My husband and I went to this place and we really had a good time! It was the first time that either of us had been anywhere and we were treated like gold. We plan on returning there in June 2005, cause we enjoyed it so much! We met alot of new and everlasting friends. Everyone was very friendly and the little towns that we visited where friendly as well. We would like to share some of our pictures with you.

My family just returned from BP san juan and it was fantastic! I read a bunch of the reviews before I went and I wanted to cry, but I'm really, really glad that I went! We all had a wonderful time and would have liked to stay another couple of weeks.

Check in wasn't too slow, and they tried to make us comfortable. Employees handed us cold fruit punch (real fruit punch, not that red junk you get elsewhere) as we were getting off of the coach. We checked in at around midnight, but they still had a few people working at the desk, and prepared trays of sandwiches and fruits in the main cafeteria for us to eat.

The food was fantastic, but don't be fooled by appearances. I was upset by a bunch of people complaining that it wasn't exactly like the food in the states or Canada. Duh! You're in the Dominican Republic! All of the food was excellent, and there was always pasta, salad, and fresh fruit out for the picky eaters. There was always somewhere to get food. The a la carte restaurants were great. We went to the Mediterranean, the Mexican, and the Italian, and all were wonderful. If you want to go to the seafood place, you need to make reservations right away. The bar had a wide selection, but I found that some of the drinks were cheaply made (not with real fruits), and you have to specifically ask them to put real fruit in the drinks. There isn't much alcohol in the drinks, because they are either really cheap or they want to prevent so many drunks. You can't take food out of the restaurants, so make sure to bring your own munchies, as the stuff that they sell in the hotel gift shop is expensive.

The weather was gorgeous there, it never rained and there were blue skies with very few clouds the whole time. The sand on the beach wasn't white, but it was a very nice beige-ish color. It was soft out in the water too, and although there was a bit of seaweed on the east end, the west end had no seaweed at all. You generally need to get up and get a beach chair early, before 9 o'clock, and this rule goes for the pool, too. There are a few pools, and all of them are the perfect temperature (even the ocean was lovely to swim in). The sun is a lot stronger there than in Canada or the US, so don't skimp on the sunblock, even if you don't normally burn. My brother and sister and I were sunburnt so badly that we had to stay out of the sun for a couple of days, but there was still plenty to do.

The animation team was awesome, and there was always something going on. They always have organized games, stretching, aerobics, spanish lessons with Noel, dance lessons, and shows each day. Sometimes there are other fun things, like barbecues on the beach and kayak races. There are things for small children to do as well. The shows in the evening are entertaining, and the staff works so hard to perform the way that they do. The Dominicans are very friendly people who work 17+ hour days and still have smiles on their faces and great senses of humor. They will serve you drinks and clean up after you, but don't abuse them.

Water was somewhat hard to come by, but there were always things in the minifridge which was refilled each day. My brothers and sister and I shared a room, and we requested 4 bottles of water each day instead of two. Our maid was extremely accommodating. The minifridge also comes with 1 Coke, 1 Sprite, and 2 beers (only my sister drank the beer--she's 21), and it was plenty enough for us. Keep the water bottles, because there are places to refill them.

The rooms were large enough, and even though we didn't have an ocean view, it was still really pretty on the balcony. even with four beds in the room, it was spacious enough for us. The showers are different, and the water pressure is a little weaker, but it wasn't a big deal. There was always soap, shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel refilled each day by the maid, who also left cute finishing touches like folding the towels into shapes and leaving flowers as decorations. Our air conditioner didn't work that well, but there was a fan so it wasn't a big deal.

The night life was great. The four of us are between 14 and 21, and we had a blast in the little downtown. They have Caribbean bands and dancing, sometimes little shows, and a great nightclub to go to that is opened until 4 in the morning. There's even a burger place to get food if you get hungry (we never were). Even my parents had fun there.

Even though the dollar is higher in value than the peso, everything is still very expensive down there inside of the resort. We found that it was best to buy souvenirs from street vendors in Sosua or Cabarete, or even from the airport in Puerto Plata. It was cheaper that way. The excursions into Puerto Plata to the fort and the rum factory and amber museum were a lot of fun and allowed us to see the real Dominican Republic.

