Grand Bahia Principe Aquamarine — Hotel in Higüey

Although not a 5 star, I don't have anything overly negative to say about the resort. We had a great time and would likely return. I will try to be as honest as possible from our experience although reviews are completely subjective.

Pros: Beach- the beach was one of the best I've been to. No rocks, minor seaweed only on one day and the staff were cleaning and grading the sand every single day. Water is turquoise blue and sand is soft and white. There is a beach bar and wait staff.

Lobby Bar Staff- The staff at the lobby bar was amazing!! Very friendly and attentive. Some of the best service on the resort. The 3 gentlemen (wish I remembered their names) were AMAZING!

Pool- We only spent one day at the pool so can't really comment but had no complaints. Service was great at the pool bar

Food- A la cartes were all very good. Can't say I had a complaint about the food. We ate at Limbo, Greek, M.E.A.T, Tequila, Las Olas, Capriccio, Mikado (Teppanyaki) Our favorites were M.E.A.T, Limbo and Capriccio. Friends of ours ate at the other Italian restaurant and said it was great as well.

Entertainment- There seemed to always be something going on in terms of music and performances throughout the resorts. The fire show and circus show were our favorites so I would recommend going to see those.

Cons: Mosquitoes + No-see-ums were HORRIBLE. First night the bug spray did not work, and I got eaten alive. Second night I tried a different deet product which seemed to keep them at bay. The lobby was horrible at night for bites. There were some mosquitoes in the room when we arrived, but I think this all depends on the rain and weather. Not the resorts' fault.

Beach buffet was open from 1230 which is where we ate most days. They had a decent selection, but it is repetitive. We had no complaints. The lasagna, pizza and fruit were all very good. Only negative was the amount of people walking around with no shoes or shirts. Should enforce clothing and shoes for the buffet.

Pool grill was disgusting (burgers, nachos and hot dogs)

Vendors on the beach were quite annoying, consistently coming around asking about excursions and trying to sell product.

Lastly, Wi-Fi- (this didn't bother us at all but could be an issue for others) Wi-Fi at the beach was nonexistent and throughout the other resorts it was intermittent. We had no issues at Aquamarine.

Things that could have made it better/ 5 Star:

Rooms: Rooms sufficed. Overall, the accommodations left much to be desired. The rooms felt outdated, with old and poorly maintained showers and sinks. It’s clear the rooms are in need of significant updates to align with the quality of the rest of the property and to make it a true 5 star. They were painting the hallways and doing minor renovations while we were there so hopefully will be show improvements in the near future.

Cleaning staff: The cleaning staff was very inconsistent with the room cleaning. Took them 2 or 3 days to replace our Kleenex box and other minor things but nothing worth complaining about. Always had a refill of water bottles x8, along with pop and 2 beers. I feel like 1 or 2 days the room wasn't swept properly etc. (All minor things which wouldn't prevent me from returning. Just drops the rating from a 5 star)

We found the entertainment and activities underwhelming compared to other resorts we've been to. Most nights the entertainment was live music or karaoke.

The sports bar was packed and lively on football nights. We went to watch a Leaf game one night, but they said they couldn't play it. My understanding is they can't play any of the hockey games, (Only baseball or football) which was a bit of a letdown for us (and many others). The resort was full of Canadians so was shocked they couldn't/wouldn't play any hockey games.

There were not enough electric outlets to charge our devices , bring a power bar or block to allow for more items to be charged. We unplugged the coffee machine to charge our phones. You may want to bring a plug converter as some plugs were European while others were in...

This review is based on the Resort “Grand Bahia Principe Aquamarine” with All Inclusive. This was booked from December 19, 2024 to January 02, 2025 with Junior Suite (Room 851xx).

This rating is negative because the services offered by the resort do not correspond to a 5-star resort compared to 5-star resorts already visited, but should have a maximum of 4 stars. As a result, expectations of the hotel were not met.

The following are the positive and negative points during the stay:

Positive: Very spacious and well-kept grounds 4-5 very nice and courteous hotel employees Pool was large and reasonably clean Large selection of themed restaurants

