TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

If you’re used to going to good hotels this will probably disappoint you. The only pros here are the beach and the spacious rooms. On our second day we were approached by a woman named Maria in a golf cart, she said she could take us to where we were going. I speak Spanish and she kept talking about a promotion at the spa, she was being vague on purpose saying there was a promotion and that she wanted to give us a hat and a bag, I kept asking for her to clarify as to what the “promotion” was since we were on the way to the spa and she was making it sound like it was a spa promotion. Eventually I understood that she was trying to get us to sit through a timeshare style presentation, she kept telling us she could pick us up the next day at 10am and when I said we were not interested she told me that she really needed us to do her this favor. Like ma’am, we just needed a ride to the spa, we’re on our honeymoon and we just met you why do you think we owe you 3 hours of our vacation as a favor? After that we knew to ignore all the golf cart drivers with pink shirts on. The buffets we visited did not have air conditioning so the July heat was never missed during our stay. The platinum buffet is not good and the amount of food is limited compared to Hispaniola and the food just doesn’t have great taste, since the deluxe buffet was presented as a “deluxe” version we didn’t try Hispaniola until the last day because our room was on the other far end of the resort. I wish they explained what the best lunch and dinner options were at check in. The deluxe dinner option at SOBE was also the worst dinner we have so I’m not sure why they have it as a deluxe option. The service is not the best at most lunches and dinners they would take your order and never come back to check on you or ask if you needed another drink. The breakfast buffets weren’t great so we ordered room service most mornings, no complaints about the spread, but the staff that would deliver looked upset that we ordered room service. If looks could kill lol. The cleaning crew was interesting….. we would leave and come back at 4pm and our rooms weren’t clean yet, so when we already wanted to wind down that’s when the cleaner would come in to start cleaning. On one day they cleaned at around 4, we came back to a clean room showered and left to dinner only to come back at 8pm with our door wide open and a woman “doing our bed” even though we had not touched the bed after the last time the sheets were changed. It was definitely strange and shady to come back at night and have hotel staff in your room. Seeing so many reviews of people saying things were lost I believe it was divine intervention that we came back as this person was in our room. On the second day the person who replaces the sodas and water knocked on our door while we were asleep, we yelled no thank you and this person still opened the door and walked in as we slept we had to tell we’re sleeping multiple times for him to walk out. I find it strange and troubling that hotel staff has the ability to enter peoples rooms like this… I got a manicure at the spa and the paint immediately started bubbling while drying, I essentially wasted $30 for spoiled lacquer. After the manicure I was asked to sit on the couch outside the suite to let my nails dry, I was planning on letting the nails dry to be able to pull the tip out of my wallet but when I saw how bad it had come out I decided against it. To add insult to injury I got bitten at least 10 times by mosquitoes in the area where I was asked to wait, definitely didn’t feel the relaxing spa vibe. They tell you at check in to dial 0 if you need anything, on multiple occasions we called and asked for waters and an hour or more had passed so we have to call again for waters to be sent. They don’t take requests seriously and it just gives the guests the vibe that staff really doesn’t care about making the stay enjoyable. My husband only speaks English and when he would call the help line to ask for anything they’d hang up on him. If it wasn’t me talking in Spanish they would’ve just flat out never filled a request. Staff just needs serious hospitality training, there was a waiter at the deluxe grill that would constantly laugh and make jokes about my husband’s skin color and flat out calling him gringo which was definitely a bit uncomfortable for us. Thankfully we didn’t see this staff member the second half of our stay because it was making us uncomfortable to even eat there. The chairs at the beach were moldy so it was hard to find somewhere clean to sit during peak hours. Honestly the only pro of this place is the spacious rooms and the beach. What I have learned by this experience is that you get what you pay for, we planned this last minute and it was the cheapest/ best rated option. It was our honeymoon and I was excited to come home about midway through the week.

Spent one week with the family in the grand bavaro princess hotel. Nice beach, clean rooms and varied buffet. The menu restaurant are ok except El pescador thawe didn’t like. Special mention to Cappuccino café and the excellent service of Milca, julia and Patricia !