That about sums it up. My family had a wonderful holiday and would not hesitate to go back!

me and my parents went to this hotel for 2 weeks. 8th-22nd march. it was the best 2 weeks of my life. i still cry about it now. my name is lauren taylor and i am from manchester, england.

room- the room is kept spotless and tidy. they make the towels into shapes which is very clever.

food- the food is amazing. a wide selection to suit everyones tastes. in the buffet you are very lucky if you meet osvaldy and josh. there is another guy who makes dog noises and cat noises who is very funny. hi you 3.

staff- i loved the staff. behind the bar near to the stage was a very nice man called ronny. hi ronny.

animation team- the animation team were amazing. hi wilson, coca-cola, micky mouse, ricky martin, noel, angelo and others. and in the towel hut hello to raymon and wilson. its lauren dont know if you remember me. ramon also does the kareoke on the street at 11. go and see. he sung angels by robbie to me.

campo tours- go past the spa on the beach and over the bridge and you will find campo tours. these are the best people to go and see for trips. see rodger he is amazing i love him so much. go on the jeep safari and hopefully you will have oralvi as your tourguide and manuel (paparatzie) as your camera man. they are so amazing. i would recomend campo tours to anyone.

lots of love lauren

I returned last week from the Bahia Principe and All I can say about this resort is WOW! I read almost every review of this resort before leaving and I was reallly worried. But like most people I left the cold and snow behind and headed south with an open mind. Ive been to the DR once before so I had an idea of what was good or bad.
The Flight And Arrival: It was good, it left a little late but that didnt really matter, we arrived into the airport around two in the morning. We got through customs and got our bags with no problem. We then found our represenative and he pointed out the buses. We had no problem with anyone trying to help with out luggage, I dont even think there was anyone there trying. The bus ride was an hour long, we didnt see very much since it was so dark out. On the bus ride there we got our bracklets, towel and umbrella cards, and all checked it. So when we arrived at the resort it was straight off to our rooms.
Rooms: The rooms were better than I thought they were, we stayed in just the normal part of the Bahia and the rooms are fine. They are basic but thats all you need. We had to beds pushed together but that was fine, we had 3 people sleep in the bed each night without any problems. The maids cleaned the room soo well everyday, they had the room looking wonderful everyday. We had nothing broken or wrong with our room all week. We had friends staying in Club Golden to say the truth there wasnt that much difference, they had a coffee maker and an alarm clock but thats about it, everything else was pretty much the same as our room.
Beach and Pool: The beach is brown, but who cares. Any beach in the middle of march is just fine with me, yes the water is murky sometimes but its not that bad. The main pool is where we spent most of our time, it was so fun, theres always something to do there with music playing most of the time, I didnt really look for chips or anything but I didnt care, all pools peel at somepoint. and I know I wouldnt want to go there and have the pool drained and being painted.
Food: I found it to be pretty good, its different from our canadian food but you have to allow yourself to like it, I found the pastas to be really good. Breakfast was the best meal, pancakes and french toast is amazing, as well as the orange juice. We liked the Mexican a la carte best. Try a tequila boom boom!! The mediterranean is good as well. There was always something that you could find to eat, I never had cold food and if it was cold it was my own fault due to talking to people instead of going and eating while the food was hot. The desserts are to die for too, they are soo good.
Night Life: This was always fun!!! We werent ones to go watch the show so we sat in the lobby and had a couple of drinks before going down to the strip. The strip was great, there was always something to down there for everyone. It did smell a bit down there but its not deathly or anything, its not that bad and after a little bit you dont seem to notice it anymore, my only advice for the strip is make sure you use the bathroom before heading down, the ones down there arent the best.
Overall I had the time of my life. I cant wait go back again, and I would go back to Bahia in a heartbeat, I miss it so much, This resort is great for people who are there for a vacation, if your not there to enjoy the sun and to relax then stay home. There were minor things I found wrong but nothing to worry about or to complain, the dominican people are soo sweet and they work so hard and get so little. For anyone going to the Bahia just relax and enjoy the sun, you'll have the time of your life!