Bahia Principe Grand Turquesa — Hotel in Higüey

Duration of stay: 8 days I'm going to start with a brief note to Americans traveling to Dominican Republic and/or Grand Bahia Principe. I cannot stress enough just how safe the resort is. After all the negative media surrounding the resort, my group considered changing the reservation. As the trip got closer, we were all still very nervous. However, upon arriving to the resort and seeing how clean everything is and the incredibly friendly staff (who pour every drink right in front of you), that fear quickly dissipated. Several times throughout our 8-day stay, we witnessed officials inspecting the bar areas. Seeing this just added to our comfort level. If you are considering changing your reservation because if the negative media coverage, I would say that the hysteria is unwarranted. You would feel safe from the minute you entered the resort. Now to the review. Pros: The workers: The complex staff are some of the hardest working, warmest, and friendliest people I have been around. They go above and beyond for the customers and do it with a smile. Most staff speak at least three languages (Spanish, English, and French). Shout out to Perla from housekeeping, John from the swim up bar at Turquesa, Ideas from swim up bar at Aquamarine, Jose from Coming 2 excursions, Maria and Isabel from Turquesa lobby bar. Pools: the "beach pool" was very enjoyable. It can get crowded in the afternoon, but very nice and close to the beach. The Turquesa pool gets extremely crowded with kids and families. If you are looking for some quiet pool time, try Aquamarine, if possible. I believe you have to have a certain bracelet to be able to enter that one, so I would just recommend staying at that hotel if you will be with only adults. Each pool has daily activities and games that are sometimes painfully cheesy, but tons of fun. Food: It is often difficult to mass produce food that is still delicious. Somehow, though, they really accomplish that goal with the buffets. Some nights are better than others, like Dominican night. But, overall, this is the most flavorful mass produced food I think I have ever had. They hit the mark in terms of seasoning. If you are expecting the greatest food of all time, think again. But will you enjoy at least something every night? Absolutely. I recommend making reservations at Los Corales (Dominican, family-style) and Maiko (hibachi, set menu). Those were great experiences and delicious food. Complex Nightlife: The complex has an interesting selection of nightlife, but with the right crowd, it can be so much fun. It is almost like a very small town. The karaoke bar is a good time. Small selection of songs, but great service and great fun. The casino is also a good time, but very small. The night club is also an interesting experience. There is a variety of music that plays (mostly hip-hop and Latin music). It has an awful smell, but it is still a lot of fun. Spa: The spa is phenomenal. I did the Bahia Experience massage and the hydrotherapy (they were running a special at the time in which the massage was $110 and I got the hydrotherapy for free). Both were exceptional. Cons: Rooms: Yes, the rooms are a bit outdated at Turquesa. However, they are very clean, air conditioners work well, and beds are comfortable. Beach: The beach is very pretty, but, through no fault of Bahia Principe, there is quite a bit of seaweed. Ever day, though, there is staff actually raking the seaweed out of the ocean and putting them in piles so that people can enjoy that water. "Snacks": There are only two places to get snacks between proper meals (this is especially important if you miss breakfast or lunch). Recommendations If you can, go to Bávaro buffet. This buffet was our favorite. The Aquamarine pool is beautiful. It is adults only. Come to the island with enough singles for tips for bartenders, wait staff, and housekeeping. A dollar goes a long way for the staff, but it doesn't hurt for us to part with a buck. I recommend leaving a dollar or two for each round of drinks...

Grand Turquesa was the perfect couples resort, in my opinion.

we stayed for four nights, arriving thursday evening and departing monday morning. Grand Turquesa is private enough to enjoy your intimacy as a couple and still close enough to everything else to enjoy the entirety of the resort’s accommodations. honestly, we were a bit skeptical when we read some of the negative reviews of this resort but we found that none of those negative comments were applicable to our stay. the pool at grand turquesa was perfect for us, as the pools at Olas Beach House were ALWAYS crowded. the beach isn’t that far from Grand Turquesa, i don’t know why these gringos are complaining, you can literally walk there in 20 minutes if you want, but the trolleys come and go so frequently i really dont see why you would NEED to walk. the only "issue" we had with the beach (if you could even call it that) was that every lounge chair was occupied. but with a little patience, we were able to find a couple of lounge chairs on the beach after no more than 10 minutes. honestly, just be patient— the world does not revolve around you.

Our villa was situated in a really nice spot— we had the jacuzzi right outside our window and the Spa was just across the road, no more than 5 minute walk from our room door. the front desk and buffet were also about 5 minutes walking from our room.

