water was clear and the reefs kept it calm during our stay. It isn't as wide and white sand like Cuba but did not disappoint. Food was good and plentiful. We had to wait sometimes for drinks at meals...just take one in with you if you need to have one right away. Entertainment staff are wonderful. Would definitely return and recommend. [Details]
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The strong points
Beautiful beach, good food, fun atmosphere if you want it or quiet areas if you prefer. Beautiful area and nice walks on beach.
The weak points
Did not like building 27 as you have absolutely no view but room was nice.
Certified

Depends on your expectations

, Mississauga, ON
2020-02-15
Room air conditioning terrible , this is second year here and is still terrible. Husband diabetic , we requested light soda seven times over 4 days never got it. Service in Buffet was not so good young girl pregnant spent most of her time talking to other waiters, didn't care we were waiting( this happened more then once). Their memories in the Buffet seem to be very short ask for a drink they never come back. No entertainment like there was last year for the kids. We will not be back really for the number one reason AIR CONDITIONING!!!!!. [Details]
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The strong points
Food was excellent, beach beautiful. Outside staff pleasant. Very clean.
The weak points
Air conditioning poor,service to customers not great. telephone in room not working had to go to the desk for help.
Certified

8th trip to Domican Rep, first time In El Portillo

, Burlington, ON
2020-02-07
Our room was located on third floor, it was clean, with enough space and nice view

Food was awesome in all restaurants, buffet was great

My daugther enjoyed the kids club and mini disco every day. Kids has a waterpark specially for them

This place has the best beaches by far, clean, crystal clear, no waves, literaly a blue lagoon, the best for snorkeling. We walked early every morning and enjoyed a wonderful sunrise

The hotel has activities all day long every day, and night live entertainments till 11pm

the staff at this hotel works very hard, and in our case they were always helpful, in our case no communications problems since we are also spanish/english speakers [Details]
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The strong points
Beach, food, entertainments
The weak points
45-50 min ride from airport

Bahia principale el Portio

, St Andre, NB
2018-12-18
We enjoyed our stay, the service was great, a few little things with the room but it was not enough for us to change rooms.
The food was good except one of the restaurant (a la carte).
We met very nice people [Details]
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Certified

Samana El portillo

, Sarsfield, ON
2018-04-23
Exellent resort! Would and will go back for sure ! From the ride from airport to the whole experience at the resort ! All was awsome ! 5/5 [Details]
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Certified

A great family resort!

, Edmonton, AB
2018-02-05
The people are the true treasure of the DR and the hotel. A beautiful resort and beaches for miles. Staff are amazing. Grounds are clean and safe. We traveled with 9 total, adults and children we all enjoyed our choices and time. The tours offered off site were also amazing. [Details]
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The strong points
The hotel staff are all amazing and helpful. Connecting with the Animation team and joining in the fun is recommended!
The weak points
My only complain was the coil mattress bed was not my favorite, however, the staff added a mattress cover at my request.
Certified

Ottawa Friends go South

, Carp, ON
2018-02-04
The El Portillo property is lovely and kept pristine by multiple staff always. Our king suite was pretty much the furthest room from the main lobby so glad we enjoy exercise. (5 min walk & 2 flights of stairs) We had mixed weather including some tropical bursts of rain that came on quickly. There are covered areas to run to when that happens. Food in buffet restaurants was yummy with a great variety. Our two a la cartel restaurant experiences were also excellent (Brazilian & Italian) although getting reservations for these was frustrating. Our travel rep had to call for us and the booking system was slow. [Details]
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The strong points
Cleanliness Food Spanish lessons Variety of seating areas Lots a beach lounges
The weak points
Beach is beautiful but water murky for the whole week (snorkeling not good) Not enough bar staff both at pool bars and lobby bars No designated smoking areas so as non-smokers we frequently were breathing second hand smoke
Certified

Great resort

, New Westminster, BC
2017-05-01
Price was reasonable. Food was great. Staff are friendly. Snorkeling is great when the weather is good. [Details]
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Certified

Samana 2017

, Laval, QC
2017-04-01
2nd time going there, liked it better the first time. Food was amazing. Was not impressed with beach this time around [Details]
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Certified

Very good trip

, Pierrefonds, QC
2017-03-26
My husband and I went to this resort from Jan 29 to Feb 12 2017, for 2 weeks.

We enjoyed our trip but thought that we had over paid for what we got.

The resort was the right size for us. Everything was at a good walking distance. It was very clean, little candles burning in all the bathrooms. The cleaning staff were constantly cleaning EVERYTHING around the lobby and everywhere else. The staff was efficient and friendly. We had a problem with our air conditioning leaking; they came to fix it immediately. Our room was cleaned every day before noon which was great, great bed and pillows. We were in building 1, right in front of the buffet and beach. We really loved that but I wouldn't suggest it to anyone who goes to sleep before 10 pm as there is live music at the lobby and you can hear it loudly in the room. The thing we loved the best is the lunch buffet on the beach. It was such a beautiful view! I also loved that they let the cats roam around, they really were not a problem and it was nice to give them a little something to eat.

Beach:
The beach is beautiful, water nice and clear. Bring your snorkelling equipment; the fish are beautiful to see. The resort was overbooked unfortunately which led to not enough chairs. Though I have to say that too many couples were taking 4 chairs!! People, you AREN'T the only ones that want chairs! So selfish! They would put 2 under an umbrella and 2 in the sun and would go back and forth. Seriously??? Not right.

Pool:
Wayyyyyyyyy to small. We usually enjoy our mornings at the beach and after lunch at the pool. Unfortunately we hardly did that because the pool is too small and lots of people in it. Also, forget getting a chair after lunch, we had to sit on the side of the pool and enjoy our afternoon drink our feet dangling. They make great mojitos and they also have clamato juice for Bloody Ceasars, no celery salt on the rim though but no big deal.

Food was good at the buffet, the restaurants were very good.

Lots of mosquitoes! Bring your bug repellent and after bite!

What we disliked the most is having the bar at the lobby close at 11 pm. Way too early for people who like to socialize with a drink. We are not disco people so that was not a good option for us. They should consider keeping it opened until 1 am. The music at the lobby after supper was good, people had space to dance. It was nice to listen to and to watch for those who do not dance.

All in all a good trip but next time I'll make sure I get a damn good price for it. [Details]
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The strong points
The beach was the best thing about this resort.
The weak points
The pool way too small and also, because we were there 2 weeks, we saw the same 'shows' the 2nd week.

March break family trip

, Niagara On The Lake, ON
2017-03-21
Clean, beautiful, relaxing. But not a lot for bigger kids to do. Kids watermark is for little kids [Details]
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The strong points
Staff is amazing. Beaches are beautiful. Clean
The weak points
Not a lot for teens to do. Night life is non existent after 10 pm
Certified

Great Vacation

, Forest, ON
2017-01-19
This resort was perfect. The travel to the resort was breathtaking and the resort was well maintained. Food was always good with lots of variety. Pools and beach always had chairs available. [Details]
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Certified

El portillo

, Mississauga, ON
2016-12-23
third time back. great place. [Details]
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Certified
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