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Overview
Renovated in 2020, this family-friendly all-inclusive resort is nestled amid lush gardens on a beautiful white-sand beach with calm crystal blue waters. A natural reef in front of the hotel makes the water calm and perfect for children.
Bahia Principe Grand El Portillo is located 34 kilometers from the Samaná International Airport and 138 Kilometeres from the Santo Domingo International Airport. Transfer times will vary accordingly
Check in
3 p.m.
Check out
12 p.m.
Rooms
606
Inclusions
- Daily activities
- Round-trip airport transfers
- Unlimited wine and cocktails
- Access to the Pueblo Principe entertainment and commercial centre, wtih live music, nighly shows, shops and discos
- 3 à la carte dinners per week (reservations required, dress code in effect)
- Intro scuba lessons in the pool
- All taxes
Rooms
- 1 king bed, or 2 double beds
- No more than 3 guests in the room
- 1 king bed, or 2 double beds
- Minimum 1 adult, maximum 2 adults
- Maximum 1 child
- No more than 3 guests in the room
- Ceiling fan
- Jetted tub
- Smoking rooms available (upon request)
- Balcony or Patio
- A/C
- Coffee maker
- Hair dryer
- Mini-bar stocked daily
- Safe
- TV
- Balcony or patio
- 1 king bed, or 2 double beds
- No more than 4 guests in the room
- 1 king bed, or 2 double beds
- Minimum 1 adult, maximum 3 adults
- Maximum 2 children
- No more than 4 guests in the room
- Ceiling fan
- Jetted tub
- Seating area
- Balcony or Patio
- A/C
- Coffee maker
- Hair dryer
- Mini-bar stocked daily
- Safe
- TV
- Balcony or patio
Amenities
- Child care services available ($)
- Waterpark
Mini-club
- Children ages: 2 to 12
| Type | Amenities | |
|---|---|---|
| Sports Bar | Bar, Sports bar | |
| El Mojao Pool Bar | Bar, Pool bar | |
| Disco Bar Bachata- located at the Pueblo Principe | Nightclub | |
| Theatre Bar Tropicana | Bar | |
| Relax Bar | Bar | |
| Water Park Bar | Bar | |
| Beach Bar Cocoloba | Bar, Beach bar |
Check-out time: 12 p.m.
Wi-Fi
- Lobby
- Room
- Throughout the property
- 24 hr unlimited Wi-Fi
| Type of restaurant | Type of cuisine | Open for | Additional Information | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Limon | Buffet | International | Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch | |
| La Terrienne | À la carte | Gourmet | Dinner | Dress code, Reservations required |
| Boavista | À la carte | Brazilian | Dinner | Dress code, Reservations required |
| Portofino | À la carte | Italian | Dinner | Dress code, Reservations required |
| The Fish Market | À la carte | Seafood | Dinner | Dress code, Reservations required |
| The Greek | À la carte | Mediterranean | Dinner | Dress code, Reservations required |
| Boavista Beach | Snack bar | International | Snacks |
- Rooms: 606
- Fitness centre: on site
- Salon: on site ($)
- Sauna steam room: on site ($)
- Spa: on site ($)
- Spa treatments: on site ($)
- Water aerobics
- Beach access
-
All-inclusive: Included
- 3 à la carte per 7 night stay
- All meals plus snacks
- Dinner can be à la carte (reservations required, dress code in effect)
- Unlimited domestic drinks
Pools
- Freshwater pools: 2
- Jetted pools: 1
Water sports
- Non-motorized watersports: on site
- Scuba diving: on site ($)
- Snorkeling: on site
- Watersports centre: on site
Other sports
- Tennis courts: on site
Other activities
- Daily activities: on site
- Currency exchange
- Giftshop
- Laundry services available ($)
- Shopping onsite
Tennis courts
Orquidea
Resort aerial view
Kids waterpark
Spa
Lobby
Portofino
Pool
Pool aerial view
Kids club
Exterior
Lobby bar
Beach and hotel view
Principal Las Dalias
El Pescador
Location
Reviews
Great food, friendly staff, but bad drinks service
peter_from_toronto (Toronto, Canada) on Feb 03, 2023
We went to Bahia Principe Grand El Portillo for a week as a family including two sets of grand parents and our four year old. It was a fantastic resort and the beach absolutely blew us away. The sand was soft and well maintained but the best part was the coral reefs just off the shore that were teeming with fish! You could literally walk a few meters into shoulder-deep water and see colorful tropical fish without paying for any snorkeling tours. Indeed, many other tourists came prepared with their own snorkeling gear - there was a ton of people enjoying the beauty of the reefs, adults and kids alike. The food was phenomenal at the buffets - loads of choice and the snack bar was way above what we expected to find at a typical snack bar - it was basically a mini buffet with full on meals which was amazing for a little kid who gets hungry at random times of the day. The a-la-carte restaurants were alright, nothing too interesting or special but still worth a visit. The staff were incredibly friendly and even though few spoke English outside of the front desk staff they really did try hard to tend to your needs. In particular, the ladies who ran kids activities were so nice and so sweet, my son really enjoyed playing in the sand the sand and at the "Bahia Scouts" kids center. The only exception to this is the drinks service - the staff will happily come take your order as you sit and enjoy the patios but literally out of 10+ times they took an order from me for something as simple as a glass of wine they never actually came back