We had a room at the Princess Family Club (PFC) on the 2nd floor and had an overall great time. The room was not the cleanest when we arrived Monday night but by Wednesday morning the housekeeping team stepped it up majorly! The general wear and tear of being a beach hotel room for families (sand, kids scuffing things up, tropical climate, etc.) was definitely felt, but it was as clean as it could be thanks to the extremely hardworking housekeeping staff. TIP THEM! Maria and Florenny were the bartenders at the HOBBIT Bar at the Family Water Park (which was cleaned every morning) in the Family Club area and they are lovely, professional and the BEST! TIP THEM! The chefs at the MORDISCO Snack bar are so friendly and of course professional. TIP THEM! FYI, breakfast there, rather than the buffet at LA HISPINIOLA was much more relaxed, less crowded and same quality of food if not better. And you can get your eggs done however you'd like without the long lines :) Totally recommend going there if you're staying at the (PFC). Which brings me to the Kids Club=the SOLE reason our vacation with our 5 & 4 YOs were so fun... I saw the videos of the Kids Club, the room, the pool, etc. before we went but didn't know much about how INCREDIBLE the Kids Club staff are until we got there. The team is led by Maxy (lo siento for incorrect spelling) and she is super caring about the kids welfare and want to ensure that everyone has a good time regardless if ours were in the Kids Club or getting their face painted at a kid-friendly event in the Plaza near the lobby/front desk. FYI there are events there each night, as well as in the theatre. My 5 YO wanted Rainbow Dash painted on her face and Maxy saw and asked another girl to paint a cloud and rainbow since the current face painter was trying her best but was new at it. We met Stefanny, Dani, Dalvin, Leidy and so many more Kids Club/Animation team members who played with our kids, led really fun activities and worked so hard to ensure that they were well taken care of. PLEASE TIP them individually and/or a lump sum to Maxy for the team. They work pretty long hours and are always so lovely to talk to. FYI: if you have older kids and the PFC isn't for you, there's still lots of activities to partake in, just ask the hotel! TIP: I recommend walking off of the resort and crossing the street to the shops there for souvenirs. I actually didn't get to go myself but imagine it's cheaper than what's at the resort's shops or the airport, which was the only time I got do any shopping. TIP: also talk to the PFC reception to take advantage of all they have to offer, I'm sure we missed out on some things but it was our first international vacation but not our last. THANK YOU Kids Club/Animation team for making it that much more special and the sole reason to come back!

The suites are fine, elegant and versatile design. Beds are surprisingly comfortable, the tv had many good channels for the kids, the gym had variety, the buffet was extremely variable and fresh, loved the fresh no sugar added juices, the variety of places to find food at all times, nights sparks with the entertainment. The only thing was that the music was repeated track after same track the 5 nights I stayed. Boris was great and amable.

I have been to many hotels in Punta Cana during the last 15 years. I call Dominican Republic my country of heart. I just came back from Grand Bavaro Princess where i stayed for 15 days with my mom and i give it 4 stars. We stayed in complexe number 4 which was close to the pool and the beach for a short distance walk for my mom. -Medium size complexe: 10-15min. walk from the beach to the lobby, which is great. My mom had to wait for the little train that moves you around the property but the wait time was very long, they had 2-3 trains only for the entire hotel. -ROOM: Our room was on the first floor for my mom who is handicaped. It was a gorgeous room on 2 floors, very big bathroom with a bath tub and a large balcony. Many things were always missing in the room and we had to call the guest service many times during our stay. Tv was not working when we arrived but they replaced it in 2-3 hours. -FOOD-We only ate at the 2 buffets in the hotel (beach buffet and lobby buffet). They were good, had lobsters almost everyday. Thank you to the wonderful lobster chef Marcelo for his big smile and good energy at the lobby buffet. They also had 2 little food trucks at the beach and a drink/alcohol truck as well. The coffee shop Capuccino was my favorite place in the resort where you could have a cold frapuccino/coffee or hot beverages with pastries, a crepe or waffles. I wish they played latin music all over the resort, the lobby and the restaurants. Music was missing. They had many à la carte restaurants with reservations but we never tried any of them. -CLEANLINESS- Very clean hotel 5stars. There is always someone available with a broom to clean the public bathrooms or restaurants all day long. MOSQUITO WARNING!!! I got bitten like 50 times during my stay. It was the first time in 15 years being bitten this much in a hotel. I asked them to spray my room twice to kill the insects in the room, but i was getting bitten everywhere i went (restos, balcony, beach, lobby...). I went to the guest service and asked them to FUMIGATE the hotel. THey were not fumigating and it was terrible. That's where they lost a star for me. -BEACH-A lot of long chairs and palapas. Beach was always clean, as well as the algae always removed. Turquoise water one day, algae water the other day. It really depends of the ocean and your luck! Activities on the beach were GREAT (games, exercise, volleyball, soccer, dance classes). Bathrooms and drink/alcohol truck nearby. The pool was right next to the beach which was great. big pretty pool with a swim up bar, activities/animation and musica! I wish they had more latin music at the beach as well. -ANIMATION: They had many activities going on throughout the day at the beach, the pool and the live band/or DJ at the lobby at night. They had some shows for kids at night. They did a white party at the beach as well as a beach party, which was very good. We saw a circus show and the popular Michael Jackson show. There is a big casino right outside the resort as well as a disco (which i never attended). -VENDORS:Vendors are always on the beach to sell souvenirs, jewelry, hats, bags, beach dresses, cigars, sunglasses, hairbraids, temporary tattoos and excursions. We always negociate and never pay the full asking price. -NO AC in the lobby area, buffet restaurants, lobby bar area, live band area. A real tropical stay. -MANGROVE on site where you can see different species of trees and birds, especially peacocks. Beware of MOSQUITOES!!!