Bahia Principe Grand Punta Cana — Hotel in Higüey

It's a shame because this hotel has the potential for a 5/5 it is just the execution and a few bad facilities/members of staff that bring it down... We did have an enjoyable time but we really had to play the system to get what we wanted/needed!!||Whilst there were some really lovely staff on the ground in the bars/restaurants etc... on the whole the important customer service interactions were poor and there appears to be no management hierarchy so noone take any responsibility for their actions (nor is there anyone superior to actually complain to), the situation only improved somewhat if you were tipping or spending money above the all inclusive.||Prior to our arrival I sent 7 emails to the hotel (a few of which were chasing a reply) and only 1 was replied to which happened to be arranging transfers (i.e. the company making money - you will see a pattern here). ||The lobby is a stressful/chaotic place with no air conditioning - and the reception experience was certainly not 5 star - having to queue in the boiling heat for half an hour and then getting messed about by the staff when you do speak to them is not a nice welcome...||Whilst we were some months before travel promised (via email) an upgraded room due to ongoing building works this apparently wasn't available (despite him initially offering us to pay to upgrade before I mentioned we should already have one), instead he said come back tomorrow to ask... (Another theme to the holiday - Manana/tomorrow)||We were tired after traveling so accepted defeat and were shown to our room - only to open the door and find other people's belongings in there!||Admittedly this worked in our favour as we very quickly got upgraded to the room we had previously been promised - and to be fair it was very nice (refurbished, near the beach and kept very clean) - so my advice is don't take no for an answer here as clearly they have availability to upgrade!||Our first and second nights were spent at the buffet - needless to say the other reviews are correct here - it stinks, is boiling hot, full of insects (dead and alive) and not only does it feel like feeding time at the zoo you have to queue ages outside to experience it... Needless to say we didn't return after the second attempt!||We thankfully had been told about breakfast being served down in the Rodizio which was very civilised and the staff were lovely as was lunch at the Tequila restaurant buffet or the pool cafe in Turquesa...||The truck was chaotic when busy but served a purpose if you fancied some fried food (if only they just gave people a ticket it would run so much smoother).||The ala carte restaurants were on the whole pretty decent - we ended up paying for a seafood grill and blagging a few extra reservations by offering to spend money on wine - so don't believe the reception when they say you can't possibly have extra reservations (Sandra I hope you are reading this) our favourite was the Indian but the Tapenyaki grill was good fun (it's just a shame it shares a similar smell to the buffet).||Oh and the restaurants were always half empty despite on the app showed as being fully booked so I have no idea what is going on there... Given the buffet is so busy they should fill these restaurants and open the truck at night and perhaps even offer a few more quick options - like the BBQ near the lobby etc...||Whilst the resort has the making of a nice place (and will be even nicer when fully refurbished) I'm marking them down because of the general chaotic nature of everything, the awful buffet and the poor customer service (mostly at the lobby) I would specifically like to name and shame Jose at the concierge as being the worst as he flat out refused to help me and was just plane rude... a family with two young children wanting to get a lift from the lobby to the entrance isn't really an outlandish request... especially when there were at least 5 cars with drivers sat doing nothing - according to Jose our only option was to wait until 9am (this was 7.10am) or walk for 15 minute in 35 degrees with a two year old and no pram! absolute joke!||Luckily a lovely driver took pity on us and took us anyway despite his colleagues saying he shouldn't be doing that.||Two other annoyances were that the staff missed out on a lot of tips due to the only 2 ATM machines in the entire resort being broken for the final 7 days of my trip and the shops (not sure if they are hotel run or not) being ridiculously overpriced even for essentials so make sure you bring everything you need!!||I was quoted 15 dollars for baby wipes and 35 dollars for nappies... Just to rub it in not only do they quote dollars only to give you a terrible exchange rate back to the native pesos but when you ask to pay by card the.calvulator comes out and they tell you they have to add 18% for VAT (in other words they are all con artists and tax Dodgers).||Finally and I don't know the cause so I don't hold the hotel liable - but 3 of 6 of us were physically sick and all of us had the 'runs' at some stage - plus the kids all came up with differing variations of rashes, spots and sores which I am suspect came from the strong chemicals pool...

