After settling in back home again, have decided to write me own personal review of this resort. Stayed at the Bahia for two weeks, April 19 - May 3. For the first 3.5 days it rained, they even provide umbrellas at this resort - something I have never seen before so was quite surprised and a little worried about what the weatherman had in store for the next 10.5 days. The sun finally came out on the fourth day and other than a few showers here and there the rest of the vacation was filled with sunshine. Our room was located close the hacienda section in the very back and was equipped with two single beds and for a couple celebrating their first wedding anniversary we didn't hesitate to put in a request for a room a little closer to the main area with a queen size bed. After requesting this for 3 consecutive days with always the same response of "come back tomorrow after checkout" and no luck - I decided to ask out tour operator "Linda" with World of Vacations if she could help us out. Within an hour we had our new room. Thank-you "Sunshine". The Bahia is a very nice resort. There were always staff here and there cleaning, painting, fixing tiles, etc. And yes, do watch out for the marble floors when they are wet in the main lobby, just outside your room door, in the main buffett - they are extremely slippery and I have witnessed several people falling on them and caught myself several times before going for a tumble. The beach is nice but I have been spoiled by the calm crystal clear waters and white sand beach of Bavaro in Punta Cana. Definately book your day excursions through Campo tours at the end of the beach. They are much cheaper and they DO have insurance, despite what you may hear from the guides at the resort wanting to make their commission from selling the tours themselves. The food is pretty good. You can always find something you will like no matter how fussy you are. The Meditteranean restaurant is by far the best of all the a la carte's. Don't get ripped off by the vendors at the market at the end of the resort. Even when you haggle and think you are getting a great deal, you're not. We took a trip into Cabarete one day and found a shop called the "liquidation" store that sold almost all of the same items for less than half the price the guys at the market were asking. We had a great vacation and would highly recommend the Bahia Principe to anyone considering visiting Rio San Juan.

I can't believe people have such low standards!

Positives: The beach was great, the hotel had plenty of facilities, plenty of bars etc.

Negetives: Smelly toilets, mosquitoes breeding in hotel rooms and bars (the staff tried half heartedly to fumigate some of the bars etc), grumpy staff, basic and shabby rooms, maids don't clean rooms properly etc etc.

It is a cheap place to stay, and you get what you pay for. We spent alot of extra money on trips to get out for the day as there is NOTHING outside the hotel grounds. It is very isolated. Do not go here if you like to be able to walk to shops or bars. The trips were great, especially the whale watching.

As for the food, there is a huge choice of very poor quality meals. The soup was OK. The meat was VERY tough, the vegetable tasted awful, you can't eat the salad (washed in tap water).

We were both ill with stomache upsets, as were many others we spoke to. The reps tried to say it was a coincidence.

I wouldn't go back - ever!

Got back yesterday from 2 wonderful weeks at bahia principe. Def the best holiday i have had so far. I went with my boyfriend Rob and neither of us wanted to come home! Everything really about the hotel is wonderful - the rooms are gorgeous, the grounds are gorgeous as is the beach. Our room was always cool and we didnt even need air conditioning! The entertainment is wonderful in the evening altho they cud do with more entertainment during the rainy days...

We went on 3 trips all together

1- jeep safari - best day we had there without a doubt - they take u to a waterfall, an amazing lagoon called lake du-du, a beautiful beach and a drive around the poor areas of dominican rep which gives you a chance to see how people live - bring lots of things for the poor children - its great the see their appreciation - something other than sweets is advisable as their dentists are expensive! our tour guide felix was quality!

2 - bacardi island - you get to spend 4 hours in paradise - white sand and crystal clear water. Good time to go snorkeling and its always really sunny :) only bad thing is the beach vendors that dont leave u alone but thats the way they earn thier living i guess! and the boat ride to the island - no life jackets! again great tour guide called thomas

3 - gri gri lagoon - go on a boat over crystal clear sea - great place to jump in and see the coral and massive angel fish that you can feed - you also go to a beautiful beach for an hour or so and take a boat ride thru some mangroves. half day trip - not as good as the others but still worth the money

we booked our trips thru campo tours which is at the very end of the beach as its much cheaper there than at the hotel!

oh and we also went to sosua for the day - the beach here is beautiful but dont go at weekends as it is full of locals and we felt really out of place!

Tips:
*book trips thru campo tours
*buy presents in the shops on the strip as its cheaper there than with beach vendors and u dont have to haggle!
*wear lots of lotion as the sun burns!
*dont drop any food on the floor of your room - we dropped one crumb which attracted about 50 ants!!
*take nibbles like crisps and peanuts as they are v.expensive in shops
*take gifts for children and your maid
*go on the tours avail!
*stay by the pool some days and stay at the beach on others - both have very diff atmospheres
*go and see a cock fight - we didnt get round to it and i regret it!
*watch the shows in the evening - we were very impressed
*take a thermal cup for keeping drinks cool as they only give you small plastic cups
*book into a la carte restaurants - mexican and mediteranian were our favs
*enjoy every second

i wud have no second thoughts about going back!!!!

any queries please feel free to email me.

and hello to all the people we met :O)

Bahia Principe was an alright resort. This resort was mostly Canadians which was pretty cool because you got to meet people you might actually see again. I was in Club Hacienda and it was the farthest resort from the main spot people would hang out. It was a loonngg walk from place to place because this resort was so huge. I have 10 blisters from my sandals so make sure you wear something comfy. There are constantly mini shuttle buses going around inside the resort taking people from one end of the resort to the other so that was nice. Pools- There are 4. -3 pools avaliable to everybody. The main pool is a swim up bar.beach- i am a beach lover and i honestly didnt find anything wrong with this beach. It wasn't white sand it was more of a bage color but they're trying to turn the beach into white sand which will be done in a couple of years so thats cool.Service- I wasn't impressed with the service at this resort. 92% of the workers spoke very very little english if any at all. Philipe Hernandaz was my favorite bar tender though, he is an amazing person make sure you tip this man. Nightly shows- They SUCKED!!! I've never seen anything so terrible in my life i kept falling asleep. They would dance the hole time. They're good dancers but i dont wanna watch that forever. They would try and lip sink to songs but they didnt speak english and it looked like one of those kung fou fighting movies where they move there lips like crazy without sound commin out.Disco- spacious and fun. Not the best music at times but thats ok. There's a bar in the disco and it's no charge. all you have to do is give them your room # to let them know you're not a local. Because locals have to pay.Outside the resort there is a strip mall like thing with many stores such as; hair dressers, doctors, painting shop, 2 clothing stores, disco, a childerns clothing store, candle shop, a resturant, jewelery shop, 2 bars, keroke bar, and an internet caffe. You can shop during the day and at night it becomes a street party.Drinks- Arent they always good?Food- im a fussy eater and i loved their food. lots to choose from.i have an alright time and if anyone had ne questions for me just e-mail me...