Highly recommend booking a massage at the Spa with Maria & Marcia. my partner and i both left the Spa feeling immaculate and relaxed. the ladies know what they're doing and they do it really well. after the massages we were treated to champagne.

additionally, we also booked a haircut for me and a pedicure for my partner— Marcia handled the pedicure and did an amazing job and my partner had only good things to say about her service. My haircut was done by a woman named Caren. i had never had my haircut done by a woman before, all of my barbers have been men prior to this trip. Caren has an extremely nurturing aura about her, and she listened and took care of my haircut exactly how i wanted it. i provided an example of my previous haircut and she was able to replicate it exactly. Caren has very soft and gentle hands and I was really trying hard not to fall asleep in her chair. she followed up the haircut with a wash and massage— it was the best.

i think the dinner buffet changes theme cuisines every night so that's a good addition of variety. we tried some of the restaurants along the beach and while they were good, we found ourselves still hungry after so we hit the buffet every night. the breakfast buffet is also accommodating and provides what you need to start the day (proteins and carbs)— overall you cant miss with the buffet options. we never made it to Lunch so i cant comment on that but if its anything like the dinner or breakfast spreads, you'll be taken care of.

there is also a gym not too far from Grand Turquesa, and while the equipment is… not first class, it still has everything you need to work out your arms legs back chest and core. true athletes and people who take their fitness seriously can make do with what is available in the gym. unsurprisingly it was not crowded at all. i spent an ample amount of hours in the gym during my stay and in my observations most people just come in to do cardio. the pull up bar was available every time, which made me happy.

overall i can definitely see myself recommending this resort to my friends and family. these negative reviews with complaints over tiny things make me think these people writing them are yuppies. of course there’s going to be mosquitos around— it’s a tropical island, pack your bags accordingly.

my ONE “complaint”, as a generally very introverted and private couple, is that the employees who work near the front desk who keep trying to coerce us into joining the VIP/Premiere club got quite annoying after the second time we saw them. i know they’re just doing their job, but it got to a point where we actively avoided walking that way to just enjoy ourselves in peace.

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updated review This place now gets a D Minus rating from us due to them royally messing up our airport transfer. We were told to meet in the lobby at 9am and towards 9:30am when no one showed up and staff couldn't verify that anyone was coming my husband had to literally bribe another transfer company to let us board so we wouldn't miss our flight. Completely unacceptable. Seriously do yourself a favor and DO NOT STAY HERE! our vacation turned out to be full of stress and headaches.

This was my husbands and I first time visiting the DR, and we chose this resort based on previous reviews saying how wonderful it was. While we still managed to have a good time, I wouldn't stay here again and would advise others to do lots of research before booking. First, as many have mentioned, this is a huge complex with multiple resorts on the property. The differences is price and amenities. This resort (turquesa) is the cheapest option and boy is it evident. Our room was busted, smelled like mold and looked like it was probably last renovated in the 90s. As others have mentioned the mosquitos are horrible here, and they were especially prevalent in our rooms. My husband and i got eaten alive at night. House keeping did tidy up daily which was nice.

If you stay here, you are only allowed to eat at the buffet assigned to your resort. I've stayed at other all inclusive resorts (hilton, sandals) and enjoyed the food options. The food here was mediocre. Nothing outstanding, comparable to school cafeteria food. You are only able to go to certain a la cart restaurants and you need reservations. We tried 2 and thought they were also not very good.

The main reason I like to go on vacation is to swim. What we didn't know prior to arriving is that all pools on the property close at 6pm. No night swimming. That in my opinion is ridiculous. Because of that, there is nothing to do on the resort after dinner time. They have a few shows but in my opinion they were tacky and not enjoyable. The beach is nice but it is beyond crowded, hard to find a spot to sit. There are merchants pestering you every chance they can to buy their stuff it was beyond annoying. There is a tram that takes you back n forth so you don't have to walk. That is the nicest perk of staying here.

I want to be abundantly clear, if you do not speak Spanish or come with someone who does you will extremely lost. No staff spoke English. My husband does and I understand for the most part. I dont say this as a stereotypical westerner that expects everyone to speak english. I'm just stating fact. I get the impression this resort caters to people from south america as almost all the fellow tourist we met also only spoke spanish. Staff members who thought we didn't speak Spanish attempted to shit talk my husband and I on multiple occasions. Staff was rude and unhelpful. They would just stare at us half the time no exaggeration. There was only one employee who was polite to us, but he was selling excursions so it was probably part of his job.

The only highlight of this trip was getting off the resort and going to the capital santo domingo for a day. Although we booked this excursion through the hotel we never received directions and the day of the trip we almost missed our bus because Staff couldn't be bothered to help us (one Staff member even said do you believe they paid for this in Spanish not knowing we understood).

Overall I give this place a C minus. If you are desperate for a get away and don't have alot of money, and keep your expectations low, you might enjoy yourself. Otherwise there are soo many other resorts to choose from. Although I get the vibe punta cana is overrated. Going on the day trip to santo domingo we got to see other parts of the country and I think la romana seems nicer in my opinion. I think the DR is a beautiful country but this resort is...