TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

My husband and I spent one week at Luxury Bahia Principe Ambar. Overall, it was a fine, relaxing vacation—but we won’t be returning. As regular travelers to Mexico, we’re used to a more hospitable, warm atmosphere, and we found the culture and service here didn’t quite meet our expectations. Arrival & Check-In:?Arrival was smooth. The Punta Cana airport was fast and efficient. We used DAT for private transport, and they were fantastic—easy to find, professional, quick, and offered cold bottled water. Resort Grounds:?The resort is large but walkable, with beautiful landscaping and plenty of golf carts available (though we never used them). You only really need to leave your section of the resort when heading to dinner. Smoking:?One of the biggest drawbacks was the widespread smoking. Guests were smoking by the beach, pool, lobby, and patios, which really detracted from the overall experience. Food & Dining:?The buffet food was pretty good, with fresh cooking stations and solid variety, but we got tired of eating there for both breakfast and lunch daily. Unlike other resorts we've visited, there were no à la carte restaurants open during the day. Dinner was hit or miss. Some standouts included the duck breast at Limbo and octopus at Portofino. Others were a miss—especially Tequila (Mexican), where we struggled with the language barrier and were served nearly inedible al pastor tacos. Service varied: excellent at some restaurants, very poor at others. Service:?In general, service didn’t meet our expectations. Many staff members kept to themselves and didn’t greet guests as warmly as we’ve experienced at other resorts. The Privilege Club beach attendant was inattentive unless we got up to ask for service. The rooftop Privilege Club bar and pool had great views but was often crowded and included kids, which took away from the adult-only vibe. Beach & Activities:?The beach was the highlight: soft sand, clear and calm water, light seaweed (cleaned quickly), and beautiful shades of blue and green. We didn’t participate in much entertainment or poolside activities, but we could hear daytime pool parties. And the beach towel process was annoying. Final Verdict:?A good trip for beach relaxation, but lackluster service and basic food options. We’re glad we went, but we won’t be back.

Where do I begin, I expect more from a 5-star hotel. Cons- -The beach was full of seaweed (I understand it's mother nature) but the constant running of dump trucks and excavators all night is a bit much! - Blood on the bed sheets So gross turning down the bed when we first checked in was a bit much. - Check-in was fair at best, but rude and unwelcoming. They were more interested in upgrading our room than properly keying the bracelet. Walking to the room and the door not opening wasn't welcoming, and having to go back to reception to get them rekeyed was brutal after a long travel day. The hotel was advised of allergy yet no attention to detail here. - Pool water was warm, full of floating scum, and very gross. Was definitely not refreshing and with the beach being full of seaweed there weren't many options. - Overall staff were not very friendly. The food was good, but not great, often the buffet had no plates at the pool area restaurant making it a challenge to eat. The Coffee Shop was nice the coffee was good, but the staff rolling their eyes when you asked for something was not welcoming. Asked for Irish Cream in the coffee and got whipped cream. Mentioned to the staff member that I asked for Irish cream and not whipped cream she rolled her eyes at me. Caution there are bones in many of the fish being served at the buffets. - No real Top Shelf liquor, well there is if you want to spend $100USD on a $40USD bottle. - Booked as an anniversary but they didn't put anything on the door, asked about this and asked to have a nice tray brought to the room, but they were more focused on charging me $168US for a bottle of champagne than to have a nice tray for my wife. PROS - The A-La-Carte restaurants were very good, and the food and staff were great. Limbo was my favourite. Exceptional service and the food was great. Nighttime at the lobby was nice if you want better higher-end alcohol the lobby bar is where you need to go. Seafood options at the restaurants were great. 5 Star rating I do not see, it's more of a 3.5 Star. I've stayed at the Bahia Grand before and I would classify it more of a luxury than Ambar. Something has changed with Bahia, I will not be back, nor recommend this chain to anyone.

My husband and I joined in with my cousins and aunt for a family vacation. Even thought the weather was showing a week of clouds and rain… it was not! The sun was out everyday. The weather was 84 degrees in the day and 74 degrees at night. Alittle humid a couple days. But perfect weather. The staff is so friendly, the entertainment crew made sure you were having a great time day and night. But if you just wanted to relax and read, that was great as well. The foods in the buffets were excellent. The a la cart dinners were great as well. At MEAT, the ribeye was delicious. Served with a grilled vegetable stack. About 4 servers waited on us, making sure we were enjoying at all times. When we went to ,El Olivo restaurant, I had an amazing filet steak that melted in my mouth. The dessert was a chocolate moulton lava cake served warm with vanilla icecream. We also ate dinner at the buffet offered in the main lobby. We had breakfast there everyday. The omlet man is great, making sure you have the perfect omlet. The greeting staff always had a smile. I ate churros with peanut butter every morning. The coffee was so good. While my husband enjoyed the mimosas. And we noticed that all the water being served was bottled water. Don’t be alarmed. We did brush our teeth with bottled water tho. There was another buffet by the beach, I enjoyed nachos and ice cream and pasta there for lunch. There is no shortage of food. And all kinds. Our mini bar fridge was stocked with bottled water. The coffee shop in the lobby was my go to for ice tea, espresso and bakery treats. If you are a cat lover you will enjoy the kitties on the property. The beach is breath taking with aqua water and soft sand. A little bit of seaweed, but they comb the beach daily. We did not have any experience with bugs. I can’t wait to go back.

Where do I start there’s nothing luxury about the Bahia Principe Luxury Amber. We stayed for 2 weeks and couldn’t wait to go home. The best part of our holiday was eating out at the different restaurants, although most of the restaurants were at neighbouring hotels. The pool area was very noisy with loud music and the pool itself was very dirty especially the day after a foam party. The Hotel needs to invest in a vacuum cleaning pump equipment for the pool. There’s loads of black bits on the pool floor and various missing tiles. Not Luxury by any stretch of the imagination. Entertainment was very poor especially at night, once you’ve seen a fire show you’ve seen enough. Doesn’t matter where you go in the world the show is basically the same. My biggest problem was with the water supply in our room, halfway through our first week we had no cold water coming out of the shower. We reported it to reception but nobody came out. I then tried the shower an hour later and the fault was fixed. Then on our penultimate day the shower wouldn’t get hot and this wasn’t fixed when we left the hotel. We ended up having cold showers because we didn’t want to fly home without showering.

Here now and am having a wonderful time celebrating my 60th. The hotel is lovely, we upgraded to a swim up room definitely worth the extra. Bed very comfortable, cleaners are in twice a day sometimes, hotel very clean. Staff are all very friendly. Food is very good plenty of choice. Weather has been extremely hot unfortunately very humid ?? for me. I would add the music is sometimes too loud imo round the pool hence the swim up room has been a godsend sometimes. Overall we've had a brilliant holiday and I would definitely return.