TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

“Can we sit here?” “Not unless you pay extra” “Can we get this?” “If you want to pay an absurd mark up” “Can we eat dinner at one of your à la carte restaurants that serves microwaved food and watered down wines?” “Absolutely” Staff was really nice. You’re not really getting access to a “resort,” but if you want to eat lots of buffet food and drink cheap liquor by a slightly scummy pool: go for it!

Aquamarine needs updating the Punta Cana section looks nice but it’s for people with children We’ve been to the resort of Bahia 11 times but we are ready for some place new

My husband and I stayed at Aquamarine for 7 days- 10th trip to DR. The grounds and pool areas are beautiful and nicely maintained. Wait staff by the pool was excellente. Drinks were ok. Premium alcohol and beer were extra cost. Restaurants were good. In order best to last: Limbo, Meat, hibachi, Nikkei Mashua, Brazilian, portofino (except for the tiramisu which was delicious) and Fish Market. All of the service was so good except for Portofino. We went early to see if we could be seated- “no problem”. Sat us right down as the restaurant was not busy and then proceeded to ghost us. We ended up being there for 2 hours and our waiter was borderline rude. Very disappointed. The entertainment crew was very good. Fun group. Shows were good. Fire show, circus show, tropical show, silent disco, but very crowded and hard to see. They also, had entertainment around the pool during the day. The room itself could use some love. Things were in a bit of disrepair and just seemed dated. Very loud at night. Housekeeping was very nice but had to ask for towels and washcloths twice. Biggest downfall for us is the size of the complex and the fact that you needed golf carts for most restaurants and to get to the beach. We had a really good time overall but probably won’t return to this resort.

Our first time visiting Dominican Republic and staying at Bahia Hotels. Absolutely amazing experience. Surprise engagement as well. We went February 2026 and planned the trip in November 2025. Everything was smooth from the departure in Calgary to arrival at the hotel with Yudelka checking us at the Front Desk. Eating the local food i.e. seafood was amazing, tasty, and safe. Bring your own tumbler for alcohol/beer. Our room was ready on check-in, comp upgraded and cleaned everyday (upon request on the Bahia app). Bathroom was big, clean and had all the toiletries and extra towel. Balcony was clean. All the electronics and HVAC worked great without any issues. All employees are attentive, helpful and keep the property including the pool clean. The noise level was manageable to none. Overall atmosphere was amazing and the location of the hotel relative to the beach and other Bahia properties is within walking distance as it in a enclosed area so no worry for safety at night. Walk everywhere within 10-15 mins rather than taking the tram. Pool is clean and only 4ft in depth. Bring your own floatie, and be aware that people reserve the pool chairs even though it is NOT ALLOWED. Towels are available at the pool. The only negative feedback would be the tipping as it was not appreciated thanks to tourists making it the norm to over tip. We tipped in local currency and appropriately as we literally self served rather than being served. It is unrealistic to be tipping $5USD for a beer in our own tumbler and walking to the bar and back. Front Desk and Housekeeping, absolutely got tipped $20USD plus any leftover DOP. I read so many reviews which gave an overall mixed perception. Most people who were negative felt very entitled and wanted to be lazy while receiving a high end North American experience. So my suggestion is to go with an open mind and realistic expectations. You're in the Caribbean not in New York or London! What helped me was watching the visitor videos on Youtube. Download the Bahia app or Hyatt app if you want to communicate your requests in advance. They respond in a timely manner and complete your requests both before and during your stay. Book your restaurants and shows in advance. Recommend - Yes - 100% Re-stay - Yes - 100%

Room: 2/5 The room was spacious and the air conditioning worked very well (almost too well, we had to turn it off at night as it got very cold in the room). The bed was also comfortable and spacious (king sized bed). We requested a room with two single beds when booking. Although the hotel could not accommodate that, they did bring in an additional single bed. The room is very outdated and we could see signs of black mold on the pillows on the couch. The bathroom is not nice, shower wasn't clean when we arrived. They do not clean the rooms each day, they only make the bed and bring replacement water bottles. There were also two cockroaches that we spotted during our 5 night stay. One of them was small and we killed it. The other was massive and we had to call hotel staff to come kill it. We were told the room would be fumigated, but it never was, and we were not offered an upgrade. Our room was in Villa 71 on the ground level. I'd recommend asking for a room that is not on ground level and there may be less of a chance of finding pests. Beach: 3/5 The beach is a roughly 10 minute walk from the Aquamarine resort. We did not mind this and walked most days. If you do not feel like walking, there are golf carts that come around frequently to take you to the beach and back. The beach itself is nice, the water was clean, although there was quite a bit of seaweed. Once you got past the seaweed it was nice. If you want a chair, you must show up early to claim one with a towel. We got lucky the first day we got there and were able to find a chair easily. However, we showed up the next morning at around 9am looking for chairs and claimed what seemed to be the last two. The following day, we showed up at 8am and did not find a single chair on the beach and had to go to the pool instead. If you want a spot in the shade, you must show up before 7am. If you're OK with an unshaded spot, you should aim to show up by at least 8am. This is frustrating as the resort just seemed to not have enough chairs to accommodate the number of people staying there. The service at the beach bars is also very slow. We stood in line for at least 20 minutes just to get simple drinks (i.e. beer, soft drinks, etc.) The beach vendors can get annoying too. Even if you're not drawing attention to yourself, they will still harass you to buy things. Pool: 5/5 The pool located in the Aquamarine section of the resort is great. We enjoyed it more than the beach. It's relaxing, you don't need to show up at the crack of dawn to get a chair, and there are more options for shade. The entertainment at the pool is great with music playing for most of the day. Staff often came around offering drinks/ice creams/fruit, etc. We also found the staff at the pool to be some of the most friendly at the resort. The pool seemed clean and they had water aerobics and other activities every day. Restaurants: 5/5 There is a wide variety of restaurants and it's simple to book on the kiosk located in the lobby near the buffet. We booked reservations at the Indian restaurant, one of the Italian restaurants, and the Greek restaurant. There are many more to choose from. The food at all three was delicious. I highly recommend checking out the Indian restaurant, which was our favourite. Buffet: 5/5 The buffet is great. There's a wide variety of options for each meal and they make fresh omelettes at breakfast and pasta at lunch/dinner. The desserts are underwhelming but a lot of the other food is great. We didn't get bored of the buffet food. Entertainment: 5/5 The entertainment is the best we've had at any all inclusive resort. We attended the silent disco, fire show, white party, and tropical party, while we were there. All of these events were great. We appreciated all of the dancing as opposed to just watching shows (which are also an option located at another part of the resort!) There always seemed to be something going on, which kept us entertained at night. Highly recommend checking out the fire show which was very impressive. Service: 4/5 The service is good. Hotel staff are accommodating especially the reception staff at the lobby located near the buffet. Most staff are very friendly and will say hello as they pass by you. They were also quite attentive with the room situation (although they didn't fumigate) they did come to kill the cockroach fairly quickly. Location: 3/5 This resort is located not too far from the airport, which is great. It took about 35 minutes by bus to get to/from the resort. Something we didn't realize about the resort itself is that all of the Bahia Principe's are located on the same grounds creating a super resort that was similar to a small town. The size was a little overwhelming, but we were close to what we needed (buffet, pool, beach, lobby) and rarely needed to use the golf cart. Overall, we enjoyed our stay at this resort and I would recommend it. I don't think it's necessarily a 5 star resort because of the room situation, it's probably a 4.