TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

On July 27, 2026, at 11:30 PM, we booked a travel package for Bahia Principe Luxury Esmeralda via Expedia.ca. We acted under the impression that the "all-inclusive" designation included airfare; however, upon receiving the confirmation and noting the absence of passport verification, we identified the error immediately. Despite our efforts to rectify this, we have faced the following timeline of events: - Immediate Action: We initiated formal cancellation requests to both Expedia and the hotel within 45 minutes of the original booking. - Initial Refusal: On July 29, 2026, Expedia informed us that the hotel had refused to authorize a refund. - Lack of Accountability: For the following week, we attempted to escalate the matter with Expedia.ca, who deferred all responsibility to the resort. When we attempted to contact the resort directly, we were unable to reach anyone authorized to address the issue and were repeatedly redirected back to Expedia. While we acknowledge the existence of "non-refundable" policies, enforcing them under these specific circumstances is predatory. Refusing a cancellation made 88 days in advance—and within less than one hour of the transaction—is not a standard business practice. This rigidity results in a significant extraction of funds for a service that remains three months away, during which the hotel has suffered zero loss of inventory or opportunity cost. As of August 20, 2026, this situation has left us in a severe financial deficit of $2,109.31, having paid for a trip we cannot complete. This experience reflects poorly on the resort’s administration and its willingness to prioritize short-term profit over basic consumer fairness. It also highlights Expedia’s inadequate customer service and a troubling disregard for the spirit and intent of consumer protection principles.

It's located about 30 minutes from the airport. It's very welcoming, clean and everyone was super friendly. Wouldn't revisit though and it's because our stay was just okay, nothing that special. We didn't get our room until 3:30pm which was a bit annoying since the whole family had been up since 4am getting there. When we finally got the room we had 3 different people at 3 separate times knock on our door to welcome us. Very annoying when we were trying to take a nap before dinner. The restaurants were all just ok as well. The service was alright but each place was definitely lacking a manager or someone keeping everyone accountable. I'm a logistics manager so I can't help but see these things. With all of the restaurants pretty much empty each night we had to still wait in the front to be seated when we arrived, which was always just a few minutes before our reservation nothing crazy. still waited 6-7 minutes each reservation. The staff was nice but worked slow and always chatting amongst themselves. Didn't like being proposed a sales pitch either. We had someone walk up to us on the way to the beach on our third day telling us to put the kids into the kids club for 30-40 minutes so my wife and I can listen to a presentation. Terrible approach in my opinion. This place is just okay, nothing special. Next vacation we will definitely be going somewhere else and no, unfortunately I wouldn't bring up Bahia Principe to anyone I know looking for a destination to visit.

We recently stayed at Bahia Principe Luxury Esmeralda as a family of five (two adults and three teens) and had a wonderful experience from start to finish. Before arrival, I used the room selection feature and paid the USD $100 fee (per room) to reserve two rooms side by side. This was important to our family and worked exactly as requested, which we greatly appreciated. The rooms were spacious, clean, comfortable, and kept at the perfect temperature throughout our stay. The beds and pillows were excellent, and housekeeping did a great job. The food exceeded our expectations. We especially enjoyed the wide variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, and seafood available every day. There was always something for everyone. Although the weather was very hot, it was easy to stay comfortable thanks to the shaded palapas on the beach. There were some beach vendors, but they were always polite and never pushy. We also encountered some sargassum, which we expected at this time of year. The staff worked hard to keep the beach as clean as possible, and it remained beautiful throughout our stay. The main pool was our favourite. It had a fun, lively atmosphere, and we never had trouble finding chairs, regardless of the time of day. What stood out most was the warmth and friendliness of the staff. Everyone worked incredibly hard and made us feel welcome. We always felt safe, including allowing our teens some independence around the resort. We also enjoyed being able to visit the other Bahia Principe properties within the complex. Our teens especially liked the evening entertainment at Bahia Principe Punta Cana, which had a bit more energy and activity. Overall, we had an excellent vacation and would not hesitate to return. This was our first stay at a Bahia Principe property, and based on this experience, we're confident that our next all-inclusive vacation will be at another Bahia Principe resort.

Our 2nd visit to this resort in 2 years. And after worrying about the hyyat takeover we needn’t have. We had a blast once again these resorts have everything plus more you will need for a carabien holiday. The only thing i wasnt happy about was our bedding had a fusty smell almost a smell of urine but was sorted pretty much straight away from guest services. Rooms were cleaned every day and fridge replenished too. We booked restaurants reservations every night and our favourites in order were yurta flame takara italian dominian and surprisingly the brazilian as the service was non existent we waited 40 mins even before we were offered water. Guest were walking out we chose to wait it out hoping the food was as good as last year. But it wasn’t. All meat was dry. And they seem to give you a massive slab of cottage pie that fills you up before your meat. Im guessing this was just a one off bad night as it was busy. We did end up at the buffet one night and food was a variation and plentiful even had lobster on. Now the reason we mostly return to this resorts is the bar staff and entertainment cast. Some of which are still at the resort from last year. Big mentions to Alex and Joannha poolside servers who remembers us from last year went above and beyond again these guys deserves a pay rise they are a credit to bahia. Also massive shout outs to Alberto Alexander Big Albi behind the bar who i lerned a lot of new dominican slang off was always happy to see us. And the entertainment cast were absolutely outstanding. We played almost every game we were able to. Also massive shout outs to Ezekiel Mikel and i forget the other young kids Name also Carlos . These guy hunted us down every game as they knew we would be playing. Even thanked us for making there work easier. We will return to this resorts if it doesn’t change like the one as in Mexico. The only real thing that we were disappointed about was that the afternoon live rock show wasn’t on and the option of coors light larger wasn’t available. Which is no biggy really. Top tips will always be tip the workers it goes a long way and try And use Spanish when you can. Also blocks 90 91 92 are the closest to the beach and central to mostly everything

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g147293-d1595124-Reviews-Bahia_Principe_Explore_Esmeralda-Punta_Cana_La_Altagracia_Province_Dominican_Republic.html If you want a fabulous trip all inclusive resort this is the place to be good food excellent hospitality great entertainment friendly people my family love this place it’s truly unbeatable