with the drink. I'm not talking about it coming slowly, I'm saying after 45+ minutes they still didn't even check up again and even try to make up for forgetting. Moreover, in the evening time there's basically only the one bar operating as the beach and pool bars close so with the amount of people there and the tiny bar, you guessed it - you're waiting more than 20 minutes sometimes just to fill up a small cup of beer. This is not limited to alcohol - at the breakfast buffet, getting a cup of coffee was a challenge. This was honestly one of the most annoying things about our stay and while it is not a deal breaker it would definitely make me think twice about visiting again. I generally don't want to stand in lines for significant portions of my vacation. The rooms were pretty "meh" - adequate but nothing special. We had a shower faucet that sprayed sideways when we got our room that they quickly fixed after we complained. Unlike some other resorts I've been to, there's not much to see if you try to walk somewhere from the resort. The closest town, Las Terrenas, was almost an entire hour's walk down the beach with not much to see there. A few other things that are worth mentioning as well: * There are a few mosquitos but not many; only a few bites out of a whole week there * There are two ATMs at the resort but both of them stole my money - they withdrew the funds but never gave me any cash. One refunded it quickly, but for the second time I had to launch a full investigation via my bank that is going to take 10-15 business days to recover the funds (hopefully). DO NOT USE THE ATMs; and even the ones outside the resort I wouldn't trust. You're much better off bringing in American dollars that you exchange in Canada. * There are some incredibly friendly stray dogs that occasionally wander into the resort area; we along with many others that we saw found them very endearing. They are super sweet and do not cause any trouble at all, but if you're afraid of dogs you might want to make note of that. Many people including us petted them and really enjoyed their company. They will quickly leave you alone if you tell them to "shoo" and wave away. There are also cats around the resort, they are also super sweet although they don't really like to be petted - me and my wife both got scratched when we tried to. * Wifi in the lobby and common areas was fairly good but in the villas it was very, very spotty to the point of not working at all for long stretches of time
Fantastic beach, great food - don’t use the dive shop!
Dana M on Feb 03, 2023
We have mixed reviews for the resort. This was a family trip, parents and our adult children and their spouses, we asked at booking to be in the same block/villa. We called, we sent other emails, called again, tried the useless app…. When we registered at the hotel the rooms were 2 in 23 and one in 2. I spoke to the manager, we’re fully booked blah blah blah. Management put the request into ‘the book’ and said one couple could move in 2 days the other in 3… not ideal. Two days in our son’s room has a foul smelling leaky roof and he went to the front desk and told them about the leak and the promised room. No, put a garbage pail under the leak was what they were told. Overnight the leak turned into a waterfall at 2:30 am and they video taped it. I went to the front desk, reminded management of the room change promise. Management agreed particularly when the video was played for everyone waiting at the desk. Overall, the resort is good, the food is great and the staff…some are fantastic others are not as much. Our room was a bit dated but it was clean and it was cleaned daily. The mattress was a bit hard and indented and the toilet didn’t flush well but everything worked and we slept. Oh, and the patio door safety lock didn’t work but the door handle locked. Now, the dive shop…don’t use it. We are experienced divers and this is not good diving and there were two emergencies that should not have happened. One tank was not changed resulting in the second dive one of the divers went down without air and the second the rubber on the mouth piece disintegrated and ripped apart. Yes, it is the diver’s responsibility to ensure they have air but the conditions at surface were so bad that was missed. The shop used a small boat not set up for divers so gear between seats on the floor, boat was overloaded with 10 people plus gear and the seas were BAD. 5 of 6 of us were seasick…we should not have been on the water in that boat in those conditions. There’s a shop in Las Terrenas with a dive boat…go there. Then there was the Air Canada rep…I don’t remember the name of the gentleman on check in whom I spoke to next day to arrange not to take the overcrowded bus back to the airport but he did nothing. I checked day before or scheduled return and Roberto he knew nothing…ok, he also was not interested in doing anything other than going home in 40 minutes…grrr…Mary Carmen at SolTours was able to arrange things for me though…she rocked. Ok, so this sounds negative but honestly it was a good trip. I feel staff and the resort are just rusty and maybe not quite spooled up to full capacity. The beach itself is AMAZING, the drinks are good, snorkeling on shore awesome and food great.
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