If you are planning to come to Dominican Republic make sure you book on the Caribbean side not the Atlantic! If you decide to still do it be VERY VERY careful when you are making a booking to this hotel , so you do not come when its likely that the beach will be covered in seaweed! We are absolutely disappointed , this beach is the ugliest and smelliest we have ever been to! It is seaweed season right now , which we had no idea how bad it can be and how badly they manage i. We arrived on the 21 of May the beach was already covered in seaweed, today is the 30th of May, the situation is even worse , more seaweed and the smell is completely disgusting , not to mention that you can not even access the sea. I have been told by local vendors that usually the seaweed season is May , June, July and they clean it once a month, so that means if it is allways this bad 2 weeks each month beach looks like this . The Beach is completely useless , so if you are like us that you want to enjoy the beach and the sea this is a No Go for you! We flew nearly 9 hours from London and paid almost 6500 USD Please take time to have a look at the pictures. And while some will say you can not do anything about it , it’ s just nature , the seaweed is not the resorts the hotels fault that I have to agree with , but the complete lack of professionalism and workforce to clean it up its absolutely their fault, even if you would say its not their duty to clean the beach , how they expect their customers from all over the world flying here obviously because of the beach as well to be happy with this?! When I say that the work they are doing is completely inefficient that is an understatement ! During the day I have seen about 10 people shovelling the seaweed and 2-3 machines working. Almost every night I had a walk on the beach hoping that I will see progress and the next day will be clean and we can enjoy it , But No! Every night I have had a walk there was 1 maximum 2 excavators working on the beach no more than that but usually just 1, and its a very long beach front with multiple huge hotels on it like Bahia Principe , Riu Palace , Iberostar and many more. All could have been sorted in a couple of days with 10-15 machines and proper work force organised . Instead it’s been like you can see on the pictures for 9 days minimum but it’s nowhere near clean! For them it might be only 2 weeks to clean it up but for us it’s our entire holiday! Let’s be honest , when you fly nearly 9 hours and thats a straight flight , and spend around 6.5k dollars this is absolutely not what you expect. We expected a nice Caribbean beach as you will see in their pictures , instead we have smelly ugly beach that even if we wanted we couldn’t use. The hotel itself is not bad, more like 4* than 5. The food is ok , food safety not good, the buffets food is pretty similar every night but overall a 3.5 out of 5 Some chefs unfortunately do not know the hygiene standards , the other night while I was waiting for my food , the chef that was grilling the meet has wiped his face and neck and then with the same paper towel wiped down the counter .. Another thing which I notice them doing all the time, they are touching the raw meet and the cooked meat with the same utensil I have noticed that many times. That is called Cross Contamination . I have noticed many other food handling issues. The pastry side of the buffet is pretty good. The à la carte restaurants foods are no different than the buffet restaurants food, they are presented better obviously because they served on a plate and not self service but the taste and the type of food is the same. One thing which I have to applaud is the Staff , they have been very kind to us and welcoming. However overall flying from Europe here , spending that kind of money , ABSOLUTELY NOT WORTH IT. I am making a longer video which I will post on my Main Yotube page I will add the link on the this review or on Tripadvisor! The last picture is on the day we have arrived the rest of them are from...

Pros: |- Resort is beautiful and well-kept all around|- Pools are beautiful|- Food at buffets and à la carte meals were good|- Gym was dated but adequate enough|- Beach was nice|- Staff generally friendly (They tended to give special treatment to Latino guests though and it was super noticeable)|- Entertainment was pretty good|- Room renovations were very nice and well done|- Drinks were good||Cons:||Beach Towels: |My biggest complaint is this. Me and my buddies were without a towel for three days, by 10:00 am there were none left. I started to get up super early to just get one for the day. There should be an adequate number of towels available for all guests. What we experienced with this was absolutely unacceptable and all three of us agreed.||Lack of nightlife: |After entertainment was done at like 10:30 pm resort was pretty dead. Discoteca and Sports Bar were decent on some nights though.||Lack of English: |I speak English and French fluently and decent understanding (Intermediate level) of three other languages one of which is Spanish. For my buddy’s there was little English there and if I wasn’t with them, they were screwed. Majority of the staff spoke zero English and basic communication was a struggle for English speaking people. ||Inconsiderate Locals: |It is my understanding locals can go on the beaches. Had two Dominican clowns come ashore that were spear fishing. I actually had words with them when I expressed my displeasure with them spreading fish blood in the water near where I am swimming in the ocean. I said: “You know what comes around when they smell blood right?” I was not happy and had words with the front desk about this matter too.||“24 Hour Drinks”: |There is in fact drinks at the 24-hour snack bar, but it’s essentially self-serve beer and wine only. In this snack bar are there is a bar open during the day with a bartender. This should absolutely be open 24 hours for clients. If Cuban resorts can have at least one staffed bar 24 hours, I think you guys can make this happen too.||Additional Info:||Crowd: |By no means was it bad, but resort catered definitely to couples, families, older folk, and more of a Latino crowd. When you’d run into a Canadian or American the immediate reaction would be a laugh and everyone saying: “Holy **, someone here speaks English!” ||Currency Confusion: |I came to Dominican with $1,000 Dominican Pesos. I read from other travellers that brought higher bills there or got higher bills from an ATM easily changed them for smaller bills. When I asked the front desk if this was a possibility, the girl looked at me like I was nuts. She said to me in Spanish "Most people use United States Dollars." I can say you guys are doing your staff a huge disservice by not having stacks of smaller Dominican Peso bills. From a Canadian perspective we HATE dealing with USD as we lose close to $0.40 on a dollar with currency rate and exchange fees. The USD is only convenient for your American clients, no one else. Your hard-working staff likely get more tips if you have $50, $100 Peso bills or even $10, $25 Peso coins readily available for exchange.||Recommend for: Families, Couples, Single introverted people looking for a quiet time, older people, Spanish speaking clients.||Do not recommend for: Younger Singles/Groups of friends aged 18-45 that are looking for atmosphere and want to meet people, English speakers (I am warning there’s minimal English), people with mobility issues (Resort is massive), People that don’t like rougher waters (Caution water is very rough at times)| |Conclusion:|At this time in my life, I would likely not return here as I like a mix of relaxation and nightlife with some buzz in the air. At this resort there is too much relaxing lol. |Overall, the three of us had a great time though and thank you for a nice vacation. Online and travel sites claim this is a Five Star resort. I’ve done quite a bit of travelling and it’s realistically a higher end 4 Star. Again, this is my...