Luxury Bahia Principe Esmeralda

This resort falls far short of any luxury claim. Front staff service was the worst part of the stay, they never followed through on complaints, no matter how many times we raised them. Rooms were uncomfortably hot, and the AC barely worked, more of a decoration than a functioning system. The faucets and showers default to scalding hot water, which takes forever to adjust to a safe temperature, so be extremely careful if you're traveling with kids. Bathrooms also had a persistent sewage smell. Reserving the restaurant for dinner was extremely difficult, the front lobby staff would listen, nod, and then do absolutely nothing. There are no elevators, which makes this a nightmare if you have young children or a stroller. Save your money and avoid this place if you can.

First of all my had been a year ago and loved it not any more Stayed for a week in a swim up room 1. Check in ok no welcome drink but no big deal check in staff good 2. First night meal at Italian again meal good no complaints 3. Pool staff friendly especially big shout out to william at amber pool and all staff around the pools good 4. Sports bar at amber also nice staff and nice food Now bad points 5. Mexican restaurant basically ignored eventually got a table again ignored all the Spanish speaking guests got drinks and nice menu we got a dirty piece of paper in Spanish as a menu and the noise was horrendous so walked out of that 6. Second visit to Italian starters came out cold and pizza burnt not good 7. Dominican restaurant food and staff nice but horrendously noisy 8. Meat restaurant very cheap cuts of meat the food was inedible and all the waiter who took our order was interested in was smiling at the loud mouth American woman 9. Breakfast in restaurant near beach horrible stale looking covered in flies 10. 60% of staff are rude unhelpful and don’t really want to be there 11. House keeping hit and constantly asking for coffee bags water creamer etc definitely not a 4 or 5 star nearer 3 or 2

My family decided to take me away for my birthday, being a milestone one...age not disclosed, lol. We were going to the D.R for a week of sun, beach, relaxation and memories. We had never been to the D.R or to Punta Cana so I wasn't sure what to expect and reading the reviews, I'm not going to lie was leaving me a bit nervous, after all we were going to celebrate my birthday, it had to be perfect. We arrived at the resort after a short coach ride from the airport and were greeted kindly by a wonderful lady at the check in, i believe her name was Francesca sorry if i am not spelling right or if her name is wrong... i do know she was pregnant. She was fabulous with us, gave us a cool towel and a beverage and knew that we were celebrating a birthday and ensured that they were going to help make this an amazing birthday, which they did, from a birthday banner on the hotel door and fresh fruit in our room she was great! We are off to a good start, as I'm all about good customer service and like to point out the wrongs at times but more so like to reward the goods ones with tips and calling them by their name, which i think is so important and makes them feel like human beings and not just the help or its your job type thing. The resort itself is well looked after and yes it is a bit dated but i was clean and well looked after. Our junior suite was on the main floor and perfectly situated for us to be anywhere on the resort with minutes. If you needed to go a bit further or to one of the other Bahia properties then easy enough to do with the concierge and arrange a ride. We had a good experience at the buffet as the food was good, plentiful and there was enough there to satisfy many palates. Buffets can be repetitive at times, yes but it was satisfying, thank you to our waitress many times being served and looked after by Maria at breakfast and at lunch. The A la Cartes restaurants we booked on line prior to arriving with no issues at all and we tried The Flame Steakhouse- Delicious, Casa Bella Italian- Very good, Yurta Mongolian - Fantastic, We also had the Brazilian Meat restaurant... can't remember the name, but not good at all, not for me. Food overall, buffet, a la cartes, even room service was always good...never got sick or felt bad, none of the family. The drinks and the bartenders were the best i have ever encountered. The way they greeted you to the amazing drinks to ensuring that my family was looked after was second to none, Alberto, Anthony, Albi...gracias. ( TWO TWO ) inside joke! The entertainment was great, thanks to Wanderson ( KING KONG ) he never let you Sleepy Sleepy and always got everyone involved in the daily activities even when you didn't want to. Great guy, great personality, thank you! The beach, oh the beach... although the sargassum was lingering and smelled bad, the resort did their best in clearing it and making the water accessible and beach life fun. That salt water was like a bath and the sun very very hot...lots of sunscreen required. We had sunshine all week with only one evening of rain for about a half hour...very beautiful!!! Enjoy this beautiful resort and all the friendly people that work hard to make sure you're well looked after during your stay. Tipping is optional but i do believe that if you treat someone well they will in turn treat you well. To all the staff that helped make this a memorable vacation my family and i say... MUCHO GRACIAS to the most excellente hard working staff i met at the Bahia Esmerelda !!!!!! WE WILL BE BACK, YES YES, ONLY A THE BAHIA PRINCIPE- Ciao ciao , Bye Bye!!!