Negatives: entire organization of the hotel is chaotic (no welcome drink and food on arrival at night, checkout time-consuming because reception was overwhelmed by arriving guests, guest service and payment had to be made at different receptions for no reason, New Year's Eve dinner did not correspond to the program, etc.). Staff at reception and management level hardly understand or speak English, although the majority of guests come from the USA and Canada. This makes it almost impossible to clarify criticism and organizational issues. Main restaurant - buffet: drinks (coffee) were only served after repeated requests, tables were never fully set (cutlery, napkins, glasses) and were very often dirty, dishes were incorrectly and insufficiently declared (vegetarian or non-vegetarian) and staff were unable to provide any information, some dishes were not available at all or were served twice or three times - overall everything was chaotic and some of the staff were unfriendly. There is no possibility in the resort to order a coffee / latte machiatto / iced coffee / etc. outside of breakfast. You are referred to vending machines, which are constantly malfunctioning, resulting in long waiting times. In addition, vending machine coffee does not meet the requirements of a 5-star resort. The separate coffee house with fresh coffee selection was only accessible to guests of the neighboring hotel Amber. Constant and intrusive attempts to sell additional offers (Privilege Clug, tours, additional wine and food options) - although it is an all-inclusive hotel. Beach: Beach section far too small for the number of guests, as a result the beach was overcrowded and there were no free sun loungers or space to stay on the beach (compared to the directly neighboring resorts, e.g. Hard Rock Hotel Resort). The exclusive Privilege Club areas were also overcrowded. Prohibited reservation of sun loungers (beach and pool regulations) were not enforced. Pools: some very drunk guests who emptied drinks into the pool and disturbed other guests with their behavior were not made aware of the rules. Theme restaurants: rules regarding clothing (no flip-flops or bathing shoes, long trousers) were not enforced - this disturbed the atmosphere in the restaurants during dinner. New Year's Eve dinner: despite repeated indications that the vegan menu on offer was desired (when making the reservation, on arrival at the restaurant), the starter with meat and fish was served first. Only after repeated requests was the vegan menu served. One course of the 5-course menu was not served at all. Some of the other courses did not match the description on the menu. The organization was chaotic despite fewer guests (drinks were not served, cutlery was missing, very long waiting times). Rooms: Worn furniture: drawers falling apart, bathroom fittings falling off the wall, shower head could no longer be locked in place. Minibar was not completely refilled daily (beer was often missing, which should have been refilled - for a fee).

Individually, the negative points are not too significant, but taken together they do not meet the expectations of a...

I am considering looking for another place to finish my stay in the Dominican Republic. Unfortunately I'm booked here until the 30th and then I've got another reservation here from the 30th until the 12th of December. I don't know if I can do 20 days here at this hotel. To start I was never offered a welcome drink and watched 2 other people next to me get drinks. I chose this hotel based on reading that there was slippers and bathrobes, NO there are NOT. You can not even get food from room service. There's not even lotion or vanity kit provided. If you go to the beach you better stop and eat at the buffet because there's not even a croissant or anything available to eat or drink near the aquamarine beach area before afternoon hours. I'm not usually hungry early morning but you have 3/4 miles hike to go to lobby for a coffee. I don't drink alcohol or sodas and that's all the bars offer. At other hotels they have amenities near the beach for snacks, coffee, crepes, even fruit stands that provide fresh juice smoothies but this hotel lacks basic needs. I didn't even get coffee packet in my room to use the coffee maker. That was filthy disgusting inside and black crusty in the reservoir. The QR code for room service only allows me to ask for ice or pick up dishes. I can't even order room service if I wanted food. I absolutely do NOT like this hotel and would rather cut my visit short and go home to snow and cold weather because at least I can get food whenever I want and have excellent coffee at home. I like to snack on small meals during the day and it's impossible here unless you walk a mile over to the other hotel snack food area and it is extremely overcrowded when they have food in the afternoon. You can't even order food from the app. The adult beach aquamarine allows screaming children wearing wrong color wristbands (teal blue) but yet with a yellow band I am not even allowed in the coffee shop which was listed as part of this property when I booked. I don't drink alcohol or sodas and drinks are hard to find that are not pure sweet syrup. I was happy we were allowed in the sportsbar until I found out it doesn't even open until 6 pm on weekends when American football is on. Then they turned it into disco party at 7 pm. Football games play from noon till midnight Saturday and Sunday and games on Monday evening and Thursday night. Now I've got another 3 weeks that I'll be missing football games. The showers and sink water in room is so hot it will burn you and then suddenly turn freezing them blast you with scalding water again. I've walked past trash off the path for 3 days and it's still there so obviously there is no cleaning crew maintaining the grounds. I'm beginning to think the reviews about this place were fake and made up by staff. Did I mention the mosquitoes, oh they are awful even during daytime. It's completely unbearable after dark without bug repellent. Other resorts spray to keep bugs away. This place also has tons more cats than the average resort in Dominican Republic. Cats are around day and night here by the dozens. Public restrooms are totally lacking maintenance with toilet seats falling off, faucets broken, and door locks broken. On the positive side, I loved making a palm frond hat. The desserts in the aquamarine buffet are beautiful and the buffet is somewhat above average quality compared to many resorts. Have not tried the restaurants around the resort yet but I'm stuck here another 3 weeks so I'll be trying them all., update, I tried several restaurants and find them sub standard for...